“No, they don’t,” I agree, copying her and lying back. “A few more of these and a few more gun lessons will be good for me.”
“A few more? Try one every week for the rest of your life,” she says, laughing. “We try to get in here, keep fit, and learn new moves. Sometimes we get the men to pretend to attack us and see if we manage to get out of the situations.”
“You guys are so awesome,” I say, rolling over onto my stomach. “I’ve been around the Wild Men only a few times, but they’re nothing like this. Their clubhouse has men and club hos, that’s it. There’s no family environment, or nice old ladies, or anything like that. It’s like a bachelor pad.”
Anna makes a sound of amusement. “I know, I’ve been there before.”
“You have?” I ask, surprise filling me.
“Yeah, and I dragged Bailey with me, we both got into shit,” she says, sitting up and watching me. “Did you ever meet the man Talon’s mother married?”
I nod my head. “Yes, I did.”
“He was our biological father,” Anna says, quickly explaining the story to me. “Talon sees me as his family, in a weird way. Honestly I think he feels guilty that our father raised him instead of Rake and me, and was good to him, while abandoning his own children.”
“I had no idea,” I say, my eyes wide. “I didn’t even know he had other children. I’m so sorry that happened to you, Anna.”
How could I know so little? Talon never told me this. He’s never mentioned Anna to me before at all, and he apparently considered her family. I think I needed to have a talk with my elusive cousin.
She waves her hand in the air. “Shit happens, yeah? I had my brother, and that’s all that matters. Everyone has pain in their life, everyone. It just comes in different forms, but you need to look at what you do have and be grateful for it. My father might not have wanted us, but he still gave me Rake.”
“That’s such a beautiful thing to say, Anna,” I say, emotion hitting me. She really is an amazing woman, strong—inside and out.
“Don’t get all mushy on me,” she says, but her green eyes soften. “So are you still public enemy number one?”
I accept the subject change with a laugh. “I think it’s cooling down now, I don’t know. Vinnie doesn’t seem to want to tell me all the details, but security seems to have relaxed a little. The day I can go to a movie by myself, I’m going to celebrate.”
“It’s temporary,” she says, shrugging her shoulders. “Whenever shit was going down with me, I’d always tell myself it’s temporary. You just have to push through for now.”
“I know. I always think about how much worse it would be if Vinnie hadn’t brought me here,” I admit. “If I didn’t have him in my life . . . He just makes everything better, you know? Gives me something to fight for.”
Anna grins, showing her teeth. “You’ve got it bad, don’t you?”
I duck my face. “He’s just . . . everything. I don’t know. I know it’s new, and we pretty much started living together from the second we met, but it just feels right. That’s the only way I can explain it.”
I never thought I’d end up with a biker, but Vinnie is everything I could wish for in a man. He’s rough around the edges, but I kind of like that. He’s strong and takes charge, dominant, but also a total sweetheart. He can be stubborn, but so can I. He knows how to handle me, in and out of the bedroom, and doesn’t get distant when I show emotion of any kind.
He sets my blood on fire.
Anna makes a sound of amusement. “You have been living together since you first met, that’s pretty hilarious when you think about it.”
“I know.”
She pushes off the ground and offers me her hand. “Let’s work on more punches. You kind of suck.”
I grin and place my hand in hers. I really do suck. “Can’t I just slap whoever it is?”
She turns and laughs. “No, definitely no.”
Well, fine.
I guess I was going to learn how to fight like a man.
Or like a biker chick.
* * *
“Colt, sit,” I say, pointing with my index finger.
He sits.
“Good boy. Colt, down.”
He lies down.
I look to my audience and say, “Okay, he’s still working on stay, so that’s all for now.”
Vinnie, Tracker, Rake, and Lana clap.