* * *
Slash brushed a kiss to my shoulder, making me burrow deeper under the covers. “I’m leaving,” he whispered.
“Where are you going?” I asked, rolling over onto my back and reaching for him.
“Coeur d’Alene. Idaho,” he clarified.
He sat on the side of the bed, and I scrambled up to hug him. “Be safe.”
“You too.” He kissed my forehead. “I’ll call you when I get there. If you need anything, call one of the Old Ladies or one of the brothers.”
The previous night before bed, Slash had programmed several numbers into my phone. I had a support network even with Slash being gone.
“Blue Angels hotline?” I teased.
He chuckled. “Something like that.”
“Ooop, you’d better get out of the way.” I shot up and made it to the bathroom just in the nick of time.
When I got back to bed, Slash was still there and he was holding out a glass of orange juice and a piece of bread for me.
“I’m going to miss our morning routine,” I said after I downed the glass of orange juice and climbed back into bed.
“Oh yeah?”
“Not the puking part, but you being sweet to me.”
Slash covered me with the blanket and then bent down to kiss my forehead. “I’ll still be sweet to you even after you stop the puking part.”
“That’s nice,” I sighed, my eyes slowly drifting closed again. I heard his boots trek across the wood floor and then the soft thud of the door shutting.
I dozed for another hour, but then my natural body clock roused me. I sat up and waited to see if any more morning sickness was going to show up. When it didn’t, I climbed out of bed and went to make tea.
I didn’t dwell on the fact that Slash was gone. I had too much to do.
When I made it down to the kitchen of the bakery, Jazz was already there.
“Hey,” I said.
“Dude. Why do you have a Blue Angels biker just hanging out in the back alley?”
Chapter22
“What do you mean?”I asked in confusion.
“I mean a guy named Duke is sitting on his bike, hanging out in the back alley.”
With a frown, I marched to the back door. Duke was in the spot that Jazz said he was.
“Morning, Brooklyn,” he said with a charming smile.
“Hi, Duke. What are you doing here?” I asked in confusion.
“Slash told me to be here when you’re here.”
“I don’t get it.”
“He doesn’t like that you’re here unprotected.”