Chapter Ten
Riley
The old ladies had claimed the corner of the clubhouse’s main room like their personal territory.
Ella was perched on a stool, belly prominent under a loose sweater, fanning herself with a paper plate despite the chill outside.
Two other women, Nora with the sleeve of roses and Maria with the long black braid, were pouring coffee and passing a bottle of tequila between them.
“Can I be the first to say,” Nora laughed. “You look like you had a good night.”
Riley smirked. “I had a great night.”
Ella groaned dramatically. “God, I miss sex. This baby has turned me into a hormonal landmine. One minute I’m crying over a commercial, the next I want to climb Dawg like a tree.”
Maria giggled softly and poured four shots. “Tequila fixes everything. Including pregnancy hormones. Especially at nine a.m.”
Riley accepted the glass. “I’m not arguing.”
They clinked. The tequila burned clean down her throat, chased by lime and salt. Ella took a tiny sip, touching her lips to the liquor more than actually drinking, made a face, then grinned. “See? I’m fixed.”
After the shots came the yoga mats. Ella had insisted on “relaxation yoga” in a sunroom off the kitchen where there were big windows with the sunshine pouring in and mats already laid out on the concrete floor.
Riley ended up in downward dog next to Nora while Ella modified everything to side-lying stretches.
“Pregnancy hormones say this is bullshit,” Ella muttered, “but the baby seems to like it.”
Riley laughed, full and loud, the kind she hadn’t let out in years. Nora and Maria joined in. For a few minutes, the clubhouse felt less like a fortress and more like a home.
***
Dan
Dan stood in the doorway of the sunroom, arms crossed, watching.
Riley was in the middle of the group, laughing at something Nora said, head thrown back, red hair catching the sunlight. Ella was reaching over to fix Riley’s form, and Riley was letting her. Trusting, easy, like she belonged right here where she was.
His chest tightened so hard he almost couldn’t breathe.
He’d never brought women around before. Not even casually.
He imagined they’d have smiled politely, made small talk with the old ladies, but always kept one eye on the exit.
They would never have relaxed like this.
Never let the old ladies fuss over them.
Would never have looked this comfortable in a building full of people who could kill without blinking. Only Riley.
Riley caught his eye across the mats. She winked, the expression slow, knowing, a little wicked, and then she simply went back to her stretch.
The realization hit him like a fist to the sternum.
He was completely fucked.
Not because she was under his protection.
Not because the Horde was still out there sniffing around.
Because she was in his clubhouse, laughing with his family, stealing bacon from his plate, tracing his scars like they were art instead of ruin.
Because she fit.
And he wanted her to keep fitting. Here. With me. Permanently.
Tinder’s voice came from the meeting room doorway. “Church, brother. Now.”
Dan nodded, but he didn’t move for another second.
He watched Riley laugh again, bright and fearless, and thought, Yeah. This is gonna hurt when it ends.
He turned and walked towards church, the sound of her laughter following him like a tether.
Or maybe it won’t end.
For the first time in so many years, he didn’t want to run.