I didn’t really register that because Tyra clearly took the “commando tight” declaration as indication she could share and spoke again.

And what she said tore me apart.

“Hop and I had a rocky beginning seeing as, when he was with Mitzi, I saw him in his bed in the Compound with a biker groupie bitch extraordinaire by the name of BeeBee.”

My vision went blurry.

“Holy crap,” Elvira breathed. “I always liked him. He’s a cool guy. And, never thought I would say this in my whole life, but that badass biker ’tache of his does things to my girl parts. I can’t believe this. He’s a cheater?”

Tyra nodded and the room started swaying.

“Tack says it’s none of his business or mine. Boys do what they do. Some of them are true to their old ladies, some of them are, well…” she shrugged, “not. It’s uncool but it’s part of the life. Actually, part of life since cheating isn’t limited to bikers, and Tack’s right, it really isn’t my business.”

I had the weird sensation of feeling I was going to pass out at the same time I was hyper-alert and concentrating on every word Ty-Ty said.

“Honestly,” she continued, “no offense to the sisterhood, but after all that went down and things got super ugly with Mitzi, Tack didn’t share any specifics but she came around and was totally a bitch, like, a Naomi bitch, so I have to admit, it was the one time in my life I kinda got it. Though he should have cut her loose before he nailed a biker groupie, especially one like BeeBee.”

“This is what I don’t get,” Elvira grumbled. “They wanna go lookin’, they want fresh meat, why don’t they cut us loose first? Why they gotta keep us on a string? I mean, haven’t these dudes seen Fatal Attraction? Hope Floats? That shit destroys a woman, both women involved, for God’s sake, and it isn’t like men don’t know it.”

“Is Tabby okay?” I blurted and both their heads swung my way.

“Pardon?” Tyra asked.

“I, well, sorry girls, but I don’t have a lot of time. I need to meet a client. Last minute meeting. But I wanted to stop by, Ty-Ty,” I looked at her and held all I was feeling in by the skin of my teeth. “See if Tab was okay with her Grandma and, you know, everything.”

“She’s good. They’re heading down for the funeral this weekend. The rest, well, the Club has drama then the Club smoothes out drama, and they tend not to screw around so that’s all good,” Tyra answered. Her eyes narrowed on me and I nodded. “Are you good?” she asked.

“Yeah, just, I have this client on my mind and, you know, blowout on Chaos, the whole thing with Tabby,” I lied. “But it’s good things are good.”

“Girl, you sure you’re good?” Elvira asked and I looked at her to see her eyes were also narrowed on me.

“I just, just…”

God, I had to get out of there.

I looked back to Tyra.

“You know Tack visited me?”

I saw my best friend’s body go still before she replied, “I know.”

“I, well, I’ve been thinking about that and I thought I was ready to, um… discuss things with you. So I kinda came here to do that, as well as, of course, checking on Tab. But, being here, I think I need a little more time. Just, I don’t know, a week or, uh… two.”

Her face changed, went soft, sweet, and last, immensely relieved.

She loved me.

She was worried about me.

She was happy I was there to talk things out.

So Ty-Ty.

At least that was a relief, a massive one I unfortunately couldn’t fully feel seeing as my heart was bleeding.

“You take all the time you need, honey. I’m always here,” she replied.

She always was. Why hadn’t I remembered that?

I nodded.

“Always,” she repeated and I nodded again.

“Me too, girl,” Elvira put in.

I looked at her. Her face was soft, sweet, and concerned.

She’d been worried about me too.

So Elvira.

I nodded at her too.

“I have to go,” I said hurriedly.

Both of them smiled at me.

My smile was shaky and I knew it, I knew they saw it but I didn’t have much strength left to hold back all I was feeling so I had to move on before I lost it.

I did this by turning and going out the door on a vague wave. My pumps clicked on the forecourt as I practically ran toward the Compound. I threw open the door, went through and saw Hop sitting on a stool at the curve of the bar. His eyes came right to me. He caught my expression and worry suffused his features.

He got off his chair and when I made it to him, he grabbed my hand and murmured, “My room.”

I nodded.

He led me to his room. I pulled my hand free and walked in three paces.

After he closed the door, he turned to me and took a step toward me.

I took a step back.

His brows shot together and his eyes studied my face.

“Jesus, f**k, it didn’t go good with Cherry?” he asked with disbelief.

“I know about BeeBee.”

I watched his body freeze.

There it was.

He’d done it.

He’d cheated on Mitzi with a woman named BeeBee.

God!

“We’re over,” I declared. “Over,” I repeated. “I do not f**k cheaters. I do not look at cheaters. I do not even breathe the same air,” I leaned into him and finished on a hiss, “as cheaters. I never want to see you again, Hop. I never want you to touch me again. As of now, you’ve ceased to exist.”

After I delivered that speech, I ran.

I ran out of his room, through the Compound and to my car.

The problem with this was that I knew he came after me.

He didn’t say a word but when I started up my car, I heard a Harley roar and I knew it was his. And when I drove, I saw him on his bike right behind me. And when I parked in my garage, he pulled into my back drive.

So when I hustled through my courtyard, opened the sliding glass door, I couldn’t close it because his hand was on it and I could feel the heat of his body at my back.

I gave up, rushed in and whirled on him, feeling, actually feeling myself coming apart at the seams.

He had to go.

“You don’t get to be here, Hop. You never get to be here again,” I clipped.