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TANNER
The plume of dirt and dust swirls around the four bikes as they zoom off out of the parking area and toward the gate. I watch as they turn right on the road and vanish. I stay where I am, standing in the hot sunshine, watching nothing for a while. Probably too long considering I’m so pale. I shouldn’t be standing in the sun at all, I’m probably already burned.
“You gonna fry out there, darlin’,” a voice calls out.
Turning my head, I look back to see the man from earlier at the kitchen doorway. I stare at him, unsure of what to say. He doesn’t say anything else either immediately, his intense gaze is focused on me though and it’s clear that he has much to say, though I’m not sure why he would want to say any of it to me. I don’t even know who he is.
“Name’s Ironfist,” he announces oddly. Answering the question that I didn’t verbalize.
“Tanner,” I say, assuming that his announcement is his introduction.
I’m right when he dips his chin. My eyes glance around at his vest and I realize that he has a few more patches than Riff has. He even has one that saysVICE PRESIDENTin bold across the chest. Licking my bottom lip, I take a step toward him but then stop.
“Why does your vest havevice presidenton it?” I ask.
He looks down at his chest, then flicks his attention back to meet mine. “Call them cuts, babe. And my cut says vice president, because I’m the VP of this club.”
Nodding my head, I clear my throat and take another step toward him. Stopping right in front of him, I tilt my head backward and give him a smile. I don’t bother saying anything else, I’m not sure what I could even say at this point. Instead, I decide to brush past him on a mission to gather my things and go to the grocery store.
I need food and I’m a ball of anxiety and nervous energy, the only thing that calms me down from feeling this way is cooking.
I don’t get far.
Ironfist reaches out to me, wrapping his hand around my forearm as I attempt to walk past him. Stopping, I look back at him. He tilts his head to the side, his gaze searching mine before he speaks.
“He’s going to be okay.”
Something ugly slides through my body at his words. My lips part and I stare up at him. “Why wouldn’t he be, potentially speaking?” I ask.
His brows rise and he clears his throat, his hand dropping from my arm. “I thought that’s why you looked upset, because you were worried about his mission.”
“Mission?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Can’t tell you what, that’s club business. But he didn’t tell you anything else?”
Pressing my lips together, I roll them a few times, then let out a breath as I look up into his eyes. He watches me for a long moment, in silence, waiting for whatever it is he is expecting me to say.
“All I know is that he has somewhere to go for a few days.”
Ironfist watches me in silence, then he dips his chin and takes a step backward. “Then that’s all you need to know. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“What aren’t you saying?” I ask.
He shakes his head twice, his gaze never leaving mine. “Nothin’ to worry about, darlin’.”
That’s a lie. Because thereissomething to worry about, the look in his eyes, the expression on his face, it is crystal clear.Heis worried. Instead of going straight to the store, I stumble back into the clubhouse and lock myself in Riff’s bedroom.
Sinking down to the floor, I press my back against the door and bring my knees up, wrapping my arms around them. Staring straight ahead at the bed, I wonder what the hell I’ve done. My brother was right. I’ve made a huge mistake and I’m alone and completely fucked.
What happens if Riff doesn’t come home…
Wesley.
What happens if Wesley doesn’t come home? What happens to me, to our baby?
