She rests her uninjured hand on my shoulder and strokes my cheek with her soft little fingers. “Gray.”
“Right here, buttercup. What happened?”
“I thought…I thought he was a stalker from my YouTube channel. He…but he wasn’t. He wanted me to give you a message.”
Inside, what’s left of my soul shrivels.
I knew it.
I’m barely in her life five minutes and someone hurt her to get at me.
The prison of my past will never release me. It was stupid to think I’d be able to make a fresh start.
A sigh of defeat eases out of me. “What message?”
She picks her head up and stares over her shoulder at Rock and Wrath, now speaking in low tones near the open war room door.
Rock catches my eye and lifts his chin.
Serena turns to me, eyes wide, and shakes her head. Leaning closer she whispers in my ear, “Please let me tell you this when we’re alone.”
“You can say anything in front of them. It’s okay.”
“Grinder,” Rock says. “Z’s gonna be a while. Take her upstairs. Let her rest for a bit.”
She nods eagerly and slides out of my lap.
“All right.” We’re wasting time not going after this fucker immediately. But my girl needs me right now.
In my room, I help her strip off her ruined clothes and take a quick shower. As I’m drying her off, someone knocks on the door.
“You all right here for a second?” I ask.
“I’m fine.” She grabs her toothbrush. “Want to get this awful taste out of my mouth.”
Trinity’s waiting in the hallway. “Is she okay?” she asks in an anxious voice as soon as I open the door.
“Yeah. I think so.”
She holds up an overstuffed tote bag. “We’re about the same size. I wasn’t sure what she might have here, so I brought over a bunch of stuff.”
I swallow hard and accept the bag. “Thank you, Trin.”
“No problem.” She hesitates for a second. “If she needs anything, call me. No matter what time it is. Even if she doesn’t want to be alone…in case you need to step out.”
Yeah, growing up in the life taught Trinity that whoever touched Serena will pay in blood.
“I will. Thank you.”
I close the door and turn toward the bathroom. Serena’s on the threshold. Her bottom lip trembles as I hand her the bag.
“That was sweet,” she whispers.
“Trin’s a good girl.” I nod to the bag. “You need help?”
“No.” She dumps the contents on the bed and sorts through everything, setting aside a pair of flannel shorts and a short T-shirt. After digging through everything, she lays out a pair of long pants, a sweatshirt, and a pair of thick socks. “I’ll get dressed when we go talk to everyone.”
I sit on the edge of the bed and pull her into my arms. “Tell me what happened. What were you so afraid of anyone else hearing?”
I clamp down on my fury while she walks me through the story.
“So, you know who this was and what it’s about?”
There’s no anger in her tone. Just concern. She should be pissed at me. Should tell me to get the fuck away and leave her alone.
“Yeah, I know what it’s about.”
“Does the club know?” she whispers. “Are you going to be in trouble with them?”
My eyes widen. “That’s what you’re worried about?”
She shrugs helplessly. “I don’t know everything you went through inside, Gray. If you had to…work with other people to…”
“I wouldn’t betray my club for any reason, Serena. But yeah, there’s some stuff I thought was behind me when I left. Club knows all about it. So we’re good there.”
She blows out a long, slow breath. “Okay.”
“It’s not okay. I’m so sorry. I should’ve warned you. Shouldn’t have let you come anywhere near my place while this was going on. This is my fault.”
“No. It’s not. I don’t know all the ins and outs of how the club operates. But working with another club…or organization…I was so worried they’d be mad at you.”
God, I love her for thinking through all of that and wanting to protect me from my own club.
I lean in and kiss her temple. “Club knows everything. I went to them first thing. I didn’t do anything wrong, Serena. It’s complicated, but I’m not in trouble with anyone here.”
“I know it’s been a hard adjustment…”
“It’s okay.” I kiss her again. I don’t even have words to express how much her desire to protect me means. “Thank you.”
Now that she’s been assured the club’s not waiting to take me out back and shoot me, the weight of sleep seems to fall over her. Her eyelids droop. The bruises on her cheek and forehead seem to have darkened.
“All right.” I shift her to the mattress. “You need some rest. Once Z gets here, they’re gonna want you to repeat the whole story.”
“I know. I’ll be fine.”
“You’re going to rest for a bit,” I insist.