I get changed again and go to the counter. The sales assistant is talking to Rage, but he looks uninterested in their conversation. When our eyes meet, his light up and he asks, “How’d it go?”
“Good, actually.” I blink a few times, still pleasantly surprised. “They’re comfortable.”
He graces me with a wolfish grin. “I can’t wait to see it on you.”
I smile at his enthusiasm and place the items on the counter. “I’ll take them.”
“Oh no,” Rage says, and steps ahead of me, pulling out his wallet. “I wanted them, I’ll pay for them.”
I let him go, and once they’re paid for, I stand on my toes and kiss his cheek. “Thank you.”
He reaches for my hand again, and we walk back over to the truck.
“Rage from the War Brothers MC, is that you?” a deep voice asks.
I glance over to see two tall, rough-looking men. One is broader and more muscular than the other, his tight T-shirt straining against bulging muscles. Instinctively, I step closer to Rage, and he immediately moves in front of me, shielding me completely.
Rage stands at his full height, and his voice deepens. “Yes, it is. Why? Do I know you?”
“This is Ivan,” one of them says, his thick Russian accent unmistakable. “He’ll be fighting you soon.”
My whole body freezes. I don’t like that Rage fights. It’s not like it’s legitimate; it’s illegal and he’s fighting against rough people. A crowd I thought he wouldn’t usually hang around.
“Okay,” Rage answers nonchalantly.
“I’ve seen you fight,” the man continues, “but I think Ivan will finally beat you and you’ll lose yourundefeatedtitle.”
“I guess we’ll see, won’t we?” Rage says confidently.
The two men are huge, but Rage can clearly hold his own. He has balls of steel, that’s for sure.
The other man laughs. “We will. And who’s the lovely lady you’re hiding from us?”
I flinch, and dread assaults me.
“None of your business.” Rage’s voice is firm, but it’s layered with a warning.
“Okay, okay. Well, we’ll see you in the ring soon.”
Rage turns, still shielding me so they can’t see my face. We walk to the truck with quick strides and put the bags in the back. He’s quiet, so I let him calm down on the way back to the clubhouse. There’s anger rolling off of him. He’s tense, which makes me feel uneasy.
Once he parks the truck, I’m burning to ask what’s wrong with him, but with everything that happened with my exes, I’mmore cautious now. I’m unwilling to upset him. I don’t know how he’ll react when he’s emotional and angry, so I quietly grab the bags and follow him upstairs and into his room.
“I need to talk to Reaper and Twitch,” he says firmly, and walks out.
I take all the price tags off the clothes and take them downstairs to wash. I’m glad to see Ava’s and Elena’s faces in the kitchen.
“Can you please show me where the washing machine is?”
“Of course,” Ava replies. She takes me over and shows me how to use their washing machine. I load my clothes and then take a seat at the kitchen counter next to Elena while Ava peels potatoes.
“How was your shopping trip?” Elena asks. “I saw you come in with some bags.”
“Great, I got almost everything I needed,” I say, but then I think of the two men we had an encounter with and my body shakes. They were scary.
“What’s wrong?” Ava asks, concerned.
I wonder whether I should tell them or not, but maybe they can help with how to approach the situation. “Two scary-looking men noticed Rage and mentioned how one of them was going to beat him in the fights. They were huge and not the type of people you mess with.” Reaper-style tall and bulky. Worry builds inside me when I think of Rage having to fight him.
