Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
CITI
Waiting for news about Jane Doe has everyone on tenterhooks. In the movies, everything happens so fast. But in real life, you have to deal with red tape and an overworked system.
So everyone went about their lives, pretending everything was okay because we didn’t know that it wasn’t. But mostly it felt like they were suspending the inevitable.
On the plus side, Star had settled back in at school and become pretty popular with the other kids, thanks to the cool parade of bikers picking her up each day.
I swallowed down my fear each morning as I waved her off and took my first relieved breath when she was back in my arms, but I refused to let my fear stop her from being a kid. She had already missed out on so much. Plus, the tags in her sneakers gave me extra peace of mind.
To distract myself, I’d thrown myself into studying for my GED and picking up hours at the gym.
Once a week, I trained with Amity and the girls.
And twice a week, I trained with the guys.
After my nightmares had started up again, we’d been working a lot on my being pinned down.
It was taking its toll on me emotionally, and the nightmares were becoming an almost daily occurrence, but I had to push through it if I was going to make any headway.
I’d missed the last couple of therapy sessions with everything being so up in the air, but I was determined to make it to tonight’s session. Michael knew to expect me, so I couldn’t back out without wasting his time.
“Okay, this looks good. You dropped a couple of marks here, mostly because you didn’t show how you worked it out, but otherwise you did great.”
I jump at Capone’s voice, having drifted off as he marked my practice paper.
“Really?”
“Really. You picked it up fast once you understood the basics.”
“I wish I had picked up math as easily as I did science.”
He chuckles, handing the papers back to me. “It will click eventually.”
“I was fine until they started mixing letters in with the numbers. Like what the fuck is this horseshit?”
He outright laughs at that, closing the laptop before leaning back in his seat. Today, Capone was on tutor duty until this afternoon, when he’d collect Star from school so Con could drive me to my appointment.
“Thanks for all this. I really appreciate it. Even more so, knowing you’re giving up your day off for me and Star.”
“Yes, it’s such a hardship spending my day with two beautiful ladies.”
I flush. Even though I’m not scared of him anymore, I still struggle a little with the teasing. Thankfully, he never crosses the line. None of them do.
“Do you want me to make you something to eat?”
He glances down at his watch. “How much time do you have before Con picks you up?”
I look at my own watch before answering. “I have a little under two hours. He’s taking me to run some errands first. Why?”
“Let me take you out to eat.”
I must look at him like a deer caught in the headlights of oncoming traffic because he starts laughing.
“Never play poker, Citi. You’d be broke in two hands.”
I roll my eyes at him as I finish packing my things away.
“So…there is a waitress at the diner.”
“Um…okay, that’s kinda how a diner works though, right?”
“Oh, you got jokes?”
I grin, turning back to face him, crossing my arms over my chest. “Okay, tell me about this waitress.”
“She’s pretty.”
“I figured.”
“She has these curves that go on for days, thick, dark hair that reminds me of that hot chocolate shit you like to drink.”
I bite my lip to stop myself from laughing at how adorable he is. I mean, can bikers be adorable? Apparently, Capone can.
“She’s shy, though, like she can barely get her words out when she takes my order. She wears these cute little glasses on her nose that always slip down, and I have the strangest urge to slide them up her face.
“Well, well, well, Mr. Capone has a crush.”
“I do not have a crush. I’m curious, that’s all.”
“Ah-huh. And how curious have you been about the other waitresses?” When he doesn’t answer, I glance at my watch. “Take your time.”
“Has anyone told you you’re a smartass?”
“I may have heard that once or twice.”
He shakes his head at me. “Come on. Be my wing woman. I won’t seem so intimidating if I’m with a woman.”
“And what if she thinks we’re on a date or something?”
“I think I’ve got bigger things to worry about if she thinks I’d take my date to a diner.”
I huff out a laugh but agree to go out to lunch, finding myself curious about this girl as well now.
When we get there, we sit in a booth in her section and wait for her to finish up with the table she’s already at.
I take in her curly hair twisted up upon her head with a couple of pens holding it in place, and admit I can see the appeal.
She’s beautiful in that understated girl-next-door kind of way.
She has that peaches-and-cream complexion that people spend forever trying to achieve with makeup tutorials, and a dimpled smile that looks genuine.
“You’re right, she’s pretty.”
“Told you so.”
“First thing you should know about women, they don’t like smug men.”
“How strange.”
“I know, right?”
He chuckles, handing me the menu while not even bothering to check his own.
“What’s good here?”
“Everything.”
“Helpful as always.”
“I’m a helpful guy.”
I roll my eyes and decide to keep it simple and go for a club sandwich.
“Look natural, she’s coming over,” he hisses as if I’m riding around on a unicycle juggling condiments.
I ignore the weirdo and flash her a smile as she approaches. She looks at me and returns one before her eyes move to Capone. She swallows, and a guarded look flashes across her face before she focuses back on me.
“Hi, my name’s Lucy, and I’ll be your server today. Are you guys ready to order, or do you need a few minutes?”
“No, I think we’re ready, right, Capone?”
“Oh yeah, I’m ready.”
And of course, he made it sound like an innuendo. Lucy’s cheeks turn pink, and god only knows what she’s thinking.
“I’ll take the club sandwich with a side of fries and ranch dressing. Oh, can I have a Sprite too, please?”
“Sure. And for your boyfriend?”
I lick my bottom lip to hide my smirk. Is she fishing, or have I been spending too much time with Capone? “Oh no, he’s not my boyfriend.”
“No. I’m a man. So I guess that makes me a man friend?”
Both me and Lucy look at him and I swear he cringes. I guess he’s not nearly as smooth as he thought he was.
“He’s been tutoring me in science. Capone here and his brothers are helping me get my GED,” I tell her, hoping to deflect the awkwardness.
“I suck at science too,” she tells me with a grin.
“I can tutor you, too, if you like,” Capone offers.
Lucy looks flustered, as if she’s looking for a way to say no without looking bad.
“You’re more than welcome to join my next study session. Misery loves company and all that jazz.”
She chuckles. “Maybe.” Turning back to Capone, with her pad and pen poised and ready, she waits for his order.
Instead, he reaches up and takes it from her before scribbling his name and number across it.
He tears it off, hands her back the pad and pen, then stands and towers over her.
He folds the note with his number, his eyes on her face.
“I’ll take a tuna melt with fries and a Dr. Pepper.
” He slips the note into the front of her apron pocket, eliciting a gasp from Lucy before stepping away from the booth.
“Be right back,” he calls over his shoulder as he heads to the restrooms.
“Did that just happen?” she asks herself more than me.
“It did. Also, so that you know, he invited me here just so he could see you. He thought if he brought his friend, who is a girl but not his girlfriend, you wouldn’t find him so intimidating.”
“I don’t find him intimidating,” she answers automatically before sighing. “Okay, that’s a lie, but it’s not a biker thing, I swear. It’s a hot guy thing.”
“Yeah, coming from someone who has spent time up close and personal with a lot of them, it doesn’t get any easier.” I blow out a frustrated breath.
“Wait, so you don’t build up any immunity at all?”
“Well, I’m in love with a man, so that helps make the others fade into the background.”
“You found a man who can compete with a biker’s juju?”
“I found a biker of my own,” I admit with a wry grin. “He’s also an MMA fighter.”
“I’m so screwed.”
“If it helps, I’ve never seen Capone get like this over a woman.
He really does like you. I say, why not give him a shot?
Life’s too short to play it safe. What’s the worst that can happen?
You end up in a rocking chair sixty years from now, telling your grown granddaughters about the smoking hot biker who blew your mind. ”
She opens her mouth before snapping it shut again. She bites her lip, her eyes flitting to where the restrooms are. “I’d better put your orders in.”
“Okay.” I watch her leave, knowing she needs a minute or two to collect herself.
When Capone comes out, he sits back in his spot and watches her as she moves around the room, talking to other customers and coworkers.
“I’m starting to feel like a third wheel.”
“Shit, I’m sorry.”
“You’ve got it bad,” I tease.
He shakes his head and grins, not even trying to deny it.
“I see my friends settling down, and I want what they’ve got.
Sure, when I joined the MC, part of the appeal was the women.
I won’t lie about that, but I’m not twenty-two anymore.
I guess the shit that matters the most seems really fucking trivial at my age. ”
“You’re talking like you’re an old man.”
“I’m thirty-four.”
“Thirty-four is the new twenty-four.”
“I doubt that somehow.”
“Capone, seriously, you’re hot. You have all your own hair and teeth, you have a well-paid job, and you don’t live at home with your parents. You’re already way above the curve.”
He throws his head back and laughs, drawing Lucy’s attention. She quickly looks away when she notices me looking. “I think you’re my new best friend.”
“I’m telling Circus you said that.”
“Fuck him, he pointed out a gray hair this morning.”
“What? Where?”
He leans forward and points to the front of his head. I spot the strand he’s talking about. Before he can say anything, I snag it between two fingers and yank it out.
“There, problem solved.”
“Ouch.”
“Beauty is pain, Capone.” I wink as Lucy places our drinks in front of us. “I’ll be right back with your food,” she mumbles before hurrying away.
He sighs. “I don’t think I’m her type.”
“You look like the love child of Jamie Dornan and Charlie Hunnam. You’re everyone’s type.”
“I’m telling Ambros you said that.”
I flip him off and ignore his chuckles as Lucy places our plates down in front of us.
“You guys need anything else?”
“Just your number.” Capone throws out as Lucy chuckles awkwardly and hurries away.
“See? I repel her.”
“You make her nervous, that’s all. Stop overthinking things and eat. How is it I have more game than you, and I spent over a decade in captivity?”
“Have you looked in a mirror lately?”
“No. That’s what I have Nevaeh for.”
“I don’t know how Ambros puts up with you.”
“And yet you want what we have?”
“Yeah, I really do.”
I grin before taking a bite of my sandwich. “So, how come you’re so good at science?”
“I have a PhD in physics.” Well damn. I take another bite so I can chew while I think about what to say next. “So construction is your thing, how did you end up with a PHD in something else?”
“My stupid sense of loyalty.” He sighs and leans back, wiping his fingers on his napkin.
“My parents had me late in life. My mom was in her late forties, my dad in his late fifties. He was a professor at Harvard, and growing up, I wanted to be just like him so I followed in his footsteps, trying to make him proud. He died a week after I graduated, but before he died he told me to quit living my life for him and to start living it for myself or I’d end up miserable. ”
“I get it. When I was little, my mom used to show my sister and me photos of her dancing as Odette in Swan Lake. She attended the Joffrey Ballet School, but a year in, she suffered a career-ending injury.
“She went back home to her parents, which is where she met my dad. She said she fell in love with him and forgot all about ballet, realizing god chose a different path for her. But the way she looked at those photos with such sadness, I know it was a lie she told herself so she could move on. Anyway, I wanted to be a ballerina. I loved pink and tutus, so it was the perfect profession for the little girly-girl I was. And I liked the idea of doing it for both me and my mom. I really wanted to make her proud. And then Jasper came along and I stopped dreaming altogether.” I shrug, taking my last bite, embarrassed I let that last part slip out.
“Nothing stopping you from putting on a pink tutu and dancing around the gym. Who cares what anyone thinks? This is your life, Citi, you make the rules.”
I smirk. “I might just do that,” I joke, making him wink.
“And for what it’s worth, Citi, I think your mom is beyond proud of you. I know I am.”
I dip my head, feeling myself blush. “Thanks, Capone. You’re sweet.”
“Think you can tell Lucy that?”
“No need, she already knows.” We both turn at the sound of Lucy’s soft voice. She holds out a piece of paper to Capone. Her cheeks are pink, but she doesn’t look away from his face. “My number. So you can call me.”
He hesitates for a second before reaching out and taking it from her. “I’ll call you.” He makes it sound like a promise, and I can’t help but swoon. Lucy has no idea what she’s in for.
“I’ll answer,” she whispers before turning and hurrying away.
I widen my eyes at him and smile. “Looks like I was your good luck charm.”
“Damn straight. You can be my wing woman anytime. But hopefully I can make Lucy fall in love with me, and your services won’t be required any longer.”
“I can live with that.” My phone buzzes, so I pull it out and see a text from Con. “That was Con. He’s on his way.”
“Alas, all good things must come to an end. Come on, let’s get you back. Besides, I have a date with another beautiful girl this afternoon.”
“Do not pump my daughter with candy and ice cream,” I warn him, knowing she’ll end up bouncing off the ceiling otherwise.
He laughs. “I make no promises.”
Asshole.