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“I went and got the shoes.” I cringed at the whine in my voice, but Adrienne nodded her approval.At least one of them seemed to be on my side.
“Peyton means everything to me.” It was the first thing I could think of.
“Pretty shitty way of showing it,” Jessen, who’d been a silent observer until then, said. “From my near perfect memory, you weren’t even in her life until a few weeks ago.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “The person who deserved my apology for being young and stupid got it. But so was she. We had no business together when she wasunder-fucking-age. And I needed time to grow up.” My voice got louder the more I spoke, my frustration bleeding into my words. “You don’t think ten years of not having her is enough punishment? I fucked up. And then I made the decision to be a man I was proud of, so I could deserve her when the time was right for us. I didn’t want to be someone she thought she had to fix.”
The room was quiet, all eyes on me. I’d stared down hardened bikers. Killed and tortured men. None of that compared to the six sets of eyes that never moved from me.
Izzy elbowed Jessen hard enough to make her wince. “Did you listen to what the man just said? He got his shit together on his own. Told you. Men don’t need their woman to play therapist,” she muttered.
“It’s not like you’ve been far,” Betty said, bringing the conversation back.
“We know everything about you,” Chris added. “When and where you were born, elementary school friends, bank accounts, women you’ve had in your bed.”
“Or a lack thereof,” Izzy mumbled.
I shrugged. I’d almost be disappointed if they didn’t have all that information about me. I liked that they were protective over Peyton. It showed they cared about her. If they’d considered me a threat, I wouldn’t have lived to have this conversation with them.
“I don’t care that you know all that. And shouldn’t you all like that I didn’t touch a woman that wasn’t Peyton in the past four years?”
Tyler tossed something at me, and I snatched it out of the air and looked down. What the fuck? Why had she given me a bullet? That’s when I saw that there was a word etched into the side. I brought it closer and nearly shit my pants. My fucking name was on the bullet. She had literally given me a bullet with my name written on it.
“You can keep that one. I have others,” she said, deadpan. “And if you hurt her, I’ll make sure each one goes into the most painful spots I can find.” I didn’t doubt for a second that she meant every word.
“We have to leave. Sometimes we’re gone for a month. Or two,” Jessen said. “What happens when you’re lonely and a club girl offers to ease your loneliness?”
“How much do you know about the club?” We worked together, but I didn’t know if they knew our way of life. I waited as each one shook their heads. “We don’t have club whores or sweetbutts or whatever weird name you want to come up with. That’s sex trafficking. Enslavement. Too many of us have had to live a life of servitude like that. We don’t and won’t ever do that. And we don’t cheat. It’s an unwritten law. You don’t do that to the woman who took you in, accepted your flaws and loves you. The men come to Redemption broken, needing a second chance. It’s the ultimate disrespect to mess with someone who isn’t our Old Lady.”
They sized me up, like they were deciding whether to believe me or not.
“I’m here because I wanted to have a truce. You’re her family, so it’d be easier if we got along, even if you don’t like me.” Would it be easier if they did? Sure. But I wasn’t going anywhere either way.
“Aww, look guys! He’s finally done it. His balls finally dropped.” Izzy clapped, celebrating like she’d won a prize.
“About damn time.” Jessen smiled. Everyone, save for Tyler, seemed thrilled.
What the hell had just happened?
“It was nice for you to try and be nice to us, but we don’t care,” Chris said. “If you’re what Peyton wants, we support her. But if she decides she wants you dead, we’ll help bury your body.” I could understand why Boomerang liked her. She had this… happiness that oozed out of her. He was a surly asshole on a good day. He needed a little sunshine.
“Thanks.” I nodded, hoping they were warming up to me. I didn’t want to be at odds with the people who Peyton cared about.
“Oh, and don’t worry. We hid that both you and Wolf invested in Bridge City and gave Betty the start-up capital to get us this place,” Izzy added.
“Prez let it slip that he was dropping cash for Betty and that Peyton was gonna work for her. She deserved the best place to work with the best equipment.” It was one of the easiest decisions I ever made. No way was I going to let Wolf be the only person to help give Peyton the life she deserved. Betty was more than happy to take my money and give Peyton everything she wanted.
When I left, I felt pretty damn good about what I’d accomplished. A few threats, a bullet with my name on it, and a promise to support Peyton. Not nearly as bad as I’d expected.
ChapterThirty-One
PEYTON
The couch was callingmy name. That and a cold compress for my eyes. Something that would hold back the headache blooming at the base of my skull. Food, definitely food.
I ran through what I knew was in my fridge as I pulled into my detached garage and cut the engine. All my energy seeped out of me when the car shut off. I had to get out, walk twenty feet to the door, go inside the house. My body was sluggish with exhaustion. The bags under my eyes were like weights.
I registered that Reaper’s bike and truck were parked in my garage, and some of my exhaustion lifted, replaced by excitement. He was in my home, waiting for me.
