Xanthe
I cryall the way back to the clubhouse, and when I get inside, Axel is waiting for me, his face red with anger. “What the fuck did I say to you?” he bellows, causing some of the other bikers to turn to see what the commotion is.
“I had to see him,” I cry. “He doesn’t even remember we’re a thing.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “Tell me you didn’t bombard him with information.”
“It’s not information. It’s memories. It’s our life.”
He steps closer, pointing a finger in my face. “You were only in his fucking life a couple months.”
“He still made me his old lady,” I yell angrily while swiping tears from my cheeks.
“And how did he react to your trip down memory lane?” he demands. Thinking of the way Fury dismissed me makes my heart hurt, and I stare down at the ground. “Exactly how I thought,” Axel adds. “The doctor told us we can’t fill in his blanks. Filling his head with memories he doesn’t have will set him back. You should know all this.”
Lexi moves closer, placing an arm around my shoulder. “Let’s go get a drink,” she says softly, leading me towards the kitchen.
Duchess looks up, and the second she sees I’m upset, she pulls out a chair for me to sit, then grabs a bottle of something and some glasses. She places them on the table, and I spy the bottle of whiskey Axel was asking about earlier, accusing some of the brothers of taking it. Lexi smirks. “We always take one for emergencies. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
I wipe my face on my sleeves as Duchess pours us each a finger of whiskey. “I just wanted to spark something in him,” I whisper.
“And did it?” asks Lexi, handing me a glass.
I take it gratefully and drink some, closing my eyes as it burns my throat. “Nope. He asked me to leave.”
“He was probably overwhelmed,” Duchess suggests. “Once he’s thought it over, he’ll want to speak to you.”
“What if he doesn’t?” I whisper, my voice breaking slightly. “We’ve only just found one another again, and now, he doesn’t even remember.”
“Then you have to make him,” says Lexi firmly.
“I tried that, and you saw how Axel reacted,” I mutter miserably.
“Fuck Axel,” she whispers in a hushed tone. “Soon, Fury will be home, and he’ll need a nurse.” She stares at me expectedly.
“Me?”
“Why not you?” she asks, shrugging.
“Because he sent me away, Lexi. I don’t think he’s gonna want me hanging around, especially now Jo’s here.”
Duchess scoffs. “Please, we all know you and Fury are meant to be, so, I agree, make him see you’re his one.”
I laylow for the next couple days. Axel is still pissed, even though Lexi convinced him the idea of me nursing Fury back to health is a good one. And today is the day he’s coming home. I’m not sure if I’m nervous because he rejected me or because I’ve got to nurse the man I love, knowing he doesn’t remember that he feels the same.
Axel fills the doorway to my room “We need to talk,” he says.
I sit up, bracing myself for more lectures. “I know I have to be professional,” I begin.
“It’s not that,” he says before I can finish. “The men just voted on this, meaning I can tell you some stuff that’s been happening.” I sit straighter, eager to know what he has to tell me. “But it stays between us, Xanthe. The other women can’t know. I don’t like the women involved in all this shit.” I nod in agreement.
Axel heads over to the window chair and sits. “We think you’re right about Ripper.”
“You do?”
“He’s avoiding us. We’ve asked to meet, but he always says he’s busy. That’s not normal for a club. If your President wants to see you, you ask when.”
“Do you think he knows more about the fight?”