Page 9

Waverly

G IO ARRIVED ON Monday morning with Connor, and a giant bruise on his left cheek.

“Do you need me to stick around?” Connor asked.

“I think we’ve got this,” I said, smiling. “We’ll be about forty-five minutes if you want to grab a coffee and come back.”

“Sounds good,” Connor said. “See you later.”

I wheeled Gio back to one of the treatment offices and closed the door. “What happened to your face?”

“I fell.”

“Oh yeah?” I cupped his chin and lifted his face. “On someone’s fist? ”

He sighed.

“What happened, Gio?” I pressed.

“It wasn’t my finest hour,” he admitted.

“How about you tell me anyway?”

“I kind of snapped at Katie and made her cry, and her brother got pissed.”

“So, he hit you?”

“It was deserved,” he said.

“You can’t solve your issues with violence,” I said. “That’s really not cool.”

“Yeah, well, I can’t continue to be a dick to my friend and then apologize thinking she’s just going to keep forgiving me. That’s really the thing that’s not cool.”

I bit my lip. “That’s also very true. What does Katie say about all of this?”

“I don’t know,” he grumbled. “She’s currently not talkin’ to me.”

“Ouch.” I sat on the stool facing him. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s my fault. I fucked up. I gotta own it and figure out a way to fix it.”

“Does she have a favorite spa?”

“Like, massage and shit?”

“Yeah, like massage and shit,” I parroted.

“I have no idea.”

“Can you find out?”

“Possibly,” he said.

“Then, I would find out and buy her a spa day. Maybe buy her and her best friend a spa day.”

He sat up a little straighter. “That’s a really good idea, beautiful.”

I grinned. “I know. ”

“It’s probably going to take more than that, though.”

“It’s a start, right?”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “It’s a start.”

“Okay, let’s get to work.”

“Fuck,” he breathed out. “I really wanna kiss you right now.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“Ever?”

“Not at work, no.” I stood beside him and helped him remove his arm from his hoodie.

“You scared me for a minute there.”

“Gio,” I warned.

“Yeah, yeah, professional, I know.”

“What’s going on with your leg?” I asked as I started to do range of motion stretches on his shoulder.

“I go in tomorrow for another x-ray. I guess they take off the cast, x-ray it, then cast me up again?”

“Yes. It’s kind of cool how they take off the cast and then reapply it. Your leg will look tiny compared to your other one. Be prepared.”

He laughed. “Yeah, Kate warned me.”

“Maybe you’ll be able to put some weight on it with your walker. Then the real fun begins.”

“I just want out of this fuckin’ chair,” he hissed.

“I know.” I smiled. “You will be. Just don’t rush it. You don’t want to do any further damage to it.”

“Workin’ on it.”

“Why’d you make Katie cry?”

“According to Maisie, I have both anger and entitlement issues. ”

“Ooph, she said that?”

“She sure did.”

“And do you?”

He sighed, taking my hand with his good one and pulling me to face him. “I do.”

“I’m not done with your shoulder.”

“Sit down, baby. I need to talk to you.”

I took my seat again and waited for him to speak.

“Something I didn’t tell you about my dad is that he was murdered.”

I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands. “Oh my god.”

“I watched it happen.”

I bit back tears. “When you were ten?”

He nodded. “And you’re only the second person in my life that knows that.”

“Your mom?”

“No, Connor.”

“Your mom doesn’t know?”

He shook his head. “Mom and Dad had gone to the little strip mall to pick up our Christmas gifts, and we were told to stay home. But I was a nosey little kid, so when Angelica wasn’t looking, I’d hopped on my bike and pedaled my ass up to the store to see if I could snatch a peek. I was dying to know if they were going to buy me this limited-edition graphic novel omnibus I’d been eyeing, and rather than just waiting to open it on Christmas day, I’d decided to do some recon. What I saw instead, was some guy beating the shit out of a woman and when my dad stepped in, this guy stabbed him.”

“God!” I rasped, tears streaming down my face .

“My mom screamed for help as he bled out on the pavement, and I bolted. Just pedaled as fast as I could back home. Angelica didn’t even realize I’d left. And of course, that began the guilt of everything I wish I could have done, should have done.”

“You were a child. ”

“I know, but back then, with a child’s brain, I just kept everything to myself and slowly went crazy. Until I met Connor. He saved my life. But I have... issues. Some I haven’t fully dealt with. And it comes out when I least expect it, and unfortunately, the people I care the most about get the brunt of it.”

“Well, I think you need to tell your mom all of this, and I certainly think you need to tell Katie. But your mom deserves to know the truth first.”

He sighed. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“I’m so sorry you went through all of that.”

“It was a long time ago, I just wanted you to understand why this”—he pointed to his cheek—“happened for a reason. It wasn’t out of the blue and it was deserved.”

“What could you have possibly done to deserve that?”

“Baby, if someone made you cry, for any reason, I’d have done the same thing. And believe me, I wasn’t nice to Kate. I was a dick. I’ve been takin’ her for granted, and she’s been drivin’ me around, being sweet and takin’ time out of her day to do it, and I was not giving her the same kindness, so I fuckin’ deserved it. Probably more.”

I pressed my lips into a thin line, then let out a deep breath. “Well, then maybe you should buy her a spa weekend retreat.”

He chuckled. “Yeah.”

“Let me finish working your shoulder because Connor’s going to be back soon.”

He nodded, and we went back to his therapy.

* * *

Razor

The next day, Angelica was the one driving me to my x-ray, and she was all kinds of amped up.

“Thanks for doing this, cucciolotta ,” I said once I was buckled in.

“Happy to help, fratellino ,” she said, then raised an eyebrow. “Wait, why are you being sweet?”

“It has been brought to my attention that I haven’t been treating my family kindly of late, and I’m trying to make amends.”

“Oh yeah? Who told you that?”

“Maisie.”

“Oh my god, really?” she breathed out as she drove toward the clinic. “You got chewed out by sweet, delicate, gentle Maisie?”

“I got punched in the face by Flea, then chewed out by sweet, delicate, gentle Maisie.”

She gasped. “Flea punched you?”

“He did.”

“Why?”

“If you must know, I made Katie cry.”

She reached over and shoved her fingers into the bruise on my jaw.

“Ow! What the fuck? ”

“That’s for making Katie cry, asshole.”

I rubbed the spot she’d just abused and sighed. “Okay, fair.”

“Jesus, that’s so not cool.”

“I know. I need to make it up to her somehow. Maybe a spa weekend or something.”

“That’s actually a really good idea. I know just the place.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. I’ll send you the details,” she promised, pulling into an open parking space.

After helping me into the wheelchair, she guided me inside and we waited for the x-ray tech to take me back.

* * *

One week later, after getting the all-clear from the surgeon to start putting weight on my leg, and after sending Katie the gift certificate for the spa weekend, she finally took my phone call.

“Hey, sweetheart.”

“Hey.”

“I’m so fuckin’ sorry,” I breathed out.

“Yes, so your note said with the spa certificate,” she said. “Thank you for that, by the way.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I have a really busy day, Razor, so can I help you with something?” she asked.

“No, I just wanted to apologize and see if you wanted to swing by tonight for dinner. Maisie’s askin’ and I told her I’d call you because I wanted to hear your voice and apologize. Again. And I’ll keep apologizing until I can get my arms around you and see your face when you accept it.”

“Did Flea really punch you?”

“Yep. Still have the bruise.”

“Sorry he did that, buddy.”

“I deserved it, sweetheart. I’ve been treating you like shit and you don’t deserve it.”

“Well, that’s true, but he shouldn’t have hit you.”

“I needed to pull my head out of my ass. Obviously,” I countered.

“Tell Maisie I’d love to come for dinner.”

“Okay, great. Six?”

“Six is perfect.”

“See you then.”

“Okay, Razor. Bye.”

We rang off and I smiled, feeling like the weight of the world was finally starting to lift off my shoulders.

Katie arrived just before six, walking back to the family room and immediately hugging me. “Hey, buddy.”

I wrapped my good arm around her and kissed her cheek. “Hey yourself.”

She leaned back and cupped my chin, frowning. “Ouch. Billy got ya, huh?”

“He’s got a mean right hook, your brother.”

“Yeah. You’re lucky he didn’t shoot you. He doesn’t miss with guns or fists.”

I sighed. “I’m aware.”

“I’m going to help Maisie.”

“Maisie’s got it handled,” she countered. “You two visit.”

Katie grinned. “You tell me if that changes.”

“I will, love.”

Katie looked back at me. “You want a beer?”

“Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks.”

“What did the doctor say about the leg?” she asked as she made her way to the fridge.

“Some pressure is okay. Using the walker a few minutes a day.”

“That’s great.” She handed me the beer and smiled. “Hurts though, huh?”

“Like a mother fucker.”

“Well, it’s been one day.” She sat on the sofa next to me. “It might get a little bit worse before it gets better.”

“I know. I just want out of the chair permanently.”

“Have you told Waverly about the club yet?”

“Fuck,” I hissed. “No.”

“How come?”

“She’ll bolt if I do.”

“Razor, you’re not giving her much credit.”

I sighed. “She was drugged and gang raped by a couple of Supreme Riders.”

“Wait, aren’t they that Aryan club?” she asked.

I nodded.

“Jesus,” she hissed. “She’s amazing.”

“Yeah, she is. But she’s been very clear about her opinion on bikers, nearly cutting off her best friend because she fell in love with a Howler.”

“Shit, seriously? Which one? Was it Rocky? God, Rocky’s so hot. ”

“I don’t know.” I raised an eyebrow. “Does Flea know you talk like this about Rocky?”

“Flea doesn’t know everything about me,” she said. “And he doesn’t need to know everything, right?”

“Not my business.”

“Correct answer.” She cocked her head. “So, why are you telling me about Waverly? You don’t normally gossip.”

I frowned. “You think I’m gossiping?”

“No, that’s why I’m asking. This is something big. Something she probably doesn’t tell many people, so you would hold her confidence.”

I sighed. “I have a feeling that if and when this goes tits up, I’m going to need you.”

“You really think she’s going to bolt?”

I nodded.

“Razor.” She reached over and squeezed my arm. “You’ve got to tell her, obviously. Don’t let her find out on accident, then give her the chance to prove you wrong.”

“Yeah. I’ll do that as soon as my PT’s done.”

“ Or, maybe sooner?”

I shook my head. “I don’t want to risk it.”

“I thought I heard your voice,” Hatch said, walking into the room and leaning down to kiss Katie’s cheek. “How are you, sweetheart?”

“I’m good. How are you?”

He grinned. “Fan-fuckin-tastic, now that Razor’s pulled his head outta his ass.”

Katie laughed as I flipped him off.

“Katie, would you like some wine?” Maisie asked.

“Yes, please.”

The rest of dinner went off without any drama, or other visitors, and I recognized what a lucky son-of-a-bitch I was to have my friend back.