I waited for him to say more, and when he didn’t, I prompted him. “And?”
I heard him push out a breath. “The club’s in fucking chaos. Marcus trashed my name with a lot of members so there’s no trust or loyalty there. I don’t know how the fuck this is all gonna end up.”
“Anything from Ricky yet?”
“No, nothing, which is fucking odd.”
“Not for Ricky, it isn’t,” I muttered.
“What does that mean?”
“You remember I said he likes to play with you a bit before he screws you over? Well, this is Ricky playing with you.”
“Fuck. If I wasn’t trying to deal with shit here, I’d already be putting plans together to take him out.”
“What else are you dealing with?” I asked, confused.
“Turns out Nash and J are pissed off about our plan with Griff so there’s tension there. And then I’ve got some of the club members convinced our Sydney chapter are to blame for Marcus’s death and are planning retribution on them. It’s a fucking shit-fight over here, brother.”
And on top of that, he’s dealing with Harlow.
“Do you want me to help with the Ricky issue?”
He remained silent for moment. “No, Storm needs to do it. Maybe it will be the thing to unite us again.”
He was right. “Okay, well, yell out if you need something.”
“Thanks. Will do,” he said and then ended the call.
It felt like a chain of events they would struggle to recover from had been unleashed.
Where Storm would end up, no one fucking knew.
***
That night, I took Layla back to my house. We hadn’t spent much time there, and I needed to be here at the moment. Needed that secure familiarity, which she seemed to understand.
After we’d finished the dinner she’d cooked for us, I asked her if she wanted to watch a movie.
She gave me an odd look but agreed.
“What was that look?” I asked, puzzled.
“You surprised me, that’s all.”
“Why?”
She moved into my space and wrapped her arms around me. Looking up into my eyes, she said, “I’m surprised you’re choosing a movie over taking me to bed. It’s good, though.”
Her arms around me felt so good.
Loving.
Caring.
Safe.
I put mine around her and let them settle on her ass. “Trust me, sweetheart, I’ll be taking you to bed later, but for now, I want to watch a movie with you. I want to just be with you.”