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“You want to tell me what the fuck is going on with you?” Guardian says as he strides into the room.
“Nothing.”
“Don’t give me a line of bullshit, Hound!” Guardian says, frowning darkly at me.
I meet his eyes with a glare of my own, but his never wavers. Very few men would have the courage to meet my eyes and even fewer would do so with the knowledge that they could step to me if they had to, but Guardian fits both counts.
I sigh and say, “It’s a girl.”
“A girl?” he says, “Seriously?”
“Yes,” I say, “I met her when I was in the city collecting. She strips at Karl’s club. We hit it off, and I just can’t stop thinking about her.”
“And because you can’t stop thinking about her, you think it’s okay to fight with your brothers,” he says. It’s not a question, but he expects an answer anyway.
“No,” I say, “I’m sorry, Guardian.”
“Sorry doesn’t cut it, Hound. You need to get your shit together. The way I see it, you have two choices: either you get her out of your system however you need to do that, or you get your ass back to the city and bring her home.”
I look up at him in surprise. “You’re giving me the day off?”
“I’m giving you a lot more than that if I have more trouble with you,” he says, “So figure it the fuck out.”
“Yes, sir,” I say, just managing to stifle my grin.
A hint of the same flashes across Guardian’s face. He smiles and says, “All right then. Get your ass out of here. I’m sick of staring at you all day.”
“You got it, boss,” I say.
I leap to my feet and just manage to keep from breaking into a dead run as I leave the club and get on my bike. The others avoid looking at me, assuming I’m going home to lick my wounds after an ass-chewing.
I head straight to the city and reach it right around sundown. It’s not until I reach the city that my anxiety hits me.
It only now occurs to me to wonder if she’ll be happy to see me. For all I know, she’s happy with what we had but is ready to move on. My anxiety deepens when I remember that I’m not just seeing her again, I’m asking her to leave her entire life behind and come home with me to Diablo Ridge, a town she’s never seen before.
Still, I will never get her out of my system. I know that for sure. Either she comes home with me now, or I go to Guardian and tell him that I have to give up my cut, because I can never get over her.
I head to Karl’s club and when I walk inside, I see him standing at the bar talking to another one of the girls, Stormy, I think her name is. She smiles when she sees me, but when she sees that I’m here for Karl, she slips away and leaves us alone.
“Karl,” I say, “How much revenue will you lose if I take Sapphire home with me to Diablo Ridge?”
“I’m not worried about the revenue,” he says, “I’m worried about her.”
I feel my blood run cold and fight to stay calm when I say, “What do you mean?” Why are you worried about her?”
“She hasn’t been to work in over a week,” Karl says, “She’s alive, because she answers my phone calls, but when I ask her about coming back to work, she just says she can’t. She sounds… not hurt, but not happy. I’m actually glad you’re here, because she trusts you. Maybe she’ll talk to you.”
“What’s her address?” I ask.
He writes it down on a slip of paper for me. He hands it to me and says, “When you see her, tell her that I and the girls here all miss her. I know you’re taking her away from us, but tell her that if she’s ever back here, we’d love to see her. She’s a good kid.”
“I will,” I say, “Thank you, Karl.”
I leave and fight to remain controlled. My blood is boiling. I don’t know who hurt Sapphire so badly she doesn’t even want to come into work, but I swear to god the only reason that man will live is so he can spend the rest of his life regretting that choice.
When I reach the address, I walk to the door and knock. When Sapphire answers, her mouth drops open in shock. “Hound,” she says, “Oh my God! You’re here!”
“Who hurt you?” I growl. “I swear to God, I’m gonna make that motherfucker wish he was never born!”
