“Hi.” Francesca nodded a bit shyly. “Thanks so much for the clothes.”
Olivia looked down at the T-shirt and jeans Francesca wore. “So glad they fit! Just let me know what else you need.”
I put my arm around Francesca’s shoulders, kissing her head. “Baby, I gotta jet,” I told her regretfully. “You okay?”
She nodded, her arm around my waist, her hand gripping the back of my tee.
“We’ll take good care of her,” my mom broke in, offering a reassuring smile.
“Where are Holden and Caleb?” I asked after my younger brothers. “And Pop?” I added. I wanted to make sure Francesca would be protected.
“Your father’s in the garage,” Mom replied. “Holden’s out with friends, and Caleb, well….” Her eyes lit with worry. “I’m not sure where he is.”
After Caleb had inadvertently allowed Wren’s kidnapper access to our home, he hadn’t been the same. He hadn’t forgiven himself, though everyone else had.
As for my pop, he was likely steering clear on purpose, trying to give Francesca some space. My pop was intimidating as hell and knew it. He was also the most loving and fiercely protective man I knew. He’d been my hero from the moment I understood the term.
I nodded. With one final chaste kiss that I wished to be more, I headed for the door.
When I walked into the club soon afterward, I was met with the familiar smell of alcohol, grease, and leather. A few prospects played a game of pool in the corner, offering me chin lifts in greeting, while a couple of club cherries sipped drinks on the couches.
When a flurry of blond threw herself at me from the side, I grunted in surprise and distaste.
“Maddy, I’ve been waiting for you,” Stephanie whined, trying to put her lips on my neck.
I’d made the mistake of fucking her once, a year ago, and had lived to regret it nearly every day since. I hadn’t touched a cherry since. I’d learned my lesson.
I pried her hands off my neck and stepped away. “Get gone, Stephanie,” I grunted. I’d tried the nice approach already and was well past that.
Her glossy pink lips formed a pout. “But we had so much fun together.”
“Maybe you did,” I scoffed. “One thing I know, it sure as fuck ain’t happenin’ again. I have a woman. Stay the fuck away from me,” I ordered just as Cole came out of his office.
At close to fifty, Cole’s blue eyes and blond hair remained largely unchanged. Save for some wrinkles around his eyes, he was just as formidable as he’d been in his twenties. “Get gone,” he ordered Stephanie impatiently as I moved to follow him back to our meeting room. Obviously he wasn’t in the mood to dick around. And that suited me just fine.
All of Cole’s most trusted advisors were there, except for my pop. Gunner, Max, Cash, Sal, Ryker, Wes, Tag, and his son Tatum all sat around the table already. I lifted my chin in greeting. With the exception of Gunner and Cash, who had both joined the club later, the rest of these men I’d known my entire life. All of them had proven their loyalty time and time again. All of them were my brothers in every way that mattered.
“You have a little something….” Gunner gestured to my neck, his eyes alight with mirth. Gunner lived to fuck with me. Hell, to fuck with anyone when the opportunity presented itself.
My hand went to my neck, wiping away the lip gloss Stephanie had somehow managed to put there. “That bitch is crazy,” I muttered.
“You stuck your dick there, man.” Gun shrugged with a muffled grin.
“Unfortunately,” I muttered, sitting down and clasping my hands on the table. “Regretted it every damn day since. What’s the latest on Rossi?” I asked, wanting to get down to business.
“Spotted two scouts,” Cash responded, his ever-present toothpick between his lips. “Assholes tried to dress like tourists.” He snorted in disgust. “They’ve been angling for Hawthorne for too fucking long. We need to do something about this shit.”
“Frannie is the perfect excuse to up their game.” Max grunted, his eyes on mine.
I slammed a fist into the table, unable to control my fury. “It’s Francesca,” I corrected him harshly. “And they will not lay a fucking hand on her. She’s mine. She may have the Rossi name, but that’s where any association ends. And while I’m at it, if any of you doubt it—lay that shit out now, because I’m telling you, if she goes, I go too.”
“She saved Wren. I owe her beyond measure for that,” Max assured me. “Far as I’m concerned, she’s part of the family.”
I received nods of agreement around the table. “I don’t doubt she wants nothing to do with Angelo Rossi. She has every reason to hate that fucker,” Gunner chimed in.
His knowing tone had my gaze whipping to his. “Why do you say that?”
“Bastard murdered her parents, didn’t she tell you?”
