“That’s how these men are,” Linden said. “They’re a rare breed. Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
Boxer and Slash were speaking in low tones when Linden and I came into the waiting room. “You okay?” Boxer asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
Slash took my hand and led me away from Linden and Boxer, far enough to have some measure of privacy. “I have to meet up with Ghost and take care of shit.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want to leave you alone. I know you’re okay. I know the baby’s okay. But I want you with people. Our people.”
“All right,” I said.
“You know why I’m going, even though Ghost can handle it?” he asked.
I nodded. “For me.”
“Damn right.” He cradled my cheek in his hand. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“Make what up to me?”
“Not being there with you tonight to hold you while you work through all this.”
I touched my neck. “You can hold me later. When it’s finished.”
“When it’s finished,” he vowed. “I know it looked like I walked out. I didn’t, Brooklyn. I just—”
“Needed a ride to clear your head and to put it all back together in a way that made sense. I know. I didn’t know it at the time, but I know now.” I sighed. “Fuck, Slash, what a time for us to make declarations, huh?”
The corner of his mouth twitched like he wanted to smile. “What a time, indeed.” He kissed me softly. “I’ll be back in the morning.”
“You’ll be careful, right? I mean, I know the state he was in when Ghost picked him up, but you’ll still be careful?”
His gaze softened. “I’ll be careful.”
The four of us were quiet as we headed to the elevator and into the lobby. Linden set the alarm on the building and ensured it was locked.
“How are you going to get there?” I asked Slash, not wanting to say aloud what he was headed to do. By not saying it, it felt like I could pretend I didn’t truly know what was going to happen. But I did. Delusion and naiveté were not conducive to being Slash’s Old Lady, and even though he hadn’t asked me officially, that’s where we were.
“Don’t worry about it,” Slash replied. He looked at Boxer. “I want Brooklyn to stay at the clubhouse, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Boxer said.
“Why do I have to stay at the clubhouse?”
“It’s safe there,” Slash explained. “I have a room you can crash in.”
I absently rubbed my neck. “I don’t want to be around a bunch of strangers right now.”
“We’ll stay the night at the clubhouse, too,” Linden added. “We just need to stop by the house and get Monk.”
“You go with Brooklyn,” Boxer said. “I’ll drive your car and get Monk. I’ll meet you both at the clubhouse.”
Linden offered to drive for me and climbed into the driver’s seat of my car. Boxer got into Linden’s vehicle and sped off.
We didn’t have any privacy, but that didn’t stop Slash from cradling my cheeks in his rough hands as I sat in the passenger seat. He stared into my eyes. “I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
“Okay,” I whispered.