Animal unfolds himself from the couch toward the back of the room and makes his way toward us, flanked by Rage.
“I fucking warned you what would happen.” His anger is like fists.
“Leo didn’t deserve that. It should have been me.”
“You can thank Lily you aren’t with him.”
Zane cuts his eyes to me, searching my face.
“I made a deal with Aire.” I shrug.
“What kind of deal?”
“A deal where you get to fucking live—but not in my town. You get one day. Sort your shit out. I want you gone,” Animal demands.
“Lily?” Zane stresses, ignoring Animal.
“Work—I’m going to work for him.”
“Work for him?”
“It’s going to be fine.”
Animal turns to leave then pauses, looking back. “A word of warning from Aire—you’re not welcome in New York either. You show up there, the deal’s off.”
My stomach twists.
Grasping my cheeks in his palms, Zane lowers his forehead to mine. “Come with me. Let’s just go like you wanted.”
“I can’t. Aire will take it out on the brothers.” I wrap my fingers around his forearms and breathe him in, holding onto us for a few seconds more. “One year. I’ll come find you in one year,” I tell him, a lump expanding in my throat.
“I don’t regret a single second with you,” he tells me again. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
Swiping away my tears, I pull back and race to my room. I can’t watch him leave.
One year is nothing. Dragging a duffle bag from beneath my bed, I go to my dresser, pull out my clothes and shove them in. Zipping it up, I toss it over my shoulder and give one last look around my room.
Opening the bedroom door, I hit a brick wall of Jameson. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do. Don’t make it harder.”
“I have something for you.” He holds up a leather cut, and my jaw unhinges.
“No fucking way.”
“Way. We were going to do it right, throw a big party, but staying true to your road name…” he taps his finger against the patch that reads HAVOC, “plans changed.”
Dropping the bag to the floor with a thud, I snatch the cut and put it on, beaming at the feel of it on my back. “You’re one of us. If you want to come home at any point, call me. Aire doesn’t own you—and he sure as shit doesn’t own the Royal Bastards.”
“I know. Maybe this will be good for me.” I shrug.
Leaning down, he picks up my bag and throws his arm around my shoulder, leading me out. Heat ignites my cheeks when I walk through the club, all the brothers hooting and clapping for their new official sister. “Where’s Ezekiel?”
“Ruby is sick, nothing to worry about but I didn’t call him. He will be pissed at me, but…”
“It’s fine.”
Animal stops me before I can make it to the exit, dragging me into his arms. “No one dictates to a Bastard. This is your home. A year or a week, we’ll be waiting. We always have your back. I had to be a little tough, for show, you know?”
My chest swells. The lump in my throat prevents me from talking, so I nod and duck out before anyone else can say shit that will make me want to stay.
The orange ball in the sky creates a glare against the sleek back SUV waiting for me. A chauffeur approaches, takes my bag, and opens the car door for me.
Slipping inside, the beige leather seats scream luxury. I get the feeling my life’s about to change drastically.
One year is nothing.
I’ve lived with monsters and survived the devil. Aire will be a cakewalk.