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I gasp in mock horror. “Perish the thought! I’d never give up my Louboutins.”
We laugh, and for a moment, I almost forget the chaos that’s landed me here. But as the laughter fades, reality sinks back in.
“So, what now?” I ask, trying to sound more confident than I feel.
“The guys aren’t thugs, you know,” Kelsey says.
I blink and look up. “What?”
She shakes her head, a smile teasing the corners of her lips. “Don’t get me wrong. They’re all a little rough around the edges, but that’s to be expected. They aren’t bad guys.”
Her gaze bounces around the room, but she’s like I remember, smiling and kind to everyone.
“Why expected?”
“Because not everyone grew up with silver spoons popping out of their asses,” McKenna shoots at me angrily.
Kelsey rolls her eyes. “It’s true. These guys haven’t lived lives like ours. There was no privilege or private schools. No country clubs or summers in Hawaii. They fight and scrape for everything they have, and sometimes that means skirting the law.”
I nod at Kelsey’s words, riveted by her spin on their collective backgrounds. “And that’s all right with you?”
She nods. “It’s not like our families always operate on the right side of the law. Yours either, I hear.”
I blush at the mention of my family’s less-than-lawful dealings. “You’ve heard,” I confirm. Kelsey nods, but there’s nothing but empathy and understanding on her face.
“We’ve heard. The guys don’t keep much from us. We’re a family here. Coop knows I’ll worry if he’s too tight-lipped.”
I slump back in my chair, feeling like a fish out of water. “I’m no good at this. I hate my life,” I admit. I turn my attention back to this beautiful toddler in my lap.
“No shit,” McKenna snorts. “None of us are good at this.”
“You don’t have to be good at this,” Kelsey adds after shooting her sister a wicked glare. “Just listen to the guys and do what you’re told when it comes to your safety. Lucky’s a new patch, but he’s been around the club for a while, and he’s a certified badass. He was in the Army, so if anyone can keep you safe, it’s him.”
Lucky was in the Army? That’s news to me. “Yeah, well, we don’t get along.” Kelsey’s words almost make me feel guilty for giving Lucky such a hard time.
“You’re missing out.” Kelsey’s gaze turns serious, and she reaches across the table to gather my hands in hers, but it’s an awkward hold with the baby in my arms. “These men are important to me, Aria. They are loyal and protective as hell. As long as you have one of them taking care of you, you’re good. I promise.”
I sigh and let my gaze bounce between the Marin sisters. It’s easy for them to say that, to believe it, because if all this goes to hell, they still have one another. They have men who love them, even if they are bikers.
All I have is yours truly.
Daddy is locked up, and who knows when—or if—he’ll be back. Mom is dead. Coco is a dude, and I’m completely reliant on a man I barely know to keep me safe. Alive.
Fuck. My. Life.
“I’m skeptical,” I admit, my eyes fixated on baby Carmine, a picture of purity and innocence. “But as you pointed out, with Daddy in the clutches of the Feds, I’m stranded and at the mercy of the biker gang.”
“Motorcycle Club,” Kelsey and McKenna correct in perfect harmony. “Watch yourself, Aria.”
I sigh, a pang of disappointment washing over me. McKenna and I were never BFFs, more like frenemies. Just a couple of trust-fund kids navigating the shark-infested waters of an elite high school, each trying to be the queen bee. “I’m trying,” I snap. “This is all so new to me.”
Truth be told, I’ve been scared out of my wits since those gangsters busted in, roughed up Dix, and dragged me into this mess. I feel tears pooling in my eyes, and I look away, handing baby Carmine back to her mom.
“Aria, look at me.” Kelsey’s words are firm but gentle. “Life isn’t black and white. Whatever you think about these guys, especially Lucky, isn’t the whole story. You love your father, but clearly, he’s found himself in a fight with Lady Justice right now.”
I breathe in deeply, trying to digest her words. I know she’s right. “Make sure your preconceived notions don’t land you in a world of hurt,” Kelsey warns. “Like losing something you can’t replace—like, oh, I don’t know, your life.”
McKenna adds her two cents, “You know what they say about contempt prior to investigation.”
