His Other Half (Patches Tarkio MC, #3) - Debra Kayn Page 0,43

they'd conquered that problem after he'd bossed her into leaving last time at the clubhouse, she looked toward the door. "Do you think Cami can come with us after Chrischris leaves her?"

"It's Sunday. Families will be coming and going all day, and when it gets dark, it's the bikers who stay to party who stick around." He slipped on his shirt. "Want me to talk to Chrischris?"

"Maybe." She nodded. "I think that would be best. She's comfortable with him."

"Yeah?"

She smiled. "It's good for her to have a man who wants to be around her, especially right now."

He put on his vest and tucked his pistol behind him underneath his belt. The muscles between her shoulders tightened. Not a stranger around guns, she'd even shot a rifle a few times. The only people on the Rez who carried a pistol on their hip or inside their coat were those on the council and law enforcement.

She bit the inside of her lip. Having Paco carry a weapon, after seeing him the one time when he'd admitted to drinking and doing drugs unsettled her.

"What's wrong?" He stood by the bedroom door.

She lifted her chin. "You do drugs."

Saying it out loud made it a problem for her. She'd seen the devastation that drinking and drugs brought her people. She couldn't ignore a huge red flag, no matter how he made her feel when he was sober.

She also hated to think he loved something more than her because an addict would always have a need, a craving that was deeper than their love for another person.

"I do drugs when I need to get out of my head and forget my problems." He paused, his gaze growing more intense. "Before the last time, I'd gone eighteen months without using anything harder than pot. And it might not seem like it, but I can hold my alcohol."

She frowned. He hadn't explained what he'd gone through that had damaged him in a way he needed to escape.

"You're judging me." His chest inflated, and he nodded before looking away from her as accepting her silent opinion. "You don't have to worry about me doing them around you. I wouldn't."

"I have a problem with them if you do or don't do them around me. I've seen people waste their life on them."

"Then, I won't do them."

She pursed her lips. "I don't think it works like that."

"It does with me." He approached her. "I'm not going to promise not to have a beer or some whiskey and light up a joint, but I'll stay away from the powder."

She looked up into his eyes. "It's not my position to tell you to stop."

"You're not telling me, sweetheart. It's my decision." He kissed her. "I'm going to step out and have a smoke, talk to Chrischris, and warm up my Harley. Give Cami a call or whatever you have to do to ask her if she wants to tag along, then we'll figure out if you're driving to the clubhouse or riding on the back of my bike with me."

"I'll call her and then take a quick shower." She stepped to the dresser to grab her clothes. "Paco?"

He stuck his head back in the room. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for staying with me last night and telling me the truth." She bit her tongue, keeping herself from saying any more.

She'd need to think over what he told her about falling in love with her, for trespassing in her apartment, for reading her journal. It was hard to justify what he'd done, breaking her privacy, but she couldn't excuse the real danger of Askook holding her captive, believing he owned her.

"I'd walk through hell for you, sweetheart."

If Paco hadn't snooped, she had no idea what would've happened to her. The thought of not getting away from her was too frightening to imagine.

"We'll figure out how to deal with you staying here or at my place after I talk to Priest," he said.

"The president of your club?"

"Yeah."

She forced a smile in understanding, but she was clueless how things were done inside Tarkio Motorcycle Club. "You're not going to tell him about what I wrote...are you?"

"Never." Paco's gaze softened, then he pointed at her and ducked out of sight. Her stomach fluttered. There were so many things she wanted to know about him.

But she couldn't shake the feeling that their time was limited.

That his sweet words to her were a cushion for the bad news that was coming.

Chapter 21

Paco

Priest opened the door to the meeting room. Josie stepped back.