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“If I can get Dougie away from Mum, she’ll not be able to cope. She leans on a man for everything. Ollie could be placed with Maverick until the hearing. He is his brother,” I suggest.
Albert nods. “Let’s take it to Mav.”
Mav listens, but when I get to the part where I go after Dougie, he shakes his head. “You’re not strong enough right now, Rosey. You’ve been in bed for almost three weeks off your head.”
“You owe me,” I snap. “You both do,” I add, glancing at Albert.
“This isn’t about cashing in favours or trying to get one over on us because of Archer. We’re looking out for you,” Albert says.
“Get some food inside you. Rest. Then I’ll get Grim in the basement with you. If you can take him down, I’ll gladly let you go after Dougie.”
“Grim will see me coming, Dougie won’t—that’s the beauty.”
“You could always take a back-up,” Albert suggests. “Lauren is on the books. I can get her to team up.”
I stand, not bothering to respond to his ridiculous suggestion, and head out to the kitchen where I find Mama B stirring a pot of something delicious. I take a seat, and she eyes me before asking, “Are you okay?”
I nod. “Ever get tired of men telling you what to do?”
She laughs. “Depends. Are they telling you what to do because they’re looking after you or because they’re being bossy arseholes?”
I sigh. “I thought you might take Mav’s side.”
She laughs again. “I’m not on his side. I don’t even know what you’re talking about. But what I do know is he’ll only ever do what’s best for you.”
“I just feel so useless sitting here while Ollie is there.”
She stops stirring and pats my hand. “It must be hard, but you’ll get him back. Mav and Albert will make sure of that.”
“And what damage will be done before that happens?”
She begins to scoop what looks like soup into a bowl and slides it towards me. “Eat something. Think about your next move carefully, then take it back to Mav. No one can think straight on an empty stomach.”
Chapter Fifteen
ALBERT
It’s been a couple days since we had the visit from the family support worker. Rosey is making progress. She’s eaten, or so Mama B tells me, because I haven’t been around to watch for myself and now, as I watch her slip her hands into a set of boxing gloves, I realise she doesn’t look as pale and tired as she did a few days ago.
Grim holds two pads up on his hands. “Go gentle. We don’t want to overdo it,” he warns, and she rolls her eyes.
“You’re never around,” says Meli as she leans against the tree nearby. “I thought you’d be glued to her side.”
I’ve wanted to be. Every second I’m away from her, she consumes my mind. “She needs her space.”
“Have you asked her if that’s what she wants?”
“It’s Rosey we’re talking about. If she wanted me to stick around, she’d have told me.”
Meli shakes her head sadly. “You have no idea, Albert. After everything, you still don’t know how to deal with her.”
“You don’t deal with Rosey, she deals with you,” I mutter, smirking.
“No. That’s what she wants everyone to think, but it’s not true. She’s scared and heartbroken, just like any other woman would be after what she’s been through. And you,” she pushes off the tree and moves closer, “walked away when she needed you the most. You didn’t notice the hurt you caused, and you walked away. So, now, she’s guarding herself. Every night, when you walk away, she goes through the same hurt. She needs you, and you’re not around. Be around, Albert. Stop walking away.” She heads back towards the clubhouse, leaving me staring after her.
When Rosey is hot, sweaty, and tired, I step closer. “Enough,” I say, and Grim nods in agreement. “Go and take a shower. We’re going out for dinner,” I tell her as Grim leaves us.
She hangs around nervously, keeping her eyes lowered. “I don’t feel like leaving the clubhouse,” she says.
