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A shadow of concern crossed Abby’s face.
“I had no idea.”
I shrugged. “It’s in the past now.”
Taking Abby’s hand, I kissed her knuckles, pressing her palm to my chest.
“We have another shot at this, Abby. We could be a family together.”
She didn’t falter or flinch, didn’t shy away. So, I kept plowing forward, desperately clinging to this second chance.
“Even if you decide that it won’t work, please know that I always wanted you, Abby. You and Cam both.”
Abby lowered her gaze, shielding her expression. She bit the inside of her cheek, deliberating. Then she shifted away from me, climbing off the bed. She moved to a nearby chair with a bathrobe draped over the back and pulled it on.
“What about this business with the Desert Howlers, Joel?”
I sat up, propping my elbows on my knees. Abby felt so far away on the other side of the room with her arms crossed and her stance uncertain.
“I’ll get it cleared up,” I replied. “Don’t worry about that. It’s just a bunch of bikers blowing smoke.”
“They torched a restaurant,” she said, her voice sharper this time. “They put a member of your club in the hospital, stabbed and beaten. That’s not blowing smoke, Joel. That’sviolent.”
“Abby,” I said in a pleading tone.
She shook her head and held up a hand.
“This is something for the police to deal with. Not you. If you truly want to stay in our lives…” Abby paused and took in a shaky breath. “You have to leave your club. It’s not safe.”
The air punched out of me. I scrubbed a hand over my mouth. She couldn’t be serious. Did she really mean that?
“I can’t have you attracting that kind of unwanted attention,” Abby continued. “How am I supposed to allow Cam to hang around you right now? You’re a target for these people. She could get caught in the crossfire. The whole damn town is being used like a pawn in your pissing match.”
“Abby, sweetheart, it’s better to have my club as backup than to be flying solo.”
She paused as my words hung in the air.
Please don’t do this,I thought.Don’t make me choose between my club—the only family I’ve ever known—or the family I never knew I had.
“That’s the decision you have to make, Joel,” Abby said. “Cam and me. Or your club.”
I said nothing. It was impossible to choose. One way or the other, it would tear me apart.
When I was silent too long, I saw the heartbreak cross Abby’s face a split second before she glanced away.
“I have to pick up Cam,” she said. “And you need to go.”
As Abby left the room, her soft footsteps fading down the hallway, I sat alone in her bedroom with the lingering scent of her skin on mine.
I felt lost. Hollow. I did the only thing I could think of and gathered my clothes, got dressed, and returned to my bike. As I climbed on, I happened to glance back at Abby’s house, hoping I might catch one final glimpse of her.
But she wasn’t there.
Retrieving my phone from my pocket, I dialed Brewer’s number. It rang twice before he picked up with a grumble.
“It’s too damn early for this.”
“The Desert Howlers,” I said. “At your meeting last night, did you come up with a way to drive them out of Merry Field?”
