I’ve always been the one to bring the fire when I’m mad.Valkyrie ...she’s pure ice.
“Everything good?”Pope asks, his eyes bouncing between us.
“All good,” Manic says, knocking his knuckles against the wall softly before walking out.
Pope grabs the packed duffel bags and slings them over his shoulders.“What was that all about?”
I lift a brow.“Now you want to talk?”
“Don’t start your fucking shit,” he mutters, turning to walk out of the room.
Don’t start my shit?
Oh, he did not just say that to me.
My fists clench as my temper spikes.Adrenaline rushes through my body at the way he dismisses me.
No.Never ...fucking ...again.
Chapter Thirty-Six
IknewIfuckedup the moment I uttered those words.She doesn’t deserve to be spoken to that way, and when we get to the house, I’ll apologize.
Everything that’s happened has my head a goddamn mess.Especially knowing that Frankie is my motherfucking brother.I can barely cope with that shit.How the hell do I expect her to?
I can’t lose her.Lose them.If I continue the way I’m going, that’s what’s going to happen.Hell, it’s not like I can blame her.
How do I finally open up to her about my childhood after so fucking long?Things I’ve never wanted to talk about before.Out of sight, out of mind shit.
My sleep has been awful since our return from New York.
The kids we saved were so fucked up, and it pulled me back to my younger years.Back to a time when I was them.I didn’t have anyone come to save me.Giving them that, being their savior, has helped heal a part of the kid I used to be.Therapy has never been my thing.Gavel knew shit was fucked-up when I arrived in Coral Cay and tried to get me to see one.It took one visit with the therapist for me to know it wasn’t for me.Opening up to a fucking stranger about the fact that my own parents passed me around to their church congregation as a fuck toy?No, thanks.I worked through it in a way that helped me more.
Lots and lots of fucking bloodshed.
Hacking up a piece of shit, feeling their life force soak your skin, watching their light fade ...fuck.Therapeutic as a motherfucker.
Now that my past has collided with Birdie’s present, it’s time to allow her to see the most shameful, broken pieces of me.
The ride back down to the house is quiet except for the twins chattering in the backseat.They love everyone at the club, but they’ve been itching to get back to their things.Back to their home.
Once I throw the SUV in park, they clamber out of the back and start running around the yard.I climb out and lean back against the body of the vehicle as I watch them run wild and free.
My body rocks with the vehicle as Birdie slams the passenger door and I wince at her show of anger.
Fuck.I’m in trouble.
Three of my brothers pull up to sit outside of the gates and I give them a nod for them to watch the kids while they’re out here playing.
They give me a two-finger salute, and I take off after my woman.She stops at the top of the stairs on the porch.
Perfect.
I barrel into her gently, shoving my shoulder into her stomach and toss her over my shoulder.It’s difficult getting the door unlocked and the alarm off as she beats against my back, but after smacking her ass in warning, I manage.
“Put me down right now, you fucking brute,” she snaps, punching my ass.
“Not yet.”
