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“Boss, I—” Hal began to pace the floor.
“Shut the hell up and sit the fuck down.” Hal opened his mouth to retort but at the expression on his president’s face, he closed it again. “You need me to remind you?” Prosper kept his voice controlled, but the thread of anger that ran through it was heard loud and clear. “You need me to remind you of that patch you’re wearing, and what that means?” Prosper began his rhetorical rant.
“No sir,” Hal’s response was automatic.
“You need me to remind you of the shit that you didn’t have to do? The bowing and scraping prospect bullshit that you didn’t have to go through to have the honor—the honor—of wearing those colors?”
“No sir.”
“Do you remember going through that humiliating, exhausting, year-long bitch phase that is a requirement,a fucking by-lawof being considered for membership into this club?” Prosper leaned in and gripped the edge of the table.
“No sir.”
“You want to tell me why you don’t fucking remember that?” Prosper growled.
“Because you put a motion on the table.” Hal’s voice was tight.
“That’s goddamn right. I put a motion on the table to skirt the by-laws and asked the boys to disregardyearsof tradition foryou. And now I’m wondering if I made a big damn mistake.” Prosper snarled out.
“You doubting my loyalty, Boss? Because I think I’ve already proven that more than a few fucking times.” Hal shot up out of his chair and began to pace the floor again. He sputtered out with anger. “Or is it my value to the club that you’re questioning? You want to tell me, you want to explain what quality being the club bitch would have given me that I don’t already have? I sure as hell would like to know just what it is you think I am lacking?” Hal was all riled up now because this little goddamn lecture had gone far enough.
“Humility, brother.” Prosper shot back out. “You could use some damn humility. Maybe a year of washing bikes, serving beer, and otherwise putting up with everyone else’s shit for a while would have been good for you. Maybe making you a prospect would have bled out some of that arrogance of yours, because that’s what you are—one self-important sonofabitch. And what’s more? You know that it’s true.” Prosper clamored, “Now sit the hell back down and relax.”
Hal worked to remain silent, because all things considered, the boss was not wrong. It wasn’t the first time Hal had been called arrogant, but that didn’t bother him even a little bit. As a matter of fact, his arrogance—his ability to lead, command, and serve with complete confidence in his own ability, had made him a fearless motherfucker and had saved his life and the life of the men who served under him more than a few times. Until, of course, it hadn’t.
Hal wisely sat his ass back in the chair and listened to Prosper while he continued with his rant. “This man is a friend of the club’s. He came here because he needs something from us, and he trusts us to provide it. A man like Gianni Abruzzi doesn’t put his daughter’s life in the hands of just anybody, and I take it as a big goddamn compliment that he trusts us to keep her safe. This club is going to do everything we can to help him. We fucking clear?” Prosper ranted.
“Yeah,” Hal muttered.
“We clear?” Prosper shouted.
Hal spoke up. “Damn, Boss, calm the fuck down. I said okay.”
“You should have said okay the goddamn minute this was put on the table! And about that other thing, thatconversation?I haven’t forgotten a single damn word of it. You keep your eyes on the prize and your dick in your pants as far as Gianni’s daughter goes. You got that? And this is the fucking end of any discussion on the matter. And the next time your president asks you to do something and you question that order? Then you’re sure as hell right that I’m going to question your fucking loyalty and your damn value to this club.”
With that, Prosper threw open the door and stormed out, leaving Hal no other choice but to follow.
Valentina woke up in a very good mood, even before the 5 a.m. alarm went off. She ran to the window filled with all the excitement of a child waiting for Christmas to arrive. And apparently it had, because her father’s limousine was gone which meant that he had already left for the airport. The skeleton crew of security would soon be busy doing their day to day.
No more sneaking around, no more watching the clock, and no more worrying about getting Pauli into hot water with her dad.
Best of all, sitting under the carport wasBig Blue. That beautiful Cadillac was just waiting for her to take down the convertible top and ease on down the road.
Today is the first day of the rest of your life, Valentina Abruzzi. Make the most of it!
With fresh optimism, she completed her morning ritual of undressing and stepping into the dry shower. Today, she even raised her face to the shower head. It always made her feel a little crazy to stand naked in a turned off shower, but it was part of her therapy. Early after her rescue, the very idea of putting herself under anything that could produce dripping water was unthinkable.
Despite the embarrassing setback she had had, Valentina knew she was getting better. Shewas.
Humming a happy tune, Valentina soaped up the washcloth and scrubbed her face clean. Then in keeping with the positive mood of the day, she rifled through her closet until she found her—never been wornandspent way too much money on it—short, lavender sundress. There were plenty of aprons at the bakery, and she was tired of wearing the same old shorts and tanks.New beginningsValentina practically sung out the words. Then she brushed her hair until it shone and decided to let the ponytail go until she was at the bakery. The prospect of letting her hair blow free in the wind while she spun on down the road inBig Bluemade her almost giddy with delight.Valentina swiped her long lashes with black mascara and applied thin eyeliner. She chose a pair of twirling silver earrings and slipped her feet into ballet flats. Then she threw her sunglasses, her phone, and her wallet into a leather tote and just about skipped down the long, elegant staircase that would lead her out.
As she approached the Cadillac, Valentina frowned when she realized that her father hadn’t told her where the keys would be. But as they seldom locked their vehicles in the garage area, she figured they would be over the visor—or in the glove compartment—or under the mat—or ...Damn, where in the hell were they?Valentina twisted and turned and stretched her body half way across the bench seat as she searched everywhere for those keys.
“Looking for these?” A deep voice rasped out from somewhere near her backside.
Valentina was so startled that she shot up like she had been catapulted by a cannon. But that was nothing compared to the shock she had when she saw who was dangling the keys in front of her.
The heart-stopping surprise and utter embarrassment of finding herself face to face with Hallelujah Thomas rendered her speechless. She shook her head, trying to ward off the memories of their last humiliating encounter. But now, that embarrassing memory was surpassed by the realization that he had been standing there for god only knows how long while she grunted and groaned. Hal had seen Valentina’s every stretch and strain as she searched high and low for those keys with her thighs open, her ass up in the air, and her hoo-ha on clear display. She thanked god that she at least had on a new pair of panties. Small consolation, but she’d take it.
