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Half out of my mind over Opal, I contemplate ignoring the emergency call before my sanity wins out.
“Yes?” I clip gruffly.
“The governor desperately needs Mercy Ravens’ Security services. Kidnappers have abducted his daughter and her nanny from his home. We believe Esteban Moreno is behind the abduction,” the man from state security says on the other end of the line. He rambles off instructions on where to meet before asking if we’ll take the mission.
My eyes close. Things with Opal will have to wait. “We’ll be ready in fifteen.”
Cursing, I hang up, then shoot an SOS text to Atlas. He won’t be thrilled I’m taking him away from his private time with Jo, but we have a job to do. He responds immediately with his own set of instructions.
I round up the crew, assigning the men we need for the job. Stealth extractions require a six-man crew, and there’s no way I’d pass on this mission—this is what I’m best at. It’s what I’m trained to do.
With mine and Atlas’s bags packed, I load up the SUV with my assigned team, ready to head to Yankee Field-CO53 military airport. Before climbing into the Tahoe, I look back at the rental. Opal stands on the front stoop with her arms around her, tears glistening down her soft cheeks.
I would like nothing more than to go to her, kiss her, tell her I love her and apologize. But the clock is ticking. A little girl is in danger and needs our help. Without another glance, I climb into the SUV, leaving my unworthy heart behind with Opal.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE
OPAL
“She’s not my old lady and never will be.”
Gauge’s words play over in my head like a broken record, slicing open my heart worse than a serrated knife. Chase told me Gauge didn’t mean what he said, but I know the truth. Gauge has fallen out of love with me. But why he did is still unknown.
For the life of me, I can’t figure out what happened between us to cause his change of heart. We had one little fight and suddenly, his feelings changed.
No, that’s not right. He was different the second he came back home from Colombia before we fought.
Did something happen overseas while he was on his mission? Did I call too much, nag him too often? What did I do to make him not want me anymore?
None of it makes sense. All I know is I’m gutted, bleeding out. I cry more than I ever did before. Ebony and Red try to distract me with girl time, but nothing helps.
All I want is for Gauge to love me again like he did when we spent the weekend away from the club. That was the last time he was happy with me, and I would do anything to go back to that time.
Flay is concerned with my lack of appetite and sleep. He checks on me constantly. I appreciate his concern, but all I want is to be left alone.
Chase and Punk have sat with me for more than a handful of nights, trying to console me.
But there is no mending a broken heart.
My melancholy has gotten so bad, I haven’t worked in the kitchen in over two weeks. Things I once found joy in only cause me pain. Gauge seemed upset when I was making food for the party instead of celebrating with him. Had I ignored my discomfort and joined him that night after our fight, maybe we wouldn’t be in this predicament right now.
Could he have seen my lack of presence upon his return as a sign I hadn’t missed him? Was he hurt I stayed away when I was afraid of upsetting him further?
Wanting to be alone, I sit in the basement, seated in the same folding chair Gauge had been in when we had passionate sex. I stare at the stripper pole, making no attempt to use it.
The basement door opens, and the sound of dainty feet descends the stairs. According to Chase’s orders, it wouldn’t be the guys since they’re not allowed downstairs unless invited by one of the women. The only other option is it’s one of the bunnies.
Please, don’t be Candy.I don’t have the stamina to deal with her crap today.
Ebony appears from the bottom steps, her face sporting a disapproving frown. “Chica, what are you doing down here by yourself?”
“Hiding,” I admit in a quiet voice.
“No, girl. Hiding from your problems never works.” Ebony takes my hands and yanking me to my feet. “I can’t take any more club members being upset right now. I can’t help them deal with the Jo and Atlas problem, but I can help you.”
Atlas screwed things up with the architect after leaving quickly from their date to catch up with the team. The entire crew has been helping with this assignment so he can get home to patch things up with the woman who has captured his attention. I wish Gauge was more like Atlas in that regard, wanting to fix problems in a relationship instead of throwing the whole thing away.
“My troubles can’t be fixed, Eb,” I mutter. “I can’t make Gauge love me if he doesn’t.”
