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Her heart flipped over in her chest. Those words were so more than sex. “Tell me. I’ll keep your secrets safe.”
He sat next to her and pulled her against him. “It’s a short story, but it changed my life forever. I had a girlfriend when I was sixteen. Puppy love, much like you felt about Aaron at the time. We were wild little things from a rough neighborhood with parents who didn’t give a shit what we were up to. One night, we went to a party with my older brother. He was eighteen and offered to drive. Promised he wouldn’t drink.”
“Oh God,” she whispered.
He paused, and she stayed quiet, allowing him time to prepare to talk about something painful. “I didn’t see him much at the party, so I believed he didn’t drink. Tanya, my girlfriend, did, though. So did I, but she was blasted.” He blew out a breath and squeezed her close. “Fuck, this is hard.”
“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I let her sit in the front on the way home, thinking I was a gentleman. My brother drove. He and Tanya got in a stupid argument about a fucking television show. That stupid fucking show,” he whispered.
She didn’t need him to finish. This story had an obvious and heartbreaking ending.
“She grabbed the wheel.”
It felt as though her heart had stopped. “Oh, Jinx…”
“I fucked up my shoulder, and they lost their lives.”
She lifted her gaze to meet his. So many emotions swirled in his eyes. “Don’t downplay the effect on you. Way more than your shoulder got hurt.”
He nodded. “Yes. I was fucked up for a long time. Fell down a dark hole, caused trouble, and got kicked out of school. Riding was my therapy and probably the one thing that saved me. Only time I felt good was when I was on a motorcycle. I’m okay now, but I don’t let myself think about it. And I don’t talk about it. I’m sure, as a counselor, you’d tell me that’s not healthy, but it’s what works to keep me moving forward.”
She kissed the underside of his chin. “I don’t judge you or anyone for how they cope. There isn’t a right or wrong answer. You pulled through something awful and became an incredible man.”
“Yeah. Well, I pulled through, anyway. Don’t know about the great part.” He rested his cheek on her head.
“I do.” She closed her eyes and soaked up the intimacy. They’d shared their pain, and she felt so close to him right then.
“Thank you for coming with me tonight, for helping my brother. Outside the club, no one has ever had my back like that. I think you’re beautiful, incredible, and perfect. And you make me happy.”
Her eyes flew open.
Icy terror raced through her as she realized something horrifying.
This was so much deeper than sex, and she loved every word out of his mouth.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
JINX STRODE THROUGH the clubhouse with heavy steps and what had to be a fierce scowl because he got more than one side-eyed glance. Hell, some chick Pulse had hooked up with the night before practically hid behind him as Jinx passed by.
He was fucking pissed, and they’d all have to deal with it.
He stormed into Curly’s office without bothering to knock and tossed the drugs Harper found at Lock’s onto the president’s desk.
Curly glanced up from his phone with a raised eyebrow. “You bring me a snack?”
Jinx snorted. “You know what the fuck that is.”
As he set his phone face down on the desk, he gestured for Jinx to sit. “Meth if I had to make an educated guess, but what I’m stuck on is why you’re bringing it to me. This little gift from one of Lobo’s guys?”
Christ, the thought of it turned Jinx’s stomach. To think Lock might have purchased it from the same dealer responsible for his twin sister’s death showed how low he’d sunk. “Don’t know. Don’t wanna know. Found it at Lock’s.”
That had the unflappable president’s jaw dropping. “You’re shitting me.”
“I wish I fucking was. He called me last night to ask if I could sit with the baby while he ran out on an emergency call. Harper was with me, so she came along. While I was tending to Caleb, she did some cleaning. You have no idea what a shithole that house had become. Anyway, she found this in the couch.”
“Well, fuck.”
One of Curly’s rules for the club was no hard drugs. Alcohol, of course. That shit flowed freely. Weed, hell yeah, but nothing that would fuck them up. Curly had seen too many lives destroyed by the shit in his previous club, so it’d been a no-brainer for him.
Jinx never cared for the stuff, not since the accident. The potential loss of control freaked him out.
