Small talk starts up between bites of food and Ivy feeds Charlotte some of her baby food while enjoying her own meal. She’s such a great mom and rarely asks for any help, but will accept it from those of us she trusts around her daughter. I have a feeling she didn’t have much help from her ex and learned to do everything on her own. Ivy is so much stronger than she believes and I hope her time here will show her just what shebrings to her own life. That she doesn’t need a man even though I have a feeling Manic will fill that role in a heartbeat.
“Are you ready to go home?” Viper asks me as Rex remains mainly silent tonight.
“I am, but I’m not. I like that I’ll be on my own and can continue working on myself without a ton of people surrounding me. At the same time, I’ve never been alone before. I’ve always had someone with me. At home it was always my family or my brother there. When I moved to college, I had a roommate in the dorm. Then TJ lived with me when I bought my house. This will be the first time I don’t have to share my space with anyone else. Everything I do will be for me and about me,” I answer him as everyone pays attention to my response.
“I get it. It might be hard going from having people around you at all times to being completely alone. If you need anything, call and we’ll do what we can,” Roger says with a bright smile as he stands and walks over to grab the cake. “We’ll have our dessert so you can head out. One of the guys can help you load your car so you’re not struggling with anything.”
“Sounds perfect,” I respond as Roger sets the cake down and cuts us all a piece. Annistyn nibbles at her piece after leaving some of her dinner on the plate she cleared away. I wonder what’s going on with her, but won’t voice my questions with so many other people here.
We all eat the delicious cake before Rex gets up and removes my plate and his. He then goes into my room and grabs my things to take outside. Annistyn leaves the kitchen with a large bag and lets me know it’s dinner and dessert to take home with me. I get hugs from Ivy and her while the guys remain standoffish and simply tell me goodbye. I leave them all behind and use the side door to make my way out to my car. Rex is standing by my door and opens it as I get closer to him.
“Gonna miss seein’ ya here, Doll,” he says as he takes the walker from me and folds it before sliding it in the backseat. “If you need anythin’ at your parents’ house, call me and I’ll make sure you have it. There will be a Prospect there for safety because we still don’t know if the asshole will do anythin’.”
“I’ll call Elara if I need anything, Master. I’m sure you’re a busy man and don’t need to waste your time with me. When I’m ready to have that conversation, I’ll let you know,” I tell him, sliding in my seat the best I can but leaving my door open because I don’t want to hurt Rex if he tries to keep the door open.
“I’m not goin’ anywhere, Taleah. Thought you’d realize that by now. Somethin’ happened to me that day I found you on the floor in your store. I fuckin’ shattered and the pieces can only be put back together again by you. Yeah, I know we have a lot of shit to work through, Doll, but we’ll get there. I’m not askin’ for you to forgive me right this second. I know I broke you that night. Knew that’s what was gonna happen the second I made that decision. But, what you saw isn’t what really happened. So, I’ll wait until you’re ready to meet with me. Just let me help if you need it,” he says, his voice taking on a pleading tone I haven’t heard from him before.
Rex has always had a confidence in him and he doesn’t ever second guess himself. Every decision he makes is with precision and he’s thought through all of the possible outcomes there may be. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with him so long ago.
I don’t respond to him as I close the door and start my car. Rex backs up enough I won’t hurt him or run him over and I leave the ranch. The trip through town is quiet because I leave the radio off for the first time and simply sit with my own thoughts. When I pull into my parents’ driveway, I shut the engine off and look at the house I called home for most of mylife. It’s completely dark inside with the barest hint of daylight remaining. I get out and grab my walker and the duffle bag, attempting to get inside with everything so I don’t have to come back out later when I feel stronger.
Using my keys, I enter the house and turn on the light in the hallway. It’s bright enough so I can head into my childhood bedroom. Before heading down the hall, I reset the alarm so I’ll be alerted to anyone trying to get in the house while I’m here alone. Setting the duffle bag down on the chair inside my door, I head for bed and don’t bother changing out of my clothes. All I do is remove my shoes before climbing in under the blankets. Tears fall silently from my eyes because I fully understand how Roger feels about losing family and friends from the ranch.
The silence in the house is deafening as I listen to each and every sound but not jumping in fear like I did weeks ago after TJ attacked me. I’m not about to turn the two lights off either. While I might not be afraid of TJ breaking into the house because I know he’s in jail, it doesn’t mean I’m not afraid of being here alone. Tomorrow is a new day and I can try turning out the lights then. When I’ve had some time to adjust to being home and start to put a routine in place I can live with. For now, it’s okay if I have to leave a few lights on, set a security alarm for extra precaution, and remaining vigilant when I’m away from my house or shop. I didn’t even see the Prospect Rex was talking about so I’m not sure if someone is here already or not. Maybe Rex was lying and no one will show up. Right now, all I care about is getting some sleep and letting my body heal. Tomorrow I can ask a million questions I need answers to.
Chapter Seventeen
Master
IT’S BEEN A week since I’ve laid eyes on Taleah. She hasn’t been to her store and when she was supposed to go to physical therapy, she never showed up. Yes, I was there waiting for her because I wanted to make sure she was okay living in her parents’ house all alone. That place holds so many memories of our childhood and her brother. I’m not sure I could stay in a place where so many memories, good and bad, were made and still linger. It’s bad enough going to see my parents because Taleah and her brother spent a lot of time at our house. Almost as much as we were with them at their house. I’ve been at the ranch for my shifts, shorter ones since she’s no longer there, and I still haven’t seen her. I’m going out of my damn mind and ready to go find her at her parents’ because I need to make sure she’s okay and not losing her mind in an empty house.
Today, I’m out riding to keep a clear head so I don’t do something I’ll regret when I finally lay eyes on Taleah. I pull over and park along the side of the road a short way down from her bookstore where she’s currently standing with a drink in hand as she looks up and down the street. Getting off my bike, I start walking toward Taleah. My eyes are locked on her as I drink in the sight of her. She’s wearing a short black skirt that displays her toned, tan legs and makes them appear so much longer than they already are. A black tank top covers her chest showing off just the right amount of cleavage with a suit jacket over top. She doesn’t have it buttoned right now and I wonder who she’sdressing up for. Especially when I get to her feet and find her wearing a pair of dark red heels I want to fuck her in. She’s sexy as hell right now. There’s no make-up on her face and her long hair is pulled back in a loose braid.
“Hey!” a woman says, stepping up in front of me when I’m less than five feet from Taleah. “It’s been a while since I saw you last. How about you take me for a ride on your bike to somewhere more private where I can ride you.”
I honestly don’t remember ever seeing this woman before. She’s got blonde hair that’s an obvious dye job with her dark roots showing. A fake tan coats her thin body and her clothes leave nothing to the imagination. Make-up is caked on her face and I know whoever she fucks will end up wearing half of it when it melts off of her face.
“I don’t know who the hell you are,” I state, trying to move around her to get to Taleah.
My girl is glaring in my direction and I have a feeling I know exactly what’s on her mind in this moment. This woman just asked me for a ride on my bike and that’s something I never allowed Taleah to do. I always came up with one excuse after another. It wasn’t because I didn’t want Taleah on my bike, her body wrapped around mine. My main reason was because I didn’t feel I was an experienced enough rider and refused to be in an accident with her. I wouldn’t have survived hurting my girl because I made a stupid decision in order to keep her from getting her feelings hurt. Yes, I did put other girls on my bike, but I didn’t have the same beliefs back then and I was gaining experience with a passenger on my bike so I could feel confident once I finally put Taleah there and made it her seat no one else ever got a chance to sit on again. Her brother is the one who took her and my sister for rides on his bike. I remember Taleahtalking about getting her own bike so she never had to ask for another ride from someone again. I have no doubt she got one.
“Don’t act as if you don’t know me now. I’ve been at the clubhouse a few times and have asked you every single time for a ride on your bike. You always just walk away from me without an answer. I know you guys love to ride and I want to go for one. Now!,” she demands, wrapping her hand around my arm and digging her fake nails into my skin. If I pull away from her, I’ll have marks on my arm and that’s not about to happen as I reach up and pry her fingers from me.
“I’m sure he’d love to take you for a ride. He has no problem putting women on the back of his bike. Just a word of caution, you’re one of many and it’s not special for him. You’re not special and will just be another notch on his bed and bike,” Taleah says, her voice hard and cold as she continues to glare in my direction for a minute before disappearing into Fantasy Realm.
“What a bitch! Like she has the right to talk about you like that,” the woman says, trying once again to latch onto me.
“You call her a bitch again and I’ll make sure you go through hell. That is theonlywoman who deserves to talk to me and about me any way she chooses. You’re the one who has no right to talk to me, look in my direction, or try to make demands of me. I willneverput you on the back of my bike. None of the guys in the club will. In fact, I hope you enjoyed yourself the last time you were at the clubhouse because you’re banned from showin’ up there again. I see you even close to the compound, and I’ll run you out of town for good. You hear me?” I ask the woman as she starts to shake in fear while looking up at me with wide eyes like she didn’t just insult Taleah with her petty games of trying to claim me in public.
“You can’t do that! No one will let you keep me away from the clubhouse,” she says, her voice shaking as she takes a few steps away from me.
“Yeah, I can. I’m an officer in the club and one of the foundin’ members. My word will always carry more weight than anythin’ you try to say to the guys. One conversation is all it will take for you to be run out of Glendale permanently. Fuckin’ try me. And just so you know, no woman has ever been on the back of this bike and they never will be. That seat is reserved for the woman you just ran off with your bullshit,” I growl before turning and heading back to my bike. There’s no way in hell I can talk to Taleah today after this shit show.
I sit on my bike and watch the woman race down the street away from Fantasy Realm. My mind instantly goes to the first time I denied putting Taleah on the back of my bike.
It was a gorgeous day out and all I wanted to do was ride my bike and spend the day exploring. I’m currently at Taleah’s house in her room watching a movie with her wrapped in my arms as she dozes once again. We can’t ever get through an entire movie without her falling asleep. Even the ones she chooses. I know my sister is in with Taleah’s brother and they’re also watching a movie. We didn’t want to watch the same thing so we split up. Honestly, I just wanted some one-on-one time with my girl and I know my best friend wanted to hang out with my sister on his own.
A knock on the door sounds before it opens to reveal my best friend.
