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She didn’t come to me, though. She only rifled through her bloody clothes piled on the floor. Next to the pile was a chair with my now clean cut. She had washed it and hung it nicely to dry but ignored her own soiled belongings. Did she want to leave the items behind to forget Lorenzo, or did she simply not believe she was worth clean clothes?
As if merely having a normal conversation, Pops told Elle, “Girly-Girl, you’re not using my boy for an escape. You already had one planned out, via pills. Let’s get down to what is really bothering you.” He gestured to the nightstand, where a kitchen knife was now lying next to the gun.
My brows bunched. “Where’d that come from?”
Dagger calmly stated, “She swiped it from the kitchen a couple of hours ago.”
Her nostrils flared. “You were spying on me?”
Dagger readjusted his stance, still casually leaning. “Nope. Me and two Souls had taken the first watch. So, I ‘watched’ you tiptoe into the kitchen.”
Vice’s jaw unhinged. He appeared so sad for her. “Elle, we won’t let anything happen to you—”
Pops touched his shoulder, silencing him, then said, “Enforcer, to properly protect, you have to sometimes see beyond a simple action and ask yourself the why of it.” Observing Elle, he asked Vice, “This woman wanted to end her life, so why is she now working so hard to protect it?”
Understanding a valuable lesson was taking place, Vice quietly stood there, his perplexed eyes making it clear his mind was racing. He studied Elle, then the nightstand… then his eyes, now full of awareness, lifted to me. “She’s not.”
“Stop it,” growled Elle to my father. “No more of your psychoanalyzing.”
Staring at the knife, I tried to comprehend what Pops was insinuating while he asked me, “My boy, how many were transporting you when you took a chance to fight back last night?”
I was shocked he was asking. That was club business, and there was a non-patched member in the room: Elle.
Slowly, realizing Pops was taking my feelings for Elle very seriously, I looked up to see him staring at her. I now knew what he wanted me to do, but I felt nervous about revealing a certain side of me. I couldn’t imagine her thinking highly of Lorenzo for his cruelty. Would she think the same of me?
“Six,” I solemnly replied.
Pops’ nostrils flared as he tried to rein in the fury he was experiencing for someone almost killing his son. “And how many of the six still breathe?”
I had delivered death… “None,” I quietly confessed.
As Elle gasped, grabbing her chest, Pops declared, “He does need you, Elle, but not when it comes to fighting the enemy. That’s where some of his skills shine.”
Wait… My girl was trying to protect me?
Pops grinned at me. “The rest of him needs a woman like a fish needs water.”
Brow raised, I retaliated with, “Something you know first-hand, Pops?”
“Too late for me, Pup, but you still have a chance at Heaven on Earth.” Then, dismissively, Pops told Elle, “If you can’t find the deadly part of my boy ‘beautiful,’ too, then you definitely don’t want to stick around, because the Stallion on that bed will always defend the innocent.”
Her breath catching, because she had once been one of those innocents, she held her chest as her eyes filled with emotion. Then, as if no longer able to restrain those emotions, a cry broke free. “Lorenzo will come, Legend.”
Without delay, he said, “I’m counting on it.”
She fought sobs. “He’s… He’s… vile.”
“Then he’s met his match.”
She shook her head. “No. You’re kind. Da… he—”
“Never deserved you to begin with,” Pops insisted.
Her shoulders caved as she wiped tears, not denying his statement.
Pops gritted out, “It’s time to fight for your freedom, Elle, but we don’t force that shit. This, what I’m offering you right now, is a formal invitation to join my family. What you choose is up to you.” He turned toward the bedroom door. “Either way, it’s time to ride.”
Instead of loving being given another choice or being in awe of such an exceptional offer, because she probably was clueless of the rarity, Elle blinked and her jaw locked. “You don’t truly expect Lynx to get on a motorcycle in this condition?”
