Page 27 of Dutch

His admission hung in the air. I wanted to reach out to him, but I couldn't. One wrong move could send us in the wrong direction.

I swallowed hard, overtaken by emotion. "What limbo does that leave us in?"

Dutch reached for me, his hand touching my arm. "I wish I had all the answers, but what I do know is that I'm whole when I'm with you. You make me hopeful that there is more to life than surviving."

His words were like a sucker punch. I wanted to believe him so much it hurt. "Is that enough for you to walk away from everything?" I questioned.

Dutch's eyes were conflicted. "As much as I want to simply say yes, it's not just about me. The club depends on me, and there's danger."

"The club depends on you. That's just an excuse. I depend on you."

A smile tugged at his lips. "I can't pretend the club doesn't exist."

"Then what do we do? Because I need a different kind of hope. I'm not asking for promises."

Dutch moved closer. "This isn't for nothing. You matter to me regardless of what happens."

Tears pricked at my eyes, but I blinked them away. This was exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time. "You matter to me too, and that scares the hell out of me."

Dutch cupped my face and kissed my lips softly. "Me too, baby."

I stood there, taking him in, but moved because I needed space. "What now?" I hated how small I sounded.

"Can we take it one day at a time? I can't promise the moon, but I will damn sure try."

I nodded, and relief washed over me. It was a start. "All right, one day at a time."

Dutch headed to the shower, and soon, I heard the water running.

"Shit, shit." What the hell was I thinking? I pulled my locs away from my face.

I needed to get away and clear my head. Everything was pressing on me, that fucking video, Dutch, everything.

I headed to the bathroom. "I need to bounce. I have clients and a life to live. There was a pause before he turned off the water.

"I don't know if that's safe," he commented, grabbing a towel.

I rolled my eyes. "Just as you have duties to the MC, I have duties to the business I built. You, of all people, should understand that."

"Fine, but I will take you and pick you up. I want you in my bed at night."

I smiled. "All right, big man," I said, dropping the t-shirt I was wearing.

Dutch licked his lips."I thought you had to leave?"

"I'm just trying to get in the shower." I teased.

The wind whippedin my face as we rode away from the safe house. Prompted by Makari's earlier discussion, I imagined myself in a different life, something permanent. It felt foreign but oddly appealing.

As we pulled up to her shop, The Ink Spot, I couldn't help but admire how she'd made a life for herself. Makari slid off my bike, her locs swaying as she turned to face me.

"I'll hit you up when I'm almost finished with my last client. I can't give you an exact time since tattoos can be finicky, but it shouldn't be more than a few hours."

I nonchalantly nodded. "I have club business anyway, so no rush." As the words came out of my mind, I was trying to figure out how to keep her safe.

Makari quirked an eyebrow. Obviously, her bullshit detector was pinging. "Uh-huh, don't go fighting any wars while I'm inking up some stay-at-home mom."

I smirked at her sass. "Me? Starting a fight? I'm wounded."

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