Chapter 11
Nora pulled out her earplugs, straining her ears in the silence of her room. Did she imagine someone slamming the front door? Or was someone in her apartment?
Since her roommates went out day-drinking together, Nora tried to spend a few hours in silence while preparing for her upcoming exam in financial accounting.
Nora startled on top of her bed from a loud bang in the hallway right outside her door. Could it be a coincidence that someone broke into their apartment now that she’d been alone for the first time in weeks? What if those Storm Riders thought they’d find Ariella instead of her?
“Shh! You’ll wake up Nora,” Joelle said, her voice ironically too loud as she tried to shush the others.
“Wake her up? It’s almost dinnertime,” Rosie said before cracking up.
Nora heard Ariella’s characteristic snort giggle and smiled as her three roommates obviously enjoyed themselves today at the pub around the corner of their apartment.
Nora yanked her door wide-open and yelled, “Boo!”
“Fuckin’ Hell! I’ll kick your ass!” Rosie shouted and came at Nora with her drawn fists, ready for a fight.
“Stop! It’s Nora,” Joelle said, while grabbing her twin sister by her upper arm.
“Damn it, Quiet One! I almost knocked you out,” Rosie said and clung to Nora after successfully breaking free from Joelle’s grip.
For weeks, no one had uttered Nora”s stupid nickname. Memories from her last night at the clubhouse surfaced, like a morbid knife twisting in her gut. She closed her eyes, envisioning Angel”s tender embrace, and the ache only deepened.
“It’s Nora, not Quiet One,” Nora whispered.
“Shit. I’m sorry. I always hated that name for you. I’m such an awful friend,” Rosie said, her eyes watering.
Nora accepted Rosie’s hug. It felt good to have friends who understood her past and how Nora wanted to break free from it all.
“Nah, you’re not an awful friend. It’s just your biker bitch alter ego popping up every now and then,” Ariella said with a smirk.
“Don’t remind me,” Rosie grumbled before stumbling into the living room.
Nora joined her roommates since studying would be out of the question now, anyway. She plunked down on the sofa next to Rosie, who bumped her shoulder against hers.
“That cute bartender asked about you. Jack is like a lovesick puppy,” Rosie said, wiggling her eyebrows.
Nora snorted. “Yeah, right…”
Ariella closed the door to the fridge and walked over to the living room with a bottle of wine under her arm and four wine glasses in her hands.
“What? He totally is!” Ariella said.
“Jack is into men,” Nora said before accepting a glass almost filled to the brim with cheap white wine.
“He’s into anything sexy, so he’s also into you,” Ariella said with a cheeky wink.
“I’ll bet you anything that Jack fucks that cute waiter. What’s his name? Jeremy? Pff talk about a hot sandwich,” Rosie said.
“I-I’m not into all that,” Nora said.
“Me neither. Although I could make an exception for Zion and Crusher,” Rosie said with a toothy grin.
“I hear they’re looking for a girlfriend to join them permanently, so you should go to the next IVMC family cookout and shoot your shot,” Nora joked.
Rosie shifted on the sofa, her eyes rounding. “Who told you that?”
“I heard it from the horse’s mouth.”
“Get the fuck out of here!” Rosie bellowed, then mockingly swooned, slipping off the sofa to the floor.
“Can you think of anything hotter than those two men having their way with you?” Rosie said, lying on her back, slinging an arm over her eyes.
While Ariella and Nora laughed at Rosie”s antics, Joelle remained silent, quietly observing them. Out of her three newfound friends, Nora could relate the most with Joelle, also considered as the shy twin compared to her sister.
“This is ridiculous,” Joelle said before joining their laughs.
“Don’t tell me you’ve never fantasized about any of them?” Ariella said.
Joelle scrunched her nose. “They’re like creepy uncles.”
Rosie came up for air, her face suddenly serious. “I’ve dealt with creepy bikers. Hell, Ariella killed the most dangerous fucker that ever lived this planet. Crusher and Zion are nowhere near like that.”
Nora had heard about Ariella killing IVMC’s former President Annas after he’d kidnapped her and Nora’s half-sister Gwenn. Gwenn had told her that Annas had never seen Ariella coming.
Joelle nodded. “I know they’re not like that. But I’ll never forget what Mud did to you.”
Nora felt a weird sense of pride knowing that her sister Cat ended the life of a rapist biker, since Mud had attacked Rosie at a club party years ago and tried to rape Cat in that cabin in the woods.
At least the world had been freed from that scum. Nora shocked herself with her casual way of thinking about her sister ending a man’s life. Maybe she did have IVMC blood running through her veins, after all.
“Can we talk about something else?” Rosie said before hoisting herself up on the sofa.
Nora gave Rosie’s knee a little pat when she sat down next to her.
“I’m okay,” Rosie said with a small smile. “I won’t let that bastard mess up our night. Is there any more wine? Let’s forget about stupid bikers.”
Ariella poured Rosie another glass and said, “Isn’t your hot biker daddy supposed to come over?”
Joelle dry heaved. “Never talk about Fox like that again…. ugh!”
They jumped on the spot when Fox interrupted them and said, “I ain’t their father. But you can call me Daddy, anytime, gorgeous.”
Nora chuckled at Fox”s mischievous wink directed at a flustered Ariella, who then swiftly averted her gaze. However, Nora’s laughter abruptly ceased when she spotted Angel behind Fox, quietly closing the front door.
It had been months since she’d last seen him. What was he doing here?
Nora’s fingers bit into the fabric of the sofa’s arm as Angel’s big steps claimed the hallway, his eyes resting solely on her.
Angel’s spotlight on her felt excitingly familiar.
“We need to ask our key back,” Rosie grumbled.
“Do you guys want something to drink?” Joelle asked Fox before looking over at Angel, but he still hadn’t acknowledged anyone else in the room but Nora.
“You girls got any beer?” Fox asked Joelle.
”I’ll get it,” Ariella said, fleeing the living area with Fox hot on her heels.
“So… Angel… what’s up?” Rosie said while pouring herself another wine.
Nora didn’t know if talking about Mud had instigated Rosie’s extra thirst for alcohol, but she’d chugged her wine like it was the last bit of water in the desert.
“Not much,” Angel said.
Nora felt she could finally breathe now that his eyes were on Rosie for a second.
“How’s Turtle?” Joelle asked.
The blinding smile taking over Angel’s face at hearing Turtle’s name brought out butterflies in her stomach.
“Turtle is Turtle. Sticking his nose in other people’s business, retelling old jokes and dishing out biker wisdom.”
Nora had feared Turtle the first time she visited the clubhouse at thirteen. With his long gray beard, weathered hands and face, and those all-too-knowing eyes, it felt like he could see right through her.
And he did. He’d instantly saw Nora for who she was and accepted her shyness without making fun of her. He’d never stopped asking her to join him at his table or inviting her to go on the back of his bike whenever the club had a charity ride—which she always declined.
She knew Turtle wanted to include her and not only make her feel welcome but actually be a part of his family by sharing stuff together.
Now that she’d been away from the club for a few weeks, she realized that not everything related to the Iron Vikings Motorcycle Club was bad.
She still wouldn’t visit the clubhouse anytime soon, though. Not with Angel living his best life, fucking all the club whores out in the open. It would kill her to see him in action. Especially after their night together.
“What about Zion and Crusher?” Rosie asked.
Angel pulled a brow, giving Rosie a look that said, ‘are you really going there?’.
“Never mind,” Rosie muttered.
Fox followed Ariella into the living area and sat down next to Nora on the sofa.
“What’s up?” Fox asked Nora.
“N-nothing.”
Fox gave her a warm smile before he threw a look at Angel that she couldn’t decipher.
Angel turned around and walked straight into Nora’s bedroom, without even asking if that was okay with her. And how did he know that was her room, anyway?
Her heart rate picked up and while everyone stared at her, she wanted the sofa to swallow her up whole.
“What’s he doing?” Rosie asked no one in particular, nevertheless, everyone looked at Nora.
“I-I don’t know…”
“Maybe you’d better have a look?” Joelle softly said.
“Go on, Quiet One. We’ll even put on some music, so we’ll don’t hear you,” Fox said as he wiggled his eyebrows.
“Stop teasing her,” Ariella said, her eyes narrowed into slits as she fisted her hips.
“Only if I can tease someone else instead,” Fox said, before giving her a cheeky wink.
“Ugh, I’m going to my room,” Joelle said, standing up from her seat.
Rosie grabbed her glass and the wine bottle and said, “I’ll join you, Jo.”
Being left alone with Ariella and Fox openly eye-fucking each other left Nora no other choice than to exit the living room and face the music. She walked up to her room with lead in her shoes, not knowing what she would find.
What was the meaning of Angel by going into her room without even speaking a word to her? Did he think she would make love to him again after all these months without any contact?
The nerve of him.