Chapter 22
Good Choices
Ivy
“I took the liberty of ordering you a gimlet. Rumor has it, you prefer vodka to tequila,” Mickayla said when Ryan and I sat down.
“Why?” I asked.
She lowered her chin while giving me a pointed look.
“It’s always stressful to run into an ex.
I can see exactly why you tossed him aside.
” She held up a finger toward Ryan – who didn’t look too happy from what I could see from the corner of my eye.
“None of what happened is a reflection on you, but I imagine you’re stressed after that bullshit. ”
I nodded. “Thanks. That’s thoughtful of you.”
“Was it Tundra who told you she prefers vodka to tequila?” Ryan asked.
Mickayla smiled at him, and I admired her anew. Her smile looked exactly like Ryan’s, and her eyes were downright mischievous. “I never reveal my source, and just to say, he wasn’t the only man there that night.”
Even though she wasn’t waiting tables, Jasmine brought out our drinks along with a basket of chips and salsa. Seemed Mickayla had ordered a sweet tea for Ryan and a water for herself.
As soon we were alone again, Ryan looked up from his menu to his sister. “You’re getting awful chummy with Tundra.”
Mickayla set her menu down. “Seriously? I’ve known him – no, we’ve known him since we were kids. I wouldn’t say I’m getting chummy with him, and besides, he’s involved with someone.”
“Could fool me,” Ryan muttered.
Mickayla focused on her menu. “Not every brother makes good choices about women.”
Ryan closed his menu. “How would you know he hasn’t made good choices?”
Mickayla’s expression fell. “He told me.” She shook her head. “We’re not doing this right now because there’s nothing going on with me and Tundra.”
This exchange made me recall one of my first impressions about Ryan: that he had an issue with women who dated older men.
I wondered if this was the reason why, but I hoped it wasn’t.
If Mickayla was attracted to one of the other bikers, it seemed like that wouldn’t be a problem regardless of age…
but I had to bide my time before asking about this.
I picked up a tortilla chip. “Do the two of you get to go to Biketoberfest? Or will Lark leave you in charge of the restaurant?”
Mickayla sipped her water. “I won’t be going to Daytona.” She tipped her head at Ryan. “Now that he and Killian are patched members, I’m not sure if they’ll have to stick around On a Lark or not.”
Ryan gently bumped his shoulder into mine. “Why do you ask?”
I shrugged. “No reason, really. I was surprised that there’s women wrestling there.”
Mickayla laughed. “Almost anything goes at a biker rally. Pretty sure what Ryan meant to ask you is, if you want to go in October.”
I shook my head. “That wasn’t why I asked. After missing the last couple days of work, I’ll be lucky if I’m not working every weekend in October.”
I felt Ryan’s eyes on me. “Why?”
After a sip of my gimlet, I said, “My boss is intent that I hit a specific milestone in sales for this month. Right now, I should be able to pull that off, but if I don’t, there will be even more pressure to really ramp up in October.”
“Do you think you’ll hit your goal this month?” Mickayla asked.
I pressed my lips together. “Not to jinx anything, but it is dependent on meeting with new clients.”
Mickayla shot a pointed look at Ryan. “How long do you think this is going to continue?”
Ryan sighed. “Hard to say. Rusty made his approach, but we don’t know when the Corrupt Chrome MC will show.”
Mickayla shook her head and grabbed a tortilla chip. “I don’t see why the brothers need to wait on another MC to arrive before you just make Rusty go away.”
I squeezed the lime wedge into my drink. “Something that’s been bothering me is that Rusty knew Boyd’s dead, but he didn’t report it. What’s up with that? You would think it would be in the news.”
Ryan pulled his phone out. “You’re right. And it makes me wonder what he did with Boyd because a funeral director isn’t going to take a body without a death certificate or some proof shit’s on the up and up.”
“I guess we should have—” Ryan’s finger on my lips cut me off. “Sorry,” I whispered.
He gave a single nod. “You’re right, we should have dealt with the other.”
Mickayla grinned at us. “Look at you two… Talking about something without mentioning it.”
“Whatever,” Ryan muttered, focused on his phone, and sent out a text.
“Are you sure this is the last thing we need before another inspection?” Mr. Willamet, my client, asked.
“Yes, sir. I’ll get the second inspection scheduled within the next two weeks and let you know exactly which date,” I said.
My client groused a little more about the process, and once I had him appeased, I ended the call.
After lunch, Mickayla had dropped us at the clubhouse and Ryan took off for work on his bike. I came down to the vacant common room, and returned some phone calls.
A red-haired woman strolled into the room and smiled at me. “You must be Ivy.”
“I am,” I said.
She sat on the couch that was adjacent to mine. “I’m Abby. You’re just as stunning as Blood said you are.”
My eyes widened. “He said that? We only met once.”
She chuckled. “Once is usually all it takes.” Her focus concentrated on the side of my face. “Your black eye is healing well. If you have the right kind of concealer, you can hide it from most people.”
“What kind of concealer would you recommend?”
Her eye brow ticked up and down. “The good kind. I’ll see if I have some in my room.”
“That’s very nice of you, but I don’t want to impose.”
She shot me a closed lip smile. “Girlie, you’re not imposing.
You’re part of the family now even if Nickel doesn’t claim you, because I heard about your connection to Lark.
” Her expression turned wistful. “Blood and I were there when Zeus dared him to become a donor. It’s surreal to be hanging with you now. ”
I closed my eyes for a beat as her words ran through my mind. “He really did that on a dare?”
She turned her hands up and spread her arms out. “I stopped trying to figure the brothers out a long time ago. They do what they do, and I just pray nobody gets arrested.” She paused. “Or shot.”
My eyes widened again.
She laughed. “I screwing with you. I can’t remember the last time a Jacksonville brother got shot.” She held up a finger, then pointed it at me. “Now, Nickel’s dad is another story. Gamble got shot going after the men who hurt Nickel’s mom.”
“Really?” I whispered.
“Yeah. I’m not trying to freak you out. I’m saying you never know what’s gonna happen around here.”
I smiled. “Yeah, I’ve caught onto that.”
The back door slammed open and closed. Volt and Cal stormed into the common room with thunderous expressions.
Abby looked at them as though nothing was amiss. “What’s going on, Volt?”
Volt’s anger softened slightly with his surprise. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”
Abby sat a little straighter and stared at Volt. “Yeah, but something’s up.”
Volt sighed and looked at me. “Everyone’s fine.
There was a drive-by shooting at the bar about fifteen minutes ago.
Nobody was hit, but two of the windows are all busted to shit.
The bar and grille’s been closed until the cops have gathered all their evidence, and finished questioning everyone on the scene. ”
My stomach twisted. “You’re sure nobody got hit.”
Volt looked at me. “Yeah. If Nickel could call you, he would. As it stands, it’s gonna be a while.”
Abby aimed an expectant look at Cal. “What are you doing here? I’m guessing you’re gonna get the windows handled.”
Cal looked at Abby like she should know better. “Can’t do shit until the investigation’s done. In the meantime the prospects are gonna help out and I got to make sure they know what they’re doing.”
Abby turned to me. “What’d I tell you? There’s no telling what’s gonna happen next around here.”
I sat at one of the picnic tables on the back patio of the clubhouse to get some fresh air. It took serious willpower not to call Ryan. I’d never considered myself to be impatient, but this was killing me.
The moment my cell rang, I snatched it up, grinning at Ryan’s name on the display.
“Are you okay?” I said when the call connected.
His low chuckle came over the line. “I’m fine, Trouble.”
“Yeah, Volt said you were, but… Are you really?”
“Yes, sweetheart. I’ll be leaving in a few minutes. Let your mom know, we might be late.”
My head tipped back and I stared at the puffy afternoon clouds. “Oh God. I forgot all about that.” I righted my head. “I can just tell her we need to cancel.”
“No, Ivy. If you try to reschedule, she’ll want to know why and I don’t want you lying.”
“Fine,” I said.
“Are you in my room?” he asked.
“No, I’m sitting outside on the concrete patio.”
I heard him blow out a breath. “There shouldn’t be anything to worry about at the clubhouse, but I’d feel better if you were inside.”
My head bobbed in a small nod. “All right. I can do that.”
“Good. I’ll be there soon.”
After sending Mom a text letting her know we might be a little late, I spent thirty-five torturous minutes in the common room waiting.
The moment I heard the engine noise of a bike pulling in, I dashed out the back door.
Ryan pulled his bike into a spot, put the kickstand down, powered down the engine, and swung off.
I didn’t run to him, exactly, but I performed a decent twenty-yard dash.
He watched me approach with a boyish grin on his face while he shook his head. “I told you I’m fine on the phone, Ivy.”
I slid my hands along his neck. “Well, you’ll have to forgive me for being worried about my man being at a drive-by today.”
He kissed me fast, turned so we were side-by-side, and we headed into the clubhouse.
Volt wandered toward us from the end of the corridor. “Church first thing in the morning.”
Ryan nodded, and guided me up the stairs with his hand at the small of my back.