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“I’m not,” I choke. “I’d do anything for Opal’s well-being, even self-sabotaging our relationship.”
My brother sighs, opening his arms out at his sides. “Well, fuck. Maybe you should be. You deserve to be happy as much as I do. The night we found Opal, I knew, fuckingknew, she was it for you. Fate, love at first sight, whatever the hell you want to call it, I saw it in the two of you.”
“I love her,” I confess, my heart aching in my chest. It’s easier to talk to Atlas now that my true feelings are transparent.
“Of course, you do. A blind man can see that.”
“What do I do?” I’m treading water, yet still slowly sinking. I’ve never needed help from anyone, and it’s becoming too much for me. People come to me for guidance, not the other way around. But I’ll take any advice if it gives me a chance at repairing the damage I’ve done.
Atlas towers over me, slapping a hand on my back like he’s sending me out to war. I guess he kind of is. “You win her back.”
CHAPTERFORTY-ONE
GAUGE
Opal holes up in the other bunkroom the whole next day. Busting in was not an option. Opal is a gentle soul. Forcing myself back into her life will do more harm than good.
I’m restricted to the hallway, where I lean my head against the door, pleading to talk to her. I get no response and I don’t expect one. Still, I try.
The only person who comes and goes from the room is Red. She brings tissues, food, water, Tylenol. In and out, but it happens so quickly, I don’t even get a peek at the rainbow beauty.
Red glares at me every time she passes. I get it; I’m the asshole. When she exits the room for the third time, I beg Red to give Opal a message from me. Red flicks out the back of her hand, clipping my dick—her trademark move when one of us guys upset her. I drop to my knees, sucking wind. Red walks right on by me like nothing happened. The girl code is strong with this one.
Flay hates my guts at the moment. Can’t say I blame him. I attacked him for being a decent dude to Opal. The number I did on his face… I was out of control. Flay got a couple of good hits on me too, yet my face doesn’t resemble a bruised plum. He passes me in the narrow hall, checking me in the shoulder.
With a grimace, I turn to face him. “I’m a dick.”
“No, shit,” Flay retorts heatedly. “You nearly broke my jaw.”
I brace myself, ready for another brawl, but this time I’ll let him have his pound of flesh. “I had no right to come after you. She was in your bed. I made assumptions and saw red. It doesn’t excuse my behavior, but it explains it. I thought you were moving in on my woman.”
Flay ticks off his fingers. “One, I would never do that to another brother. Two, I was helping her out because you put her in a bad spot. And three, she’s not your woman anymore.”
“I fucked up; I admit it. But make no mistake, she’s mine.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s changed in twelve hours?”
“Got drunk, talked it out with Atlas, and realized I can’t let her go.”
Flay rocks back on his heels. “Damn. You need to work on that speech before presenting it to her. That sucked.”
I agree. It needs polishing. “Do you think she’ll listen to me?”
“Fuck if I know. You scared her pretty bad last night on top of pissing her off. Opal thinks she’s ripping the brotherhood apart because we fought. It took me an hour this morning to convince her I’m only mad at you. But we’re family, and we’re solid. She still blames herself for what happened between us. You need to set shit straight if she gives you the time of day.”
Flay turns to leave, but I call out to him. “Flay?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for looking after her when I didn’t.”
He nods. “Of course. That’s what family is for.”
The hours drag on. At one point, Red snaps her fingers at me. “You need to leave. She wants to use the bathroom. The last thing she needs to see is you.”
It hurts like hell to retreat into my bunkroom, but I don’t want to cause Opal any more pain. If seeing me is going to upset her, then I’ll hide away until she’s safely back in her room. My heart damn near breaks when I hear Opal sniffling as she passes my door.
My hand is on the knob, shaking as I try to hold myself back from running out there to wrap her in my arms. The only thing stopping me is my hope she’ll want to talk at some point.
