Trying to tell me helovedme? Ridiculous.
Like I could believe he really meant it. . .
“How about you take me back home?”
Abraham hesitated.
He still looked so. . . monstrously big, towering over me, with that yummy smell of motor oil and leather.
“Polly, I—can’t promise I won’t kidnap you again. Very carefully, of course. But I’m not a very good man. I’m trying to be better, and I just want a chance to prove it.”
“Well, don’t expect to get any pussy.”
“I always said I only wanted willing pussy. I only wantyourwilling pussy. And I’m gonna wait for it.”
“You might be waiting a long time. Like forever.”
He shrugged.
“You’re worth waiting for.”
“Oh, really? Then why did you say those things to your brother?”
“I didn’t want to admit how I felt about you.”
“Lame.I don’t even care. Why won’t you let me go? I heard what you think about me loud and clear. I left. I’m not here to nag you.You’rethe one dragging me back.”
“Because I was wrong! I wish I’d never said that shit. I want you back. I want everything about you back. I loved your—puttering about and doing whatever shit you wanted. Being happy, your laugh. Fuck, I miss it so much. I missed you like hell when you were gone. Will you let me prove it to you?”
“Do I have a choice?” I asked saltily. “You’ve just said you’ll kidnap me.
“Yes. Of course. Just--damn it Polly. Please. Look,” and he gestured at the wall of the clubhouse where there was a long list pinned there. “I have some dates planned for us. Let me prove it’s not just about pussy.”
“Dates are thebareminimum for any man,” I said severely, but inside I was a little bit curious what kind of dates the Bonemangler had planned.
Not enough to forgive him, but curious.
“Let me introduce you to our new recruit,” he said. “He’s the one who is working to find Ma.”
The brothers all nodded greetings to me, with Fizz hissing loudly, “We all think he’s an asshole.”
Abraham ignored him, gesturing instead to a curly-haired young white guy, who had a calculator in his pocket and was typing furiously on a keyboard, surrounded by multiple monitors.
“Asparagus, this is Polly,” he said. “Whatever rules I’ve explained about Legends MC do not apply to her. She is exempt from everything. She can go anywhere, do anything, and say anything to me without repercussion. Do you understand?”
“Yes, boss!” he chirped. “And Prez, I’ve got my first solid lead. Age progression imaging has given me a few hits. I’mhopeful I’ll have an answer for you soon. And then, of course, I’m hoping to be able to stay on. I know there are many tasks I could help you with.”
“We’ll see,” said Abraham, but my mind was in a whirl.
Was he truly serious about finding his mother now? He had seemed violently opposed to the idea before.
And could he possibly be serious about making all thesechanges?
CHAPTER 20
Abraham
Iwas hoping that Polly would be more impressed with the dates I had planned—I had sweated over them for hours, typing out ideas with two fingers on the new computer like I was strategizing a raid. Would she like them? Were they romantic enough? Did they express properly that I was sorry for being an asshole and a bastard?
