Page 20 of Spider
“Nope.Been waiting on you to ask.The liaison thing was all bullshit, just a way to keep you down there for Laken’s sake.You don’t need an excuse anymore.They’ve welcomed you into the fold.If you want to be a Dixie Reaper, I won’t stand in the way.”
He nodded.“I’ll think about it.”
“Got a place to stay?”I asked.
“I put my bag in the guest room before your wife found me wandering the house and lost her shit.”
“Probably scared her,” I said.“She doesn’t do well around strange men.”
Ryker stared at Luciana hard, and after a moment his gaze softened.The look he gave me was one full of understanding, and I wondered if he’d put the pieces together.With Sofia at the Dixie Reapers, I knew that he had to know about Mateo Gomez by this point.He gave me a nod and eased down onto a chair across the room.
“I won’t stay long, but I had to make sure you were all right.I can head out tomorrow if you’d like, but I promised Gabriel I’d have his grandpa call and talk to him.He’s worried.”
“I’ll call him in a bit.”My stomach rumbled and Luciana made a sound of distress.
“I forgot to make the soup!”She shot up off the couch, but I grabbed her hand.
“It’s fine.Teller can run grab something for everyone.There’s a café on the other end of town that has good soup.He can grab me something there, and maybe a sandwich.Just tell him what you want to eat.”
“I’m supposed to take care of you,” she said, her eyes welling with tears.“I’m failing as a wife.”
“No, you’re not.It’s been a long, stressful day for you.Sit and keep me company.”
She nodded and sat back down.After we all gave Teller our orders, he left and Ryker watched me and Luciana like he was trying to figure out a puzzle.I really did love my son, but I’d also been right when I called him a pain in my ass.He had been for as long as I could remember, but I was damn proud of him.He’d served his country, then came home and found a good woman and settled down.Even if he wasn’t here with me anymore, I knew he’d grown into a dependable man and a great father.It was all I could ask for.
Now I just had to hope I didn’t screw up the kid who hadn’t been born yet.The thought of fatherhood to a newborn in my sixties was damn terrifying.Luciana hadn’t said for certain she was keeping the kid, but the way she’d hesitated about me wanting to be a father again, I knew she was thinking about it.Or maybe she’d decided and just hadn’t come right out and said it yet.
My life was getting too fucking complicated.
Chapter Six
Luciana
When the man had knocked on the door, I’d been too scared to open it.Then he’d said that Spider was hurt and I’d thrown open the door, no longer caring if the man posed a threat to me.All I knew was that if Spider was injured, then I needed to get to him.At the clubhouse, I’d seen the massive amount of blood and I’d worried that he would die.He was still paler than usual, even though it had been five days since the shooting.His son, Ryker, had come and gone, and I couldn’t exactly say I was sad to see him leave.
Spider was still taking it easy, but that was mostly due to me fretting over him.The looks he’d cast my way clearly said he’d rather be up and handling club business, but I’d pulled the “worried pregnant woman” card and I wasn’t ashamed of it in the least.It hadn’t taken me long to learn that he would do what he could to protect me, even if it meant keeping me as stress free as possible.
“Maybe you should go see your sister,” Spider suggested as he flipped through the channels on the TV.
“Are you trying to get rid of me so you can sneak away to the clubhouse?”
He gave me a sideways glance.“Maybe.”
“Dread said you needed to rest and heal.What part of that is so difficult for you?”
“The part where the asshole club that shot me is still out there.The part where I have no fucking clue what to do about your father and need to meet with Casper to discuss it.The part where I can’t stand sitting on the fucking couch watching movies all Goddamn day.”
I folded my arms and stared at him with my lips pursed.“Is that all?”
He snorted, then chuckled, only to wince in pain.It proved my point that he wasn’t ready to dive back into things headfirst, but I knew he was a stubborn man.A proud man, not being able to handle everything was bothering him.He was a leader, but the kind who liked to get his hands dirty.I was learning that Spider would never ask one of his men to do something he himself wasn’t prepared to do, or that he hadn’t already done in the past.
“Is it so horrible?”I asked.
“What?Being shot?”
“Staying here with me all day,” I said softly.
His gaze locked on me and he reached out a hand, beckoning for me to come closer.I carefully sat next to him, not want to make him hurt more than he already did.Spider reached up and loosened my bun, wrapping the length of my hair around his fingers.I’d noticed he seemed fascinated with it, which was the only reason I hadn’t cut it off yet.
