Vengeance sat down at the counter too. “I come in peace.”
“He’s fine, Benny. We’ll take two of your coffees.”
Benny nodded.
“You come here often?” Vengeance asked.
“Yes. I do. Going to the cemetery is thirsty work.”
Benny approached and put down their coffees. “You okay?” he asked, looking at him.
“You’re killing him with your look, Benny. Believe it or not, I think I may have just found a new friend.” She smiled at Vengeance.
He didn’t have a clue what he was doing with this woman, or even why he was here now. None of it made any sense to him.
She picked up her coffee and blew across the surface.
Vengeance was taken by her beauty, and how she didn’t seem to try to impress him. The women he had been around at the club were always intent on impressing him, getting his attention.
Well, not just his attention. They wanted anyone they could get.
“You’re staring.”
“I am.”
Vengeance was a strange man but to Constance, he had her heart in a flutter. She didn’t know what to think of him but then, what did he think of her? She had been staring at gravestones and he had sat with her.
She liked the way he kept looking at her, as if she were the only person in the world. Sipping at her hot coffee, she knew Benny was worried about her.
Vengeance was well over six feet tall, and built of solid muscle. No one would be able to stop him, if he decided to do something scary. But she felt safe with him, which was weird given the fact they had just met.
The air of fear that people seemed to feel around him thrilled her. She didn’t know why, but it was nice being with someone who made people feel something more than pity.
“Do you ever get used to that?” she asked.
“Get used to what?”
“People kind of scared of you?” She watched his lips, waiting for him to speak.
“No, I really don’t care. I’m used to people being afraid of me.”
“Don’t you ever want to … be the same as others? You know, follow what other people do?” she asked. MC members were known for defying tradition, right? They did what they wanted without a care in the world. Or at least she assumed.
“I do whatever the hell I want to. Don’t you ever want to forget what people are thinking?”
She smiled. “Always.”
He tilted his head to the side, smiling at her. “I bet you’d be one party animal if you just let yourself go.”
“I’ve never given it a try.” She was tempted to, though. How many times had she thought about just screaming at life, and going ahead and doing her own thing? It had been too many times. Biting her lip, she watched as he took a long swallow.
“You ever gone on a ride on a motorcycle?”
She shook her head.
“What do you say to a ride?” he asked.
“Really? Now?”
“Yes.” Vengeance finished his drink and threw down some money onto the counter. He held his hand out. “Come on. I promise it’ll clear your head.”
Hell, he could have been a psycho, but damn, she wanted to go.
Her heart began to pound, and she stared at that hand. It offered so many different possibilities it was impossible to focus on just the one. Should she take the hand and take a chance, or ignore it and go back to her boring life where she followed everyone else? Their pity, their concern, she was tired of it. She was fed up.
“Constance,” Benny said, warning, or maybe concern in his voice.
She turned toward the man she had come to know because of her late-night cemetery visits. There was worry on his face, and she just knew.
There was only one way to break out of this world that she had created for herself, and so she took Vengeance’s hand. “I’d love to.”
4
She couldn’t believe she was doing this, just following this biker out of the diner, getting onto his motorcycle and putting the helmet on. She’d never been so wild, so reckless. Her car was still parked at the cemetery, the walk to the diner short, allowing her to clear her head.
But right now, she almost wished she’d used more common sense. He had admitted to doing violent things, to killing people, hurting them. He didn’t mince his words, didn’t lie to her about it. And here she was, about to ride to who the hell knew where for what … a little freedom?
“Ready?” Vengeance said, his head cocked back, this small smile on his face. That one gesture seemed to change the way he looked, had him seeming soft, almost gentle. She wasn’t fooled, though. He was a hardened biker, dangerous, violent to anyone who crossed him.
But she felt safe.
“Ready.”
He started the engine and she wrapped her arms around his waist, holding on tight.