He gives me a sad smile. “She do all the talking?”
“Yeah,” I admit, more than curious how he knows.
“That’s the problem with the fairer sex,” he says. “We think with our dicks, they feel with their hearts.” He indicates the newer model Softail parked next to his chopper. “One of the bikes we let visiting officers use. Good bike, just had a tune up last week.”
The key is in the ignition and I climb on, not caring about what I’m riding or where we’re going. No matter how far we get, Starlet will dominate my thoughts. I know what she represents now—who she reminds me of, Charlotte. Not the girl who abandoned me the night my father went crazy—but the girl I had hoped Charlotte would be. That’s what makes it so hard to leave Starlet alone in her time of need. I know if I were the one in her shoes, she’d fight to protect me—possibly kill to keep me.
But I’m not that man. I’m a nomad, not meant to get tied down by some brokenhearted old lady looking for a new life.
***
Starlet
I hear thebikes rumble down the driveway over the meaningless chatter going on around me at the table. Brick is gone. Whether he went voluntarily or otherwise, our time together is over. The realization is hard to take as I sip on my coffee. The hospitable old ladies have offered me eggs and bacon, pancakes, and doughnuts. How could I possibly eat when my heart is breaking? I can feel it inside my chest and as it slowly creeps down into my stomach—a wave of nausea.
So much so, I gag and jump up, running for the bathroom.
I barely make it in time, but manage to kick the door shut and lift the toilet seat. I throw up as I drop to my knees. The sinking feeling I have is overwhelming. Silver will be here soon and I’m helpless to do anything about it. My last hope just sped away on a Harley.
My gut revolts again and I lose whatever was left in my stomach. Once the violent waves subside, I sit back on my heels. How did it come to this? Why did I drop my guard and open my life up to Brick? I should have let Juanita shoot him in the shop…
Someone knocks on the door.
“I’ll be out in a minute,” I call.
“Starlet? It’s Angel.”
The president’s wife? I try to stand up but I’m too dizzy. “Come in.”
She opens the door and steps inside.
“Did Eagle send you?”
“No. One of the old ladies told me you were sick and I wanted to check on you myself.” She closes and locks the door.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” She steps closer. “For throwing up?” She indicates her pregnant belly and smiles. “I puke every morning.”
I can’t resist the urge to grin back at her. “For different reasons.” I close the toilet seat so she can sit and move aside, positioning myself on the floor, leaning my back against the wall for support. “I’m sorry for bringing my problems to your club.”
“Don’t be.” She accepts my invitation to sit down. “I know you were married to the president of the Devil’s Crusaders. Sometimes our men do things we completely disagree with. And no matter how much you plead for them to reconsider their decisions, it falls on deaf ears.”
“Are you saying you tried to talk Eagle out of sending me away.”
“Every woman at that table did.”
Her kindness is unexpected, and tears sting my eyes. “Thank you,” I manage to say before a sob follows. “You’re fortunate to have a man who values your opinion—a club that allows their old ladies to say anything.”
She leans forward and rests a comforting hand on my head. “It wasn’t always like that for me. In fact, I bet we have more in common than you think.”
I palm the tears away and look up at her, wondering if it’s possible. She’s so centered and happy, and I’m shattered—like a prisoner on death row waiting for the warden to come and escort me to the execution chamber. “I ran away because I didn’t want to live the life anymore. Once Sammy died…” I swallow my words, not wanting to share the burden of my misery.
“Eagle and I were separated for six years,” she begins, her radiant features suddenly mournful.
I close my eyes and listen wholeheartedly as she tells me her story. How she faked her own death at sixteen to protect Eagle from the Dead Dogs. How she fled her home and relocated to a new city and state under an assumed identity, living on the fringes to avoid discovery. How she suffered emotionally, depriving herself of the right to be happy. But one fateful night changed everything for her… she reconnected with Eagle at a bachelor party. And though he didn’t recognize her because she had plastic surgery to alter her looks, she was willing to risk everything for a chance to love him again.
“One night together changed our lives forever,” she says.
