Page 38 of Riding Hard

He shakes his head once, his hand falling from my bicep. “Let’s go,” he calls out.

The three of us leave the apartment, me with a new set of keys. I can’t believe that this is real. And now all I have to do is figure out how I’m going to furnish it. I don’t know how, but I’m going to make it happen, because this is my new future—my new life.

A life without Victor… hopefully.

Alex and I grab a new phone and snacks because he says the clubhouse has no decent food. As we walk out of Walmart, he snatches my old phone from me and stands at the trash can.

“Do you need any numbers from this?” he asks.

I don’t even have to think about his question. I already know the answer. No. I’ve made zero friends over the years. No contacts. Nothing. I’ve been a ghost of a person. Being here with these people over the last week, I’ve made more connections than I had in all the years before I met Victor.

“I don’t need anything,” I state.

He frowns slightly, then I watch as he breaks my old phone in half. Alex actually snaps the phone, and my breath hitches. I blink a couple of times before he clears his throat.

“Okay, now we don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

Together, Alex and I walk back toward my car, and the entire way, I cannot believe that this is my life. I found people who actually give a shit about me. They don’t even know me, yet they’re willing to help me this way.

It’s just unbelievable.

I should probably be wary of it, especially with my past. I’m not. I’m taking this whole thing as a sign that this is where I was meant to be.

It doesn’t take us long to get to the clubhouse. I ask Alex some questions about the guy he’s seeing. They call him Fantasy. Seems like an appropriate name to me, especially with how Alex talks about him. He sounds like a fantasy.

When I pull up to the clubhouse, the person behind the little guard gate doesn’t even come to the window. He just opens up the gate for us to drive through.

The moment I pull into the makeshift parking lot, I’m surprised to see so many cars and bikes. I’ve only ever been here to clean, so I’m a little taken aback by the sight of the sheer number of vehicles.

“Welcome to the Iron Flame MC, babe,” Alex announces as he opens the door.

Before I can respond, he’s already out, closing the passenger door and walking toward the front door. I watch as it swings open to reveal the man I assume is Fantasy. He wraps his fingers around Alex’s neck and leans down, pressing his lips against his. Their kiss is electric, and I find myself a mixture of turned on and envious.

Then, before I can even open my door, I hear the sound of a motorcycle grumbling past me and parking in front of the clubhouse. It’s him. I know without even seeing his face, but it’s not just him.

There’s a little boy on the back.

I watch as he jumps off, then Slade does the same, though with much less enthusiasm.

Slade reaches out to the boy, curls his fingers around his shoulder, and shakes him once before he lowers his head and touches his forehead to the boy’s. It’s a sweet, even heartfelt moment. I feel like I’m invading their privacy.

The little boy runs off, making his way into the clubhouse as Slade follows more slowly. I don’t know what’s going on, and now I wonder if I should have come.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-TWO

LOOT

Once I get Cade in the clubhouse and settled in my room, I sink down in the chair across from the bed. “You want to talk about it?” I ask.

“No,” he snaps.

I’m not used to him having an attitude with me. However, I’ve also never been able to do day-to-day life with him, either. All the time we’ve spent together has been the fun stuff with very little discipline.

Now I’m the full-time parent, and I need to take this shit seriously. It’s his future at stake, and he may not like me all the time, but that just means that I'm doing my job, I guess. As long as he doesn’t hate me and want me dead, I figure I’m on the right path… hopefully.

“I already know the gist of what happened. I want to know the rest of the story because I know what you said, what that kid said, and what the principal said aren’t everything.”