Again she was met with silence, although she thought she heard voices in the background.
“That’s fine, Willa. I’ll see you when you get here.”
“Thanks, Lily. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Willa put on her tennis shoes then ran a brush through her hair and tugged it up into a ponytail. Grabbing her purse and keys, she left Lucky a quick note, placing it on the mirror of the dresser so he would see it when he entered the bedroom. He usually didn’t come upstairs until nine, and she expected to be back long before that, but she didn’t want him to worry if he finished his work early.
It was getting dark when she pulled into The Last Riders’ parking lot. It was filled with motorcycles and several club members were standing around, shooting her curious glances as she got out of her van.
She went up the side walkway that led to Lily’s house. As she passed the clubhouse, Willa heard loud music and saw the kitchen filled with people. Before she could get to Lily’s house, Lily came out the front door with the cookbook in her hand. Willa was disappointed. She had hoped to find Shade alone with Lily in their house.#p#分页标题#e#
“Here you go, Willa.” Lily handed her the cookbook.
Willa took it. “I didn’t mean to bring you out,” Willa apologized.
She was about to ask if she could speak to Shade when Lily shook her head.
“I needed to escape for a moment. Beth and Diamond are playing cards. Shade had already left to get some beer for the clubhouse, or he could have dropped it off to you.”
“That’s okay. It’s such a pretty night that I wanted to get out.” Willa turned to go back down the path. “Thanks, Lily.”
She left Lily, walking back toward the parking lot. Willa wanted to confide in Lily and ask her advice. However, Lucky wouldn’t be happy if he found out she had discussed him with her friend. It was a good thing Shade wasn’t home. There was only one person she needed to talk to, and that was her husband.
The parking lot was even fuller as she made her way to her van with her head down, only looking up when she reached her vehicle
“Evening, Willa.”
Shade was sitting on his bike. She could have sworn there was a black one parked there when she pulled up, not the cherry red he was sitting on. Rider was standing next to him with two twelve-packs of beer under his arms.
“Shade, Rider.” She gave them a nod.
Rider gave her a wink.
“They’re waiting for the beer,” Shade reminded him with a frown.
“Oh, yeah. Later, Willa.”
“Good night, Rider.”
Shade remained sitting on the motorcycle with his blue eyes on her. She was about to get into her van when she looked at the bike he was sitting on again.
“That looks like Lucky’s bike.”
“It used to be. It’s a club bike now until someone claims it.”
Willa froze. “A club bike?”
“It’s a rule—when you leave the Last Rider’s, you give up the bike you joined with.”
“That’s not fair.”
“I hate to tell you this, Willa, but biker clubs aren’t known to be fair.”
Willa swallowed hard. She should get back in her van and drive into town, but she didn’t.
Her hand holding her keys dropped to her side. “Do you know what’s bothering Lucky?”
Shade stared back at her, his expression impassive. It was the only one she saw him wear unless Lily was there. Several times, she had been brave enough to look into his eyes and seen … nothing—no emotion, no soul—and she was terrified that, unless she found a way to reach Lucky one day, she would wake and see the same thing in his eyes.
“Yeah.”
Willa licked her dry lips. “He’s dying inside, isn’t he?”
“He died a long time ago and doesn’t want to admit it. That’s his problem.”
“What’s wrong with him?” she whispered.
“How bad do you want to know?”
Willa blinked back tears. “Please, Shade … help me.”
“He’ll hate me if I tell you … Not that I care a rat’s ass, but what I tell you could just as easily destroy your marriage as save it. Are you willing to take the risk?”
“I love Lucky, Shade. Nothing you tell me is going to change that.”
“We’ll see.” Shade stood up from the bike, motioning her up the steps to the clubhouse.
Willa went up the steep steps in front of Shade, and two bikers she didn’t recognize were standing in front of the front door when she reached the top. Both looked intimidating, blocking the doorway.
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“It’s cool, RIP, Fang.”