“I’ll let you know when I find out,” she says, winking at me.
I hide my grin, picking up another knife. I can only hope to have something like what she shares with Sin. The two of them are a power couple, and strong in a way where they haven’t changed each other. Nothing but pure love, acceptance, and understanding. If I didn’t see it for myself, I’d never have believed it existed. That type of trust and loyalty is something I never thought I’d get, but that was before I laid eyes on my blond bombshell.
“I’ll run it by her, see what she thinks.”
Although I have the feeling the answer is going to be a no if she finds out I plan to spend my nights with Jo.
“She obviously just wants you around. If she was actually scared, she’d call Jo or go and stay with family,” Faye says, glancing at me out the corner of her eye. “What’s the deal, Ranger?”
“Does this stay between us?” I ask, even though I doubt she and Sin have any secrets between them.
“Always.”
“She doesn’t know about me and Jo and we don’t know how she’s going to take it, because apparently she’s been talking about me over the years,” I try to explain. “But she called me Cam, and Jo only knew me as Ranger.”
Faye’s eyes widen and she freezes mid-throw. “So Elizabeth has a thing for you, Jo didn’t know, fell for you, and now you guys are too scared to tell Elizabeth because she’s vulnerable and you don’t want to hurt her?”
“Something like that,” I admit, cringing. “It gets worse. Apparently the reason she was at that damn bar in the first place is because she was trying to find me.”
Faye’s expression loses all of her usual good humor. “Are you kidding me? How did she think that was safe? She’s clearly stupid. Or a stalker. I’m glad you aren’t choosing her. She wouldn’t fit in here.”
I don’t think I really fit in here either, but I keep that to myself.
“She made a mistake,” I say, having no idea why I’m standing up for her. I guess I feel sorry for her. At the end of the day, she’s still my friend, and the reason I met Jo. I don’t want to hurt anyone, I’m not a dick, and Elizabeth has been through enough. Sometimes the situation feels like it’s not a big deal, especially when Jo and I are alone, and at others it feels like it’s something that’s going to end very badly. It’s fucked-up, is what it is.
What if Jo’s conscience tells her that I’m not worth losing her cousin over? Or what if this whole fuckin’ thing goes the other way and Elizabeth doesn’t care. Maybe she just needs a new man to be infatuated with.
I study Faye, knowing that if you want to scheme with anyone, it’s her.
“I know that look,” she says, turning to me and giving me her full attention. “What’s the diabolical plan?”
I grin and say, “Maybe this weekend we could have a party.”
“Go on,” Faye says, waving her hand in the air, her expression one of interest.
“Maybe there could be some appealing men attending this party,” I say, shifting on my feet. “And maybe one might interest a damsel in distress.”
“I see,” Faye says, lifting her chin. “Like Cinderella’s ball, but with Elizabeth as the prime meat.”
“Did you just say that?” I ask, wondering where she comes up with this shit. “Do you know any prime meat? All the men here are taken.”
“Yes, I did just say that,” she says, stepping closer to me. “I think the idea can work, but look, she just got kidnapped and shit, so let’s not be insensitive.”
“You just called her stupid and a stalker,” I point out.
“Let’s not bring up the past,” she says, scowling at me. I’m starting to wonder if Faye is legit crazy. “Why don’t we give her a bit of time and then pull the biker sausagefest idea? I think I have a guy in mind. He’s a total babe, all the women think so.”
“Okay, plan on hold,” I say, bending down to pet Colt, Shayla’s dog. “I’m heading to Jo’s. Tell the men to call me if they need anything. I’ll drop in at Rift later tonight, Sin wants me to look over some accounts.”
“I’ll tell them,” Faye says, sitting down on the grass to hug Colt. “Have fun, Ranger. Rock her world. Bring her over to the dark side!”
? ? ?
Her warmth at my back, her arms wrapped around my waist, now I know what heaven feels like. There’s nothing better than sharing something you love with someone you can’t get enough of, and Jo on the back of my bike has my chest puffed out. She belongs there, right where she is right now, holding on to her man. After I showed up at her house yet again, this time a little later so she was already home, she cooked me some dinner, and then we went on this ride. I can really get used to this.
With no particular destination in mind, we drive past the now-deserted Wild Men clubhouse, which kind of hurts, but I try not to dwell on it. Although Slice turned out to be a backstabbing asshole, and the rest of the men were older and kind of useless, they were men I shared a lot of times with, good and bad. They were family. I thought the Wild Men were a strong MC, but I was wrong. The proof is in that empty building filled with memories and what could have been.
My phone keeps vibrating in my leather jacket, and I know it’s Elizabeth, but she’s going to have to wait until after I’ve spent some time with Jo. Helen should be there with her, so it’s not like she’s alone. If anything goes wrong, she needs to call the police. Nothing will go wrong though, Faye has made sure of that, making sure anyone who would recognize Elizabeth is now behind bars, in hiding, or dead. I push her out of my mind and think about Jo, and where I think she’d enjoy me stopping. I contemplate taking her to the beach, but we end up at a scenic park with a lake that I’ve been to a few times before. I help her get off my bike, removing her helmet, and taming her short hair with my fingers. With the moonlight on her, she looks fuckin’ beautiful, and I can’t help but lean down for a kiss.
“Want to take a walk?” I ask her when I pull back. “It’s pretty nice through there.”
“Sure,” she says, smiling and placing her hand in mine.
I return the smile and lead her down the path, wondering if this is considered romantic, or if I’m making a complete fool of myself.
Probably both.
“What did you think?” I ask her as we both sit down on a park bench overlooking the lake. “Did you enjoy the ride?”
“I did,” she says, smiling. “I can see the appeal. I can’t wait to get back on for the ride home. Maybe next time I can ride it myself?”
“What, on my bike?” I ask, eyes going wide. “No one else has ever ridden her before.”
She rolls her eyes and playfully nudges me with her elbow. “Well, maybe I’ll be the first, then, won’t I?”