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“So what are you going to do now?” Gabby asked.
“I don’t know,” I answered, “but I just realized something.”
“What?” Layla and Gabby asked at the same time.
“Ryder seems perfect, right?” I got nods, so I went on, “But what if he’s not perfect for me? And if he’s not perfect for me, then I’m not perfect for him, so that means he has a perfect woman out there somewhere. And I’m cheating him out of finding her if I try to make us something we aren’t.”
“Shit, that’s deep,” Layla murmured.
“I’m going to need another drink,” Gabby said, flagging the waitress down again.
“Oh,God,” I breathed. “What if I’ve already had my shot at my perfect man, and I missed him?”
“What if your perfect man is Talon, but he’s too much of a jackass to know it?” Gabby groused.
And if Layla could have shot Superman laser beams from her eyes, she would have fried Gabby on the spot.
“That isnothow this works, okay?” Layla hissed at Gabby.
“Then how does it work?” I moaned. “Please tell me. Holy shit, somebody make me feel better.” I finally munched my chip and reached for another. “Because I’m about to self-medicate with carbs and alcohol.”
“If there was ever a time for it, this is it,” Gabby agreed, trading glasses with the waitress.
“Okay, we need a plan. What’s top priority right now?” Layla asked.
“Publication,” Gabby answered for me, emphasizing her point with a chip dunk.
“Alright,” Layla turned to me. “For now, that’s all you worry about. Cassie’s gold. Your job is secure for the moment. You’ve got all access to the club.” She threw air quotes aroundclub. “And you need to get the best shit of your life on paper.”
“Please,” Gabby begged, rolling her eyes, “because I’m ready for someone to finally put President Howard in his place.”
Layla nodded and continued, “So forget about Talon. He’s a dick. Hang with Ryder because he’s helpful, he’s good to you, and you don’t know he’s not the one. Not yet anyway.”
“Spend the summer writing, and let everything else take care of itself,” I agreed with growing confidence. This could work. I couldmakethis work.
Gabby saluted me with her glass, “Sounds like a winner to me. You gotta do what you gotta do, girlfriend.”
So that’s what I did.
For the next couple of months, I dipped in and out of the clubhouse. I was around, but I wasn’tthere.Whenever he saw me, Ryder was sweet and affectionate, but he didn’t make demands beyond that, and I didn’t either. He was slammed with club business, what that was, I wasn’t sure, but Gate kept the brothers in the road. And I was buried under research and writing, so we never strayed too far outside the friend zone.
With the brothers in and out like they were, I interviewed who I could when I could, and the more they saw me, the less guarded they were. Whether that was because they got used to me or because they were too distracted by whatever was going on with the club to notice what I overheard, I didn’t know and didn’t ask.
But I found out that Brick, the Sergeant at Arms, worked the docks pulling the club’s “acquisitions” through customs and when the club needed scary, he’s who they called. I also found out that Stash and Rooster both had genius level IQ’s, and while they had some unique sexual habits, they were super cool and friendly.
Nine was polite but cagey, so I didn’t get much more out of him than a chin lift.
From Lucky, I got that things went bad between Gate and his mom when Gate took over the club and that somehow Talon was responsible for that takeover, even though Lucky wasn’t all that sure about what went down.
Smoke, a Lieutenant along with Deuce, was a sweetheart, always telling stories about his kids and talking up his old lady’s cooking. He and Deuce had once run the drug trade, but since drugs brought too much heat on the club, Gate had edged them out, and they’d sold their pipeline to a crime family out of New York.
Tank let slip that Talon ran the hookers, which didn’t surprise me, but then he told me that Talon worked the stable as a legit business and that the girls were well protected. Tank also provided that Talon never sampled the goods. And that did surprise me.
Gate didn’t offer himself up for interview, and one run-in with Deuce was enough to last a lifetime. I ignored Talon. And the revolving door of groupies that hung all over him.
By the time I finished writing my ass off and submitting for publication, I thought I’d gotten the whole MC infatuation out of my blood and that maybe Ryder and I could figure out where we stood.
Boy, was I wrong.
