AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He loves you,” Kiplyn whispers.
“He does,” I agree with a nod.
“And you love him.”
Pressing my lips together, I roll them a few times. I’m not sure if I should admit it out loud to someone else. But it’s not a secret. In fact, I kind of feel like screaming it from the rooftops, if I’m being honest with myself.
“I love him.”
Kiplyn’s smile grows, her eyes searching mine before she lets out a soft laugh. “I was so worried about you for so long, Reese. I wasn’t sure if you would ever open up to me, to anyone. You were so alone, and yet you weren’t. It was difficult, and I didn’t know how to help. It turns out you didn’t need my help. You just needed to let yourself love.”
I’ve talked to my therapist plenty about this. About my past sex addiction, if that’s what it was called, I’m not really sure. Because it wasn’t that I needed sex to breathe; it was that if I went out with a man, if a man gave me any attention, only then did I need to be with them. But then I met Agony, and all of that changed… he broke me and fixed me all at the same time.
“I did,” I agree. “And now I’m happy.”
“Let’s get this shop up and running. It’s been closed for too long, and I honestly can’t reclean a clean shop one more time,” Piper snaps, her lips curved into a wide smile.
“Yes, let’s get this place dirty to give Piper something to do.”
That is how the first morning back in the salon goes after months. The rest of the day is so good I almost pinch myself a few times, unsure if it’s real. My clients are happy to see me, and I am excited to do their hair.
I’m home again.
And I’m whole.
AGONY
I walk into the bar, make my way toward the back, and sink down at the table against the wall. It’s hidden, away from the rest of the room, and I like it exactly that way. It doesn’t take long, maybe five minutes, before a waitress appears.
She already knows my order.
With a smile, she tips her chin, then moves toward the bar. She turns to the man who is pouring a drink for someone, and his gaze cuts to meet mine. I watch as he jerks his chin with a sign of recognition, then finishes his task.
A few moments later, he brings my drink to me himself, carrying it nonchalantly as he moves across the bar. Another man appears in his place behind the counter as he sinks down in the chair across from me.
“You’re brave showing your face here. You know they think you’re in on this shit, too.”
“I am,” I state.
He chuckles. “But you aren’t supposed to appear like you are.”
I shrug a shoulder. I’m not sure if I give much of a fuck that the Hell’s Souls think I’m in on anything. They’ve already proven they’re pieces of shit. Maybe we seriously should have taken care of them years ago when they came here and started their shit.
“Yeah,” I grunt. “You guys doing good here?” I ask.
“We are,” he murmurs. “Making a killing. They’re all locked up in fucking prison. Hopefully for a while.”
“And when they get out?” I ask.
It’s his turn to shrug his shoulder. “I don’t know,” he murmurs.
“Duke.” I chuckle. “The fuck, brother? You gotta have a plan.”
Duke looks over his shoulder, almost as if he’s glancing at his back to ensure nobody is there watching him. Then he shifts his attention back to meet mine. “Head chapter president is coming to town soon. He’s probably going to bring a new fucking club here to take over.”
“And what happens to you when he does?”
“A meet,” he mutters. “A meet that probably means we die.”
