Page 66 of Talon

“He told you about that?” Nina asks, almost cautiously.

“Yes.”

“I guess I’m not surprised. All the other guys told their old ladies about what happened there. I suppose it’s only right that you know. Still, talking about the hell they went through had to be hard.”

“Hell?”

“Yeah.” Nina picks up the knife and resumes chopping vegetables.“I can’t imagine spending years with that man. He’s a monster. Talon and the others are lucky they survived.”

I have no idea what she’s talking about, but I’m deeply intrigued. Talon doesn’t say much about his past, but something bad happened. Maybe Nina will give me more details if I play along. She seems to think I already know details about what happened between Talon and Blackstone, but I don’t.

“The others were at Blackstone’s, too, right?” I pick up a knife and slice through a bunch of celery.

“Yep. For many years before they were able to escape.”

The knife slips and I cut my finger.“Ouch!”

“Oh, no. Let me get a bandage. You sit down at the table while I finish up.” Nina pulls a first aid kit out from underneath the sink. She sits beside me at the table and works on cleaning and bandaging the cut.

“How old were they when they escaped? I can’t remember what he told me,” I lie.

“Let’s see, they were all teenagers. Scar was fifteen, so Talon was fourteen.”

“How did they end up with you?”

“One winter, I found them living in my barn. Winchester wanted to drag them into the house so they’d be warm, but I had a feeling that would spook the boys. Matrix and Nitro were more open to coming in, but Scar wouldn’t allow it. Even back then, he was their leader.”

“And Reaper?” I ask, trying to get a handle on who was in the group.

“Always the quiet one. Even now, he doesn’t talk much. He lets the others do the talking while he sits back and observes.”

“He kinda scares me,” I admit.

“Honestly?” She looks me right in the eye, sending a chill down my spine.“He scares me, too, sometimes. I hope he can find someone who loves him for who he is, but he can be terrifying.”

“After they moved in with you and Winchester, what happened?”

“They grew up. Joined the club. And here we are.” She smiles brightly.

“Where’s Winchester?”

“He died a few years ago.” Her smile fades as she places her hand over her chest.“But I still have him here, in my heart.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I say. It’s such a lame sentiment, but it’s all I’ve got.

“He’s still watching over me.” Her eyes drift toward the ceiling.“He’s waiting for me, and one day, we’ll be reunited.”

I don’t know what to say, so I stay silent. Eventually, she gets up and finishes dinner. While she’s working, I listen for the door. I don’t know where Talon is, but hopefully, he’ll be home for dinner. None of the other guys are here, either. They left two prospects behind to keep an eye on the clubhouse, but the rest of them left without telling me where they were going. I can’t help but be nervous.

After talking with Nina, I have so many more questions. I want to ask Talon exactly what happened with Blackstone. Whatever it was doesn’t sound good. If he felt the need to run away during the winter, it had to be bad.

The door to the kitchen swings open, and Scar, Nitro, and Reaper stride in. They’re an intimidating sight, even though I’ve been around them for a while now.

“Hey, Nina,” Scar says, his voice gravelly.“We just got a text from Talon. He wants us to meet him in the basement. Can you keep dinner in the oven for a bit? We’ll be up after we’re done dealing with this.”

“The basement?” My curiosity is piqued despite my unease.“What’s down there?”

“That’s where we have our little‘chats’ with people who aren’t too willing to cooperate,” Reaper says.

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