Page 11 of Rebel

“I’m not, but there are… things I need to think about first. Soon.” Nikki stepped in close and pressed her lips to my cheek. “I promise.”

I watched her enter the hotel, feeling something I hadn’t felt in a long time.

Hopeful.

Chapter Five

Nikki

The elevator ride up to my hotel room felt odd. I wasn’t the same woman who’d gone down this elevator just a couple of hours ago. Hell, I wasn’t the same woman who checked in less than twenty-four hours ago. Everything I thought I knew about the past six years of my life, the night my daughter was conceived, was all wrong.

Logan hadn’t simply ghosted on me. He’d felt the same connection I had, but a simple twist of fate had kept us apart. That was kind of romantic, but it was overshadowed by the appearance of the Blood Fangs MC. Any thoughts of picking up where we left off, dating and getting reacquainted with one another, had been wiped away with the threats issued by those dangerous bikers.

It was a lot to take in, and I had no idea what to digest first.

I needed a long, hot shower and at least thirty minutes alone with a couple of fingers of bourbon. And eight hours of deep sleep, something I never got as a single mother to an energetic five-year-old.

“Oh. My. God. Tell me everything!” Mia was in my face the minute I opened the door. “Was he as gorgeous as you remember? Did you kiss him? Punch him? Did he say why he ghosted you?”

I put my hands on my best friend’s shoulders and forced her to calm her breathing. “Chill out, Mia.”

“I can’t chill out! You’ve been pining after this man, wishing harm upon him and so much more for years. I need to know what the hell happened?”

“He said he left a note with his number on the nightstand, and he was upset that I never reached out.” I shook my head, still unable to believe his words but the sadness and disappointment in his eyes told me it was the truth. “Something happened between the shower and food being delivered and we had no way to reach one another. So, that’s what happened.”

“And you believe him?”

“I believe him,” I answered.

Mia contemplated my words with a slow nod. “Okay, and you told him about Liv?”

“No,” I sighed. “The timing didn’t feel right, but I’m going to tell him. I have to.” I couldn’t keep it from him considering the Blood Fangs were after me, and would no doubt also be after my daughter.

“Okay, but hear me out.” She held out both of her hands and went to the wooden chest of drawers where the television sat, pouring from the bottle of bourbon she’d bought to help us unwind after the long days in the booth.

“I’m listening.”

“Do you think it’s a good idea to let him back into your life and into Liv’s life so easily?”

My brows dipped in confusion, and I felt a flash of anger take over. “What the hell, Mia? You’ve been nagging me for years to track him down, to find him so that Livvy could have the daddy she desperately wants.”

“I know and I’m sorry, but I’m just being cautious.”

“I get it but keeping her a secret isn’t a long term plan.” I sucked in a breath, fully prepared to explain about the Blood Fangs, but Mia had a one track mind.

“How did he look,” she asked, hungry for details.

“Gorgeous. Better than he did the night we met. He’s more mature, has bigger muscles, and he is just so utterly comfortable in his own skin that it’s impossible to look away.”

“God, that issosexy. Does he have a brother?”

Plenty, I thought but kept it to myself. “Not that I know of, but I need to keep my distance. I need a clear head so that I can tell him about Livvy and lay out terms of being in her life.” Not that Logan seemed to be a man who would adhere to terms. Or rules.

“Well, did you kiss?”

“No Mia, we didn’t kiss.” I needed to tell her about the bikers. She needed to know, not just because she was my producer and my best friend, but also because she often took care of Livvy. “The Blood Fangs MC showed up. They’re not happy with me.” Over another glass of bourbon, I told her all about the photos and video I took, how Logan had intervened, and what happened at the Black Jack Bar.

Her eyes widened comically. “They followed you?”

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