“Question for you,” I said, a smirk on my face. “My door is kicked down, and last I recall, I don’t think any of the Fallen Saints made their way over to me. Would you happen to know anything about it?”
Michael went silent for a couple of seconds before he started laughing.
“Yeah, so, I thought when you called me that you were being held against your will at your place, and so when I saw it was locked, I just kicked the door in to try and rescue you. I guess in the aftermath of everything, I got so caught up that I just never considered telling you.”
“You didn’t think it was important?”
“Well, I mean, there were slightly more important things to take care of!”
It was kind of fun having Michael be uncomfortable.
“Well, you did a good job of taking care of the Saints, but now I’m left without a place,” I said. “So tell you what. You want to make it up to me?”
“How much do you want?”
Damn, does he really think that I wanted to break up with him? Is he that... set on thinking it’s done?
“No, silly, I don’t want money. Although I won’t refuse it. I just want a place to stay tonight. And seeing as how I haven’t seen your place, I think it would be nice to have a place to sleep, wouldn’t it?”
Michael made a “hmm” sound as if he felt silly for not realizing why I had actually made my request.
“That would be ideal, wouldn’t it?” he said. “Yeah, I’ll text you my address.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll... ”
And then I realized I still didn’t have my car with me.
“I’ll be asking you for one more favor,” I said with a guilty smirk. “Do you think you can give me a ride to your place? On your bike, if possible?”
* * *
Ten minutes later, the sound of the motorcycle engine reached my ears. I had never stepped inside my place, because what was the point? It wasn’t like I could cool down by stepping inside, and I didn’t need to grab anything in my place. Instead, I stood by the edge of the curb. I probably looked very rundown, given that I was wearing a plain white shirt and jeans, but fortunately, a quick look at Michael’s face told me that it didn’t matter at all.
“Hop on board,” he said, tilting his head backward. “You’re probably killing to be inside.”
“I mean, I did just spend almost forty-eight hours in the hospital, it’s not as much a desire as you might think,” I said, patting his chest when I’d sat down. “C’mon. Let’s go.”
I felt Michael visibly relax when I touched him, which was telling since men usually tensed with excitement from a woman’s touch.
In any case, Michael revved the engine to life, and we roared out of the parking lot. The feeling of being on the bike was the exact same as before physically, but there was just something so emotionally sweet about it that was difficult to put into words. It was like now, I didn’t have to worry about the consequences of being on the bike with him. Sure, there were other Fallen Saints out there, but the one that had caused my family the most suffering was gone.
But, alas, the bike ride didn’t last nearly as long as the first one. Instead, this one was a quick jaunt through Springsville, planting me on the south side in short order. Michael lived in what looked like a townhome in a quiet enough place, a two-story building.
He killed the bike, took off his helmet, took off mine, and guided me up the steps. I stepped inside to a place cleaner than I ever would have imagined a biker having—it was, no joke, cleaner than mine, and I wasn’t just saying that because my door had been knocked off its hinges. It genuinely was a cleaner place.
“Wow...”
“Pristine, huh?” Michael said. “I got it from my time in the military. When you’re in there, if your bed has so much as a single crease, you’re running until sunset. I learned very quickly to value order and cleanliness.”
“I’ll be,” I said. “You’re just full of surprises.”
He led me upstairs to his bedroom and invited me to throw my bag by the base of the bed. He did have one guest bedroom, but I appreciated that he was honest enough to put me in his room. It was clear enough where this was headed.
And maybe it was time for me to make note of it and clear the air.
“Taking me to here, huh?” I said, my smile revealing I was more than okay with it.
“Would you prefer—”
