Page 46 of Dutch

Makari stepped back, opening the door wider for me. "Get in here before somebody sees you."

Inside, the scent of paint hit me. She had a canvas on an easel and tubes of opened paint.

"I'm done hiding, Dutch. No more running, no more safe houses."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that right?"

"Yeah, that's right. I want to go to your real house. I want whatever this is between us to be as normal as can be," she insisted.

I smirked. "Careful darling, you're sounding a lot like me."

She rolled her eyes but smiled. "Don't push, big guy."

I moved closer to her. "All jokes aside, you're not safe. The Red Scorpions?—"

She cut me off. "I don't give a damn about those red bastards. I'm not allowing fear to run me anymore. I want to see my friends and go out and do normal shit with my man. For real this time."

My heart was doing flips. "I don't know. I come with a lot of baggage, sweetheart, and I'm not talking about my personality."

Makari laughed. "Trust me, I know the risk."

I studied her face, and damn if I didn't fall even harder for her.

"I don't know if I can go through this again, though."

"I know, babe, me either. How do we make this work?" I asked.

I pulled her in for a kiss, and all the worry left me at that moment.

I stepped back and cleared my throat. "How about you let me take you out and show you off?"

Makari pursed her lips, intrigued but cautious. "What do you have in mind?"

"The Baxtown Iron MCs, our brother club, is throwing this cabaret tomorrow night with live music, drinks, the whole nine. I'd like to take you with me and meet some of our brotherhood. It will be a chill setting."

"Wait, you want me to meet your MC friends? At an actual event?"

"Damn, you act like I'm all grease and gasoline. I clean up nice when I want to."

Makari was quiet for a moment. "This is a big deal for you, isn't it?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I thought it might be fun. No pressure."

Makari smiled. "All right, I'm in."

"Yeah?" I grinned.

"Yeah, but if anyone tries to give me their leather jacket, I'm out!" she laughed.

I chuckled, "Hell yeah!"

The next night, I pulled up to Makari's apartment building and fidgeted with my cuffs. I went middle ground — my club cuts over dark jeans and a button-down shirt. I had to rep, but I wasn't trying to look shabby either.

I blew out air. I hadn't done this in a long time. Inside, I raised my hand to knock when the door swung open before I could finish my thought. There she was in a sexy ass jumpsuit and heels. The jumpsuit was hugging curves I'd forgotten she had.

"Are you gonna stand there all night, or are we going to this cabaret?" Makari teased, something she did when she was nervous.

I let out a low whistle. "Damn, Makari, are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

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