Page 13 of Axle's Angel
“Come on girls, let’s go.” Siera calls out, moving to her ride.
Janis stops by Roman and looks up at him. “Don’t make me regret this,” she warns, slapping a piece of paper to his chest. He looks at in stunned silence, then lifts dark eyes to hers.
“You won’t,” he promises.
She gives him a nod and climbs into the SUV.
They wave at us as they drive away.
“Holy shit,” Roman hisses as we watch their vehicle disappear down the road. “Bolt out of the fucking blue.”
Chuckling, I turn my head towards him. Clapping his shoulder, I shake him. “Going to have to grow up, brother.”
“Yeah,” he sighs, his gaze on his best friend’s door. “About time I reckon.”
“I’d say,” I laugh. “Have to give up the whores too.”
He shrugs, “Not a problem. I rarely use them anymore. But yeah, that could cause issues.”
“Want my advice?” I ask.
“Yeah Pres, hit me with it.”
“Be straight with her. Don’t keep anything back. She’s not the type to lie to or omit stuff from. She’s been through something.I know what, but that’s for her to tell you. I will say though, she’s been on her own since her mid-twenties and brought those girls up by herself with the help of her family. If she gives you a chance, you’ll be a lucky man. That woman has loyalty written all over her, but only if you treat her right.”
He’s silent, and for the first time since I’ve known him there’s not a hint of mischief on his face. Roman’s a good brother, always willing to get stuck in and help with whatever is needed. Between him and Rusty the Casino is run like a smooth machine, but he likes to have a good time when he’s got downtime. I never thought he’d ever settle down.
“You’re right, Pres. Let’s get Axle and his lady through the next weeks, then I’ll concentrate on Siera. About time I grew up, and if it goes with Axle like I think it will then I really do need to grow up.”
“Happens to all of us brother,” I reply, giving him a smirk. I walk back to my bike and get on for the short ride to my house on the far side of the residences I’d allowed the brothers to build. I laugh when he gives me the finger before pushing his bike next door to his place.
Changes are coming, and I hope they’re good for the club and don’t cause problems.
Chapter 5
Angel
“Holy shit, I’m tired,” Siera groans, flopping into the camp chair across from my makeshift desk. She’s not alone in feeling that. We all are. We’ve been working from sunup to sundown for the last four weeks, and we’re making headway on the refurbs.
The garden centre is ready for us to stock. We knocked out an arch in the wall between the main centre and the coffee shop on the one side and did the same on the other side.
That would become the crystal and gift shop, that way people didn’t have to walk outside to go to either, although they could if they wanted to.
Throwing my pen onto my desk, I stretch my arm over my head, cracking my fingers and groaning as I sway from side to side to release tension in my lower back, shoulders, and neck.
“Me too,” I admit. “Why don’t we finish early today, grab the girls and go over to the next town and eat? They have better food at the diner there.”
Siera rolls her head towards me and gives me a tired smile. “Sounds good. Come on.” She pushes up from her chair, leans over and switches my laptop off. Grabbing my hand, she pulls me up. “I’m not leaving you here while I go and find them. You’ll start working again.”
Laughing, I allow her to lead me out of the shop, locking it up and setting the alarm on the way out. We find the girls making the frames for the shelf in the open shed out back that we’ll eventually use to store mulch, fertiliser, and such.
Janis pushes her protective goggles to the top of her head. “What’s up?”
Tru puts her paintbrush on the lid of her paint tin.
“Your mom and I have decided we’re finishing early today and going to the next town to get something to eat. Are you guys about done?”
“Fuck yeah,” Tru mutters. Picking up the brush, she closes her tin of paint and walks over to the bucket with water, placing herbrush in the holder. “I’ll wash that later. Hurry up Janis, before they change their minds.”
