Page 11

Razor

A WEEK LATER, I heard the key in my lock and my door open. “Gio?”

Fuck. Mom.

“ Tesoro ?”

I could hardly be considered anyone’s treasure right now, but she had always called us hers.

“In here,” I called from the place I’d been all week. My recliner.

She made her way over to me and sighed. “You look rough, cucciolo. ”

Okay, puppy was probably closer, maybe more accurate would be a wet dog.

“Hi, Mamma. To what do I owe the pleasure? ”

She set her purse on the coffee table and sat on my sofa. “Well, I stopped by Hatch and Maisie’s home to see you, and how surprised was I to find out you’d left them. Against their wishes.”

“I needed to be alone.”

“Have you been doing your physical therapy?”

I didn’t answer and she shook her head.

“Baby boy, what’s on going with you?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

She glanced at the discarded beer cans at my feet and frowned. “This looks like heartbreak, bambino.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and pushed the pain aside. Jesus, I missed Waverly. I missed her like I might miss a limb. And missing her brought up the pain of losing my dad all over again. It was all too much.

“Talk to me, baby.”

“I saw it, Mamma.”

“You saw what?”

“Papa.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I was there the day Papa was killed,” I rasped.

“What?” she whispered.

“I watched him die.”

I met her eyes and told her everything. Even as the tears poured down her face, I didn’t stop. I gave her all of it. And she took it. With every last breath I had, I gave her my entire day from the cereal I ate, my leg getting caught in the chain as I took off for the store, the rain starting and stopping, then watching the man stab my father, and the look on her face as she watched the breath leave his body. But even more importantly, the look on my father’s face as he knew he was dying, and he still didn’t hold back the love he had for my mother.

“Gio,” she said on a sob. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I felt guilty that I didn’t help. I could have kept pressure on his wounds, I don’t know. I thought I might get in trouble, because I wasn’t supposed to be there. All of those kid things.”

“Baby, Papa was stabbed in both his liver and his heart, there was nothing you could have done to help him.”

“I know, but as a kid...”

“And I would have never punished you, baby, you’d been through enough.”

“I know, Mamma, I just didn’t want to add to your stress.”

“No wonder you acted out so badly,” she breathed out. “If it hadn’t been for Hatch...” She reached in her bag and rummaged around, pulling out tissues. “He saved your life, I think.”

“Oh, I know he did.”

“Is this why you left his home? And why you’re drinking so much?”

I shook my head.

“A woman?”

I nodded.

She sighed. “Tell me.”

And I did. All of it.

Again.

Because, unlike my sisters, she could get me to tell her anything. It’s part of the reason I avoided her like the plague when I wasn’t ready to talk. She should work for the CIA or FBI or something because she’d be able to get anyone to spill any kind of secret, no matter the hardened criminal or spy.

“Oh, you young ones don’t understand context yet,” she said once I was done.

I frowned. “I do.”

She held her hand, palm down, and waved it from side-to-side. “Eh.”

I rolled my eyes.

“It sounds like Waverly has suffered great trauma and she’s shut herself off to protect herself. She hasn’t figured out that by doing that, she is missing out on the best man I know. Alive, that is.”

“I’m sorry I’ve been a dick, Mamma.”

“Don’t call my son a dick,” she bossed. “And I forgive you.”

I smirked.

“You need to take a shower, honey.”

I sighed. “Yeah.”

“Do you need help?”

“I just need help getting the cast guard on,” I said.

“Okay, you get where you need to be and I’ll help you do that, then I’m going to make you dinner.”

“I don’t have much to cook,” I warned.

“I’ll manage.”

Once I was naked, I wrapped a towel around my waist and my mother came in and helped me with the plastic cast guard, then she left me to do my thing.

I was able to (mostly) get dressed, and when I came out of the bathroom, I found all of my sisters sitting in my now freshly cleaned apartment, the smell of my mother’s homemade garlic bread wafting through the room.

“Nice panties,” Angelica teased as she wound the cord back up to the vacuum.

“Oh my god, Angel,” Frankie snapped. “He’s standing there with an old lady walker, in his boxer briefs because he can’t fully function like a normal person, and you tease him? You’re a monster !”

She winked at me as she walked the ten feet to help me put on my pants.

“Thanks, sissy.”

“No problem.” She grinned. “Glad to see you’re feeling better.”

“Um, what’s everyone doing here?” I asked.

“Mom called in the troops,” Azzura said as she tied off a garbage bag. “You had nothing in your fridge.”

“So, we stocked you up,” Bianca called out from the kitchen.

“I changed your sheets, for what looks like, maybe the first time? Ever?” Frankie said, then shuddered. “I wore gloves.”

“We’re doing laundry now,” Angelica said. “I kind of took all the machines downstairs. Hopefully, no one freaks.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” I smiled. “Love you guys.”

“Aww,” a chorus of female voices sounded, and then all four of my sisters were surrounding me and gently wrapping their arms around me .

Mom watched from the kitchen, tears once again slipping down her face.

* * *

Waverly

Two weeks. Two weeks without Gio. Or Razor. Whatever his name was.

I wish I could say things had gone back to normal, and I didn’t miss seeing him at the clinic, or at Connor and Maisie’s. No, sorry, Hatch and Maisie’s.

Or running into him at the store. Or having him in my space.

But it hadn’t been normal.

It had been two weeks of total hell.

I couldn’t sleep. I’d barely eaten anything. I was subsisting on wine and Cheetos. It was a miracle I hadn’t turned orange.

Or contracted scurvy.

I’d texted Lennon and asked her to call when she could, but nothing yet and I was going crazy with the wait. I mean, I get it. She’s working weird hours, and she’s in Africa. But I needed her, goddamn it!

As I dragged myself home Friday after an excruciatingly long week, I grabbed my laptop and decided to do a little digging.

I started with the Dogs of Fire Motorcycle Club. And man, did I go down a rabbit hole there.

If the interwebs were to be believed, they were saints. They did a charity drive for kids every Christmas, and didn’t stop there, often helping an organization by the name of Bikers for Kids who helped children being bullied at school.

They’d ride their bikes to the school, and take that kid home, or ride with them to school, and sometimes hang out, making friends with other kids, making sure everyone played nice.

Gio had said they owned different businesses, and it took me a little while to find them, because they weren’t listed under the club name, but rather, a subsidiary, but I found it because it was apparent they weren’t trying to hide anything. They were probably just trying to keep things separated and above-board.

I then did a search for Gio Rossi and not a whole lot came up because he didn’t have a social media presence, other than what was on the auto shop and professional pages. There was one video of him showing everyone how to change their own oil, and I’m embarrassed to admit, I watched it ten-million times because if I couldn’t admit it to him, I sure as hell needed to admit it to myself.

I was stupid in love with the man.

Watching him in all his powerful glory, without any injuries, actually teaching us how to change the oil on a car, made me want to go outside and change my own damn oil. He was funny, he was self-deprecating, and he was so fucking gorgeous, it hurt to look at him.

And yet, I continued to replay the video.

Over and over and over.

Because I couldn’t find anything on the social media front, I decided to pay for a background check, and it found nothing. Not so much as a parking ticket for the man.

He was clean, as they say.

My phone buzzed beside me, and I jumped slightly. I grabbed it and let out a quiet squeak. “Hi!” I breathed out.

“Hey, honey, are you okay?” Lennon asked. “I’m sorry I couldn’t call sooner.”

“No, I’m not okay, I’m melting down and I don’t know what to do.”

“Shit, what’s going on?”

I filled her in on everything. And I mean everything, including the junk food black hole, Gio telling me he loved me, all of it. I didn’t leave anything out and she listened. Didn’t interject, just stayed silent. So much so, I thought the call had been disconnected.

“Are you there?” I asked.

“Yeah, Gravy, I’m here.”

“So, what do you think?”

“I’m not sure what to think.”

“Are you mad?” I asked, grimacing.

“Mad that you fell in love with a biker?”

“I didn’t know he was a biker!” I snapped.

“Yeah, but now that you do, what are you going to do, Waverly Annabelle Anderson?”

Uh-oh, she used my name.

“I don’t know,” I breathed out.

“Yes, you do.”

“No, I don’t,” I countered.

“Then, you’re an idiot.”

“Lennon!” I admonished.

“Honey, I love you more than life itself, you know this, but if you let this man go because he’s in a club, then you’re cutting off your nose to spite your face. I can talk to Snarl and find out more about Razor’s club if you want, but I think you already have all the answers you need, you just have to go with your gut. Before you turn into Chester Cheetah.”

“What if I can’t get past it?”

“You won’t know unless you try. But it sounds like all of those people did everything they could to make you feel comfortable, including not wearing their cuts in your presence, and that’s fucking huge, Waverly. Huge. ”

“It is?”

“Yeah, honey. They don’t leave the house without their colors, unless there’s a life-or-death situation. And if you didn’t see any evidence of motorcycles at Hatch and Maisie’s that was to make you feel safe, believe me. Bikers don’t hide who they are for anyone.”

“Gio mentioned there was stuff going on.”

“He did?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, well, yes, there’s some really bad stuff going on, so if he shared that with you, then you’re in, Waverly, and he trusts you. I know you enough to know you’ll never betray that trust, but you need to hear me when I tell you, if he shared, he must love you. Like deep, babe. They don’t share shit like that.”

“You know about the bad stuff?” I rasped.

“Yes, because it affects the Howlers,” she said. “I can’t go into details. If you decide to be all-in with Razor, then he can fill you in, but it’s not good, so keep your head on a swivel. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Razor doesn’t already have someone on you.”

“On me, how?”

“Someone watching you. Making sure you’re safe.”

I frowned. “But I told him I wanted nothing to do with him.”

“Didn’t he also say he was keeping you?”

“I told him I wanted nothing to do with him,” I repeated.

“Yeah, it doesn’t really work that way.”

I gasped. “He wouldn’t .”

“He might.”

“That’s just... just wrong. It’s stalking.”

“I swear to god, Waverly, sometimes I want to poke you in the eye with a very dull stick,” she bit out.

“Len—”

“No, listen to me because I don’t have much time. I have to catch a bus and it’s already getting very crowded at the depot, so I have a feeling I might have to stand for the next two hours. This man is a good man and you’re just being obstinate now. What happened to you is awful, no one is disputing that, but you’ve fallen in love with a really good guy, and you’re pushing him away because he wears a cut. The Dogs of Fire are nothing like the other club. You’ve just admitted you went down the rabbit hole and found nothing but good stuff, so go with your gut. If it goes belly up, I will be home soon and there to catch you if you fall. But I have a feeling it won’t, and you know why it won’t?”

“Why?”

“Because these people have already bent over backwards to make you feel safe. You don’t actually think they’ll stop now, do you?”

I bit back tears. “No, you’re probably right.”

“I’m always right. Look, I have to go, but I need to know you’re okay.”

“I’m okay. Thanks, Len. I mean it.”

“Pull your head out of your butt, okay? I miss you like crazy and I want you to be happy.”

“I’ll think about it. I miss you, too.”

“Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

We rang off and I grabbed a bag of Cheetos and flopped my ass onto the sofa.

* * *

Razor

Saturday, Cash picked me up for family night at the club. I wasn’t in much of a get-together mood, but Hatch had insisted, so I got my ass ready.

“Hey, brother,” he said, after letting himself into my apartment.

“Hey yourself.”

“You look... ah... clean.”

I smirked. “Took a shower yesterday. My family came over and did a deep clean of my place.”

“Your family’s awesome.”

“Yeah, they are. ”

“Are you ready?”

I nodded. “Grab the beer out of my fridge, yeah?”

Cash nodded, then we headed out. I had to use my walker since I’d abandoned my physical therapy. My shoulder wasn’t strong enough for me to use crutches, so we made our way to the elevator and rode it down to Cash’s truck. He helped me in, and then we drove to the club.

The second we walked in the door, I was surrounded by club women.

And my sisters.

“Razor!” Katie wrapped her arms around me. “You look, um, good.”

“Liar,” I said with a chuckle.

“Well, we can talk about that another time,” she threatened. “I’m just glad you’re here.”

“Come, sit,” Teagan, Cash’s wife, ordered.

“Do you want food?” Frankie asked. “I can make you a plate.”

“I’ll grab you a beer,” Katie offered.

“Jesus, are we all coddling the baby?” Angelica admonished.

“Yes, Angel,” Bianca said. “We’re all coddling the baby. Go find someone else to boss around.”

Angelica grinned, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “Good to see you up and hobbling, birbante .”

I laughed and made my way further into the great room, sitting on the sofa as the women waited on me. I could seriously get used to this.

I was working on my second piece of pie when my phone buzzed in my pocket, so I slid it out and frowned. I wasn’t sure I was reading the screen right .

“Hello?”

“Um, Gio?”

“Yeah.”

“Hi, it’s Waverly.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “I see that.”

“How are you?”

“Nope. We’re not doin’ that. What do you need?” I asked.

“Can we talk? Maybe meet somewhere?”

“Why?”

“Right, you’re going to make me work for this, aren’t you?” she breathed out.

“Work for what, exactly?”

“I want to apologize.”

“Yeah? You do?”

“Yes, I do. Will you let me do that?”

“No.”

“Oh, okay. That’s fair. I’m really sorry. I’ll let you go—”

“I’m kidding, Fizzy.”

“Oh my god.”

There were muffled sounds in the background, and I frowned. “Are you crying?”

“Yes. Sorry. I had planned to be tough, but I’m losing the battle with my emotions right now.”

“Shit. Baby, I’m sorry. Where are you?”

“I’m at home. It’s okay. I just need to take a few deep breaths and calm down. Can I call you back?”

She hung up and I glanced around the room. “One of you women needs to stop stuffing food in my face and stuff me into one of your cars.”

“What’s going on?” Katie asked .

“I need to get to Waverly’s place. Pronto.”

“Everything okay?”

I grinned. “She wants to make up.”

A series of feminine voices squealed in excitement.

Katie clapped her hands. “Let me grab my purse.”

“How much have you had to drink?” Angelica asked.

“Two glasses of wine.”

“You can’t drive my brother around tipsy.”

“That’s Italian sober,” I retorted.

Angelica rolled her eyes. “I’ll take you, I haven’t had any.”

I sighed. “Can you drop me off and not interfere?”

“When have I ever interfered?”

“High school wrestling when he got that point taken away,” Bianca said.

“Oh, that girl that lied about him peeping on her in the locker room when he was with us at the restaurant,” Frankie added. “All because he said he wouldn’t go to the dance with her.”

“When Mom said he wasn’t allowed those cookies before dinner and you slipped him two,” Azzura said.

“You saw that?” Angelica asked.

“I see everything, ” she sassed.

“That time—”

“Okay, okay, enough.” Angelica held up her hands. “I won’t interfere.”

“I’ll come with and navigate,” Katie said .

“You don’t have to do that,” I said.

“I’m not missing this for the world.”

I followed the women out to my sister’s car, and they helped me inside.