I couldn’t go home after everything I had done. But when I overheard Stryker tell Alessia she could move down south with him, I lost it. My body sprang into action. All my self-pity washed away. My guilt may not ever go away. I’ll live with it. It is my cross to bear, not hers. My mission is to give her the things I never did before. To be the man I promised the last six years.
Snake isn’t the nicest guy in the club, not a funny guy, so when he hands me a beer with a smile, the alarm bells go off in my head that something is wrong.
“You doing okay, brother?” He almost has a sneer.
Popping the top off, I take a pull. “Everything is good. You?”
He nods a few times. “Yeah, things are just as I thought they were. It’s heating up in Reno, with the problem they are having, finding out who the rat is. It’s going to take some time, but secrets always have a way of coming out. Sooner or later.”
Snake found something out. What exactly, I can’t tell yet. “That, they do. It may not be as big a deal as everyone may think, though.”
“No, but usually, it is, or worse.” He taps his bottle to mine and saunters off to the group. Panic races across my mind. I need to get rid of her before anything can be found. Am I prepared for what could come next? Hell no. I’ve risked it all, and I’m itching to get out of this lunch at her parents’ house so I can go check on a few things.
I follow him back into the living room. Sliding in next to Alessia, I pick her hand up and kiss the top of it, then her ring finger, before setting her hand back onto my lap. Her mother, Cindy, watches us with hopeful eyes. “Please tell me I’m a lot closer to getting grandkids?” She brings her hands together at her chest as if she were praying.
Alessia shrugs a shoulder. “We talked about trying, and I think we will soon.”
My hand squeezes hers. “But first, her brand.” Which I need done as soon as possible, and an idea pops into mind. “Is Jazzy still doing ink?”
“Yeah . . . are you really in that big of a hurry?” Alessia turns and very accurately recognizes that it doesn’t sound like me.
Letting go of her hand, I raise my arm to pull her into me and croak in her ear, “I’ve wasted enough time with you. I’m not doing that anymore.”
Her hand holds my jaw, and she turns to me, placing a soft kiss on my lips. “I love you.” In return, I give her a quick peck to her nose.
Snake breaks the moment. “I hate to tell you two this, I just texted her, and she said she was booked solid for the next month. With her doing tattoos and now hair, she can’t for a bit.”
That was awfully convenient for him to do that. I am about to say I’ll call when Fuego interrupts, “We have stuff at the clubhouse to deal with, and we need to head out.” He gets up from his seat but stops and stares out the window. “What is Ashley doing here?”
All heads turn in her direction. I fight with my breathing to stay even and control my responses. My insides have screamed at me this whole day. Something was off, and I ignored it.
She rings the doorbell and Snake beats everyone there to welcome her inside. “Hey, Ashley, come inside. You remember my sister Alessia. Sorry I missed you at the barbeque she cooked for you when you got home.”
She hugs Snake, and when he closes the door, her gaze lands on us all. My arm protectively tightens around my wife. Ashley blinks and then holds a hand to her chest. “Where are my manners? I guess I was just stunned at the news and seeing everyone again.”
Fuego and Cindy welcome her into the house. Alessia rises from the couch to hug her, and Ashley scowls at me from over her shoulder. It is not possible to hate myself more than I do in this moment. It strikes me, seeing the two of them together, the mess I have made. She pulls back and the happy mask covers the ugliness that really hides beneath a shell. The fool I was, played easily into her hand. I am a piece of shit biker and Ashley proved it.
Alessia holds her at arm’s length. “Girl, you are looking good. Tell me you have a man waiting for you? You have grown up.” Her kind words of affection rip through my body like a dagger. I put my wife in the hands of a snake.
Between the two of us at this moment, I don’t know which is worse. I can’t watch the show and look away. The guilt is searing away at any conscience I have left. I am the one that is being burned. I cannot handle the fire I created.
“Oh, I thought I had a man, but it didn’t work out. I haven’t heard from him in a few days. I guess he’s not interested.”
If I could crawl out of here, I would. My ass is on fire with the hot seat I put myself in. “He sounds like an ass. You should come to the clubhouse. We can find you some company.” Alessia winks at her.
“We need to head out,” Fuego interrupts. “Stay and catch up with the girls.”
Snake stands at the door with a smirk on his face. If I can’t convince him nothing has happened, then I am screwed. Brothers or not, he will take his sister’s side over mine on this. I have no doubt. Snake got his name for a reason—smart as hell, and will strike after he’s pinned you into a corner when he needs to
