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“Then I’m happy for you.” I can sense a but coming, and I don’t like the anxiety it causes. “And I’m happy for him, but I’m not going to go easy on him, Lilah. Think about it. You were just a kid when he went away. I know you guys were thick as thieves, but you are two different people now. I don’t want to see either one of you getting hurt.Especiallyyou.”
Now I really am panicking. “You think Ringer will hurt me?”
“I think with the way you feel about him, he’s more than capable.”
“But you think hewillhurt me?”
“I hope he proves me wrong, Lilah. I don’t want to be forced into picking sides because you know who I’ll have to pick.”
“So that’s why you’re so upset? Because you know he’s going to fuck up?”
Ghost shrugs, and for the first time in my life, I feel anger at him.
“I think you aren’t giving him enough credit. If he hurts me, so what. That won't change the fact that I’m a part of this family. If Ringer hurts me, I will give you the full satisfaction of telling me you told me so, but I’m going to laugh in your face when it doesn’t happen.”
His eyes squint, probably because I’ve never spoken to him the way I just did. I’ve never raised my voice. I’ve never had to.
I push off the chair and turn towards him, steeling my spine. I lean down, squeezing him in a bear hug, and pinch his ear. “I love you, Ghost. But do me a favor? Unless I come to you for help, stay the fuck out of our marriage.”
I pull back and nod in satisfaction when Ghost’s shoulders shake with his laughter. “Love you too, kid. For all that it’s worth, I think you’ll make him happy.”
“I sure as shit hope so.”
fourteen
Ringer
“Fuck, Lilah, pick up your fuckin’phone,” I growl, listening to her ringback.
This afternoon, we were all gathered around one of the current projects taking up space at Dad’s garage when Horse left to go eat lunch with his wife. This led me to the idea of heading to the bakery to see if Lilah possibly wanted to grab something to eat with me.
I didn’t realize until after I left the diner with her that I had left my phone at the garage. We left in different directions, her to go back to the bakery and me to my bike.
When I got back to the garage and realized that the only ones that were left there were guys that weren’t a part of the club, dread immediately pooled in my gut.
If I had been paying better attention, I would’ve noticed that fuckwad Beau’s facial expressions changed when I walked up to the open bay. An older guy that my dad has known longer than I’ve been alive, Gus, meets me at the entrance.
“Ring, your dad and the guys all left and headed toward the hospital twenty minutes ago.”
“The hospital? What happened?” I start searching for my phone and find it lying against the workbench I was using.
When I flip the device over, the screen lights up, and I notice all of the missed calls and texts. Panic sets in.
I hit the latest call, who happens to be my brother, and press it to my face.
I nod back to Gus, taking off in a jog towards my bike, waiting for Ghost to answer.
“Ring,” Ghost answers, sounding out of breath. “Where the fuck are you?”
“I’m on my way. I forgot my phone at the shop. Is it Dad?” The thought of something happening to my pops has me feeling murderous. I just got my family back, and I can’t fucking lose them now.
“No, Dad’s fine. It’s Horse.”
“I’m on my way.”
I don’t wait for an explanation. I hang up the phone and take off towards the city.
The events of this morning have led to me pacing in front of the hospital, trying desperately to get ahold of Lilah.
