Chapter 20
Aubrey
Ifelt like my entire world was crashing down around me as I listened to the reporter announce that Lorenzo Rossi had been found innocent of all his crimes.
I just couldn’t believe it. After everything he’d done, he was actually going to walk free while my poor parents and sister lay buried beneath the earth.
It was so unfair. Lorenzo Rossi was a monster, and he got to live and continue on with his corrupt way of life.
I’d tried so hard to make sure that didn’t happen, but I hadn’t tried hard enough.
It was stupid to think that my previous testimony would’ve been enough to keep him behind bars, and because of that stupidity, my parents and sister’s murderer, not to mention the Brants, was sauntering across the television screen with a sinister smile on his stupid face.
Sensing how upset I was, Jared slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me close as we watched Rossi’s lawyer speak to him before he made his statement.
My stomach turned as I sat there staring at the smug look on Rossi’s face.
I couldn’t imagine hating another human being like I hated him at that moment.
He talked with his lawyer for a moment longer, then smiled as he started over to the podium where all the reporters were hovering around, waiting for Mr. Wonderful to make his precious statement.
Jared took my hand in his and gave it a tight squeeze as we watched Rossi lean into the microphone.
He was just about to speak when chaos erupted.
People started screaming and fleeing from the courthouse steps, and I had no idea why until I spotted Rossi’s body lying lifeless next to the podium. “Oh my God! Is he really dead?”
“Looks that way,” Country answered, sounding just as surprised as I was.
“But how? Who?”
I immediately turned to Jared only to find him exchanging an odd expression with Lynch. I stood there studying them for moment, and something about the way they were looking at one another made me ask, “Did you know this was going to happen? Did you have something to do with this?”
When he didn’t answer, I pushed, “Jared.”
“I don’t know what to tell ya. The man had a lot of enemies.” He glanced back over at Lynch as he said, “Looks like he finally got what was coming to him.”
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say about this?”
“That’s all there is to say, babe.” He gave my hand a squeeze. “It’s over. It’s finally over.”
I turned my attention back to the news and watched as police swarmed the courthouse steps.
Like me, none of them seemed to have any idea who had shot Lorenzo Rossi, and something told me we never would.
When they finally went to commercial, Country motioned his hand over to Marlowe and said, “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I think a round of drinks is in order. ”
“What do you say?” Marlowe asked Menace. “You up for a round?”
“Make it two.” The tension in Jared’s face faded as he said, “Country’s right. We have some celebrating to do.”
Under normal circumstances, I would’ve never dreamed of celebrating someone being killed in cold blood, but these weren’t normal circumstances.
Lorenzo Rossi was a heartless killer who’d taken my family from me, so I didn’t hesitate taking that shot of tequila and tossing it back.
Country gave me a wink as he said, “That a girl! Get ya another. You deserve it.”
I took the second shot, and everyone at the bar followed suit.
Marlowe poured another round, and we were all just starting to feel the effects of the alcohol when Viper stormed into Stilettos, and if his expression was any indication, the man was not happy.
He stormed over to the bar and glared at Jared and Lynch. “Something you boys need to tell me?”
When neither of them spoke, Viper motioned his head down the hall. “Office. Now!”
Lynch and Jared stood, then followed him down the hall to Menace’s office. When the door slammed, I turned to Marlowe and asked, “Is it just me, or is he pissed?”
“Oh, he’s definitely pissed.”
“You think it has something to do with the shooting?”
“It’s hard to tell.”
When Marlowe looked over to Country, he held up his hands and said, “Don’t know. Don’t wanna know.”
“You’re no help.”
“That’s Country for ya.” Marlowe teased.
“Hey,” he said with a huff. “I’ve got feelings over here.”
Marlowe was about to respond but clamped her mouth closed when she spotted Viper storming out of the office.
He didn’t say a word as he walked past us and out the front door.
When I looked back over to Marlowe, she just shook her head and shrugged.
Moments later, Lynch came out of the office and back over to the bar.
He didn’t say a word, and I got the feeling he wanted to keep it that way.
I was tempted to go back to the office and check on Menace, but knowing he’d never discuss club business with me, I figured it was best to leave it alone—at least for the time being.
After exchanging an awkward look with Marlowe, I went back to the locker room, and as I put on my uniform, I thought back to what all had taken place.
It was bittersweet. While there were still many unanswered questions, his death closed the chapter on that part of my life.
I could finally put it all behind me. As I looked in the mirror, I wondered how long it would be before I’d be able to close that chapter on my job here at Stilettos.
I’d applied for several jobs and had finally gotten a bite from a place in town.
I was hopeful that I’d get it and could finally put my marketing degree to use.
I gave my short skirt one final tug, then headed out to the bar and got to work serving tables.
Thankfully, it was a busy night, so I didn’t have time to dwell on what had happened with Rossi or with Viper.
When the night was finally over, I got on the back of Jared’s Harley, and he drove us home.
As soon as we walked in, I went straight back to the bedroom and let Milo out of his kennel.
I took him out for a potty break, then came back in to have a chat with Jared.
Milo was jumping around, begging for attention as I walked back into the bedroom.
Jared was about to get in the shower, but that didn’t stop me from going in to ask him, “Are you going to talk to me about what happened today?”
“Nothing to talk about.”
“Seriously?”
“I know seeing all that today had to take its toll on you, and I’m truly sorry about that.” He stepped over to me and wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly. “I wish none of this had ever happened.”
“Me too.”
His eyes met mine as he said, “I meant it when I said it’s over. That’s all either of us need to know.”
His tone let me know the conversation was done, so I nodded and said, “I understand. I won’t say anything more about it.”
I started out of the bathroom, but I couldn’t leave without asking, “Can you at least tell me if you’re okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Viper seemed pretty upset at the bar.”
“Yeah, but we’re cool. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Okay.”
When I started to leave once again, Jared called out to me, “Bree?”
“Yes?”
“Love you.”
“Love you too.”
I went to bed that night with a million questions floating around in my head—questions that I would never have answered.
It was hard for me to let them all go, but I was a biker’s wife now.
I had to accept things for what they were and move on.
The next morning, I awoke to the sound of my cell phone ringing in my ear.
I was still in a sleepy haze when I grabbed it from the nightstand and answered, “Hello?”
“Hi, this is Janice Cates from 501 Regency. May I speak with Aubrey, please?”
“This is Aubrey.”
“Hi, Aubrey. I’m calling to let you know that we will be sending you an offer of employment to review.”
“That’s great. I’m really excited to hear that.”
“Well, I hope you will be pleased with the offer and will come work for us. We’re on a bit of a time crunch, so we will need your answer by close on Monday.”
“I’ll look it over and get back to you as soon as I can.”
“Wonderful. I look forward to hearing from you.”
As soon as I hung up the phone, I rolled over and gave Jared a quick shake. “Babe, wake up!”
“What’s going on?”
“I got the job at 501 Regency! Isn’t that great?”
“That’s awesome.” He rolled back over and curled back into his pillow. “I’m really proud of you.”
The second the words slipped from his mouth, he was back asleep.
I, on the other hand, was wide awake. There was no way I could go back to sleep, so I eased out of bed and tiptoed over to Milo’s kennel.
I let him out into our fenced-in backyard for a potty break, then headed straight to the living room and sat down at the computer.
I pulled up my email and went through every line of the offer.
I was pleased to see that it was even better than I was expecting and couldn’t wait to go over it all with Jared.
I was absolutely thrilled that I would finally have the marketing job I had always dreamed of.
That thought had me rushing to my closet.
I started sorting through all my clothes and quickly realized, I didn’t have the kind of clothes I would need for a full-time office job.
I figured it was a good excuse to go shopping, so I grabbed something to change into and got dressed.
I pulled my hair up and put on a little makeup, then left Jared a note to let him know I had gone into town to do a little shopping.
I was about to dart out to my car when I remembered Milo was still out back.
After I dealt with him, I was finally on my way.
I spent the entire day shopping, and by the time I was done, I had more than enough clothes to start my new job.
I was excited to show Jared what I’d bought, but he’d already gone to work.
I sent him a message letting him know I was home.
Milo and I spent a quiet night organizing the closet, and after a long, hot bath, we went to bed alone.
The next morning, I woke up to an empty bed.
For a slight moment, I thought Jared hadn’t made it home, but then I heard a commotion in the kitchen.
Curious to see what the hell Jared was up to, I threw back the covers and made my way down the hall.
When I reached the kitchen, I found Jared hovering over the stove.
He was wearing a pair of his boxer briefs with no shirt, and his hair was still wet from his shower.
“Damn it,” he grumbled under his breath as he dropped the hot pan of biscuits on the counter and shook his hand wildly at his side. When that didn’t work, he placed the tip of his thumb in his mouth, trying to stop the burn. “Stupid fucking pan.”
I cleared my throat as I continued into the kitchen. “What’s all this?”
With his finger still in his mouth, Jared turned to face me. His eyes instantly dropped to my bare legs, widening with appreciation as he stood there ogling me. Several seconds later, he removed his finger from his mouth and said, “I was making you breakfast in bed.”
“Oh, I guess I kinda messed that up.” I stepped over to the stove and asked, “Need a hand?”
“Nope, I’ve got it covered, Besides, this is for you. I wanted to do something special to celebrate the new job.”
“Oh, that’s really sweet of you, but—”
“No buts.” He pointed the spatula over to the stools at the counter. “Have a seat, and let me work my magic.”
“Yes, sir.”
I sat down and crossed my legs, quietly watching as the man I loved finished scrambling our eggs. His eyes skirted over to me as he said, “You’re gonna have to stop doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Looking at me like that,” he fussed. “I’m trying to work here, and I can’t concentrate when you do that.”
“How exactly am I looking at you?”
“Oh, you know.” He motioned his spatula over in my direction and said, “And it wouldn’t hurt for you to put on some sweats. Those big, ratty ones you wear all the time.”
“My sweats aren’t ratty!”
“If you say so.”
Loving that I was getting to him, I propped my elbow on the counter and rested my chin in the palm of my hand, giving him my best sultry look. He glanced over his shoulder with a grumble, then warned, “Bree.”
“Yes?”
I got up and sauntered over to him and was about to wrap my arms around him when I felt a sting on my thigh. Jared held up his spatula as he warned, “Behave, woman.”
“You have a thing for spanking me.”
“Yeah, and you have a thing for being spanked.” He gave me a wink before popping me with the spatula again. “Now, go sit and let me finish cooking.”
“Fine,” I pouted.
I went back over to the counter and sat down, quietly watching as he fixed our plates.
While I thought it was sweet that he’d made me breakfast, I wasn’t really hungry—at least not for bacon and eggs.
I was hungry for him, so as soon as he sat down next to me, I placed my hand on his thigh.
I let my fingertips slip under the leg of his boxers teasing him as I whispered, “This looks great, babe, but I have a better way for us to celebrate.”
That’s all it took. Without saying a word, he turned and pulled me into his arms. After pushing our plates to the side, he propped me up on the counter and positioned himself between my legs. “You’re an evil, evil woman.”
“I know.” I wound my arms around his neck with a smile. “But you love me anyway.”
“Yes, I definitely do.”
There were times in my life when I wondered if I would ever find my happy ending, but as I sat there wrapped in Jared’s arms, I knew I’d found it. He was my family. He was my home, and when he dropped his mouth to mine, I knew the best was yet to come.