I crack my knuckles as we walk in, thinking about the beating he took. Cried like a bitch, but I think we got the message across. I made sure he knew that Izzy was mine and that he didn’t need to think about coming back for her anymore. I explained that the club had decided to give him a gift and he could keep his life, but if any of us so much as saw his shadow, he was going underground.
He agreed to get out of town and never come back as long as he knew his sister would be looked after. I guess some part of him deep down may have still cared for her, but not enough to put up much of a protest. Personally, I think he’d been waiting for someone to either take him out or end his situation, and he seemed ready to take the out.
“You talk to Julie?” I ask Savage as we walk into the club house.
“Yeah. She went to her mom and dad’s and got little A.J. I’m going to meet her at home since this shit’s taken care of. You cool if I head out?”
I pat him on the back as I pass him, going to my office. “Yeah, go be with your family. We’ll catch up later.”
Hearing him take off, the exhaustion pulls at me. The sun is coming up, but I’ve been up all night, and all I want to do is go upstairs and find Izzy and fall into bed with her.
I need to go into my office and check in with Scribe before I do that, so I make my way over. When I get to the closed door, I reach for the knob and before I can turn it, I hear Izzy laugh. I know that laugh because she’s given it to Ham before. She loves that damn dog, and it makes me so unreasonably jealous I could spit nails. Suddenly a rage is rolling over me and I jerk open the door, wanting to know who she’s giving her laughs to.
Izzy is on the couch in my office playing on a computer on her lap, Ham next to her. Scribe is sitting in a chair on the other side of the room on his laptop, too. When they hear me enter, they both look up for a split second and then go back to their laptops like I’m not even here.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
“Just got done raiding,” Scribe says not looking up. “Do you know who you brought here? One of the best Paladin healers on Mal’Ganis. I can’t fucking believe it. We’ve been raiding all night. She’s incredible.” He looks up and winks at Izzy, making me narrow my eyes at him.
“Mal’Ganis?” I say the word, oblivious to what the fuck it means.
“Warcraft,” Izzy says, still not looking up. “You know, For the Horde!”
“I don’t care what she is. She’s not raiding nothing with you.”
I feel like I could climb over my desk and rip out his throat, so I go to do it, but I feel Izzy’s hand on my arm. She’s dressed and has her glasses on now, and I guess that means Scribe got her shit and gave it to her.
“How’d it go?” she whispers and looks to Scribe and then to me. “Everything okay?”
I see worry in her eyes and immediately I want to comfort her. All my anger melts away and I want to make her feel better. I put my hand on her cheek and nod. “Yeah. As promised. It’s taken care of.”
She releases a breath as if she’s been holding it the whole time, and I feel as if I’ve done something right. For the first time in a long time, I feel like someone is proud of me. I haven’t had that feeling since I was a Marine, and it feels pretty damn good. Running a motorcycle club is a thankless job. There’s a ton of shit to do and keep up with, and nobody is ever stopping to give you a pat on the back. It’s tiring, but I’ve got it good here, so I try to focus on that. But right now, seeing how Izzy is looking at me, it feels like for the first time I mean something to someone. Maybe it’s because she’s grateful, and maybe it’s because she feels this crazy connection that’s been running between us the past few months. Either way, I’m selfish enough to take it however I can get it.
Pulling her to me, I feel her softness melt against me, and I need more.
“Scribe, get out.”
“Sure thing, boss.” He stands, bringing his laptop with him, and he’s out of my office in point three seconds. I can’t help but laugh. I don’t think he looked up from his laptop the whole way out.
“You been up all night doing whatever shit that is with Scribe?” I feel myself get mad again, but she just smiles and nods.
“Yeah. Knox is actually pretty good.”
I hate the way she says his name, and I feel myself grinding my teeth.
“Maybe I’ll teach you how to play sometime.”
There’s a hopeful sound in her voice. She’s talking about things like there’s a future. I like it. A lot.
“You broke out of my room.” It’s a statement, not a question, but she answers anyway.
“I did. But I didn’t leave.”
Pulling her even closer, I look deep into her soft eyes. “Why not?”
Her hands come up and rest on my chest, and I feel her warmth through my T-shirt.
“I made a promise, Lucias. I’m all yours, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Come to bed with me,” I whisper, needing to hear her say yes.
She bites her full bottom lip and then gives me what I want. The little nod is all it takes and I’m throwing her over my shoulder and carrying her up the stairs. I hear Ham following us, and I can’t help but laugh. Yeah, I’d follow her anywhere she went, too, buddy.
11
Izzy