Page 61

“That’s brilliant.” Kodiak laughs as the waitress stops by our table with a bag of food and a drink for Peyton.

“Here y’all go and here’s your check.” She rips off a piece of paper and lays it face down on the table before telling us to have a good day and walking away. As Kodiak grabs the bill and goes to the counter to pay it, Storm and I lead Peyton out to the parking lot.

“Just how many pills did you give that man and how long do you think he’ll be out?”

She snorts. “Three and for a while. He doesn’t even drink so he’s a total lightweight.”

Nodding, I climb on my bike and relax into the seat, feeling a little more at ease knowing that her ex isn’t out there chasing us down right now. Kodiak meets us outside and after he climbs on his bike, we head back toward the clubhouse, my mind racing with thoughts of my date with Juliette tonight. I’m fucking lucky as hell that she accepted my apology after the shit I pulled the other night and I’m damn sure not going to make a mistake like that again. I meant everything I said to her and as much as I’m struggling to push past the fear that I have kept buried for so many years, I am determined not to lose her. She’s fucking everything I always wanted and then some and I’ll do whatever it takes to convince her that I can be everything she needs and wants in a man. I check my watch as we pull into the clubhouse parking lot and scowl.

Two p.m.

We don’t have plans until six and it’s not like I could swing home and just hang out with her since she’s at her new office, working to get everything set up and running. She was so excited when she told me about the office space she found above Mercedes and I love that she is so close to Storm’s wife, Ali, and Chance’s wife, Carly. If anything ever went down and we needed to assign protection to the girls, it helps to have them all in one place. Plus, I can worry about her just a tiny bit less knowing there’s someone there who would call me immediately if something happened to her.

Or they will now, at least, since I claimed her today.

Shit.

I’m gonna have to explain that to her and we technically haven’t even had our first date.

Hopefully, she won’t be too mad at me.

I park my bike next to Storm’s and climb off before helping Peyton down off Storm’s bike as he holds her food. She smiles up at me in gratitude and grabs her food from Storm.

“Moose!” a voice screeches and I flinch, my heart jumping into my throat as I turn toward the door as Tawny charges across the parking lot. “Is this her? Is this the little slut you left me for?”

Jesus Christ.

“What the fuck are you still doing here, Tawny?” I ask, stepping in front of Peyton to block her path. She slams into me and pounds her fists against my chest as I roll my eyes.

“You motherfucker! I can’t believe you did this to me.”

“For fuck’s sake, Tawny. I didn’t do anything to you. Dial it down.”

Her fists pause as she looks up at me with wide eyes. “Did you just tell me to calm down? After you left me for this ugly skank?”

“Enough!” Blaze says, his voice booming out across the parking lot and Tawny jerks back and almost shrinks into herself. “Tawny, you are banned from this clubhouse from here on out. If I see you anywhere around this place or my guys again, that photo we talked about will find its way to Detective Rodriguez. Are we clear?”

She nods. “Yes.”

“Leave,” he orders and she glances up at me before turning back to him. “Now!”

With a huff, she turns and marches toward her car but not before throwing me a look over her shoulder that clearly says “This isn’t over”. We watch her go before Storm and Kodiak lead Peyton inside and I turn to Blaze.

“What do you have on her, boss?”

He laughs. “A photo of her doing blow off of some chick’s thigh.”

“Can she be prosecuted for a photo?” I ask and he laughs again as he shrugs.

“Dunno but she doesn’t know that.” He turns back to me and claps my shoulder. “Keep an eye out for her, you hear? She’s trouble.”

I nod, watching her car as it disappears down the street and he turns back toward the clubhouse before spinning around again.

“Oh… congrats on your girl, by the way. But I thought it wasn’t like that? Isn’t that what you said when I called you on your trip?”

I laugh and give him a little shove. “Yeah, go ahead. Rub it in. I was wrong and you were right.”

“Naw, I’m happy for you, Moose. Really.”