Page 53 of Bound By Flames
Chapter 14
Mia
"Hey, guys!" I shout as I enter Shadow’s car, a large black Land Rover, with a gorgeous woman in the back. Her long black hair is styled like a movie star from the sixties. Her green dress is giving; hot wife of the villain in a James Bond movie. She rocks, and by the kind smile on her face, I can already tell we’re going to be friends.
"Mia,” says Shadow with his usual calm and unbothered tone.
"I'm Erin. It's so nice to finally meet you. We didn't really get a chance to talk at your wedding," she says, greeting me like an old friend.
"God, yes, Shadow's girl! I won't lie and say I heard a lot about you because your man is like a secret spy, but I'm delighted to meet you," I admit.
"Your dress is gorgeous. Are you trying to kill Ares before he even fights?" Her gaze follows my red dress and the black stilettos I’ve put on with my red carpet makeup look. I chose to go with a sleek hairstyle, my hair looking even longer now that I’ve straightened it. I giggle as Shadow drives us out of the gates. "Trust me, I couldn't even if I wanted to."
“Yeah, that man has more lives than cats.” She chuckles. “Shadow told me you liked fashion. If you’d like, we could go out next week together and make a day of it?”
“I’d love to. It'd be great to see the last collection for my clients as well.”
“Two birds, one stone.” She smiles, and her kindness reminds me of Kiara. Shadow seems unbothered by us yappingin the backseat, and for a moment, I forget that I’m in a new town with no friends.
“Have you seen many fights?” I ask her, curious to see if I’m the only newbie here.
“Um, let me count,” she taps each finger, “seven if I remember correctly, but Shadow and I like to go watch the big ones in Vegas when he has business there.”
I nod, reassured to see she seems to like watching men hitting on one another, but again, I doubt it’s the same experience when it’syour manfighting in it.
Your man?
As if she can sense my turmoil, her hand rests on mine for a second. “It’ll be alright. Ares is the best fighter I’ve ever seen. He’ll win, don’t worry, girl,” she reassures me.
I smile back, hoping to hide my apprehension.
“Yeah, it’ll be alright,” I mutter.
It’ll be alright.
The rest of the drive is pleasant. Erin talks about her work at a local vet and the last movies she saw. We both burst into laughter when she tries to imitate the dramatic voiceover from one of the action movies she watched last week. Her exaggerated, deep voice catches me off guard, and I can't help but double over in my seat.
"Can you imagine Shadow talking like that?" she says between laughs, trying to keep her voice steady. "I swear, if he ever did, I would lose it." Shadow shakes his head in the rearview mirror like he’d rather laugh about it too.
I giggle, picturing it. "Oh, I don’t think Ares could pull it off either. They’re both so serious most of the time."
Erin bends toward me and whispers loudly like a literal high school girl who can’t restrain her laugh.
"Right? They’re like these big, intimidating guys, but I know for a fact Shadow secretly likes rom-coms. He’d kill meif I ever told anyone." I laugh harder, putting my palm on my mouth, the tension in my chest easing just a little. "Well, your secret's safe with me."
By the time we arrive, I feel lighter, as if maybe everything will be alright. As we step out of the car and approach a tall gray warehouse with huge capital letters at the top,Raven Sons MC Club, the energy switches. There’s hundreds of men out there, all queuing to enter the club while the same amount of motorcycles are parked around the lot.
“Big crowd tonight,” says Shadow, pulling us into a spot farther than the other bikes.
“Why?” I ask.
“Always big when the boss’s fighting,” he deadpans.
Oh.
My palms are getting sweaty as we get out of the car. Ash is right beside me the moment I set my stiletto on the concrete.
“Mrs Malone,” he greets me.
