Page 43 of Colt

“Okay.” I stood up to leave since we were done. As I walked past Colt, he reached out and grabbed my hand.

“Thank you. I appreciate you doing this.”

That may have been the first time I ever saw genuine emotion other than anger from him. His words echoed my own not too long ago. I guess we were even since I was the one doing him a favor this time. I slid my hand out of his, which he hadn’t let go of.

“We should exchange numbers, too,” he said, getting his phone out. “Since we’re together now.”

“Right,” I said, his wording and the way he said it making me pause.

After adding my number to his phone and vice versa, I made my way back to my room, completely drained.

As I got ready for bed, I thought about what I’d just learned. The most shocking part being that Colt was a father. I’d also gained a little insight into the one thing that matters most to him outside the club—his kids. A man dedicated to his children and who would do anything to keep them, spoke volumes to me. I knew it had to have taken a lot for someone like Colt—too prideful for his own good—to ask for help, and I respected him more for it.

Then it dawned on me why he reacted the way he had when he saw me with Torch. He despised cheaters, and it all made sense to me now. I wasn’t going to condone his behavior, but I could understand it. Maybe he pushed people away, kept them at a distance, so he wouldn’t get hurt again. Underneath everything else, I saw something in Colt that intrigued me. He was capable of caring deeply for others, but he was also scared. I felt myself being drawn to that hidden part of him, and that was dangerous.

He was right that there was a lot to him I didn’t know, but did I need to know more than absolutely necessary? He didn’t want that sort of relationship, and I wasn’t going to let him hurt me anymore than he had already. No matter what I learned about him, I needed to remember everything between us was only for show.