I shook my head. “No. I’ve been talking to Evan and Klaus. Klaus is more of a fuck them attitude, while Evan is a bit more open, but I get why he would be. Mostly. It’s just that he wanted out of that life so fucking much, and now he’s not hating the idea of seeing the guys and letting Cole back in for Ellis. And honestly? I wish we didn’t have to. I-I wish I were Ellis’s real dad. I love that little girl so damn much.” I stared down at my feet, my elbows on my knees. “Maybe I’m scared I’ll lose LeeLee back to them.”
Trent scoffed. “Yeah, fucking right. She loves you. She’s willing to marry you in some fucked up island affair so it’s legally binding. She’s not ever leaving you, man.”
“I agree,” Ryder said. “Plus, when the fuck did you become insecure?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I love her more than anything. We have a family. Careers. We worked hard for all this. We’ve been through a lot of shit. I don’t want it to go away. I worry.”
“Then why don’t you tell her how you feel?” Ryder asked.
“Because.” I blew out a breath. “I love her and want her happiness. And I love Ellis. She deserves to know Cole, even if he is a cocksucker.”
“She doesn’t need to talk to E, though.” Trent nudged me as he sat next to me.
“I like E,” I admitted. “He really is a good guy. Maybe he’d join us. I’d be OK with him. He tried to get me in with them when Rosalie was their girl. I’d do the same for him. Dante likes him, too, so I wouldn’t have to deal with his bitching too much. Plus, I like the idea of taking another one from the horsemen. Cole and Enzo can fuck one another.”
Ryder laughed at that.
“I think you should talk to Rosalie,” Trent pressed.
“I’m seriously OK with E. I welcome him as long as he’s not using anymore.”
“Then talk to her about what it would mean for Cole to be in your lives again. He’s a fucking menace, man. Completely insane. At least he was. I doubt he’s gotten better,” Ryder said.
I nodded. He wasn’t wrong.
“I’ll talk to her,” I said. “I have to get this statement written first and release it.”
“I’ll go sit with her. See if she’s done talking to Evan and Klaus,” Ryder said, going to the door. He opened and closed it, disappearing and leaving Trent with me.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” he finally said as I dug out my laptop.
I looked at him to see the worry on his face.
“Me too, man. Me too.”
“Hey, baby,”I said as Rosalie crawled in next to me in bed later that night. I’d been buried in all the statement shit and dealingwith the label and phone calls. I almost thought I might need an assistant and considered asking Trent to step in for me since I knew he was insanely organized, more than I, and that was saying something.
“Hey,” she said softly.
I closed my laptop and reached out to cradle her face. “You OK?”
A tear trickled down her cheek, and my heart lurched.
“Oh, baby,” I murmured. “Don’t cry, LeeLee.”
“I’m sorry. I-I just don’t know what else to do. Dante said the watchers questioned the guys today, and it got violent. He was really upset, but he promised me he’d not retaliate unless he found they were lying.”
“I don’t think they’re lying.” I wiped her tears away. “I spoke to Enzo today.”
She blinked at me. “You did?”
I nodded and wiped away more of her tears. “Yeah. He said Cole’s drives were stolen. He said he’d say whatever we needed him to say. He agreed he’d make a statement and say it was from years ago when you were engaged. It’ll be OK.”
She buried her face in my neck, her small body shaking as she cried.
I held her, hating that she was going through this. I didn’t give a shit if people talked about me. I cared about her.
“I wasn’t all that nice to him when we spoke,” I said, smoothing her wild curls. “I tried to be, but man, they just have a way of pissing me off.”
