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I couldn’t bear to lie to Lyla any longer, and I couldn’t risk losing her for good either. So I told myself that ending things with Holly was the only choice. I barely knew her. Maybe I even thought I loved her, but it was just infatuation. I loved the thrill of sneaking around with her, being with her, knowing I shouldn’t.
I never deserved Holly. Never would deserve her. Telling myself over those weeks we dated that I could imagine a future with her was idiotic.
I deserve to be alone and miserable for the rest of my life after losing Christine. She was my one chance at happiness, and I ruined it. Ruined her. My failure to protect her, to keep her safe from herself, left Laurel and Lyla without a mother. There’s nothing I could ever do to make up for that loss.
“Hey, stranger,” a feminine voice says. I remove the reading glasses I fucking loathe to glance up from the month’s collection list. Leaning a curvy hip against the doorframe is one of our longtime clients. Gina’s wearing more clothes than I’ve ever seen on her, thanks to the cooling weather. Still, her leather pants look painted on, and her sweater is two sizes too small to better reveal her stomach and most of her tits.
“You’re five days late. Do I need to get you a fucking calendar?” I snap at her. All of the businesses we provide protection for pay up on the first of the month. That’s how it’s always been since I first patched in. Our guys go by and pick up payments, but Gina was MIA last week. Of course, none of her girls at the house had seen her either.
Strolling up to my desk in her sky-high heels, hips swaying, she says, “Time snuck up on me. It won’t happen again.” She tosses the sealed white envelope on the desk, and I slip my glasses back on to keep working.
“You look like you could use a little stress relief. I haven’t seen you in months.”
“I’m good,” I tell her without lifting my eyes. Instead of leaving, she comes around and perches on the corner of my desk.
“Are you sure? We could work out all your frustrations right here,” Gina says as she pats the desk.
“Money so tight you gotta beg me to fuck you?”
“No!”
Glancing up at her again, I say, “Good, because I’m done. We’re done.”
“You’ll cave and call again, Isaac. We both know it.”
“I won’t,” I assure her, knowing it’s the god’s honest truth. Just thinking about being with anyone but Holly makes me want to puke my fucking guts out. I can’t even get off to porn anymore.
“Isaac!” Thane says as he busts into my office. “Sorry to interrupt, but we need to talk, to call a meeting tonight.”
“We’re done here,” I tell Gina, who sighs but stands up and walks to the door. “And I was just getting ready to leave,” I tell Thane as I throw my reading glasses down on the desk and push my chair back to stand up.
“No. We have to call an emergency meeting right now!”
I finally take a closer look at the kid as Gina leaves. His chest is heaving like he ran here, and his face is…well, fuck.
“This better be damn important,” I warn him, even though I know he wouldn’t ask for an emergency meeting without a good reason. “Put out the call,” I order with a sigh before I sit my ass back down.
* * *
Thirty minutes later and we’re all sitting around the table, none of us looking happy about being called in so late.
“So? What’s this about?” I ask Thane, bracing myself for the worst.
“The Savage Kings are pissed about me kidnapping their prospect,” he says. “So pissed that the mother chapter voted on retaliation.”
“Fuck,” I mutter. That exact same word echoes all around the table. “How do you know?” I ask him.
“Ah, well.” Thane glances down at his hands in his lap, then finally raises the left one, showing us the blue-and-black band on his finger. “My husband told me.”
“Husband? What the…? Holy shit!”
“You married a fucking Savage King?” I snap at him, not caring that he’s with another man but that he’s with a threat to our club.
“Your daughter is living with one, Isaac!” Thane huffs.
All eyes turn to me, questions already forming on their lips. “It wasn’t anyone’s goddamn business!”
“You should’ve told us,” Hank remarks.
