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But I didn’t say those two words. He didn’t deserve them. He didn’t deserve anything from me. He’d accomplished what he set out to do. He got my secrets and the flash drive easily enough. Drugging me and chaining me to the fucking bed was overkill.
“Get your things. We’re heading out in thirty minutes,” he informed me in a cold voice.
“You mean I actually get to go back to civilization with you?” I sassed.
“Don’t push me right now, Kelli,” he bit out. “I just lost two of my brothers. Good men who were like family to me. I’m still dealing with Tanner’s and Warden’s deaths, and I’m about to crack Raider’s head open for leaving Quinn alone. I don’t need your bullshit on top of everything else.”
I gritted my teeth but didn’t smart off again. I knew he was hurting. His pain was my pain, and I despised myself for it. I hadn’t wanted to fall for Colt. Love wasn’t something I had good memories of. My mother’s love for the senator became obsessive to the point that nothing else mattered but him. I always promised myself I would never fall in love, and even though I swore I wouldn’t fall for the biker who started spending most nights in my bed, I did it anyway.
r /> I couldn’t imagine my life without him.
But that was a huge possibility now.
I didn’t know if we could come back from this. My lies by omission and his dirty trick to get the information he needed weren’t things most couples could easily bounce back from.
Chapter 2
Colt
I drove through the night to get home as fast as possible. Not that I was going to be any help to my family or MC now. Fontana and his men were long gone. Uncle Chaz and Uncle Jack were both dead, and Lexa was already tucked in bed where she belonged.
Even if I’d been home, I knew there wasn’t much I could have done. I wouldn’t have magically saved Uncle Chaz from taking a bullet to the gut. I couldn’t have realized Uncle Jack was close to having a massive heart attack, and I wouldn’t have been able to keep Lexa from taking a stray bullet to the arm.
I knew all of that shit.
It still didn’t stop me from feeling guilty that I wasn’t there.
All I wanted was to see my niece, make sure she was really okay, then check on Quinn.
As I parked my bike behind the compound, the sun had been up for a while. Kelli groaned as she got off behind me, stretching and popping her neck. I walked around her, avoiding her gaze as I marched through the back entrance into the kitchen of the clubhouse. My guilt over what I’d done to her wouldn’t let me look her in the eye. Not now. Not yet, at least. We had to get through church before I could finally tell her I was sorry.
As I expected, breakfast was already being made. Aggie, Rory, and Flick stood at the stove, frying bacon and flipping eggs and pancakes. The smell of coffee filled my nose as I stomped by Flick, and I poured myself a mug of her freshly brewed elixir.
I gulped down the scalding contents, welcoming the burn as it flooded my throat and hit my stomach painfully. I told myself I deserved this pain. That it was my punishment for not trusting my gut where Kelli was concerned. For not trusting her.
My future sister-in-law touched my arm cautiously, her beautiful eyes swollen and red-rimmed from crying, full of concern for me. “Are you okay?”
I clenched my hand around the mug, felt the porcelain protest, and then coffee leaked onto my fingers. “Fuck,” I muttered, dropping the mug into the sink.
“Shit,” she cried and grabbed a few paper towels, wiping away the coffee that had spilled onto my hand, turning the skin an angry red. “I’m going to take that as a no,” she said with a shake of her head, cleaning me and my mess up. Tossing the paper towels into the sink with the broken mug, she grasped my shoulders, forcing me to look at her, then wrapped her arms around my waist.
I hesitated, wanting to stay pissed at the world, but this was Flick. I couldn’t not hug her. She was too much a part of my life, too precious and important. My arms wrapped around her tightly, holding on and selfishly absorbing all the strength she was so willing to offer me.
“Is it okay if I get a cup of coffee?” Kelli asked hesitantly as she came into the kitchen.
Flick stepped back, her brows arching when she spotted the other woman. For the first time since we left the cabin, I finally took a closer look at Kelli. Her face was pale, there were dark circles under her eyes, and she looked like she hadn’t eaten in days. Probably because she hadn’t. She’d been knocked out for a few hours, and I hadn’t offered her anything to eat or drink once she woke up.
Guilt filled me, but I had to hold on a little longer. I wasn’t sure what was on the flash drive Raider found, and Bash still needed to question her. I would make all this up to her once it was over, I promised myself. Until then, I had to keep my mouth shut and my hands to myself.
“Here, honey,” Aggie croaked out as she handed Kelli a mug of coffee. “You must be worn out, riding all night. Would you like something to eat?”
She shook her head as she lifted the mug to her lips. “No thanks, Aggie. My stomach isn’t really interested in food right now. Maybe later.” She gave the older woman a grim smile, noting her swollen eyes and red nose. “I’m really sorry about Jack and Chaz.”
Tears filled Aggie’s eyes, and she sniffled loudly as she turned back to the stove with Rory. “Me too,” she whispered.
“Kelli?” Quinn’s voice called before the kitchen door swung open.
