He nods his head and heads out the front door as I carry Whit out the back. Walking around the car I set her in the passenger seat before jogging around and climbing into the driver’s seat. Whit reaches in her pocket silently and passes me the keys. Taking them from her I start the car and pull around the side of the building. As I pull out of the parking lot, Nickson pulls in. He gives me a chin lift and I do the same before getting to the road.
“He loved you Whit, like a daughter.”
Sobs shake her body as she begins to shake. She presses her hand to her chest and cries until she can’t breathe. There’s nothing I can do for her right now. I just drive and pray that I can pull her back to me. She has to come back to me. I can’t lose her. I won’t.
I don’t go back to the clubhouse. I bypass it and head toward my house. I’ll send Viking message and let him know once we get there.
“Where are we?” she mumbles under her breath.
“My place.”
Shifting her up and into my arms, I grab my keys and open the front door. I don’t bring girls here. Ever. I never have. This is the place Briann and I shared. This was our home for all those years. I haven’t been back here in a very long time. I don’t like being here when I’m alone. I do my best to stay at the clubhouse, but Whitley needs the space from everyone tonight.
“I’m gonna turn the shower on for you,” I tell her as I set her on her feet once we get into the bathroom. I watch her stand there with tears staining her face and her eyes red. My heart sinks. I run my hand over her face and walk to the shower to turn it on. As soon as it’s warmed up I feel her hands wrap around my waist. I spin around, pull her against me, and press my lips to the top of her head.
“I’ve seen death before. That isn’t what hurts. It was him. It was Joe. I’ve never had anyone like him in my life. Someone that would give me chance after chance and never make me feel like I was worthless. It didn’t matter how many times I fucked up. He would always give me another chance. He was like a father to me Mason. Now he’s gone,” she sobs as her tears wet my shirt.
“He loved you. Just like you were his own. Unconditionally, Whit. Never let yourself forget that,” I tell her.
Holding her in my arms is the best feeling in the world, but in the back of my heart I can feel it all crashing and coming down. Whether I want to admit it or not, she isn’t mine to keep. Whitley is a force all her own. She has so much life inside of her, but she’s wasting it on seeing all of the bad and none of the good.
I’m man enough to admit that I don’t know that I can be what she needs. I can stand here and say that when she falls I will catch her because I will be standing right in front of her, arms outstretched, ready to do just that, but Whit will fall in reverse. That’s just the kind of person she is.
I pull away from her again and peel her out of her blood stained clothes before doing the same with my own. Lifting her in my arms I step into the shower and let the water wash the night away from the both of us. Losing Joe is going to hit all of us hard. He was a good man that we all cared about.
That familiar tug of anger and regret rip my heart in half just like they did when Briann died. I hold tight to Whitley’s body afraid that if I let go, she’ll be gone. That thought alone has me gasping for air.
“It’s okay Mason,” she reassures me. “Everything is okay,” she whispers turning in my arms and laying her head on my chest. Water cascades around the two of us as we both cling tightly to reality. Our new reality.
The takeover with Manuel’s brother was supposed to secure Whitley’s safety. It was all about her. I know that in the back of my mind, but now I feel like it’s all