Page 101 of Rider Daddies
The conversation dies after that. With nothing left to do, I finish the rest of my coffee. To my surprise, it’s a struggle to swallow. A lump has formed in my throat, making it hard for even air to get down my esophagus.
I can beat around the bush all I want and trick my mind into thinking otherwise, but the truth always finds its way back home.
I have feelings for a girl, and the feelings are telling me to forfeit the clubjustto keep her by my side.
16
LUCIA
It feelslike I’ve been living in limbo today.
Tristan will strike and I know it’s going to be bad.
Even though I want to, I know I shouldn’t underestimate a scrawny man in a suit, because when they wear a three-piece suit every day without fail, you know they mean business.
The CEO of the law firm didn’t appoint Tristan as senior management out of kindness. Tristan earned his place at the top. He works until he gets what he wants. Whether he’s doing it to earn more money or to feed his obsessive-stalker desires, he’s winning.
But not tonight.
Ryder, Ash, and Saint are twice his age. That puts him at a disadvantage. Physically, there’s no way he can win.
But superficiality always gets the better of everything.
Ash is right. Fake reality rules the world. All Tristan has to do is open his mouth to other deranged sinners like him, in order to save himself.
Physical advantage is nothing as long as law and order exists.
I take the cloth from my shoulder and wipe the bar clean, taking advantage of the empty bar to unpack my thoughts.
At the moment, there are so many that I don’t even see the point in thinking. All I want is for this to be over. For Tristan to experience loss for the first time in his life, and crumble.
I watch the clubhouse, my gaze bouncing from table to table.
From silver fox to silver fox.
I know I’m in good hands, but at the end of the day, the majority of the bikers here are all for themselves. If the brothers and I told them that Tristan was returning to take me, they’d be in favor of handing me over. I don’t have to read the code of conduct to know that protecting the club is their number one priority.
I catch Ryder looking stiff at the door…which is a first. He’s nervous about tonight. They all seem that way.
It’s endearing.
These men don’t stall in the face of death, but they can’t stop fidgeting tonight.
Saint stands behind the decks with a hard face, his back rigid between his shoulder blades. The music is playing quietly, the lyrics inaudible, but I know the tune. The chord progression of “Born to Be Wild” is so unique that I could pick it up from anywhere.
I take a breath to stabilize myself.
Tell me why the smell of gasoline, cigarette smoke, and alcohol feels like home? My body feels like it’s at peace.
Papa’s side of the family came from generational wealth, so our home back in Italy was dripping in luxury. Each room was perfumed with organic fragrances that were supposed to help us “relax.” I slept under Egyptian cotton sheets every night, and when I wasn’t at boarding school, I spent the weekends in front of a giant flat-screen TV, laid out on a couch that felt like it was made from clouds and feathers.
Everything was about comfort.
But nothing compares to the Venom Vultures clubhouse.
I catch Ash collecting empty glasses. My heart stings. What if this is the last time I look over the bar and see their gorgeous faces?
They’ve made me feel more in two weeks than Tristan ever did in ayear.
