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“Because I need your help,” she admitted, her face turning to stone, but there was something in her voice that gave me pause. “You saw Bubbles once. You can see her again.”
“Bubbles,” I snorted. “Is that really her fucking name?”
“It’s Leena,” Raven said with a twist of her lips. “And don’t ask me how she got the nickname. I don’t know, and I don’t want to know.”
“What do you need me to help you with? I don’t know how to get in touch with her.”
“But your father does, right?”
My gut clenched, wanting to reject what little I just ate. I knew what she was going to ask before the words even left her mouth, and every instinct was telling me to just push this bitch out of my way and drive. Get as far away from her and these people as fast as I possibly could. Because what she was going to ask me would mean talking to Calvin again. It meant I had to choose, again, between him or them.
And because I was loyal to those I loved—even though they didn’t deserve that love—I wouldn’t say no.
Chapter 7
Colt
Hunger pangs woke me. With a groan, I rolled over in bed.
“Kelli,” I called out, expecting her to be in the shower. “Babe, you hungry?”
Not getting an answer back, I sat up in bed, rubbing sleep out of my eyes with my finger and thumb. “Babe?” I called out again, noticing the light on in the bathroom. “You okay?”
When she didn’t reply, I jerked out of bed and crossed to the slightly ajar bathroom door. There was a wet towel on the bathroom floor, proof that she had been there. Kelli was a total slob when it came to throwing her shit on the floor. She threw her clothes and towels all over the place back at her house, and it drove me nuts.
Muttering a curse, I pulled on the first clean clothes I came to and grabbed my cut as I left the room. If she went to work, I was going to be pissed. I told her as long as we were on lockdown, she wasn’t going to Paradise City. After the fucking Italians followed her and Quinn home, I wouldn’t risk her life for a few hundred dollars in tips.
The smell of roast beef hit me before I even got to the kitchen, and I grabbed a plate. After I piled it high with as much food as the paper plate could hold, one of the ol’ ladies offered me a fork with a grim smile.
I gave her a kiss on the cheek and headed out the back door where I could hear Raider and Hawk talking, expecting them to know where my girlfriend was. Every brother in the clubhouse was going to have his eyes open where Kelli was concerned now, so I was sure someone knew where the fuck she was.
As soon as the door opened and they spotted me, they shut up. A glance at Gracie and Quinn sitting beside my brothers told me they hadn’t been talking about club business, which meant their conversation was about me. “Kelli eat?” I asked my best friend as I sat down at the table beside her.
“I think she had a roll when she left earlier,” she murmured sadly.
My fork dropped noisily to the table as I looked down at Quinn. “What do you mean, left? If she went to work, I’m gonna spank her ass.”
Quinn’s chin trembled, but all I could do was sit there, frozen, as she told me Kelli had walked away without a backward glance. Without even a goodbye to her. “After talking to Raven, she got in her car and left,” Quinn finished with a hitch in her voice. “Raider says she left for good.”
I shot my brother a glare as I jumped up, my keys already out of my pocket. “You let her leave?” I snarled.
“You expected me to stop her?” Raider scoffed. “Nah, man. I’m not getting in the middle of your shit with her. If you want to forgive her for what she did, that’s on you. But don’t expect the rest of us to sweep that shit under the rug.”
“What did she do?” Quinn demanded, but I was already on my bike. It roared to life before I could hear what my brother was telling her.
At the front gate, I asked the guys on the fence which way they saw Kelli’s car going. “She went to work,” my sister informed me as she moved away from where a few men were eating dinner, an empty tray in one of her hands. “Don’t worry. She promised me she was coming back later.”
“And you believed her?” I snapped. “Fuck it, Rave. She’s not supposed to go to Paradise City. Do you remember what happened last time?”
She rolled her eyes at me, her nostrils flaring in aggravation. “Yes, actually. I do trust her. Oddly enough, it appears I trust your girlfriend more than you do.”
“Why would you fucking trust her? You don’t even know her.”
“Because if she had really wanted to, every member of this club would already be locked up in some federal prison right now. Probably with me right along with you. Do I have to remind you that I keep everyone’s books, Colt? It wouldn’t take much digging to realize I’m a little deeper into the MC’s business than I should be.” She poked me in the arm with a finger, and I wasn’t surprised when it actually hurt. “If you go down, I’m not going to be far behind. So yeah, I have a reason to be just as nervous as you and the rest of the boys. But when it comes to Kelli, I’m not even a little worried.”
“Why is that, Rave? Women’s intuition?”
“No, jackass. Because that girl loves you. I knew it the night of Flick’s engagement party. I know it now. Even if she doesn’t want to, she loves you.” Turning, she headed for the clubhouse. “What are you waiting for? Go protect your female, idiot.”
