“I cannot say that I know what you’re talking about.”
“The lofts are all off-limits to hide-and-seek games,” Angel said.
Lash looked around and then turned to her. “You’re right. So why are you here? Is it my wife needs a tiny break?”
She nibbled on her bottom lip. “It’s … nothing. Everything was going fine.”
“Until you throw candy into the mix.”
She nodded.
Lash pressed a kiss to her neck. “As it happens, there is space up here for you, and the kids will crash soon.”
“I’m a bad person.”
“For wanting two minutes away from kids filled with sugar?” Lash asked.
“Are you wishing for the beach right about now?”
Lash chuckled. “You would think that I am, but I’m not. I’m glad we did this. You, me, the clubs. All of it.”
“You are? Then why are you up here?”
Lash let her go and she watched as he reached for something. It was a photograph album.
“I was looking at past memories.”
“A lot of stuff had gotten destroyed,” Angel said.
“I know. A lot of it was destroyed or lost, but there are a few treasures and recent memories.” Lash grabbed the light and shone it on the book as he flicked open the pages.
Angel looked at a picture of Tiny and Mickey. They had lost him all too soon. Tears filled her eyes as Lash flipped through the pages. Pictures of her, of the club, Tate and Murphy, Tiny and Eva. Anthony’s birth. Tabitha and Miles’s birth. So many memories. She saw a picture of Happy, who was also no longer with them.
“Why did you come up here?” Angel asked.
“I was looking for something a little while ago, and I noticed this at the bottom of the box. I didn’t have time to look at it, but I was curious, and I know the kids would all be falling asleep soon with the candy. I figured now was a good time to look. We lost so many.”
“I know,” Angel said.
“This is why I do what I do,” he said. “And I don’t want to ever forget that.”
“Lash, what’s going on?”
“Nothing’s going on. It’s a good thing not to forget why we’ve all changed. Why we’re all here now. Why we’re all doing what we need to do to make this right.”
Angel knew there was more to this, but she wasn’t going to push. She would never push when it came to him.
At the sound of a bike filling the air, Angel turned toward him. “Are you expecting someone?” Angel asked.
Lash shook his head. “No.”
They had no choice but to climb out of the attic, and she noticed Lash held the photograph album underneath his arm as they climbed down.
Angel waited for him, and Lash took her hand as they walked down the stairs. They made a quick stop at his office, where he put the album on his desk. She wanted to ask him more questions, but she heard the game had come to an end as people moved toward the biker.
Lash took the lead, still holding her hand, and they headed outside into the snow. Another layer had fallen in the last few hours, and soon the roads would be too dangerous to travel on.
At first, Angel didn’t recognize the biker. His hair was long and tied back at the neck.