Page 3 of Best Laid Plans

She holds me through it all, offering me support in the only way she can right now. By the time I’m done, my eyes are swollen, and my face feels puffy, but Nevaeh smiles and tucks my hair behind my ear. “I’m gonna talk now, and you’re going to listen, okay?”

I swallow and nod, keeping my eyes off the guys who have moved closer.

She takes both my hands in hers. “When the doctor gives us the all-clear, you’re coming back home with us, where you will rest up further. I know we have a lot to talk about, but right now, you need to focus on healing.”

“It’s not safe, Nevaeh,” I whisper.

“There is safety in numbers, Lil. You’re lying in a hospital bed because you nearly died. Do you think you’re safer on your own than you are under the wing of the Raven Souls?”

“It’s not my safety I’m worried about. Don’t you see that? I don’t matter. I don’t want any of you getting hurt because of me.”

A look of pain crosses her face, but before I can ask her about it, Powers jumps in. “Don’t you say that shit. Do you hear me? You do matter. You matter to the club. You matter to me.”

That steals my words completely. The weight of everything has been so much to carry that I’d love nothing more than to hand it off to someone else, even if it were just for a little while. But I can’t.

When Havoc moves in close, I flinch, making him sigh. “I’m not gonna hurt you, Lil.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” I whisper, embarrassed by my reaction.

“We have a lot to talk about. There’s no getting around that. But for now, I know enough⁠—”

“You know nothing,” I admit, waiting for him to lash out at me.

“I know my old lady adores you—all the old ladies do. I know the brothers have been worried sick, searching high and fucking low for you. I know Kruger wants to equal parts wring your neck and hug the shit out of you.”

I choke out a laugh even though guilt weighs on me. Kruger and I had grown close, even more so when he found himself on Lil duty. Though I’ve slept with him in the past, our relationship eventually drifted into more of a sibling sort of thing, meaning we didn’t look at each other that way anymore. And thank god for that, with Delphi being back.

“I’ll concede, there is a lot we don’t know. There is a lot you don’t know either, but this is neither the time nor the place. You’re coming home, and that’s the end of it.”

“I never thought I’d miss being bossed around.” I sigh, rubbing my tired eyes. “I don’t think you understand the trouble I’ll be bringing to your door. I left so it would follow me and leave you all in peace.”

“But it didn’t follow you, Lil. It stayed,” Nevaeh says so softly that it takes me a minute for her words to penetrate. When they do, horror freezes me in place.

I shake my head in denial, which almost has me passing out in pain. “No.”

“As I said, this isn’t the time or place, but I think it’s safe to say your plan isn’t working. Running is no longer an option. It’s time to put our heads together and fight back,” Havoc tells me. I know from the tight set of his jaw that he won’t take no for an answer.

I give in and sigh. They’re either going to see the wisdom of my actions and send me packing, or I can sneak away again.