AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sighing, I shrug. “Because it comes and goes. It’s particularly bad at the moment. It has flared because I jarred it trying to help Lani reach for something in the kitchen, twisted it the wrong way, and bam, out she went. Lani got what she needed, which is good because cooking keeps her happy and her mind off her recovery.”
Maxxy nods. “Yeah, those burns were shocking, poor thing, but she’s doing better, right?”
“Yeah… Grit takes good care of her.”
“So… I’m gonna be nosey and just ask… what put your back out in the first place?”
I stop walking and stretch a little before staring off into the distance. “It was a long time ago before I joined the club…” I hesitate, the memory a bitter pill to swallow.
Maxxy gnaws on her bottom lip. “Sorry, you don’t have to tell me…”
I feel like we’re having a moment, and despite how it may look between us, I do like Maxxy and want to get to know her better. Maybe my opening up is a way for that to happen.
“I was stabbed in the back while at work one night. It’s left me with nerve damage that can flare up without warning.”
Her eyes widen. She seems genuinely shocked and jerks her head back. “Wait! Where you worked? Wheredidyou work?”
I tense but decide if I have opened up this much, I may as well tell her everything. “I went to LSU Med School. In my third year, I was stabbed on shift by a psych patient, and it’s gotten worse from there.”
She furrows her brows. “It got worse than being stabbed?”
“So much worse… I got addicted to the pain meds, and when the prescription kind wasn’t getting me through the grueling hours of med school, I let my addiction take over, and I began doing some pretty stupid shit. I started stealing fentanyl from the hospital to dose myself and would replace it with saline. It started with just a dose here and there to get me through my shifts. But… toward the end, when I got caught, it was easy to see I was high on the shit…” She doesn’t say anything, just reaches out, patting my arm for support as I continue, “Needless to say, I lost any chance at being a doctor, and I was sentenced to forty-four months and served a parole of twelve months with a good behavior bond.”
Maxxy’s eyes are wide as she stares at me. “Shit, I had no idea.”
“That I’m an ex-junkie or an ex-con?”
She snorts out a laugh. “Both, I guess. So you walk around with nerve pain and can’t take painkillers for it?”
I shake my head. “Nothing. Sometimes having a beer can take the edge off, but I try not to drink too much either.”
She lets out a long exhale. “There’s like this whole other side to you I knew nothing about.”
“Guess I’m not always so open about that shit. Not everyone knows.”
She reaches out, placing her hand on my arm, and instantly a fire ignites inside me. A warmth radiates through my very soul while my skin tingles at her touch. My eyes widen with the shock of the sensation as her intense ice-blue eyes meet mine. “Thank you for trusting me with that information.”
I roll my shoulders, uneasy with the feeling washing over me, and glance back at the car. “We should get back on the road. Don’t want to keep Cain waiting.”
She nods, and we make our way into the car.
The drive to Baton Rouge is quiet, but soon we are pulling up at the warehouse, and she turns off the ignition. There’s a hint of a storm rolling in as dark gray clouds loom overhead. Two soldiers relax under an awning of a giant warehouse, wearing bomber jackets and black slacks. Their shoes are shined so much that the few drops of rain that hit them slide off with ease from all the polish.
I look at Maxxy, and she rolls her eyes. “God, could this place be any more uptight?”
“The asshole on the left looks like he’s about to murder me,” I state.
“We can only dream,” Maxxy teases as she jumps out of the car.
Scowling, I follow her and lock eyes with the guy who most definitely wants to kill me. The soldier’s arms are crossed over his chest in some sort of defiant gesture as he frowns at the world. I guess standing at a door in freezing weather doing nothing for hours on end would probably make me want to stab someone too.
“Don’t forget, Max, letmedo the talking.”
She rolls her eyes. “Sure! Unless that guy does actually kill you first.”
I place my hand on her lower back, and we walk over to the two soldiers at the entrance of the building. The less murderous one raises his chin to me. “No ring, no entry.”
My hands move to either side of my cut as I stand taller. “Cain is expecting us… we’re from Defiance MC.”
