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Virginia smirked. “A skeleton.”
I shook my head.
“I meant no disrespect, dear. It’s just that if there is anything anyone can use to discredit you, they will find it. Trust me. Even though you’ve never met your father, have no idea who he is, there is someone out there who does and when you least expect it, that information will come forward and cause problems. It’s just the way of life in this city.”
“I don’t want that, Virginia. I just want to work in my given profession and raise my son.”
“And where does my son fit into that tidy world?”
Sighing, I replied, “I don’t know. God, he’s so infuriating. I don’t know which way is up with him. One minute he is keeping me from my son, the next he is kissing me senselessly. He’s maddening.”
Virginia snickered. “That’s a Stone for you. All my sons are like that. They take after their father in that regard. Look, Tessa, I didn’t come here to grill you. I wanted to see my grandson and check on how you were doing.”
“I love him, Virginia. He consumes me until I don’t recognize myself. When I left, I didn’t know how I was ever going to get over him. I’m not sure I ever did. I was living, but not.”
“Sounds to me, you’ve already made your decision, Tessa. All you have to do is admit it to yourself and brace for impact because your life will never be the same again.”
“I don’t want to lose myself.”
“You won’t darling. I won’t let you.”
“You promise?”
Virginia smiled warmly and nodded.
“The main rule you need to remember is to always have Montana’s back. No matter what,” George Stone said, sitting next to Virginia as she fed York, while I was standing on a dais, getting fitted for a whole new wardrobe. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t just wear what I had in my closet. I had nice clothes. So, what if they were from Walmart or Target? At least they were comfortable.
“He is going to be your partner in life, Tessa,” Virginia cooed, looking at my son, who was smiling up at her from behind his bottle. “There are going to be times when his back is against the wall and he needs to know that you have his back, no matter what.”
“Also,” Happy piped in. “Montana can be stubborn when he puts his mind to something. You can try to persuade him, but never call him out in front of anyone. He needs to maintain a forceful presence and can’t do that if he’s worried about pissing you off.”
Along with George and Virginia, the Retirement Rejects tagged along. The three men were a hoot and a half. Happy, who was still currently the chaplain of the club, I knew from my time with Montana. Popeye used to be George’s V.P. and Snoopy was one of the club’s former enforcers. He was still George’s bodyguard.
“Fuck, Happy,” Snoopy moaned. “Why don’t ya just tell the girl to roll over and play dead?”
“I’m just trying to help, fuck nut.”
“No, what she needs to do is stand up for herself,” Popeye commented. “These kids nowadays are all about having their voices heard. Just the other day, I saw on that Tick-Tack app, a young boy said he identified as a worm. A worm! He doused himself in Vaseline and started wiggling around on the floor. Funniest shit I ever seen.”
“It’s TikTok,you moron,” Happy groaned.
“Whatever. It was funny shit.”
“You think that’s funny? Did you see the one where the cowboy from Texas married his horse? Fucker went to consummate the marriage and the fucking horse kick him in the balls. Fucker has balls bigger than a basketball now!” Snoopy roared with laughter.
“We’re getting off track, boys,” Virginia chided, halting their fun, smiling up at me. Hiding my grin, she winked at me. For the rest of the day, I listened as the Retirement Rejects instructed me on all things Montana, from club business to social settings. By the time they dropped me off at the apartment, my mind was reeling.
I thought I knew the man named Montana Stone, but I was wrong. He was just more. More complex than I ever imagined. Needing some time to process everything I learned, Virginia and George offered to take York for the night, giving me a much-needed break.
Dropping my bag as I walked into the apartment, I stopped in my tracks when I saw two men wearing leather cuts lounging on the sofa. Upon seeing me, they rose to their feet as one of them said in a thick southern accent, “You Montana’s bitch?”
“I’m no one’s bitch,” I sneered. “Who the fuck are you and how did you get in here? Where is Tia?”
The two bikers walked over, and one took a hold of my upper arm, gripping me firmly. “You are coming with us, bitch.”
Yanking my arm away, I stepped back. “The fuck I am. I’m not going anywhere with you. Who the hell are you?”
“Our Prez wants a word with you.”
