Page 96 of The Vows We Keep

Niro suddenly stands. “Give us an hour.”

He steps around the table to my seat—Wrinkle’s seat, takes the envelope in one hand, and then my hand in the other.

“Thank you,” I say. To the club. “For everything.” My voice cracks as I look at the room of men who respect me.

“An hour,” King says. “And then we baptize you into the Iron Outlaws with as much tequila as you can handle. Welcome to the club, Cat.”

30

NIRO

Two days later, I pull up at the shop about forty minutes later than I planned. It’s frustrating because being on time is something I’ve been working on. But somehow, I always overestimate how many tasks I can fit in before a certain time. Like this morning, I started some laundry, but then I noticed the light bulb needed changing and we were out of bulbs. So I opened my phone and ordered some online, but then I saw Spark had started a new group text about taking Iris’s brother on another camping trip.

The kid’s autistic, mostly nonverbal, and he likes watching camping videos. Which then made me think about whether I actually put away my tent properly the last time I used it. And that’s how Catalina found me putting up a tent in the living room when she came to say goodbye to go run some errands.

The only thing I’m never late for are my appointments with Rae.

I raise a hand to Carlos. “Sorry. Sorry. One of those mornings.”

“No worries. How’s Catalina? Has she recovered?”

“Just about. She was the cutest, hungover mess.” I can’ t help but grin at how drunk she got. She drank tequila like it was water at the party to welcome her. We danced and played pool until she couldn’t stand up. All the brothers stayed the night at the clubhouse. The club girls came. No old ladies. All the taken men behaved but drank hard.

And I was the only one who got to make out with my old lady.

Rae, Iris, Briar, and Gwen shocked the shit out of us by showing up to cook breakfast. Said it was their contribution to welcoming Cat officially to the club and a one-time deal. But I got the feeling they kind of enjoyed it.

“Anyway, I’m here. What have you got for me?”

Carlos grins. “Think you’re really gonna hate it, to be honest.”

I roll my eyes. “An ink virgin?” Holding their hand through the whole thing while they wince and ask if it’s almost done yet like a five-year-old toddler on a road trip is supremely annoying.

“Yup. Not a single tattoo on their entire body.”

“Please tell me they want something interesting done.”

“Sounds like it’s gonna be a decent size. A back piece. You might find the subject interesting, but I’m gonna let you speak with the client directly.”

I furrow my brow. “Since when did you start being vague?”

He holds up a steaming cup of coffee. “Since I haven’t had any espresso. Ran out at home.”

“Make me one of those, would ya? I’ll go see what I’m doing.”

The red velvet curtains are closed when I walk toward my booth, and I pray that whoever is in there doesn’t have a hairy back I’m gonna have to shave before we can start.

“Hey,” I say as I walk in. “What are we going to be doing for—Cat?”

She’s sitting on the bed, legs astraddle, which makes me think about what she looks like when she’s riding my dick like she’s a cowboy and I’m the only bull in town. I hop on so I’m facing her and kiss her like I haven’t seen her for days, not an hour. My mind flits in a thousand directions. Happiness that she’s here. Hope that she really is my first client of the day. I try to stay present in the moment as our tongues meet and I feel her sigh.

“So, I’m a cute hungover mess, am I?” she says. The smile tells me she’s not mad. I’m getting better at reading cues.

“The cutest.” I bop the end of her nose with my fingertip. “Why are you here?”

Cat takes my hands and squeezes them. “You are making all kinds of progress on things you are doing for us, and I wanted to do something that showed what you mean to me too. So I thought I’d give you what you’ve sacrificed on my behalf, to allow me to be who I am.”

I’m too struck by the look in her eyes to try and guess what it is. “You don’t owe me anything.”