“Rachel…” he said, a warning note in his voice.
“I’m not going to tell you, because you’ll slip into your caveman role and go attacking him. We werealltense. Tempers were flaring. It wasn’t a big deal. I handled it, and then Vienna told us all off. The point is, all I could think about at that moment was your safety. It took almost losing you to realise that I’d be devastated if you weren’t here. It’s never really something I thought about before. I just always assumed you would be haunting me for the rest of my life. It was a wake-up call to realise how fragile all of this is.”
“So, does that mean you’re staying?”
“About that…” I paused, sighing heavily. “It also reinforced what I already knew. This place, this life… it’s dangerous. For me, you, Bee… I don’t know if I want to stay around this sort of life.”
His arm tightened around my waist. “It wasn’t just a wakeup call for you. Trust me. I will never let anything happen to you, Rachel. I will keep you safe. You have my word on that.”
“But—”
“No. No buts. Please. I don’t want this to turn into an argument.”
“And I don’t want to be silenced and ignored because we can’t communicate properly.” I sat up and looked down at him, pulling the sheet up to cover my naked chest. “I’m not asking you to leave the club, Dante. I could never ask that of you. I know how much it means to you. But I am asking you to listen to me and really hear the words I’m saying. I have a bad feeling. Something is coming, and it’s going to devastate all of us. I just know it.”
“So, what is it you’re asking? If you don’t want me to leave the club, but you also don’t want to be around…”
“Maybe we could leave temporarily?” I asked, a small flicker of hope sparking in my stomach. I already knew the answer, I knew it was impossible, but I had to ask anyway.
He shook his head. “I can’t do that, and I think, deep down, you know that. I’m the vice president. I can’t leave whenever things get bad. What sort of leader would that make me?”
“But you admit that things are bad?”
“They’re… difficult. But listen, we’re prepared. We know this isn’t the end of it, especially with Macbeth still out there plotting away. I need to clear things with Crash before I can tell you anything, but with Macbeth under the protection of the Rough Riders, we have to be careful how we play this. We don’t want war with them any more than they want war with us, but it doesn’t mean it’s not an option.”
“And what will that mean for the club?” I asked, a frown deepening my brow.
“Hey,” he said, sitting up himself and resting his forehead against mine. “It’s not your job to worry about any of this.” He cupped my face and placed a gentle kiss against my lips. “Listen to me, Rachel. Don’t let any of this club business worry you. You are safe.”
“Okay, who are you, and what have you done with the real Dante?” I laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
“You must bring out the best in me.”
“Well, I don’t like it. I prefer the big, bad kidnapping wolf.”
“If you’re up for a bit of role play, I don’t mind staging another kidnap. Just say the word.” he grinned at me.
“I’m good, thanks. My wrists still hurt from being tied up the first time. Speaking of kidnapping, though, can I ask you a question about your motives without you biting my head off?”
“It depends on the question.”
“Nah, I’m not having that. It’s either a yes or a no. I just want to clear something up. Please, Dante.”
“Fine.”
“I just want to know why you did it. And yes,” I said quickly as he opened his mouth to interrupt. “I’ve heard all about wanting a mother for Bee, but that doesn’t make sense. You barely spend any time with Bee. Your mother has been raising her. Why did you need someone else?”
“You think I don’t spend much time with her?” He asked, his head pulling back as shock flared into his eyes.
“I don’t think either of us spends as much time with her as we should do. There’s been a lot going on, and it’s easier to keep her with your mother than risk her seeing or hearing things she shouldn’t. But I’m new here. This is your life all the time. You’re always busy, and when you take over as President, you’re going to be even busier.”
“So that sort of answers your own question. I’ve always wanted Bee to have a more permanent mother figure in her life. You were right when you lashed out at me and said it wasn’t fair for my mother to be raising her. It’s not and never has been. But itwasconvenient. It was never meant to be a forever thing. You know what time is like. It has a habit of flying by, and before you know it, years have passed in the blink of an eye. There was never any doubt that I’d have another old lady in the future, and I swore to myself I’d bring someone home to take on a motherly role for Bee. Someone who would be a good influence in her life, especially as I bring a lot of darkness and bad with me. I wanted my old lady to bring stability.”
“Wow, you must be really disappointed in me then.”
“Not even a little,” he said firmly. “You’re not what I expected at all, and yet I wouldn’t change a single thing. Even if you can start an argument in an empty room.”
I laughed at him and swatted his arm. “You want the same treatment as Hacksaw? Because these fists have got a few punches left in them tonight.”
