Page 67 of The Deals We Make

It makes me homeless, but I know a place I can stay if I can just be brave enough to make that choice.

Ti will let me and, hopefully, be happy about it.

But I’m already getting the ache of parting. There is no way he is going to leave the Outlaws or his family. And I can’t up and move an entire company.

I feel like Melanie is the perfect solution to my worries about my mom.

But Ti. Vex…

There is no one I can hire to heal a broken heart.

I glance down at my phone in my hand, but don’t open the text message I received. I don’t want to know what the rest of the message said.

A piece of me thinks I should perhaps start distancing myself now. But if the danger I’m facing is real, I’ll feel better being away from Mom. And to be real, there isn’t a man I would trust more with my safety than Ti after what he told me.

After all, he gave up the life he had planned to keep me safe all those years ago.

But maybe I’m wrong to use him, in the event he has to do it all over again.

20

VEX

Getting into the truck makes me edgy.

I wish I could ride my bike, but it’s that rare time of year when there is so much snow kicking around that not even the most committed biker would be tempted to ride.

Niro, Bates, and Cat are in the truck in front of us.

Switch is sitting next to me in mine. Sophia had other business with Alessio and stayed on, with the commitment that Alessio would make sure she got back to Asbury Park safely.

Which is why my best friend is biting down the side of his nail as he stares mindlessly out of the window.

And as I watch the road unfurl ahead of us, I understand his vibe.

I didn’t like the way Calista slipped out this morning.

Kinda cheapened what happened between us. And it was also fucking unsafe.

I went back and watched the camera footage from Mom’s and saw her walk up her driveway, hands wrapped around herself. And I’m guessing it’s because I drove her to my house, so she didn’t have a hat, mitts, or a scarf to keep her warm.

“You headed to the clubhouse?” Switch asks.

“I can drop you there, but I’m not going in.”

“Why not?”

I glance over at my friend and decide I’m going to trust my gut and tell him everything, like I always used to. “Calista told me some shit about the club, tied to why I ended up joining. It’s making me rethink some stuff.”

“Shit. Tell me.”

Switch shifts so he’s facing me, and even though I have to keep my eyes on the road, I know my friend is listening. So, I tell him everything, including how Calista stayed last night and that I had the best fucking sex of my life before she left without a word.

The only part I leave out is that I’m worried Calista hacked Switch’s brother-in-law.

“That’s a lot of information to process,” Switch says. “I mean, if Calista wasn’t who she is to you, the club would likely do the same thing again, minus the whole assault part, if a vote was put forward about her hacking us. Club values haven’t changed. You fuck with one of us, you fuck with all of us. Fuck with the club, you meet the maker.”

“I know you’re right. But in all honesty, Calista hadn’t done anything wrong…yet. I know that feels like semantics, but she hadn’t. So, in context, the penalty she paid was too high. They could have given her a warning. And I know I was fucking naive, but I didn’t grow up around the club like you, Clutch, Halo, and King did. I thought it would be enough that I’d shored up the club. Didn’t realize they’d strong-arm me into staying for a year or that, in hindsight, they never would have let me go if I had decided I didn’t want to stay.”