Page 36 of Colt

He nodded his head. “No need to thank me. As long as you’re wearing Colt’s patch, we all have your back.”

“But you know the truth about why I’m wearing it.”

“Yeah, I do. The two of you might not know it, though,” he said before turning away, leaving me to decipher his cryptic response.

An hour later, we were all back at the clubhouse. It was a little more subdued than usual, but it was still a party. There were even more people here than at the funeral home. Fitz would have loved it.

As much as I dreaded it, I needed to talk to Torch to confirm he accepted my offer. I was trying to decide how to approach him when I felt my phone buzzing in my dress pocket. I pulled it out and was a bit surprised to see the jail phone number I saved for my brother flash on the screen. The last time I spoke with him was when I was still in the hospital. He was freaking out that he couldn’t be there with me. He hadn’t calmed down until Viking talked to him.

There was a good possibility someone already filled him in on what was happening here. Then the realization that Torch may have already followed through on his threat to have James pay for my transgressions hit me in the chest.

“Um… hello?” My voice trembled as I was unsure what I would be met with on the other end of the line.

“Hey, Ember. How ya holding up?” James asked, sounding as good as possible being locked up.

Relief coursed through me. “I’m okay, I guess. Today was hard. How are you?”

“I’m all right. Wish I’d been there with all of you.”

“I know.” James liked Fitz, and it must have weighed heavily on him not to be able to attend the funeral today.

“So my timing sucks, but I don’t know when I’ll be able to call you again, and this can’t wait.” He hesitated for a minute, and I just knew he’d already heard about what went down here when Torch arrived. “Want to tell me how you got mixed up with Colt again?”

I shouldn’t have been surprised by his question, but I was caught off guard. I figured he’d be clued in by someone in the club, but getting called out on it this soon had me speechless for a few seconds.

“ I didn’t plan it or anything like that. It’s not like there was a future with Torch, even you knew that. Seeing Colt again brought back feelings I thought had disappeared.”

That sounded reasonable without giving too many details that could trip me up later. Besides, it wasn’t exactly a lie. The way I felt about Colt was a jumbled mess. There was a part of me that was still attracted to him, regardless if I wanted to admit it or not.

He seemed to accept my explanation. “Are you sure you don’t want to come home? I don’t feel right leaving you there after everything that happened.”

“I can’t leave. I have Colt, my job, and I like it here. I’ll be fine.”

Even if I hated it here, I wouldn’t leave. I didn’t know what Torch would do if I went back home, but I knew it wouldn’t be good.

“Okay. But, if you change your mind, I’ll send someone for you.”

“Thank you.” I was grateful he was allowing me to make this decision for myself. It wasn’t an option extended to me very often.

We spent some more time chatting. I filled him in on my job and the friends I’d made here. But while I was talking, I couldn’t keep myself from seeking out Colt.

I didn’t want to care about him after the way he’d treated me, but I knew Fitz’s death was a profound loss, and I was worried about him. When I found him, he was alone in the corner, sipping his whiskey. The air around him crackled with a ‘don’t fuck with me’ vibe.

After I hung up with James, I worked up some courage to approach him. “Hey.” It was a lame intro, but talking to him still made me nervous. “You doin’ okay?”

He just stared at me, and I knew it was a dumb question.

He put down his now empty glass and pulled the half-full bottle of Jameson off the counter. “I need a smoke.”

“Mind if I join you?”

He shrugged his shoulders, but since he didn’t say no, I followed him outside.

I watched him as he pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a long drag while leaning against the brick building. It was clear he didn’t want to talk, which was fine with me. Instead, I took comfort in the silence.

He took a large pull right from the bottle and then offered it to me.

“You’re going to share?” I was unable to mask the surprise in my voice.