Page 27

Dante

“How’s the little spitfire treating you?” Vienna grinned at me.

“Don’t ask,” I sighed back. “She’s fucking insane.

She slapped me earlier. Like a proper Eastenders, Peggy Mitchell, bitch slap.

” The bar had filled back up quickly, and it wouldn’t have surprised me if they were all waiting outside for me and Rachel to be finished.

It wasn’t even five minutes after before I heard Vienna yelling out for his usual.

I felt another flash of guilt as I remembered the words I had spat at Rachel.

I knew I had taken it too far. I was just too stubborn to go ahead and apologise.

Especially as I knew she didn’t even mean the shit she had said to me.

Fuck, I had almost asked a woman to marry me when I lost my virginity.

Sex makes you do weird things. You say things you wouldn’t usually say.

So I lashed out, and it fucking annoyed me that she could get that sort of response from me.

Vienna laughed into his pint, shaking his head. “At least she didn’t stab you again, brother. I’ll drink to that.”

“Mate, don’t. I could fuck her and kill her, and not necessarily in that order, either.”

“I warned you. Those quiet ones are never as innocent as they seem.”

“Yeah, but come on. I thought you meant she’d be decent in the sack once she was confident enough. I didn’t think you meant she’d stab me before she’d even said hello.”

Vienna just laughed again. “That’s the risk you take when you just pluck a random woman from Greasy.”

“Never again, my friend. I can promise you that.”

“Here, here,” he replied, raising his pint to me. I clinked my glass against his own and thought of Rachel sulking upstairs.

It wasn’t common for every biker to be here this early.

They had jobs and lives to be getting on with.

They were here because they’d heard about Officer Bradley’s unannounced visit, and they were here to meet the new old lady of the club.

Except she was too busy sulking over the fact that she’d been giving a good dicking and she loved it.

After all her bravado about never surrendering, she had folded and thrown herself on me like a woman starved.

“I’ll say one thing for her though, brother,” Vienna began. “She knows not to talk to the law. She really saved your ass back there.”

“I had it handled.”

“Handled by letting Bradley wander around your home? You sure did. Give credit where credit is due. She saved your bacon. Poor Bradley didn’t know how to handle her,” he said with a chuckle, shaking his head in approval.

“She just kept interrupting him every time and tore him a new one. I like her.” He said firmly.

“Because she told a police officer to politely fuck off? You’re easily pleased.”

“Well… that, and the slap she gave you, are two big positives as far as I’m concerned.”

“I’m gonna go get her,” I decided suddenly, getting to my feet.

“Sit down, Dante,” Vienna replied. “Give her time to cool down. There’s no point causing an argument with all the lads as witnesses.

If she’s not going anywhere, we’ll meet her another time.

Don’t go running to a woman’s command. She wants the attention.

You mark my words. When she realises you’re not playing her game, she’ll make her way down here herself and get all the attention she craves. ”

“I highly doubt that.”

“Maybe. This is why I don’t fuck around with the old lady business. I haven’t got a fucking clue what I’m doing.”

“Here, fucking, here,” I sighed, clinking glasses with him once more.

“She’ll come around, though. I’m sure of that. I’m not saying she’ll ever actually like you… but she’ll come around to the idea of living the club life. You’ll see.”

“Maybe you’re right. That’s if we both make it out of today alive,” I replied, thinking how many times we had already shouted at each other today. “Oh, by the way, any news on—”

“Dante,” Jenna called from the other end of the bar. “Isn’t that your bike?” I looked at her with a scowl and saw she was pointing out the window.

My ears pricked up, and I heard the sounds of an engine roaring over the noise of the bar, and I shoved Vienna out of the way to get a closer look out of the window.

“That little bitch!” I said through ground teeth.

“What did I say? Attention, attention, attention.” Vienna threw his pint back and slammed the glass on the table. “What’s the score, boss? We going chasin’?” Four other men immediately stood up, ready to follow any order I issued.

“Don’t worry about it,” I replied, throwing my own pint back and signalling for two more to be brought over.

“She’s took one of my bikes. They’re all marked.

There’s nowhere she can go that I can’t track.

Let her think she’s safe. We’ll get her when I’m fucking ready, not when she demands.

Drink up lads,” I said, looking at my brothers. “We go hunting tonight.”

Rachel was about to find out exactly what I was capable of. Maybe then she’d be grateful for how easy I had been on her so far.

But those days were gone.

When I found her – and make no mistake, I would find her – she’d live to regret ever daring trying to leave.