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“I didn’t take anything from you.”
“No, but Richie did, and you know where it is.”
“Well, you already got him back, didn’t you?” I snapped.
“Babe?”
I whirled, phone to my ear to see that Colt had come up behind me, his face downright scary.
“Who you talkin’ to?” he asked.
I swallowed.
“Is that your man?” Dev asked. “Put him on. I want to speak to him.”
I held out the phone to Colt and he took it. His eyes never left mine as Dev spoke to him. Colt’s jaw clenched so tight it looked like his teeth would shatter.
Colt ended the call without saying a word and handed my phone back to me. I didn’t want to ask what Dev had said to him. No doubt it would only heighten my fear.
“Party’s canceled,” he said finally.
I nodded. I wasn’t in a festive, celebratory mood anyway.
We headed back to the Blue Angels that were standing on the sidewalk, looking very out of place in the quaint neighborhood. Colt spoke to them and then they disbanded, leaving Colt and I alone.
As we drove away, I looked out the window. I could see smoke in the sky, disappearing into the clouds. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the leather seat, scraping my nails against the hard fiberglass of my cast.
“Talk to me,” he said.
“About what?”
“About what’s going through your head.”
“Why?”
“You just watched your grandmother’s house go up in flames. You don’t have feelings about that?”
“I have feelings,” I said. “I know I should be angry. I know I should be ranting and screaming, cursing Dev’s name. But right now, all I can feel is sad. My entire life was in that house. Photo albums, my grandmother’s favorite teacup with a painted pink rose pattern on the delicate china, the shoebox of my mother’s favorite costume jewelry. I have no idea what survived and I can’t handle another loss, Colt.”
“I fucking hate him for this.” His tone was full of anger. “I hate that he’s playing this sick game of cat and mouse and he took this from you.”
“What did he—” my voice cracked. I cleared my throat before speaking again. “What did he say to you on the phone?”
He took a long time to answer, and when he did, he met my gaze. I nearly shivered from the cold savagery peering back at me.
“Something that’s gonna make him beg for mercy before I’m through with him.”
Chapter 18
When we got backto the clubhouse, he disappeared into the office. While I was trying to process the loss of my childhood safe haven, Colt was sitting alone, dealing with whatever Dev had told him.
And if I’d had the energy, I’d have been spitting mad at him. Our relationship was intense, and I was still new at it. But, I wasn’t such a novice to know that when a woman needed a shoulder to lean on, it was her man’s duty to be there.
But the Blue Angels were watching me, and I refused to look like a coward. So I left Colt to his own devices and then went to find his sister.
Joni would know what to say to me. She’d grown up with him; she must’ve had some directives about how to handle Colt’s complete emotional shut down.
My heart trembled with pain and confusion. Usually, when he didn’t want to tell me something, he blamed it on club business. But this wasn’t club business. Whatever Dev said to him had gotten through Colt’s tough exterior and turned him into a different man.
