Page 147 of Salvation

“You should leave,” Jenna said coldly, glaring down at her.

“And who the fuck are you?” Vicky spat.

“She’s my best friend. And let me correct something for you. My position iseverything.I am not just any old lady. I amtheold lady. And I didn’t get to this position by tolerating fuckwits like you. I’m here, because I have no problem snuffing out the life of those that harm me and mine. And right now, I, and I alone, am the only one stopping my best friend from peeling the skin from your back. I am the reason you will leave this room alive. As a show of good fucking faith. If you return here again, I won’t be so generous.”

Vicky got to her feet, and I took a step forward, keeping my ladies behind me. I knew they had my back if I needed them.

“You’re all pathetic,” she snarled, and then stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

“Thank you, Rachel,” Kitty said softly. I turned around and walked over to her, wrapping my arms around her without another word.

She hugged me back, her small frame shaking. “He loved you. You know that. Don’t let that fucking idiot taint what you had. You were his queen.”

“I know,” she nodded on my shoulder, and then withdrew from me. “Now who is the loudmouth behind the bar?” She laughed, wiping away her tears. I noticed the other ladies quietly walk away out of the corner of my eye, giving us our privacy.

“I learnt from the best.”

“You belong here, Rachel. I should have said it before, and I’m sorry I didn’t. But you do belong here. And I couldn’t have chosen a better woman for my son.”

“I… Thank you, Mama.” I said, choosing not to call her Kitty for the first time. My own way of showing her respect.

Her eyes widened in shock for a moment before she reached for my hand, giving it a quick squeeze, and then walked away.

“Never a dull moment,” Jenna said, creeping back up behind me and linking arms with me again.

“Would we have it any other way?”

“Do we have a choice?” She laughed. “Come on Reigning Supreme. I think we need a drink.”

“A drink? I need a fucking holiday.”

“A holiday? Bitch, you got your break. This is your life now. Come on, let me bore you with details about Shark’s recovery. If you didn’t need a drink before, you definitely will after that. I almost fell asleep during the doctor’s speech.”

I choked on a laugh and followed her back to the bar.

Chapter 67

Rachel

For the next four days, things remained calm. Dante gave me all the details about what happened during Church, his revenge, and the meeting he had with Nico, leading to the new peace agreement. I listened without saying a word, knowing it wasn’t my place to get involved with club business whilst the contract was in place. I couldn’t afford to break another rule whilst I had the Vienna situation hanging over my head.

And, if I was being honest, I was grateful that Dante was willingly telling me about what had happened, rather than shutting me out, or fighting with me over it.

I couldn’t say I completely agreed with his methods, but it was nice to see him take a calm approach to things, rather than fly off the handle like Crash would have done, causing untold death and destruction.

Dante and Nico also agreed to do monthly phone calls. There was no expectation there, but they were going to do their best to try to communicate a bit better and try to work as better enemies. “Frenemies” as Bee informed us, making us feel fucking ancient when both of us asked what it was.

In return for him sharing club news with me (technically, another contract breach, but at this point, who’s counting? I was just happy not to be the only one breaking the rules.) I filled him in on the Vicky situation and the shit she had said to his mother. He wasn’t happy, but much like I had with the Nico situation, he listened, he remained calm, and he put his trust in me that I had it handled.

We were trying to work on our communication and to not hold secrets from each other. And minus the massive one regarding Vienna, I think we were doing amazing. We weren’t arguing, we were actually enjoying each other’s company, and had fallen into a nice, easy routine.

Even our nights were much better. We still weren’t having sex, but we had stopped fighting the basic urges and were finding new ways to have fun. The night in the bar had shown me there were more ways to have the time of your life without direct sex, and I was more than enjoying this new exploration.

Things seemed great.

But there was one thing that was bugging me.

And that was Greg. AKA Malfoy.