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“It is.” I trailed my thumb along her cheekbone, enjoying how she shivered at the simple caress. “But my point is, MC, I ain’t perfect.” Her brow furrowed in confusion so I continued, “I’ll let you go onto that compound even though every fucking instinct I possess is telling me not to.
“I’ll let you deal with this in your own way even though I want to take over and make shit better for you. I’ll even let you handle the situation and retreat from my lifeif that’s what you need.”
“I don’t understand,” she breathed.
“Sure you do,” I rasped. “You’ve had every single choice taken from you, MaryCat. Every. Single. Choice. From who to date to what to wear. From how to be to what to do with your life.
“I’m a Sinner. We’re all about freedom.
“So, what you’re going to do is, you’re going to go in there, and you’re going to convince the matriarch of the Five Points that what’s happening in the ranks is wrong, and you’ll use your wedding ring as a defense against Bill fucking Murphy.
“You’ll make shit right, and then, you’ll live your life however you want because that’s what a sweetheart like you deserves.”
She gulped. “You’re scaring me, Digger.”
My smile was sad. “No, I ain’t. We both know you’re braver than you realize, MC.” I brushed her bottom lip. “You’re going to make waves and then, and only then, will you make a decision about your future. Including…” I sucked in a breath and put myself on the line. “…whether you want me in it or not.”
Her eyes rounded and she straightened up, spine erect, chin angled belligerently, hands balling into fists at her side, practically vibrating in her shoes.
“It’s all your decision, baby girl,” I informed her huskily. “It’s on you.”
Though she still looked as if she were ready for war, she declared, “No, it isn’t. What about you? Do you want me in your future?”
I tilted my head to the side and reached for the hand that wore my ring. I kissed it. “Might be crazy, but yeah.”
I retreated at that, not letting the joy in her eyes filter into me. I wasn’t about to get my hopes up. The moment she realized what she’d be relinquishing by being with me was the moment she’d forget about me.
She’d agreed with my plan of action only because she was desperate.
A man with my past wasn’t about to brand a woman like her, no matter how much I wanted to, not when she was in ‘fight-or-flight’ mode.
So, I pulled away, kicked my leg over my hog, and knelt on the gravel as I unfastened one of my saddlebags. I grabbed one of the extra burner cells I always carried with me. “This has my number in the contacts.” I collected the Glock, then I turned to her. “You know how to use this?”
She bit her lip. “For the most part.”
With an eye roll, I walked her over to a small alleyway, showed her where the safety was, and ran through the basics.
“If you feel threatened, you knock off the safety, point, and shoot.”
“What if I miss?”
“Don’t.” I studied her. “I doubt you’ll need it today.”
“You think they’ll take me back to my father’s.”
“I do.” I angled my head to the side. “But I wouldn’t be dropping you off here if I didn’t think your powers of persuasion couldn’t work a miracle too.”
Her smile was incandescent.
It hit me then that a woman like her had never been shown that a man could have faith in her…
“But if you do get taken back to your father’s, then you shoot first and ask questions later, do you hear me?” Her smile started to fade. “The club has a brilliant lawyer and she’ll get you off the charges.” I didn’t care who we had to bribe to make that happen. “You don’t anger him so he hits you in front of people. You don’t do a damn thing to him until you’re alone.
“The second you feel threatened is the second you shoot. If you let him get the drop on you and he hits you, I will be pissed at you. Remember, you shoot first and I’ll worry about sorting out the repercussions later.
“But bear in mind, the moment you shoot is a moment you can’t take back.”
“I don’t care if I kill him,” she whispered, then she closed her eyes, shame filtering into her expression. “God, that makes me a horrible person.”
