How could I have been so stupid?
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
I’d dismissed his past easily because I’d never witnessed it. And if I didn’t see it, it wasn’t real in my mind.
The only record he had of his time in the motorcycle club were the tattoos inked on his body. I hadn’t even known his road name, and he never talked about his time in the MC. He’d mentioned prison a few times but used it as seasoning for my understanding.
And I’d never asked. I’d never thought to ask or dig. Not really. But it hadn’t been because I didn’t care. Brooks never seemed to want to talk about it anyway.
We’d been building a beautiful life together. Focused on the present.
On second chances.
Muddy knew he’d gone to prison and why. But did she know about how he’d gotten his road name? And if she did, would it matter to her? Would it have changed her stance on offering him a job?
My guess was that she didn’t know.
I’d kicked Brooks out, and he’d gone immediately. He hadn’t tried to coerce me into staying.
He’d given me space.
He’d given me everything I’d ever asked for. He’d taken care of me. He’d bought me a safe car.
The man I knew was not the man he used to be.
But you couldn’t just cut off parts of your past and rewrite history.
Ripper.
Jack the Ripper.
A serial killer who’d slashed his victims’ throats.
Nausea churned in my belly, and it was the only thing that got me off the bed. I made it to the bathroom and threw up. After that, I dry-heaved until there was nothing left.
Exhaustion pulled at me—so heavy, so dark that I lay down on the bathroom floor instead of crawling back to bed.
There was a knock on the front door of the apartment.
It wasn’t Brooks. Brooks wouldn’t knock.
Maybe it was Hadley or Salem.
Oh God.
How was I going to face my friends and tell them I’d made the biggest mistake of my life?
The knock sounded again, louder this time.
Somehow, I forced myself to stand. I shuffled to the door and opened it, surprise coating my face.
Archer stood at the threshold, his expression stoic. “Can I come in?”
“No.” I frowned. “How did you get into the building?”
“Brooks gave me a spare key.”
“He’s just giving them out to everyone, isn’t he?”
