eyes, relishing in the sound of absolute silence. For the moment, there were no voices, no screams or unexplainable crashes and thuds. No chaos. Chaos was what my dreams were made of, but at that moment, as I lay there in my bed, there was no dreaming. I had too much on my mind for sleep, so I pulled myself out of bed and got dressed. After a cup of coffee, I was on my bike and headed over to the clubhouse. I wanted to check in with Viper, the club’s president, to see if there was anything he needed me to do to help prepare for our next week’s meet with Flint. He was our new supplier, and we had a new shipment to pick up on Sunday when the strip clubs were closed.
I walked into Viper’s office just as he was telling Axel, “Stark’s been handled. There’s no reason we can’t get back to business as usual.”
“Don’t disagree. Just saying we need to stay vigilant. I can’t really explain, but I have a bad feeling.”
“What kind of bad feeling?”
Axel had strong gut instincts, and just like our president, they were always spot on. Always. Needless to say, I was all ears as I listened to him answer, “Like I said, I can’t say for sure. Just my gut’s telling me we need to keep our eyes on Stilettos.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Viper turned to me and asked, “You see a problem with that?”
“No, Prez. I don’t.” I glanced over at Axel as I told him, “If Axel thinks that’s what we need to do, then, that’s what we need to do.”
“Couldn’t agree more. I’ll call the brothers into church and let them know.”
“About that. Are we still on for our scheduled pickup with Flint next Sunday?”
“Absolutely. As a protective measure, we’ll double up on the run. Don’t want to take any chances.” Viper crossed his arms and cocked his eyebrow. “Heard you had quite a run-in with a guy last night.”
“I did.”
“How’s the hand?”
I clenched it at my side, feeling the tightness of my skin around my swollen knuckles as I told him, “It’s better.”
“Good. Glad to hear it.”
I nodded, then started out of the room, “I’ll see you both at church.”
As I headed down the hall, I could hear my brothers talking in the kitchen, but I didn’t stop to speak. I walked straight out to the parking lot and got on my bike. I needed a moment to clear my head. Unfortunately, I that didn’t happen. After only a few miles of driving, I found myself thinking about the night before and my unexpected encounter with Frankie Sullivan. As much as I wanted to fight it, thoughts of Frankie and her gorgeous blue eyes had already taken root in my mind, and they were growing by the second.
Damn.
It was time to put her and our little encounter behind me once and for all.
Chapter 4
Frankie
There have been many people who’ve come in and out of my life, but only a slim few had made a true, lasting impression on me. Widow, our mysterious hero in the night, was one of those people.
I’ll be honest. When he first approached Sean and me on that dark highway, I was more than a little wary, and justifiably so. The guy was big and broad with dark, menacing eyes and shaggy hair. And if that wasn’t enough, he was wearing a leather jacket with the words Ruthless Sinners embroidered on the back. He was a sight to behold. I had every right to be scared.
Then, he spoke.
I can’t really explain why, but the more he talked, the more at ease I became. And I wasn’t the only one. Sean, my usually reserved, quiet child, was acting like this complete stranger was an old friend which only made me feel even more comfortable. I was finally able to see past the fear to the man standing before me—and oh my. What a man he was. He had this internal tenacity that exuded confidence with a smidge of arrogance. Widow was a man who wasn’t afraid to take charge, but at the same time, he was grounded with nothing to prove. Add in the fact he was kind enough to stop and help two complete strangers and you have a man who is undeniably sexy.
I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him which was a clear sign that I needed to get back on the dating horse again. Before I could