“I do not mean to cause you—”
“I have a past and it was a past I had to overcome, but I did it and it didn’t leave me estúpido, Skull,” she says, using my language and throwing the word at me like an accusation. I thought Hayden somewhat weak. It seems I may have misjudged her. “You and your club are nothing like the garbage that held me prisoner.”
“Si,” I respond, pleased to fuck and back that she gets that. I was worried that it would color the way she viewed all clubs.
“You care for one another, you love one another, and you have a sense of right and wrong that guides every decision you make. I’m not blind to that. Michael has that engrained in him. He shows it daily and I see it here with all of you too.”
“I’m glad, Hayden.”
“What you need to understand is, I would follow Michael through the fires of hell and not regret a moment of it if it meant I would be by his side.”
“Hayden—”
“If he wanted to move to Kentucky, I would support him, Skull. I’ve moved and started over a couple of times now. It wouldn’t be hard for me to do it again. Because, I know wherever we end up, Michael and the boys would be there with me, and all I need in this world are my boys.”
I swallow as I take in her face and the emotion in her voice. I believe her. I one hundred and fifty percent believe her.
“I appreciate you being up front with me, Hayden. More than I could tell you. I want to be the same with you. I’m going to ask my boy to come home to stay. I’m going to fucking do everything I can to make that happen.”
“I get that. I expected it, but there’s something you need to know Skull, and I don’t want to hurt you when I tell you,” she says. She pauses and seems to wait for a sign from me before continuing.
So, I nod and wait. It’s not long in coming.
“Michael has suffered so much pain here. He may have healed and his mind may cling to the good now, but the bad is there, the darkness is still there. It doesn’t bother him often now, but it still does.”
“I get that,” I tell her and I do. I have my own form of darkness inside of me. It may not come from the same place or be the same type—but I know that darkness.
“My man is so strong, Skull, but that darkness can still pull him sometimes and set him adrift.”
“Hayden—”
“Me, Connor, Ryker and this baby I’m carrying? We fight tooth and nail to bring him back to the shore and we will continue to do that no matter where we live.”
“Like I said, I get that. I don’t understand why you’re telling it to me, but I do get it.”
“Michael loves you and he loves this club, but my man was adrift here in that darkness a long time and that’s a time in his life he may not want to remember every day.”
“Hayden—”
“And like it or not, not a one of you were able to pull him from that and this is where that darkness haunts him the most. So, my man might choose to not be here. If he does, then I’ll be by his side then, too.”
“You’ll let him make that decision?”
“Absolutely,” she confirms and I nod in approval. That’s enough. It’s more than I expected from her.
“Good enough,” I tell her and before I can second guess myself, I take her in my arms and give her a hug. Then, I do something I haven’t done yet and I really should have. “Welcome to the family Hayden.”
I feel her jerk in my arms. I don’t know if it’s from the hug or my words, but after a moment she hugs me back and I hear her muffled, “Thank you, Skull.”
That feels good—really damn good. If I accomplish nothing else, I at least know that my boy has found a good woman and I’ve wanted that for him for a long damn time.
Beast
“What’s going on here?” I ask, as I walk to where Skull and Hayden are talking. I was worried when I saw him over here, but when they hugged I felt a little better. They pull apart as I get up close. Hayden immediately comes to my side, wraps her arm around me and pushes her head against my chest.
It instantly soothes me. It’s just that simple. It’s fucked up, probably beyond measure, but I don’t like other men talking to my woman. This includes men who are happily married and would never try to coax her into their bed. It doesn’t fucking matter. Hayden is mine.
“Hayden and I just had some things to talk about. You picked good, hermano.”