Page 33 of Riding Hard

It’s my turn to shrug a shoulder. “Why not?” I ask. “Mansions, commercial, we’re the best in Nevada. You can’t tell me with all these businesses, all these giant fucking houses, that none of these people are drowning and need relief? We know they are.”

Dare dips his chin in a single nod. “And how the fuck do we get them to find us?”

My lips twitch into a smirk. “Hound,” I state. “He’s the club secretary. Isn’t that what he does? Research, paperwork, communication? We’ve done a few big jobs in the past year. Do they have friends who need help?”

Dare snorts, then pushes up to stand. “I’ll talk to him, explain the situation, and we’ll go from there. But, Loot?”

I hum, not sure if his question really needs a verbal response and wait for him to finish. When he does, I’m not sure how I feel about it.

“Yeah?” I call out.

“We may need to talk to the Russians.”

Fuck.

He might be right, but that’s the last goddamn thing I want to do, now or ever. My phone rings, and I look down to see that it’s Two-Pump. Reaching for my device, I slide my thumb across the screen but then touch the speaker icon.

“Two,” I call out.

“I found the bitch,” he announces.

Hell.

Yes.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-EIGHT

JULIETTE

“I love this for you,” Elodie announces.

We’re finishing up our pastries and coffee, and the conversation is still very focused on me and Slade. Loot, as they call him. I’d like to talk about something else, but I’m afraid that if I try to shift it to another topic, we’ll be talking about Victor, and I really don’t want to talk about him.

Not ever again.

I know I’ll have to tell Slade more about him eventually, but right now, I want to forget he exists. I’m feeling wildly optimistic that I might actually be safe here. That this is the endgame for me. I want it to be. I want this life.

“I don’t know if this is going to amount to anything,” I say.

If I don’t get too excited, then I won’t be too disappointed if it doesn’t work out—at least that’s what I tell myself. It’s a lie, because I’m beyond excited. I want this so badly that I can practically taste it.

Taste him, maybe more like it.

“It will,” Alex says, although his words come out more like a purr. “He knew what he was looking at when his eyes locked in on you.”

My heart races because I don’t know if I believe him, but I want to. “Okay, enough about all of that. We need to just let that relationship play out. You’ll be an old lady soon, you’ll get your tattoo, maybe a wedding ring, and live happily ever after. But now that you’re here and you’re here for good, where are you going to live?”

I didn’t think about starting over again. I mean, I did, but not the details of it. I need everything again: mattresses, kitchen, bathroom, everything. Closing my eyes slowly, I let out a heavy exhale.

I ignore the talk about being an old lady, rings, and happily ever after, mainly because I don’t know what old lady means, and I can’t dream about the rest of it. I can’t allow myself that, because it’s just going to disappoint me—greatly.

“I have no idea,” I say.

Alex slides his phone across the small table, and I flick my gaze down to the screen. It’s a small apartment, but there’s a pool. Picking it up, I blink at the price. It’s only a thousand dollars a month.

“You’ll be working full time. I think you’ll be able to afford it, depending on your other bills,” Elodie murmurs.