Page 88 of Senseless
“Hey, baby girl,” I said to the quickly approaching footsteps, and drew in a sharp breath when Mari’s beautiful face hovered over me.
“What happened, did you crash?” She touched a hand to my forehead, the other moving swiftly over my abdomen, then arms and legs.
“Did you hear it too?” I reached up with one hand to touch the drying blood on her ear.
“The laughter? Yeah, that was nuts. But we’ll worry about that later, let me make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine,” I insisted, hardly daring to blink in the off-chance she was a mirage, or my head trauma making me hallucinate.
Mari looked the same, but something had changed. Maybe her cheekbones were a little more prominent like she’d lost weight. Her mouth seemed to be pressed a little tighter as she examined me for injuries. Her eyes were definitely sharper, harder. More ruthless. I’d find out eventually what happened, but for now, all that mattered was that my girl was back.
“I’m fine, baby girl, really.” My fingers rested on her cheek, thumb trailing over her lips to her chin, turning her face so she’d look at me.
Mari’s gaze stole my breath, lower lip wobbling and sharp, ruthless eyes filled with unspilled tears. “Gun…” She reached for my face with a shaking hand, pushing my hair back and touching her fingertips to the trail of blood under my ear.
“Fuck, it’s so good to see you.” I pressed up, leaning into her without thinking. The moment I remembered and halted, she closed the distance herself, slamming her lips to mine with a ferocity that released just as much pent-up longing as I’d been holding onto for weeks.
More elation and relief filled me as my mouth clumsily, desperately sought out her taste. I’d been starved, wasting away to a husk, and she breathed precious life back into me. I almost thought I was flying again but I was here, right here with her.
“I love you,” I said between desperate sips of air. “Fuck, I’m so sorry. About everything.”
Mari pulled away slowly, her head turning toward the man behind her. Shadow looked just as I remembered, massive and imposing as he stood guard on the side of the road. With Mari’s help, I climbed gingerly to my feet and walked over to him without another word spoken.
Shadow stopped looking down the length of the road and regarded me with a blank expression, like he always did.
“Hey Shadow. I’m sorry.” He didn’t look eager to shake hands, so I stuck my hands in my cut pockets. “Reaper made the wrong call, and I was wrong to follow his lead. Emotions were running high and we were all panicking, but that’s no excuse. You’re one of us. You belong with the Steel Demons and we should have treated you fairly, brother.”
A sigh deflated my chest. I had imagined what I would say to Shadow if I ever saw him again, but it all went out the window. I could only speak to what I honestly felt.
“We made a bunch of bad decisions that hurt both you and Mari. This whole thing was one-hundred percent our fault. I can’t speak for Reaper, but I am so incredibly sorry. If it comes to a vote, you have my word that I will advocate for your return.” I swallowed. “If that’s what you want.”
Shadow’s expression didn’t change as I spoke, but his eyes flicked to Mari when I was done. I didn’t dare peek behind me at what she was doing, but Shadow’s hand stretched out in front of us a moment later.
“It’s forgiven,” he said quietly. “I accept your apology, Gunner.”
A breath whooshed out of me as I clapped my hand firmly to his. “Thank you. Welcome back, brother.”
Twenty-Seven
MARIPOSA
Ialmost didn’t let Gunner drive himself into town. That crazy laughing, combined with the ear bleeding, meant some serious damage had been done to the inner ear. Shadow and I felt fine, but it could have affected everyone differently. Only when Gunner demonstrated to me that he didn’t have vertigo or other symptoms did I allow him to get back on his bike.
“Ride straight to the hospital,” I told him, climbing on behind Shadow. “We’ll meet you there.”
“Damn, I love hearing you boss me around again.” Gunner grinned before his lips twitched and went serious again. “Should I let Jandro and Reap know you’re back?”
I hesitated before answering, locking my hands together on Shadow’s stomach as I rested my head on his back.
“Just head straight to the hospital so we can all get checked out,” I repeated. “I’ll see them at home.”
Gunner jerked his head down in a nod and took off, his engine roaring.
Shadow squeezed my hands once before starting up his bike. “Are you nervous about seeing them?”
I didn’t want to be. It didn’t seem like there was a reason to be nervous.Reaper should be nervous to seeme, for fuck’s sake.
“A little,” I admitted, my lips against the back of Shadow’s shoulder. “I just…don’t know how they’re gonna react.”
