“Maria left him an encrypted message on a thumb drive hidden in some puzzle box.”
“Oh my god, she loved those things. She had, like, ten. She collected them. She and Luca always had little contests to see who could open them first. There was only one he beat her on.”
“It was the one in the crate.”
“Wow,” she whispered. “Do you know what the message said?”
I shook my head. “Not entirely. But your brother will tell you when he’s ready. You know that.”
“Yeah, this is true.” She stroked my beard. “But we’re good?”
“We’re so fuckin’ good, baby. I promise.”
She finally gave me a genuine smile and I kissed her, then we rejoined her family.
* * *
Sabrina
Saturday night, a weekafter our engagement, a family night had been planned at the club and we had decided to stay overnight. Felix was beside himself with excitement and had barely slept the night before.
“Fox!” I called up the stairs. “Did you pack a bag?”
“I’m helping him,” Stoney called back. “We’ll be right down.”
I threw some snacks in a shopping bag, then grabbed the wine and beer I’d bought for the party.
“How do I look?” Felix asked, standing straight and settling his hands on his hips.
He wore a pair of dark jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and tiny leather vest that made him look like the cutest baby biker ever.
“Oh my god, you look amazing.”
“Dad said we’ll get a patch for my cut.”
“I can’t wait to see it all finished.” I leaned down and cupped his face. “But you have to promise me you will never ride a motorcycle.”
“Sabrina,” Stoney admonished.
“What?” I challenged. “It’s not like I’m thrilled you ride, either.”
“We’ll talk about this later,” he warned.
“I—”
“Baby, we’ll talk about it later,” he stressed.
I wrinkled my nose, but dropped the subject, and helped Felix with his brand new motorcycle boots while Stoney loaded everything into the car. We drove to the compound in silence. I was annoyed that I’d been shushed, and Stoney was obviously annoyed by the fact that I preferred all his bones unbroken and his brain inside his skull. This opinion obviously made me a monster, or as he put it, ‘head of the safety patrol.’
At least I was head of something in this relationship.
We pulled up in front of the cabin and I released Felix to run inside ahead of us while I went to the back of the car to help Stoney with all our stuff.
“You gotta stow that talk, Sabrina,” he bossed.
“I don’t have to do anything.”
“Babe, I’m road captain for a motorcycle club. I ride,” he said, pulling bags out of the trunk. “That’s not going to change.”
