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Chloe blew a raspberry. “Would you have gone to the ER?”
“Well, no, but I’m a badass.” One of Izzy’s perfect black eyebrows arched over her eye.
“Well after today, I think I qualify as one too. Plus, I’ve spent enough days in the hospital for three lifetimes. Not going back unless it’s a matter of life and death.” A shudder traveled through her at the memory of the days spent in the hospital following her attack. Being poked and prodded at all hours, no privacy but plenty of pain.
No thank you. Not even a few hours long ER trip.
“Well, you’ll look cool with a scar. I could cover it with a tat.”
That had Chloe laughing her first real laugh all day. “On my cheek?”
Izzy just shrugged as if to say, “What of it?”
“Not even Mav has ink front and center on his face.”
They sat there for a while longer, shooting the breeze and sharing some laughs. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement to avoid further talk of Rocket, Lefty, or anything that had happened that morning. Fine by Chloe. The distraction went a long way toward leveling her out.
After more than an hour of chatter, her eyelids grew heavy. “You mind if I lie down for a bit? All of a sudden I’m zonked.” Plus, she could use a few minutes alone to sort out what she’d say when she next saw Logan.
Izzy stared at her as though trying to decide whether it was a good idea or not. “Sure. Guest room is the only door on the right.”
“Thanks, Izz.” She leaned forward and gave her friend a hug. “Thanks for everything.”
“Please do not thank me. Us ol’ ladies need to stick together if we want to keep these bikers in line.”
“Amen, sister.”
She walked toward the room feeling like the air was made of thick goo. Without bothering to remove any clothing or pull back the blankets, she flopped back-first onto the bed. Softness enveloped her, a counter to the ache in her heart at the memory of Logan’s anger.
God, the way he’d glared at her. She probably could have shot him, and he wouldn’t have been as devastated. His eyes reflected just how much her actions gutted him. Whatever headway she’d made into his heart was completely obliterated by one phone call. Thing of it was, no matter how many times she replayed the incident in her head—and it’d been hundreds of times in the past two hours—she couldn’t come up with a single alternate solution.
Bottom line, she loved Logan. Loved him so hard, she would do anything to keep him from suffering an ounce of pain. And she knew in her heart she’d done the right thing. He just had to come to the same conclusion somehow. Losing the club would have altered the course of his life in the most negative way possible. He’d be adrift. Floating through life without purpose or family. And that would have destroyed her right alongside him. He may hate her at the moment, but someday in the future he’d think back to this time and realize she called Copper to step in because she loved him. Not because she couldn’t bear the thought of him killing Lefty. That was an inevitability.
It didn’t take long for the lull of sleep to pull her under. When she woke, she had no clue what time it was. The first thing her brain picked up on was the throbbing in her cheek and hammering in her head. Her eyes were also gritty as though she’d been crying in her sleep. How TV movie of her. Though not entirely unexpected after the intensity of the day. With a sigh, she rolled to her back and winced at the soreness from her fight with Lefty.
Something sounded outside her door. Chloe sat, straining her ears.
“I’m telling you this right now, bucko, you fuck this up further and I swear to God Lefty won’t be the only one dying today. You catch my drift?”
“Babe, I’m pretty sure he gets your meaning. You’re about as subtle as an avalanche.”
Izzy harrumphed. “Just making sure we’re all on the same page. And we are, right, Logan?”
Logan grunted and Chloe’s lips quirked. Leave it to him to respond to a threat with a sound instead of words.
“Go on in,” Izzy said. “I checked on her twenty minutes ago and she was passed out.”
She imagined Logan nodding as he reached for the door. Footsteps indicated Jig and Izzy’s retreat. As the doorknob turned, Chloe sucked in a breath and quickly smoothed her hair down. Shit, she must look like a wretched hag. She rubbed a thumb under each eye. They came away black. Great, mascara tracks were always a man-pleaser.
“Oh, you’re up.” Logan said as he soundlessly stepped into the room.
“Yeah, I, uh, just woke up. What time is it?”
