Mom kissed my forehead.
I knew they both still worried about me becoming part of the Famiglia, about submitting myself to even more danger, but that they were proud of the woman I was becoming meant the world to me.
I spent my last night before returning to New York in a tent on the side of the road, staring up at the night sky, my head whirring with too many thoughts. Saying goodbye to Gray today had made me wistful. It felt like a real goodbye instead of a see ya. Even if he and I kept up our contact, meetings would be few and far between. Working with Vitiello and being a pariah in parts of the biker world would make regular family reunions difficult. I’d miss him and parts of the life I’d led before but none of those things called louder to me than my desire to hold Marcella in my arms again.
Instead of heading to the Sphere to have a word with Vitiello first the next morning, or to the Vitiello mansion to see Marcella—if they even let me see her without a fucking appointment—I headed to the animal shelter, hoping to run across Growl. I wasn’t sure why I felt a connection to the not very talkative man, but I did, maybe because he, too, had been Vitiello’s enemy and somehow managed to become part of the team.
When I pulled up the familiar driveway, I noticed the newly installed surveillance cameras attached to tall poles immediately. I’d have bet my balls that there were motion detectors as well, and I knew why these were suddenly there. Because of me. And possibly the rest of Earl’s fan club. But definitely me.
I smiled wryly as I pulled up in front of the house and waved, knowing someone would see me.
Pulling my helmet off, I got off my bike and immediately my eyes caught on long black hair. My heartbeat picked up with excitement. Fuck. I’d missed her.
Marcella squatted in front of the fenced-in area where Growl kept some of the Rottweilers. I hadn’t expected to see her here, and it was impossible to describe the flood of emotions that rushed through my body. Marcella turned toward the sound of the engine and like the first time I saw her, I was in awe of her. I doubted that would ever change. Not just by her beauty, but by the way she moved, the way she held herself and the fire in her eyes. Damn it.
Growl who had been close by, pulled Marcella behind him as if I posed a danger, so I definitely hadn’t been declared trustworthy yet. I couldn’t tell if Growl was surprised to see me. Had he been in on spreading the information about Earl’s murder?
Marcella, however, wouldn’t have it. She tore away from Growl’s hold and rushed toward me. I grinned at her enthusiasm until I realized that she didn’t look happy to see me. She looked royally pissed. Her black hair blew in the wind, and she was dressed in dark blue jeans, a simple white T, and white sneakers, but even in those ordinary clothes, she knocked the breath out of me.
The flicker of doubt I’d felt last night over everything I’d given up and would still be giving up for Marcella evaporated at once. She was worth it.
She came to an abrupt halt right in front of me, her eyes flashing with fury. “Four days without a single word from you!”
I reached for her, wanting a kiss, a touch, anything, but she swatted my hand away like a bothersome fly, her rage becoming even more potent.
“You ran off. I thought you’d left for good. I thought you’d played with me.”
“Fuck, Snow White,” I muttered. “I fucking killed Earl for you. I betrayed my club for you. And you think I played with you? If that were the case, I’d be the worst player ever because you won in every regard that matters.”
She searched my eyes, trying to gather my honesty obviously. She still had some work to do for absolute trust, but I guess we both had. “Then why did you run off?”
“I had to make sure Gray was all right. Last time I saw him he fled from your father and his soldiers shortly before I was knocked out.”
“Why couldn’t you tell me that you were going to see your brother? I don’t get why you had to run off without a word. You have to admit that looks suspicious.”
“I couldn’t tell you where I went because someone had released information about me killing my uncle and until I knew who that person was, I couldn’t risk news about me looking for my brother making the rounds. It would have made things more dangerous for him and me.”
She scoffed. “You could have told me. You can trust me. I wasn’t the person who leaked the information in case that’s what you’re worried about.”