Own the Wind (Chaos #1)(102)

I did.

I also knew not long after the business went down with Lee Nightingale and the boys had Shy’s back, Shy approached Dad to ask if his offer to be lieutenant was still open. Dad shared he was holding the position for Shy until he was ready for it, no one else was even a consideration. This meant Shy was in the inner sanctum, an elevated position within the Club and, at his age, that was huge.

Therefore, as his woman and with his position in the Club, I had to stand by his side.

This meant not getting into his face about Club business.

So I simply stated. “Shy, I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

“You wouldn’t ’cause you’re a daughter and a sister. What you aren’t is a son or a Chaos brother. They might not see eye to eye but your brother loves his father, he respects him and, when he earns his cut, they’ll add a different relationship to that. We all don’t get along all the time. There’s friction, differences of opinion, politics, even clashes. But there’s always the brotherhood and we all know it. That will never die.”

Well, at least there was that.

I backtracked, my eyes moving to his bandage then back to his face.

“How big is this problem with the  p**n  guy?” I asked quietly, and I got what I expected.

“That’s not somethin’ you worry about.”

This was something, as his woman and him my man with a bandage on his neck, I had to get in his face about.

“Wrong, Shy,” I whispered.

He dipped his face close. “Your bitch is a mess. She hit bottom but, stuff she’s into, that won’t mean a thing. She might be shaken up and get her shit sorted but she might not. It isn’t cool she called you, dragged you and, because of you, Chaos into her mess, but this was going to happen, it just came sooner. You were dragged in, now you know. But that’s all you know and you don’t worry.”

“That’s impossible,” I informed him.

“If you think this Club hasn’t weathered worse storms than this guy, you’re wrong.”

This was not welcome information.

“Shy, you got shot and you’re okay but—”

His head moved, his mouth touched mine and when he lifted his head, his thumb slid to my lips. “Tab, baby, after what you lost, do you think for a second I’d do anything, your father would do anything, to make you lose me?”

This made me feel slightly better, because I didn’t think that, not for a second, but that didn’t mean I didn’t repeat, even with his thumb still on my lips, “Shy, darlin’, you got shot.”

“A nick,” he clarified.

“But—”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“But, Shy—”

His thumb pressed against my lips lightly.

“Tabitha, I’m not leaving you.”

I held my silence and his eyes.

Then I lifted a hand, curled it around his wrist, pulled his hand away and whispered, “You better not.”

He grinned and whispered back, “You’re stuck with me.”

God, I hoped so.

I took in an unsteady breath.

Then I told him, “Sorry my ex–best friend got you nicked by a bullet.”

His grin turned into a smile. “Shit happens.”

It was kind of forced but I grinned back.

He pulled against my hold so his hand could come back, his thumb gliding along my lips as his eyes watched. His smile was gone when his gaze again met mine.

“Always and forever, baby, you’re stuck with me.”

I drew in a deep breath that miraculously was calming and I nodded.

Shy studied me then dipped his head, brushed his lips against mine, and then rolled to his back, taking me with him, tucking me to his side.

“Wiped, sugar,” he muttered. “Rest with me.”

“Okay,” I muttered back, snuggling closer, knowing, after as much caffeine as I consumed, all that had happened and all that I’d learned, I wouldn’t sleep a wink.

I was right. I felt Shy relax under me, his breath even out, his arm around my waist going heavy.

I stared at his tee, the pendants resting at his throat, my mind bouncing from thought to thought, not any of them happy.

Then it bounced and landed on, You’re stuck with me.

My lips curved into a smile.

Then I relaxed into my man, my breath evened out, my weight against him going heavy, pressed deep into his side, wrapped around him, in sleep proving something he was missing in his sleep but that was okay since he already knew.

He was stuck with me too.

Chapter Twenty-One

All In

Shy felt the vibe, he opened his eyes and felt Tabby’s weight pressed against him.

Carefully, he curled up, kissed the top of her hair, then slid out from under her sleeping body. Finding his feet by the side of the bed, he watched his girl adjust, curl into his pillow, never losing sleep.

He wanted to pull her hair away from her face so he could see it, feel the softness run through his fingers, but he didn’t want to chance waking her. So he left her in his bed and moved from the room.

When he hit the common room, he saw most of his brothers were congregated around the bar. Hop was sitting on a stool, Tack standing close to him.

Shy approached and when he got close Tack asked, “She doin’ okay?”