Page 85 of A Wrench in the Plan
Chry’s jaw ticked as he looked at me.
It was like he was guarded.
He was waiting for something…
A reaction from me, maybe?
“It’s done,” Chry said, voice gravelly. “You’re safe.”
I gasped as I stumbled back. He reached for me, only he then realizing that his hands were covered in blood and stopped short.
“Dustin?” I whispered. “H-he…”
“He’s dead,” he told me.
My gaze darted to Evan. He stared at me with unsure emotions in his eyes. He’d been there too. He knew what had happened.
It was at that moment that I thought of the club. Of the family that would do anything to keep each other safe. To keepmesafe. I thought of my mom and how I was sure she’d been in a similar situation as this before. I thought of the two people standing in front of me— the two men I loved with my whole heart.
Then I thought about the woman I wanted to be for them.
Taking in a deep breath, I snapped to it.
“Come on,” I said, urging them toward the bathroom without touching them. “We need to get you cleaned up. I’ll get a bag for your clothes.” I’d have to run down the clubhouse for a big trash bag. Better double bag it, just to be on the safe side. It might not have been such a bad idea to bring a few extra up… just in case there was a next time. Which I hoped there wouldn’t be, but it was better to be prepared and all that stuff. “Bleach,” I mumbled, thinking out loud about what else I would need to grab.
Did I know what I was doing?
No. But I was going to try.
I stopped and looked up at them. They hadn’t moved at all. What the heck were they doing?!
They shared a look before turning their matching very confused expressions on me.
“What?” I asked, blinking at them.
“You’re not freaking out?” Ev asked, looking as if he wanted to step closer to me but was hesitant.
“Oh, I assure you, I am,” I replied very truthfully. “But the freak out can come later. Right now, you need me. And what I need is to help make sure that I don’t lose either of you.”
“You understand what you’re doing, yeah?” Chry asked.
I steeled my spine, eyes locked on his.
“Do you really want me to say it out loud? Better yet, doyouwant to say it out loud? Do you want to tell me exactly what you did? Or would you rather leave it at me knowing you’d do anything, and I meananything, to keep me safe? And how about you just let me do what I have to do to keep you safe, too? Because that’s what I’d rather focus on.”
Chry looked surprised for half of a second before that look turned into pride and understanding.
“I’ll be back,” I said, cutting through them and practically flying out the door.
I didn’t care who I passed on my way to the big supply closet behind the kitchen. Most of them likely knew what had gone down, and if they didn’t, they would soon.
“Cat?” Bandit’s voice came from behind me just as I snagged a roll of trash bags. “What’s going on?”
I turned to see him looking… well, a little more disheveled than he normally looked. There was a dark look in his eyes, but I wasn’t scared by it.
“Housekeeping,” I replied with a wide smile. “Sometimes those boys are just so messy.”
He studied me far too closely for my liking. I turned my attention to the bleach, but it was too high for me to reach. Wordlessly, he stepped up and pulled down one of the jugs for me. As I took it and offered him a small thanks, he raised a brow at me.
