Untitled Book 2(53)
If she really does love me—I’m the luckiest man in the world.
* * *
“So how is he?”
“How is who?” I ask distractedly as I look over the guest list at Rift several days later. There is an event tonight, and the club is going to be full. Luckily I get to leave before the doors open and people barge in, but Rake, Bailey, Shay, and I are stuck doing the day shift, making sure everything is ready for tonight. I didn’t want to bring Shay, but she practically begged me, obviously sick of being stuck inside, so I relented.
“Did someone do stocktaking?” I ask Sian, our bar supervisor.
“Yes, I did it,” she replies, looking toward the back. “I made a new order sheet for next week, but we’re good for now.”
“Talon,” Shay continues, looking at me and waiting for my attention. “You saw him the other day but never told me how he was doing.”
I put down the list and look into her beautiful brown eyes. “He’s fine. Don’t worry about him, we need to worry about you instead.”
She rolls her eyes and sticks her straw in her mouth.
Bailey sits down next to Shay and looks between us. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
“No,” Shay says instantly, I guess wanting Bailey to feel welcome. “I was just about to ask Vinnie what I can do to help. If he tells me to sit here and look pretty again though, I might scream.”
I laugh at that. “I’m almost done, you just relax.”
“All I do is relax,” she grumbles.
“Shark will be here soon to take over from me, so we can go do something if you like.”
I was taking a gamble, of course, but I fuckin’ hated it when she was sad.
“Who is Shark?” she asks me, scrunching her nose up.
Bailey laughs, touching Shay’s arm and answering the question for me. “That’s Ronan’s road name.”
“How come you don’t have a road name?” she asks me, looking curious.
“I do,” I reply, smirking. “No one really uses it though, probably because Vinnie itself is a nickname. My first name is Tyler.”
“I didn’t even know that. So why do they call you Vinnie then?” she asks, tilting her head to the side. “And what’s your road name?”
“Vincent is my middle name,” I explain to her. “And it’s Wolf.”
“Wolf?” she asks, sounding surprised.
I shrug and try to explain. “I guess you can say I’m kind of a loner. Before I walked into the MC, I had no one. No family or friends, no attachments. A lone wolf. That’s me.”
I watch Shay process this, buying me silence for a few moments.
Then she blurts out, “I think Wolf suits you.”
“Thanks,” I say, smiling.
Even though I wasn’t exactly a lone wolf anymore.
Because I had her.
And I’m never going to give her up.
Is this what it’s like for the other men? How do they even go on runs? I wouldn’t want to leave Shay behind to go anywhere, although I guess knowing some of the men stay behind to watch over her would help. It’s nice having something that’s all mine. I mean, I know she’s a person and not a thing, but she’s mine all the same, and no one else’s. I’ve never had that before.
I’ve also never had a reason to go home before, but now I do, and now that I have it, I’m going to do anything to protect it.
Anything.
TWENTY-NINE
Shayla
“NOT bad for your first session,” Anna praises, pushing her hair out of her face. “You’re tiny but fast. And you’re pretty flexible, aren’t you?”
“Pilates and yoga,” I say, resting my hands on my knees. “I don’t have much strength though.”
“We can work on that,” Anna says, sitting down on the mat and stretching. “You just need to be able to use whatever advantage you have. It’s not always the strongest who wins the fight, sometimes it’s the most analytical—the quickest thinker.”
“I like learning this,” I say, smiling at her. “It feels powerful.”
“It is empowering, yes,” she replies, lying back on the mat. “The truth is there are times when shit goes down, and it’s better to know how to protect yourself any way you can. The men will always do their best to save us, but sometimes you need to save yourself, you know? No one wants to be a victim.”