Page 59 of Bruised MC Bear

Axe just laughed. “Night, old friend.”

“Goodnight, kid.”

* * *

Axe finishedthe last of his hand rolled, and put it in the retro cigarette waste collector outside Vincent’s front door. He shoved his hands into his pockets. The fucked up adrenaline rush of the past few days just would not subside, even with Vincent’s update last night. Something still prickled against the back of his neck. He had been bracing for impact, ready to fight, almost eager for his bear to get its paws dirty. Before Vincent’s news, he was prepared to destroy everything that threatened the people he cared about. Now, the weight was off his shoulders, but his gut had a hard time believing the worst was over for his family.

Almost overnight, his idea of family had somehow been resurrected. Before all this chaos, he had Vincent and the Beartooth Brotherhood. For a long time, he believed they were more than enough. He had been so wrong for almost allowing his kin to slip away. Reconciling with Nancy had lifted a mammoth-sized weight off his shoulders. He could actually picture spending much more time with his niece and nephew. Maybe in time, he and Kade might learn to tolerate each other too, if they both had enough alcohol in their systems to look past the whole panther versus bear deal.

One outcome he had not expected was that his image of family had begun to include that pretty little curvy vixen still sleeping upstairs. Sure, she was a mouthy, smart as fuck, blonde bombshell, and the whole dominatrix thing she was into was a little out of control. She had even told him flat out that she wasn’t interested in anything more than a bit of sexy fun now and then. But hell, Angel had calmed the turbulent, riotous storm in his head. He hadn’t had the nightmares or a single flashback since that night he had shared his childhood horror story with her. Just the thought of letting her out of his sight caused his chest to tighten and his bear to bristle.

“Hey.”

He spun around to face Angel, and smiled. She was now dressed up in a tailored black dress with designer pumps to match. His bet was Nancy must have picked out the preppy, nouveau-chic designer outfit. It practically put a glowing neon sign over Angel’s head that said, “Hey! Look at me! I’m not from around these here parts!” at a time when it would have been imperative to blend in.

“What?” Angel asked as he kept on staring without saying a word.

Axe pulled her into his arms. “You’re gorgeous. So, what’s up?”

“I’m going to work. Can you give me a ride?”

“Now? You know it’s Sunday, right? Public libraries are closed today.”

She nodded. “I know, but I’d like to check on how much work has piled up for me since we took off. You told me yourself that your friend, Vincent, took care of everything. I may as well get over there and find out if I still have a job. Oh, on the way, can we stop at my place for a few minutes? I need to see Jet, Spencer and Marley. If my neighbor hasn’t already put them in a kennel because of their quirkiness.”

“No problem at all, but are you sure you want to rush off to work so soon?” he asked. “You should rest a bit, you know? Settle the nerves down, and all that.”

He wondered whether Angel saw right through his feeble attempt to keep her around a bit longer. Business as usual for the two of them meant that he would be back at the clubhouse or taking care of security gigs for the Brotherhood. Angel would be home at her apartment, and back working at the library. Having things go back to normal meant they were about to go their separate ways.

“I’m fine. I think getting back to my routine will probably help me get past it more quickly. Plus, my car’s still parked at work. Oh, that reminds me. Do you have jumper cables?”

“I’m sure I can find some.”

“Thanks. It’s been acting up lately. I’ll need to get it off that lot before it racks up a fortune in parking fines.”

“If you want, I can get someone from the clubhouse to take a look at it for you.”

“Really? God, that would be such a help. Thanks. So can we go now?”

He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. “Sure thing.”