“How is she?” Smokey asked.
Abriana laughed. “Well, she has less hair now. The stylist did some kind of short cut. It’s layered and comes around to beneath her neck.” She shook her head. “But she’s not in a good place. Her home is neat and tidy. It’s spotless. I don’t think she’s doing a lot all day. Her hand is bandaged up and she’s eating ice cream.”
“Tell him, Abriana,” Ugly Beast said.
Her shoulders slumped.
Alarm bells went off inside his head. “Tell me what?”
Abriana took a deep breath. “Ava’s meeting a, er, realtor.”
He tensed up. “What?”
“She’s considering selling. The bakery is empty. No equipment or ingredients. It’s completely empty.”
He looked toward Ugly Beast.
“I don’t think she’s going to stick around all that long,” Abriana said. “She’s alone, and I do think she’s lonely.”
Smokey got to his feet and grabbed his keys.
Hunter was on him. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”
“I’ve got to go see Ava.”
“Not in your condition.”
“I’m not pregnant, and I’m not about to drop a brat. I’m going to go and see her.”
“No.”
Hunter stepped in front of him, holding up his hands.
“I mean it, Hunter. Step aside. You do not want to get in the way right now.” He waited and tensed his body, ready to strike.
“You’re not in a position to go. After what we did to her, do you really think she needs to see you like this?” Hunter asked.
“Today, you don’t get to be the voice of reason,” he said. He was done listening to anyone else. “Look, I made a judgment call. I fucked up. I’m owning my shit and I’m dealing with it. Ava can’t … I don’t want her to leave. She can’t leave.”
“Let her go,” Hunter said.
“No.” He growled the word loud and clear.
“And why the hell not?” Hunter asked.
“Because he’s in love with her,” Abriana said. “It’s why he can’t stand what he did, nor believe why he did it. He’s hurting because of what he did. He wants to make amends, but he can’t figure out how. You’re not going to win her over by being mean.”
Smokey snorted. “Why can’t you go back to being the scared little girl Ugly Beast took?”
“I grew up and found you guys. You’ve all taught me to stand up for myself. You’re my friend, Smokey. I may not like you very much right now, but I do care about you.”
“You love her?” Hunter asked.
Smokey’s jaw clenched. He didn’t believe in love. That kind of emotion was for pussies, and he wasn’t one.
Staring into his VP’s eyes, he knew he owed him a level of honesty. He’d given the order to hurt Ava, even kill her. They were all following orders, and he’d been wrong. If it wasn’t for Ugly Beast, she’d have been dead already.
“I love her,” Smokey said. “I love her more than anything else in the world. I miss her so fucking much, and it hurts to know I did that to her. I didn’t trust her enough to hear her side. I didn’t second-guess those … pictures. I’ve got to live with that. Now are you going to stand in my way, or are you going to back the fuck off?” He was willing to fight his VP if he had to.
“You sure you’re up for the ride?” Hunter asked.
“I’m good.” His body hurt in so many different ways, but he had to do this.
After Hunter stepped out of his way, Smokey went straight to his bike, straddling the machine. He ignored every single stab of pain in all the different areas. Several of the guys came out, watching him leave.
He ignored them and rode in the direction of town. Rather than go straight to Ava’s house, he took a detour to the town. People were still milling about even though it was dark. A couple of the streetlights were out as he parked across the street from his woman’s bakery.
There was no light in the windows. She normally had something on display that he knew from personal experience she either ate the following day or tossed out. There was nothing. No sign of any life.
Seeing her shop like this hurt.
He’d caused this. His actions had seen to it that his woman would give up.
Revving his engine, he took off, this time heading toward Ava’s house. The journey wasn’t enjoyable, but he wasn’t going to give up.
Arriving at her house, he noticed only a single light was aglow in her bedroom. Smokey took out the key he carried on him at all times and went to the front door. The key didn’t fit.
She’d changed the locks.
Cursing, he stepped back and looked up at her window. He stared at the door. Bringing his knuckles up, he knocked. The blood that had been on his hands was dried, so he didn’t leave any blood spatter.
He waited.
And waited.
Smokey knocked again.
Nothing.
He moved to be able to see her window. The light was still on. He couldn’t hear any music and so he did no more than reach for a couple of small pieces of gravel and throw them at the window.
Seconds passed and the curtain twitched. Ava opened the curtain.
“Come on, Ava.”
She closed the curtains, blocking his view of her, but he saw her shadow, still holding them closed.
“Ava, babe, come on.” He picked up another couple of pieces of gravel and threw them up at the window.
Another pause.
Going to the door, he began to bang. He wasn’t going to give up or give in. He settled on screaming her name.
After several minutes, the light near the door flicked on. Seconds later, Ava opened it. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Don’t sell. Don’t leave.” They were the only words he could form. It was stupid how desperate he was for her to stay.
“This is ridiculous, Smokey. You have no right to come yelling at me and throwing stones.”
“They weren’t too big.”
“I don’t care if they were big or not. This isn’t funny.” Her eye was still covered. She frowned and reached out to the wall. The lights outside suddenly glowed and she gasped. “What happened to you?”
“Nothing important.”
“Let me guess, club stuff.”
Smokey shook his head. “Not club stuff. I decided to go and pick a fight with the bastard who sent me those pictures.”
“And you look like this.”
“He’s not doing much better. He had more people on his side. I went solo. Didn’t take the club with me. Next time, I will.”
“Don’t—” She stopped, closed her eyes, and took a breath. “Don’t do this on my account.”
“I have to. He fucked everything up.”
“No. All he did was provide you with the gun. You chose to load it and fire.” She held her hand out. “I don’t want to talk to you about this. Why are you here?”
“Please don’t leave.”
Ava snorted. “Abriana. So much for friendships, huh?”
“Look, she would cut my dick off if she could. She’s pissed, and I get it. We don’t deserve your forgiveness, Ava. I know I don’t.”