Page 52

He’s right.

I need to force her. Again.

And I hope this time, it makes a difference.

LU

The last person I expect to see when I’m out on a shopping run is Aspen.

She looks so different from the last time I laid eyes on her, and my stomach twists as I take her in. Haze hasn’t been around the last few days, trying to help her sort out her life, yet here she is, standing in the parking lot and talking to a woman who is in a car with her window down. The woman looks familiar, and it takes me a few moments to realize who it is. I take a sneaky photo and then continue into the grocery store to get what I need. Blade is here with me on babysitting duty, but when his phone rings and he stops to chat, I continue on without him. What could happen in broad daylight surrounded by people?

“Lu, don’t run off like that again,” he rasps, gripping my upper arm in an iron grip. “You’re to stay with me at all times.”

“I’m fine,” I grumble, glancing up at him. There’s no doubt he’s handsome, with a mix of badass and nerdy with his glasses, not to mention the fact he’s usually in front of a screen or a book.

“And you’ll stay that way by following orders,” he grumbles, dropping his hand to my lower back. “Come on, let’s get what you need and get out of here.”

I lower my voice and step closer to him. “I actually just saw something interesting.”

“What?” he asks, his brow furrowing.

“You remember Pippa, Ora’s old neighbor?”

He nods. “She’s one of Isle of Insanity MC’s club girls.”

“Yeah, what is she doing talking with Haze’s sister?” I ask him, showing him the photo I just took.

“Fuck,” he snaps, narrowing his green eyes. “This is why you don’t run away from me. Something could have happened.”

“I could fight both of them and win,” I remind him.

“Not if Pippa calls up Insanity MC for backup. Think with your brain, not your ego,” he mutters, making me angry.

“My ego? I know how to fight. That’s not my ego talking.” I roll my eyes and step ahead of him, grabbing what I need for tonight’s barbecue.

Without Haze around, I have even more time on my hands. I had a few catering clients this week, so that kept me busy, and Ora and I had a movie night.

But I do miss Haze.

I know that makes me selfish, but we’re new, and I want him to at least be in our bed at night.

Suit keeps smirking at me every time I see him, so I’ve been purposely avoiding him. Doesn’t he have a courtroom or something to be in? I swore Ora told me that he’s usually hardly ever around.

Maybe the club members need to do more illegal things to keep him busy. I should tease them and ask them if they are turning into good boys now.

Blade gets a shopping cart and pushes it around while I load it up with everything. If someone told me one day I’d be living at and cooking for a biker clubhouse, I would have told them that they were crazy. But I have to admit, these men are growing on me. Yeah, they are rough around the edges, sometimes pretty vulgar and downright dirty, but they’d protect me with their lives, and I know that.

They are honorable men.

Most of them.

Okay, a few are a bit questionable.

Cough cough—Ghost and Angel.

Blade’s phone rings. “Yeah?” He pauses and looks at me. “Yeah, it was that bitch, Pippa, and Haze’s sister.” He nods his head. “Tell Haze not to let her out of his sight. Okay, bye.”

He pushes his glasses up on his nose, and a lock of his curly hair falls across his forehead. He has this whole Clark Kent vibe going for him, and if I wasn’t head over heels in love with Haze, yeah, I might have gone there. “You’re a hottie, you know that?”