Page 12 of Badger
I felt Badger at my back as I stepped out into the sunlight.His bike was parked next to my dad’s SUV.Badger opened the passenger door for me, and I climbed inside, then buckled my seatbelt.After he shut the door, he stared at me through the window a moment before getting onto his bike.I hoped he wasn’t going to act like this all the time now.I wasn’t broken, and I wouldn’t break.
As my dad drove me home, I could hear Badger’s bike behind us, and he stayed close until we pulled into my driveway.Dad called the parole officer while we were in the car, but I only half listened.I was far more interested in watching the bike behind us through the side-view mirror.Badger stopped next to the SUV outside my house, and had my door open before I had unfastened my seatbelt.Gently, he reached in and lifted me, holding me close to his chest as he walked up the porch steps.My dad was beside us and pushed open the door to my house, but he didn’t enter.
“I’ll leave her in your capable hands.Your parole officer said to give him a call later today or tomorrow to reschedule,” Dad said.“I’ll have a Prospect come by in the next half hour to pick up that list of things you need.If you leave, give me a call.I’ll have someone else stay with Adalia.I don’t want her left alone for the next twenty-four hours.”
Badger nodded, then carried me into the living room.I heard the front door shut as he eased me down onto the couch.When he turned to leave, I reached out and grabbed his hand.We needed to talk, to figure out what was going on in his head.I didn’t like the version of Badger that I was seeing right now.
“Talk to me,” I said.“What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?”he asked.“I left you.Abandoned you with that asshole.You’re hurt because of me.”
“Colton, you didn’t do this to me.”
He snorted.“So now I’m Colton again.”
Was that what was bothering him?“I didn’t think you’d want me to call you that in front of my dad, or any other Devil’s Fury member.I was trying to be respectful and call you by the name you’d earned.”
He knelt by the couch and took my hand in his.“Sweet girl, no one has used the name Colton in a really long time.Not until you did last night.I like hearing my name.From you.Anyone else would get their ass kicked.But you’re not just anyone.”
“I don’t want you to treat me differently because of what happened today,” I said.“I’m still the woman you took to bed last night.”
“Last night, I’d decided I was going to leave, that we would just have the one night together.”His hand tightened on mine.“But this morning, I’d decided to stay.I’m not a good man, Adalia, never will be.I don’t deserve someone as sweet, or as good as you.”
“Shouldn’t that be my decision?”I asked.“If I think you’re good enough, isn’t that what matters?”
“You think I’m some sort of hero.I think I proved otherwise this morning,” he said.
“You proved that you’re human.”
His gaze softened as he looked at me, and I hoped that meant he would give us a chance.He might not think he was good enough, but I knew better.Badger was the only one I’d ever wanted, and being with him last night and this morning had been amazing.I wanted more time with him.Not just the intimate moments, but even sharing a meal together, or curling up on the couch to enjoy a movie.
“I should make that list so it’s ready when the Prospect comes by,” he said, releasing my hand.
“There’s paper in the kitchen.I have a tablet and pen in the drawer next to the fridge.I use them to make my grocery lists.”
Badger left the room and I reached for the remote, finding something to watch that I thought might interest the both of us.He came back a few minutes later, set his list down on the coffee table, then disappeared again.When he returned a second time, he had a glass of sweet tea in each hand.
“Thought you might be thirsty,” he said.“I didn’t see any soda in the fridge.”
“I usually drink tea or water during the day.I have juice or coffee for breakfast, and sometimes have a cup of hot tea at night before bed.”
“I think I drank enough water the last ten years to last me a lifetime,” he said.
I glanced at the list on the table and wondered if I should add some groceries.I didn’t know what Badger liked, or what he’d missed while being locked away.If he was going to stay here, I wanted to make sure I had the things he liked or wanted.
“You can add soda to your list, and anything else I don’t have that you want to eat or drink.I know you’ve missed out on a lot the last ten years.”
Badger left the room and came back with the pen.He added some more items to his list, and just in time.The odd knock at the door was familiar.I smiled and called out for the Prospect to enter.
Badger glared at me.“You just welcome people into your home without seeing who’s there?”
“It’s Max.He’s the only one who knocks like that.”
When Max came to the living room, I could tell that Badger was looking him over and sizing him up.Max wasn’t as tall as Badger, nor as broad, but he was far from weak.He’d asked to join the Devil’s Fury when he’d been released from the military.An IED had taken the lower part of his left leg and he’d been medically discharged, not that anyone could tell when he was wearing jeans.We’d talked when he’d shown up at the gates that first night, and I’d learned a lot about him.I admired Max, and I knew he was a good guy.A little rough around the edges, but so were the other Devil’s Fury.
“Max, this is Badger,” I said.
Max held out his hand to shake, and Badger took it.The tense lines around Max’s mouth told me Badger was giving him more than a simple handshake.I rolled my eyes, wondering why men felt the need to act so childish.
