Page 86 of A Wrench in the Plan
“It’s club business,” I stated boldly. Maybe there was a slight trace of humor in my tone. “I know nothing about it.”
He cracked a rare smile. It grew wider the harder my words sunk in. There was even a hint of his nice, white teeth.
“You’re good for them,” he stated as if there was no question about who he was talking about or what the relationship was. “They better know that.”
“They do,” I said. “I think they proved the lengths they will go to in order to make me safe and protected.”
“I suppose they did.”
Ah, so he had been there. He had seen it.
There were questions on the tip of my tongue. However, I’d never ask them. I trusted Chry and Evan. I trusted the club— my family. And that was all that mattered.
He moved to let me by as I headed back out of the closet.
Something struck me then, and I turned back to face Bandit. I remembered that look he had in his eyes when I’d been a broken mess in the back of the SUV after they rescued us.
“You understand what they felt, don’t you?” I couldn’t help but ask. “You’ve been there too?”
Sadness flashed in his eyes. The same sadness I’d seen that night.
“Yeah,” he said, voice gruff. “But I couldn’t save her.”
I saw the shutters go down and I knew that was the end of that.
“Put everything in the bags and leave it in front of my room. I’ll make sure it’s taken care of,” he said as he respectfully slipped by me and walked away.
I gave him a moment to retreat before I followed his path back to the front of the clubhouse. My heart ached for him. I hoped he’d find peace one day as much as I hoped what Chry and Evan had done settled something inside of them.
Evan was outside talking to Sidekick when I walked back upstairs. We shared an understanding smile as I slipped into Chry’s room. Seeing the main space empty, I headed for the bathroom.
Chry was standing there staring at the wall with a blank expression on his face.
“You okay?” I asked.
He blinked and turned his focus to me.
“Remember what I said before we rode to the beach?” he asked. There was no hiding the fact that we both winced. That night should have been a good night, but it had been the start of a nightmare.
I pushed it away as I answered, “Yeah.”
“Remember how I told you I had something I had to do and how I was scared ’cause I wouldn’t regret it when I was done?”
I nodded, swallowing hard. I hadn’t been quite sure what he was trying to tell me that night, and I wasn’t sure what he was trying to tell me now.
“I’m not scared. I don’t regret what I did tonight, but I’m not scared of that part of me anymore.” He paused. As I let those words sink in, I found that I didn’t feel scared either. I didn’t fear that part of him. “I don’t feel bad about it. I don’t want to relive it or think about it over and over again, but I sure as fuck wouldn’t take it back.”
And somehow, that was alright with me.
“Do you hate me?” he asked. I had a feeling he wasn’t only talking about what he’d done tonight. He still held guilt and pain for what happened to me. He still blamed himself for not begin able to stop it.
“Never,” I whispered as I held his eyes. I flipped a switch inside that I’d only realized I had tonight as I pulled two bags from the roll and lined one with the other. “Let’s get this stuff gone.”
I knelt down and held the bag as he pulled off his clothes and tossed them in. Everything went, but I didn’t think it really mattered. Chry wasn’t attached to much. Other than his bike, he didn’t put sentimental stock in items.
And then he was naked.
Fully naked.
