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Later. I’d deal with him later. We weren’t supposed to meet up until three thirty tomorrow. I’d figure something out by then.
* * *
The ride with Danica to the coffee shop was strained. She barely looked at me, her face tense. She was polite and thanked me when we left the clubhouse and when I dropped her off, but there was a distance between us that had never been there before. I didn’t like it.
I waited outside instead of going in. It wasn’t my usual time. I liked to wait until there were a bunch of people before going in to make my orders. The more people, the more outrageous the order. Just because I could.
Danica always got there at five in the morning. Her help got there at six unless it was Jordan, who never got there before eight. For a busy coffee shop, having only one person there to run things had to hurt business. Dani never seemed to struggle to handle the crowd, but it took all her concentration. The last thing she needed today was me to distract her.
Once the customers started rolling in, I left. I’d brought her in the Bronco, and I hated driving any kind of vehicle other than my bike. If I was going to babysit today, I was doing it with my bike on hand. Not a damned cage.
The ride to the clubhouse didn’t take long. One of the prospects, Breaker, had my bike out and ready when I rolled into the clubhouse. He’d make sure the Bronco was full of gas, then park it.
I straddled my bike, breathing out a contented sigh before starting it and taking off. I needed a ride. Since Danica was safely at work and Deacon was keeping watch at the school, I decided I’d take a couple hours to unwind. I needed a break. Just for a couple of hours.
A couple of hours turned into most of the day. By the time I got back to the coffee shop, it was after two in the afternoon. That was usually a downtime for Danica, but it looked like the place was hopping.
I slipped in, taking my usual place next to the window where I could keep an eye on my bike and Danica all at the same time. If she noticed, she didn’t acknowledge me. To be fair, there were at least five people at the counter and she was waiting on all of them at the same time. Jordan -- or anyone else -- was nowhere in sight.
“That’s one caramel macchiato for you, a chai latte with oat milk and brown sugar here, a caramel joe for you, a strawberry refresher with coconut milk, and an iced Ristretto ten shot with breve, five pumps of vanilla, seven pumps of caramel, four Splenda, poured. Not shaken.” She grinned as she served the last asshole with his cup. Bastard. I shoulda thought of that one.
Once all of them had paid, she took a breath before wiping down the already spotless bar. Surprisingly, she stepped away with a new mug of fresh coffee and headed my way. She sat the mug on the table and started to walk away, but I snagged her wrist.
“Sit.”
She blew one coffee-colored curl out of her face. “I’m not a dog, Wylde.”
I sighed. “Please, Dani.” I nodded to the chair across from me. “I’m sorry about last night.”
She shrugged. “You want what you want. I’m honestly flattered, given all the women you have after you.” The flirty smile she flashed me looked a bit strained but was no less lovely. The woman really was appealing on a whole other level.
“I’m not the type of man to want forever, honey. Doesn’t mean I don’t care about you; just means I can’t give you what you deserve.”
“It’s OK, Wylde. Really.” She stood and laid a hand on my shoulder and squeezed, smiling at me before she headed back to the bar.
As I watched her work, I found I wanted to be the man to give her what she deserved. I wanted to be that man. But I simply… wasn’t. I had too much going on. Too many responsibilities. Not to mention my club. To bring her into my world meant she had to be mine. Always.
There was no leaving the Iron Tzars for any reason other than death. Expulsion meant death. It’s how this club had worked since its inception in the nineteen forties. I couldn’t change that, wouldn’t change it. Iron Tzars did work no one else could or would do, and it was usually a permanent solution. For that reason, what happened in the club, stayed in the club. We’d never risk a disgruntled member leaving and ratting us out. It would bring down every chapter all over the world. And the Iron Tzars were many.
While I waited for her shift to end, I logged on to the server where I was supposed to meet SoulHunter15. I got on at three, anticipating he’d be there at three-thirty like he said. By five, he still hadn’t shown up. The shop was closed, and Danica was cleaning up. I’d searched the other servers the kid frequented and found only one mention of him. That son of a bitch JustMadness had called him to DM when he got on. I could see where Hunter had logged on, but the DM had either been removed or hadn’t happened.
That was something else I needed to get a handle on. I had a bad feeling about Hunter, though I wasn’t sure if it was for himself or for others around him. Either way, I’d reached out to him. That made him my responsibility. Next thing I needed to do was find out who he was and see if there was going to be any damage to contain.
“I’m done, Wylde.” Danica stood at my table, her backpack slung over one shoulder while she picked at the strap.
“Good.” I shut down my gear and packed everything up. I still had my bike but I’d brought a helmet for her, not intending to ever drive a fucking cage again. The thought made me break out in hives.
I strapped my gear to the back and handed Dani the helmet. “Climb on the back. Your feet go on the pegs. Watch the pipes when you get off because they’ll be hot.”
“I’m not sure this is a good idea, Wylde. Maybe you could get someone to bring my car. The girls and I need to get home anyway.”
“Get on, Dani.” My tone was a little gruffer than I’d intended, but I was not having one of my brothers bring her back to the clubhouse. I knew Clutch wasn’t done with her ride yet and, Goddamnit, I wasn’t ready for her to leave!
With a sigh, she did as I instructed. Once she had her helmet on and was securely behind me, I grabbed her wrists and brought them around my waist. “Hang on tight.”
When I took off, she squeezed her arms around my middle tighter, looking over my shoulder as we rode. For some reason, I wanted to take her on a good, long ride. I wanted her to experience something that gave me the most peace I’d ever had in my life. Other than, perhaps, being in her presence.
And where the fuck did that thought come from? And why did her arms wrapped around me feel so fucking good? Didn’t matter. I was driving for a while because I fucking wanted to.
