Aubrey leaned in, her eyes sparkling. “The way he looks at you? Girl. The whole club is wondering how long it’ll be until you’re wearing a property patch.”
Hadley nodded. “My guess is soon.”
I nearly choked on my sweet tea. “We’re not…I mean, it’s not like that. Not officially.”
The three of them exchanged knowing looks.
Aubrey patted my hand. “You might not be wearing his name on your back yet, but Gauge has claimed you in every other way that matters to these guys.”
There was no missing how serious she was as I picked at my food.
“The club is family,” Delaney added. “Not just the brothers, the old ladies too. Once you’re in, you’re in. Loyalty goes both ways. We’ve all had our own baggage, trust me.”
“Like getting kidnapped by a freaking serial killer,” Hadley mumbled with a knowing look at Delaney, who just shrugged.
“But when you’re with a Redline King, they stand by you,” Aubrey added. “No matter what.”
“I’m sorry.” I set my fork down. “I get we’re having a deep conversation that’s supposed to be about me, but…did Hadley just say that a serial killer kidnapped Delaney?”
“Mm-hmm.” Delaney nodded. “But I escaped, almost got run over by Soren’s motorcycle, and then he made everything right in my world again. So all’s well that ends well.”
My eyes widened at how calm she was relaying what must’ve been a horrific thing to experience.
Aubrey reached over and squeezed my hand. “I know it’s hard to wrap your head around, but I really did mean it when I said that our men stand by us no matter what.”
Hadley pointed a fry at me. “And Gauge will be the same with you, too.”
I stared down at my plate, the words slipping out before I could stop them. “He doesn’t know everything about me. There are things I haven’t told him yet.”
The table went quiet for a moment.
Hadley was the first to speak. “Riley, if you’re working at The Pit while Gauge has you in his bed and is looking at you the way he does, there’s no way he isn’t all in. These men don’t dohalfway. If he’s claimed you, he’ll stand by you the same way Thayer, Rev, and Blitz would stand by us.”
Delaney nodded. “Trust him, Riley. He’ll protect you. Whatever is going on with you, he can handle it. Just like our men handled some pretty wild stuff with us.”
Their words stayed with me long after we left the diner. I kept thinking about what it could mean to stop carrying everything alone. To believe he might stand by me the way these women said their men had.
I wanted that so badly it scared me.
Later that night, as we pulled up to the clubhouse for a barbecue, I had made up my mind. When we got home, I was going to tell him everything.
Everything I saw while we hung out with his club only reinforced my decision.
I stood near one of the big grills with a drink in my hand, watching Ryot move through the crowd. Piston, who worked with us at The Pit, clapped him hard on the back. “You owe me for that last bet, brother.”
Ryot snorted. “Like hell I do. Nitro was the one who said his bike would beat mine.”
Nitro shook his head, leaning against a picnic table with a beer in his hand. “Don’t drag me into this. I told you both I’d smoke you.”
Blitz wandered over, shaking his head. “Why the hell would anyone bet against Nitro?”
I smiled as I watched them. Their easy back-and-forth made it clear how tight they were.
My gaze drifted to the old ladies. Rev had Delaney tucked against his side, one hand resting protectively on her small baby bump.
“You need to eat more, baby.” Blitz returned to Aubrey’s side and tried to feed her another bite of brisket. “You’re eating for two.”
Aubrey rolled her eyes but accepted the bite anyway. “Barely. This kid is the size of a peanut right now, Canyon. Relax.”
