Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 131888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
“Okay, I’ll make sure you’re on the list.”
“You on that list?” Nox asked the task force leader.
“I haven’t decided yet. I might leave it for the young-ins.”
“You’re not much older than me, Crewser.”
Crew’s head tipped to the side. “Isn’t your fortieth coming up soon?”
“Yeah.”
“Wanna celebrate it?”
Actually, he’d prefer to ignore it. “By doing what?”
Crew shrugged, then got a look that made Nox brace for whatever came next. “I’d say strip club but the fuck if we’re going to The Peach Pit. Mel needs to get hers open soon so we have a decent place to go.”
“Decent? Strip club? Does that go hand-in-hand?”
Crew grinned. “When Mel’s running it, it does.”
That was true. Finn’s woman was a class act. She had treated the dancers she managed well and with respect. Nox had no doubt the club she opened would be successful and not a sleazy dump. Her clientele would be a higher class than the customers now patronizing the Demons-run strip joint.
“There’s always Heaven’s Angels in Shadow Valley,” Crew suggested with a smirk.
“I’ll pass on the strip club.”
“Maybe Jamison’s ol’ lady will bake you a tray of her stuffed cupcakes.”
He didn’t need cupcakes if Liyah was baking him a cake. “I’m good.”
“But I’m not. I want some fucking cupcakes.”
“Then go buy some,” Nox suggested.
“Why, when we can get Jamison to bring us some for free?”
Nox shook his head. “You’re a cheap motherfucker on top of being an asshole.”
Crew’s grin widened. “Oh good. Thought I was slipping there for a second. Thanks for the confirmation.”
“Anytime. If you want, I can put a reminder on my phone to call you a cheap motherfucking asshole once a day. Or do you want to hear it every hour? I can be flexible.”
Crew laughed and whacked him on the back. “What would we do without you, Hard Nox?” He turned and yelled, “Hey, Jamison! We need Bella to make a bunch of cupcakes for Nox’s birthday. He’s going to hit the big 4-0 soon! He said those stuffed Tiramisu cupcakes are his favorite!”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
After losing Jackie, he never thought he’d ever find anyone he’d want to spend as much time with as he did Aaliyah.
While it still surprised him, it no longer made him feel guilty.
He was allowed to live his life. It took him a while to believe that, but now he did. And it wasn’t because the therapist convinced him of that. Or his brothers.
Or anyone in particular, actually.
He simply found someone he wanted to spend time with. Wanted to share more than time with.
In truth, he simply wanted her.
But, of course, Liyah wasn’t an island. She had two sons, as well as a father who was a member of an outlaw MC.
That could be an issue. So, being with her wasn’t actually simple.
For the last few weeks, after the Wednesday night meetings, they’d sit in her Mercedes Benz and talk. Sometimes they’d not say much of anything. Either way, afterward she’d send him home with baked goods he smuggled into his place so he wouldn’t get a million bullshit questions from his nosy as fuck brothers.
But with every bite of a perfectly baked cookie or brownie, with every damn treat he ate, he thought of her. Hell, he thought of her even when he wasn’t eating any of her food.
She was on his mind constantly.
Besides talking in the car after the meetings, he met Liyah twice for a quick dinner at a diner nowhere close to where either of them lived or worked.
Once, he even took her for a quick ride on his bike when her boys were at school, and she told the agents at her office that she had an appointment with an important client.
The ride might have only lasted forty-five minutes, but straddling his Harley, along with the fresh air combined with Liyah wrapped around his back soothed his soul.
Her smile was so damn big once she climbed off his bike, his own spread across his face. He did not miss it when she did a doubletake, then hugged the shit out of him.
And, fuck, did that feel good.
It took him a little longer to let go than it did her. But she leaned into it and allowed him to hang on for as long as he held her.
He appreciated that about her. She seemed to always know what he needed, sometimes before he did.
Tonight, once everyone was gone, the room in the community center cleaned up and the chairs and tables put away, he once again accompanied Liyah to her car. After she clicked the fob to unlock her luxury sedan, he opened the driver’s door for her.
She paused before getting in. “Are you joining me tonight?”
Of course he was, this was his favorite part of his Wednesday nights. The chance to spend time with her was basically the only reason for him to still show up. “Yeah.”