Page 33 of Johny B

“Hey, I’m not mad. I only want to check on her.” He pats the back of Tenley’s hand to reassure her. “I’m pretty bummed that I missed seeing her drunk, though.” Laughing, he starts to walk away but hollers over his shoulder. “Give me five, Scarlett and I’ll take you home.”

Once he’s safely down the hall and out of ear shot, I take advantage of the limited time I have left with Tenley.

“Think hard, Tenley,” I address her. Her eyes switch from where Sasha is now dancing along with the characters on the TV show to me. She doesn’t ask what I’m referring to. She knows.

“Look, Scarlett, it’s early days. Too early to know what Smoke and I have, or the longevity of it. We’re still getting to know each other.”

“But I do know him. I’m his daughter.” I counter. “Since my mom passed, he’s not once, to my knowledge, shared a bed with another woman. That part of his life is sacred, and he wouldn’t share it easily. Yet I walk in to find you cozying up with him. I won’t lie, it took me by surprise.” I hit her with a steely glare. “I hope this isn’t just some crazy-assed plan to get a scoop for the tabloid you work for.”

“Now you’re being ridiculous.” Tenley hisses back at me and fires a venomous glare, that easily rivals my own. I have to give her kudos for standing up for herself, that’s for sure. “I don’t know what to say to you Scarlett, other than things got crazy, and it just happened. But to think for one minute that our actions were premeditated by either of us, quite frankly, is insulting to us both.”

The air around is charged. Each of us waiting for the other to speak.

“Don’t break his heart,” I warn her, but in a soft tone.

“What about my heart?” she replies with a similar subtle voice. “What you don’t know is the reason I’m here is because I’ve been working with the club.”

“What do you mean?” I scowl at her.

“I went undercover, got close to Dunne so I could try to get information. So, tell me Scarlett. When it comes to matters of the heart, how can I be sure that Smoke is not going to cast me away once this feud with the DVI is done, and I’m the one being played?”

“Smoke might be the prez of an outlaw motorcycle club, have this hard persona that everyone sees and a no fucks given attitude, but it’s all fake. Inside he has a huge heart, and when he lets himself love, he loves hard.”

“That maybe so, but…”

“Tenley. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, his body language says it all. He cares for you deeply, even if the stubborn old goat hasn’t let himself fully acknowledge it yet. There’s no doubt in my mind. What you need to ask yourself is, could you see yourself living club life? You’ve done your research; you know exactly what goes on. Like I say, think hard, because if you can’t love him for who he is and what he represents, then you need to walk away now.”

Tenley doesn’t get a chance to respond, as Stone comes walking towards us. He’s all gooey eyed. No doubt from watching his old lady while she sleeps.

“Come on then. Let’s go grab your cage and I’ll take you home.”

The fresh airand short walk to my car is enough to sober me up somewhat, but I still ain’t risking getting behind the wheel, so I let Stone take the driving seat.

“How are you going to get back?” I ask, slipping into the passenger seat while Stone fires up the engine.

“One of the prospects in going to follow us in a club cage.”

We pull out of the yard and silence falls between us.

It’s not until we’re almost at my place that Stone eventually speaks.

“You girls have a good time?”

“We did, thank you.” I turn my head to face him and smile. “How adorable is Sasha?” I coo. “She’s such a sweetie, but I have no idea where she gets all her energy from, and geez, she’s as sharp as a tac.”

“That girl is wiser and smarter than her years, that’s for sure. Has the hearing of a bat and doesn’t miss a single trick,” he smiles. “Can’t deny it though. I was scared as fuck when I first gained guardianship of her. Now, I can’t imagine life without her or Oriana. They’re that special part of my life I never realized I was missing, until they both came crashing into it. I can only hope that I’m good enough for them, because they both deserve only the best.”

“Well, I do know that when it comes to the parenting part, you and Oriana are doing a fantastic job. Sasha is so happy, confident and loving and it’s clear that you both love the bones of her.” The way Sasha runs to him as soon as he walks into the room, and how Oriana’s eyes heat up at the sight of him, it’s blatantly obvious to me that their one amazingly happy family unit.

“Hey,” I swiftly change the subject. “So, Tenley…”

“Don’t make this awkward, Scarlett,” he warns. “If you think I’m going to rat on my prez, you’d better think again.”

“I’m worried, that’s all.” He glances my way, one eyebrow raised, lips pressed tight, not believing my shit. “He’s never acted this way before when it comes to women. At least, not since Mom. Dad lived for Mom, even after she’d passed. I’m sure he got his cock sucked on occasion by one of the club whores, but the way he was, anything more was unthinkable in his eyes.”

“He loved Violet deeply,” Stone confirms.

“Exactly, yet Tenley comes along and he’s all goo-goo eyed over her. In bed with her,” I emphasise on the last bit by turning more towards him and slinging my hands into the air. “What’s that all about?”

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