Page 53 of Outlaw
Axe loops his hand under Sabrina’s upper arm, leading her away.
Riley folds her arms and lets out a scoff. “You could have told the bitch about us.”
“You should have left her the fuck alone.”
“Stop, Si. I’m not here for that.”
“Then why are you here?”
Riley throws her head back, tossing her blonde locks over her shoulder. “It’s a matter of pride, buddy. I wasn’t ready to let Ms. Mafia make me look bad in front of my crew for taking what’s mine.”
“We had this talk before.”
“I know,” she says, walking her fingers up my t-shirt until she has a handful of fabric bundled up into her fist. “You and I go way back. What kind of wife would I be if I didn’t put down a woman trying to be my better?”
“I don’t think she has that in mind…”
“You. Are. So. Wrong.” Riley follows up each word with a bop to the tip of my nose and then giggles. “She’s in love with you, you big dumbass. The mob princess wants to have your biker babies.”
“What the hell’s going on with you? Did something change since we talked the last time?”
“No. I’m here to make things official. I don’t want to be wifed up. Well, just not to you.”
“Try telling that to Cindy.”
“She’s not my mother. You’ve got to convince her.”
“Where is all this coming from? I asked your charter here to help me with this Padrino situation. Can this wait a few weeks?”
“No, it can’t. Just convince your mother to accept the fact that our charters don’t need a marriage to keep the alliance going.” She glances at me through her long lashes and bites down on one side of her bottom lip. “I’m in love with someone else, baby. Come on. You knew this was coming. You and I can’t even flirt right, let alone sleep together. Our friendship means too much. And with this fiery little mafia prize of yours in the mix, we both have an out now.”
“You’re all over the place, you know that? Have you been drinking?”
“Stop changing the subject. This can work. You and Sabrina. Me and the guy I’m seeing. Our friendship and charter alliance perfectly in place.” She wraps her arms around my waist and leans her forehead onto my chest. “See? Wecanhave it all.”
As she pulls back and straightens up, she looks up at me. “Good chat! Oh, I need to get going. I have to pick him up at McCarran Airport in less than two hours. Let me know what Cindy says!”
“You’re insane,” I tell her as she rushes off toward the front of the clubhouse.
“Always have been. I’ll text you a pic of the new guy. Later Si!”
I need a fucking drink. Riley drops a bomb so quickly that it takes me another fifteen minutes for her news to sink in. We’ve talked at length about how impractical this arrangement was in the past. I should have guessed it was a matter of time, but now I’m the one who has to break it to Cindy. And the meeting with Giovanni is almost here. Well, at least Riley left her charter members as backup.
Then there’s the blowout with Sabrina, who’s waiting upstairs. I take the back steps up to her room. Axe is right where I asked him to be, standing outside her door, waiting for me.
“Good luck,” he says to me, and heads downstairs.
I knock on her door and turn the knob. It’s open.
“Yes?” she calls out.
I head inside, closing the door behind me.
“You’re a piece of work, you know that?” she shouts, getting up from her seat at the edge of the bed.
Sabrina balls her hands into fists at her side as she charges toward me, but when she crosses the room to where I’m leaning against the door, her right hand flies up, palm open, and lands hard on my cheek. I don’t react. I probably deserve it anyway. But as she rears back the same hand to do it again, I stop the incoming hit by gripping her wrist. Then she tries with her free hand, which I also block. She writhes and twists her arms, trying to free herself from my grasp, but I don’t let her go as I lower her hands to her sides. As usual, she’s persistent, struggling against my hold.
Something comes over me and I let her go. I can tell she wasn’t expecting that. Instead of resuming her slaps to my face, she just stands there with intense, sad eyes and wild locks falling around her shoulders. My hand lifts to her face, tucking some hair behind her ear without thinking, and I’m at that point where I need to have her all over again.
