Chapter Ten
Corey
The week passes quickly, and before I know it the mural is complete. Although everyone has seen bits and pieces of it, I ban everyone from coming outside on the final two days so that the reveal will be a surprise. I cover it up with a white sheet and smile, happy with how it turned out. I’m packing up all of my things when I turn back to the sliding door, only to see a man standing there watching me, scaring the shit out of me.
“Holy shit,” I gasp, dropping my paintbrush. I realize he must be one of the prospects, which Julianna warned me about.
“Here, let me help you,” he says, coming over and picking it up for me. “I’m Blaze.”
He grins, flashing straight white teeth. He’s tall, lean, and heavily inked from his neck down, only his face remaining untouched. Dark hair, shaved on the sides, dark eyes. He’d be handsome if he didn’t have a ridiculous caterpillar of a moustache sitting on his top lip.
“Nice to meet you, Blaze, I’m Corey,” I say, offering him a smile before heading back inside. He follows behind and places my paintbrush on the table while I wash my hands.
“So how did you end up here?” I ask, watching him out of the corner of my eye.
“Looking for somewhere I fit,” is all he replies, and I nod, understanding exactly what he means.
“Say no more.”
“You’re cute,” he says, giving me a once-over. “But apparently off-limits.”
I laugh. “You’re cute too, but you’d be even cuter if you lost the pornstache.”
“Never happening,” he replies, amusement playing in his dark brown eyes. He runs his hand over the top of his hair. “If you don’t like it then you’re not the woman for me.”
Of course Damon walks around the corner at that exact moment, and glances between the two of us. He turns to Blaze with a tight jaw. “Pretty sure I just told you to stay the fuck away from her.”
Blaze backs down, lifting his hands. “Just having a conversation, there was no intention of anything further.”
I roll my eyes. “Damon, you have serious problems, you know that? I can talk to whoever I want to. You have a girlfriend, so why don’t you worry about what she’s doing instead of cockblocking me? You just want me to be a virgin for the rest of my life, don’t you?” I don’t miss the surprise in his gaze at my admission. I turn to Blaze. “See you around.”
He nods.
And I get out of there.
I don’t know who Damon thinks he is, trying to put me on a fucking shelf until he’s ready for me. This bitch needs to be eaten now, or never at all.
Literally.
I’m about to fucking expire here, while he’s sleeping with whoever he wants and having lunch with whoever he wants.
Maybe I should start doing the same and putting myself out there. I guess before I can do that I need to work on getting out more.
I’m done with Damon.
If he wants me, he can come and get me.
I meet the other two prospects when I storm back into the Devils clubhouse, still angry from my conversation with Damon.
“Corey, this is Diamond and Leif,” River introduces when he sees me. They’re all sitting in our lounge room, talking between themselves. “This is my baby sister.”
He emphasizes those words, the threat underneath them clear. They aren’t to mess with me.
Different clubhouse, same shit.
I roll my eyes and send him a scowl. He ignores it.
“Hey, Corey,” the man known as Diamond greets me. The first thing I notice about him is he has nice biceps—in fact, his whole body is straight out of a men’s fitness magazine. His eyes are a pale blue and I wonder if that’s how he got his nickname. He’s...sexy. There’s no other way to describe him. Dark, curly hair and full lips. I mean, I wouldn’t say no.
“Hey,” the other man, Leif, also greets. He’s tall, huge even, and I can tell that even with him sitting down. White-blond hair, Viking vibes. No tattoos that I can see.
“Nice to meet you both,” I say, waving. “I’m going to have a shower and get rid of this paint.”
When I go looking for Bella, she’s waiting for me in the kitchen, wearing a cute linen dress and sandals, her dark hair in a long braid. “You look nice. Where did River and the two hotties go?”
She laughs and grabs her purse. “They got the tour, then headed to the new clubhouse.” She lowers her tone. “Did you know that Diamond was a stripper?”
“No,” I reply, jaw dropping. “But it makes sense—did you see his body?”
“I know, he’s ripped,” she replies, wincing. “But don’t you dare tell River I said that.”
“I won’t and don’t you dare tell Damon or River I said that, either,” I grumble, tying my hair back with my black scrunchie.
She wraps her arm around me. “Your secret is safe with me. Let’s go and get food, I’m starving.”
After we grab some sushi, we head to the lake to sit down and have a little picnic. It’s a beautiful day and it would be a shame to waste it.
“Should have brought our bathing suits,” Bella says, opening her bottle of juice.
“Yeah, we should have,” I reply, sliding my sunglasses down and lying back on the narrow strip of sand lining the water.
But I am still enjoying the sunlight on my skin. I close my eyes and look up toward the blue sky.
I frown when suddenly the sunshine goes away and look up to find a man standing over us. I feel my heart start to race, but force myself to remain calm. It’s normal for people to talk to strangers.
“You’re blocking the sun,” Bella tells him.
He steps away, but still looks down at us. It’s only then I notice he’s wearing a leather cut. And he’s not one of our men. Shit. And as I narrow my eyes to study him more closely, I realize just how fucking familiar he looks.
“I’m sorry, who are you?” Bella asks him, frowning. She moves closer to me.
“I don’t want any trouble. Just saw a beautiful woman, with my sister, and I thought I’d come say hello.”
I almost choke. “Tatum?”
I give him a proper look, and the man in front of me does look like my father. I don’t know how to feel about this right now, but I notice Bella scooting closer to me once more.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, staring at the patch on his cut.
He’s with the Lost Lions. That must be the new MC in town.
Of course he is.
“What? You don’t want to get to know your other brother?” he asks, jaw going a little tight. I don’t like the look in his cold eyes. He doesn’t give a shit about me. And there’s just a vibe about him that I don’t trust.
“I’m just surprised,” I reply, wanting to keep things calm between us. And I need Bella and me to walk away from this interaction safely. I don’t introduce Bella. He might know her by name but not by sight, and I don’t want to give away any information I don’t have to.
“Are you just passing through the city?” I ask.
He shrugs and runs his hand over his bald head. “Something like that. It’s pretty nice here, you know?”
“It is,” I agree, swallowing hard. “Especially on days like this. You here alone?” I ask, wondering where his club members are.
He points to the café across the road. “We’re getting something to eat. I thought I’d take a walk along the lake while we’re waiting, and then I saw you sitting here.”
Act cool, Corey. Do not show weakness.
“That’s very nice of you,” I lie. “And I hope you enjoy your time here.”
That was my subtle “now get the fuck out of here.”
He smirks and nods. “Don’t you worry, I will. I’ll see you guys around. Tell River that I’m looking forward to a more proper reunion.”
The threat is there.
As soon as he’s out of earshot, Bella pulls her phone out. “River is going to be pissed.”
“That’s what they want—they want to start some beef. And I didn’t know why before, but I sure as hell do now,” I say, turning to her. Tatum wants to hurt River, and I don’t trust that he wouldn’t use me to do that. “Come on, we should get out of here while we can.”
We make haste and head back to the clubhouse.
I know we need to tell the men, and although nothing actually happened, I know just how this information is going to go down.
Like swallowing razor blades.