Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20
T hey were alone. Scar was so enthralled by Tally that he hadn’t even noticed the others depart. He didn’t mind, though. In fact, he preferred it. No doubt the others were as shocked as he was that he was touching Tally, and possibly more surprising, that he was allowing her to touch him.
For a long time after their kiss, they simply stood in the center of the clubhouse, their arms wrapped around each other. Scar’s left cheek leaned against her temple, her head tucked under his chin. Her hair smelled of coconuts and vanilla.
Unfortunately, Scar’s strength started to wane. He would have been content to stand there for eternity, but Tally likely felt his body begin to sag against hers.
Without a word, Tally stepped back, grabbing his hand. She led him over to the seating area, claiming a loveseat for the two of them. He begrudgingly admitted to himself that it felt really good to sit down.
Tally tucked her leg under her ass, leaning her shoulder against the back of the couch as she faced him. Not liking the distance between them in their new position, Scar tucked his arm around her waist. His hand splayed open on her lower back. When she shifted forward to lean into his side, her shirt pulled up and he shuddered at the feel of her bare skin. Tally draped herself over his chest, her arms encircling his torso.
Heat flared inside him, but Scar welcomed the burn. Closing his eyes, he rested the back of his head against the soft cushion.
“I have so many questions for you, and I’m sure you have a lot, too.” Her voice was low, but more than a whisper. “I’ve been so worried and scared. I feel like I’m breathing for the first time since you collapsed to my floor.”
Scar’s arm constricted around her waist a little. Like she knew the action signified he felt the same way, he felt her lips twitch against his left pectoral through his shirt. What would it be like to hold her like this without any barriers? Was he ready for such intimacy?
It had been a lot of years since Scar had been close to a woman. He’d had girlfriends, but nothing serious. He doubted any of them would even recognize him now and he knew none would dare to let him touch her as he once had. The idea of being with a woman did nothing for Scar. He knew he wasn’t impotent because he got the occasional erection over the years, but he’d both mentally and physically refused to acknowledge the reaction.
Eventually, it went away.
The idea of being with Tally, though? Of touching every inch of her milk chocolate skin, exploring and learning every facet of her body, of laying claim to her person in the most primal of ways…?
Scar’s eyes flew open, and he found himself looking around Tally’s dark hair and down his torso to his black cargo pants that were now tenting. Well, damn .
“I take it from your surprise that that’s something new for you?”
Fuck. Neither of them had moved, and yet she somehow knew what he was feeling and the cause.
It was Tally’s turn to squeeze him. Unfortunately, her hands were laying over his right side, and when she tightened her embrace, it sent a jolt of pain through him. Tally bolted up off of him. “Shit! Fuck! I am so sorry.” Scar reached for her, not caring in the slightest about the pain. It had already passed. He wanted her back on top of him. “No,” she protested. “This is why I’m not already on my knees taking care of you, Scar.” His eyebrows shot up at her bluntness, and damn if his cock didn’t harden more at the suggestion. “Are you insane?!” she nearly screeched. “You were just held captive by my father for over a week and subjected to God-knows-what, and you’re actually turned on by the mere mention of a blowjob?” Tally snorted. “Figures the one way you act like other guys involves your dick.”
Scar reached for her, cupping her face and pulling her back down to him. He took her lips again, craving their softness and wanting to prove that he wasn’t as hurt as she thought he was. She kissed him back, her hands gripping his wrists.
Groaning, she murmured against his lips, “Mmm, definitely not like other guys.”
Scar grinned, deepening the kiss. He stopped only when she brought herself back to him, removing the distance she’d placed between them when she thought she’d hurt him.
Lifting her head from his, she chuckled lightly. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re dangerous with your tongue, Julian?”
At the sound of his name on her lips, a low rumble rose from his chest, startling both of them. It wasn’t quite a growl and certainly not words. But it was a noise . Possibly the first that was more than a snort, cough, or sneeze in over eleven years.
Tally reached her hand forward, placing her palm over his heart. “You like me calling you by your name. Would you prefer if I called you ‘Julian’?”
Scar hesitated, unsure of that answer. He loved hearing her speak his name, but there was also something to hearing her call him ‘Scar’.
“How about this?” Tally asked, rubbing her hand against his chest. “How about I call you ‘Scar’ in public and ‘Julian’ when we’re alone? At least, that’s what I’ll try to do. I can’t make any promises that I won’t slip up on occasion, but I’ll do my best.”
She truly was amazing. Born without eyes, and yet she saw him so clearly.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she scowled without ire. “You act like you’re this mysterious person. I hate to break it to you, Julian Ragna, but you’re very easy to read.”
Only to you , he thought.
Tally leaned forward and kissed his marred cheek. “At least you are to me.”
* * *
Tessa got her way and Scar spent the remainder of the day in a private suite at the hospital getting tests and scans done. She didn’t even have to twist his arm because Tally told her they were going as soon as Tessa suggested it, and Scar obeyed to ease Tally’s worries.
Anytime Tally tried to apologize to him for what her father had done, Scar would stop her mid-word with a kiss. After the fifth time, Scar suspected she was doing it on purpose. He didn’t mind in the least. She could apologize to him for the rest of their lives.
He couldn’t stop touching her. Tally had to help Tessa with some procedures after Scar had reacted very poorly when Tessa had brushed up against him. A part of him felt like such a nutcase because he knew Tessa meant him no harm, but the other part of him absolutely fucking loved that Tally was the only one able to touch him without him involuntarily recoiling.
Tally felt like a shield, in a way. When Tessa had to redo numerous sets of his stitches, Tally sat between his legs on the hospital bed, her back to his chest as he buried his face in her hair. Tessa’s hands were gentle, and she was expertly expedient, but it didn’t stop the feeling that she was using barbed gloves instead of nylon. Scar would have much rather done the stitches himself, but even he wasn’t flexible enough to do the ones on his back.
When Tessa needed access to his front, Tally crawled into the bed behind him and spoke into his ear to help keep him calm. The distraction might have worked too well, though. Scar had a very difficult time not sprouting wood at the promises she made of the plans she had for his body, so long as he behaved and allowed Tessa to do what she needed to do to ensure Scar would heal from his ordeal.
José and Bear were also at the hospital with them, though they were keeping their distance so they weren’t in Tessa’s way. It didn’t pass his notice that José kept staring at Tally like she was an angel sent from the heavens. If Scar didn’t know José was entirely and irreversibly devoted to his wife, he might have gotten pissed off at his brother.
Tessa did confirm Scar’s suspicion that he did not have any broken ribs. However, a CT scan revealed his liver was bruised.
“I’d order you to bedrest,” Tessa said when she finished giving him the results of his scan, “but I doubt you’ll listen.”
“He’ll listen,” Tally replied in a stern tone. “I’ll withhold my cooking otherwise.”
José took a step forward then. “Wait, Scar ate your cooking? You got him to eat ?”
Scar scowled at his brother. Of course he ate. He just didn’t eat much . At least, not until he met Tally.
Tally’s expression was smug as she replied to José, “Surprised or jealous?”
José laughed. “A lot of both,” he admitted.
Tessa started speaking again, which Scar was grateful for. He did not like being the center of attention or the topic of conversation. The faster they got out of there, the better. “I also took a look at your shoulder.” She turned her tablet around to show Scar the computer image of his left side. “I hate to admit it, but the Primis doctors did a phenomenal job repairing the damage. I’d like to get you in to see a physical therapist?—”
Scar stiffened, knowing that wasn’t an option for him. Tally put a hand on his thigh. “Is there an alternative?” Tally asked Tessa. “I think, for obvious reasons, that’s out.”
Tessa nodded, though Tally couldn’t see that. “Yes, of course. I was going to say ‘ but I know you won’t be comfortable with that’, which is why I printed up these exercises for you. I’d like you to do them daily, to work on getting your range of motion and strength back.”
Tally held out her hand and Tessa placed the packet of papers on her palm. “Thank you. I’ll make sure he does these.”
Tessa hesitated and then said, “I have to say it really is fascinating watching the two of you together. And I’m sorry if that’s inappropriate, but it comes from a place of love. Truly, Tally, you are a remarkable person and I’m so grateful the two of you found each other. Scar’s been…” She gave him a sweet smile before continuing to speak to Tally. “Well, Scar saved my life twice. I was pregnant at the time with my first daughter, Maggie, so he saved her too. It gives me such hope, finally seeing him happy.”
Scar felt Tally shift uncomfortably and moved on the bed to place himself between Tally and Tessa.
But Tally put her hand on the side of his head and pushed him back to his seat next to her. “You silly man! Tessa isn’t a danger to me. I was embarrassed , not threatened. Geez, learn to read the room. And don’t scowl at me,” she pointed a finger at his frown. To Tessa, she said, “That’s really sweet of you to say. But you guys really need to stop acting like I performed some sort of miracle. If you tasted my cooking, you’d be all over me too.” She smiled wickedly, and fuck if Scar’s heart didn’t nearly explode in his chest at the sight. “I’m just that good.”
* * *
On the way out of the hospital, Scar pulled Tally away from where the club’s SUV was parked. José kept walking, not realizing that they’d changed direction. Scar put a little extra speed in his steps, but she kept up easily.
Her giggling, though, caught Bear’s and Tessa’s attention as they came up behind them. As Bear turned, Scar plucked his brother’s keys from his large hand. “Hey!” Bear exclaimed.
Scar kept moving. Tally clicked her tongue and gasped as soon as she registered they were coming up on Bear’s motorcycle.
“Scar, you rat bastard, don’t you dare!”
Scar leapt onto the seat, pulling Tally on behind him. Her arms circled his waist without needing instruction. He started the bike just as Bear caught up with them. Flipping his brother the bird, Scar fishtailed the Fat Boy, making Bear have to leap out of the way or risk being hit.
Tally threw her head back and laughed with glee. As Scar shot them forward, she pressed herself as tight against his back as she could.
“This is awesome!” she shouted.
“Asshole!” Bear roared as they exited the hospital parking lot.
Elation filled Scar. He felt lighter than he had in a long, long time. A little way up, he pulled over. In Bear’s saddlebags were his and Tessa’s helmets. Scar placed Tessa’s on Tally’s head but left Bear’s untouched. Bear might forgive him for stealing his hog and would certainly forgive him for protecting Tally while riding, but he’d never forgive Scar for putting on his helmet. It would be like Scar borrowing the man’s underwear.
Tally grinned widely up at him. He loved how expressive her face was. “So when do I get to drive?”
A huff of air escaped him, the closest thing to a laugh that he’d made in over a decade. Putting her hand on his cheek, he shook his head.
She pouted. “Party pooper.”
He kissed her palm, basking in the heat of her. Then, before José, Bear, and Tessa caught up to them in the SUV, Scar got back onto Bear’s hog and headed up the side street to the main road.
But he made a left, turning away from town.
Tally held on tight. She didn’t even ask where they were going, trusting him entirely. They rode aimlessly for hours, well into the night. At one point, Tally held out her arms to the side and exclaimed that she was flying.
When Bear’s gas tank got low, Scar headed back towards Mount Grove and the club’s property. He pulled into a gas station. Taking the wallet he’d snagged at the hospital from a doctor Tessa had called a ‘pompous douche canoe’, he pulled out a twenty.
Tally got off the bike, stretching her back. “Here,” she held out her hand. “What pump number are we at?”
Scar tapped her three times, but did not allow her to enter the store alone.
She walked right up to the register and put the money on the counter. “Pump three, please.”
The kid behind the counter rang her up, not even noticing that the woman ordering gas for a motorcycle was blind. He was too wide-eyed, staring at Scar like the devil himself had just walked into his place of business, to really notice anything about Tally.
After filling up Bear’s tank, Scar drove them to the club’s property. He went past the clubhouse and down the drive to Bear’s house. Taking Tessa’s helmet off Tally, he placed both the helmet and Bear’s keys inside the saddlebag.
Scar put a finger to Tally’s lips, signaling for silence. She nodded, holding her hand out to him. He led her around the back of Bear’s house and through the shadows. The moon was only a light crescent in the sky, aiding in hiding them. The path he took was unusual, but she never said a word. Without the use of her cane or echolocation, she may not have noticed, and yet she trusted him to lead her.
Scar waited for the blind spot as the security cameras swept the communal backyard of the five houses the club called The Pentagon. As soon as it was clear, Scar brought her up onto José’s back porch. Normally, he’d access the house from the roof, but he didn’t want Tally’s first time scaling the house to be when she couldn’t use her echolocation to guide herself.
Silently, they entered. It was late and the family would all be asleep by now. Princess Daisy Rose Annabeth Sparkle Flowers, Lila’s ten month old Pitbull puppy, came charging at them. Her nails clicked on the linoleum floor of the kitchen. Thankfully, she didn’t bark, though she did demand lots of rubs and ear scratches for disturbing her slumber.
Scar carefully navigated the dark house. While he’d never used the pulldown ladder to access José’s attic before, he did add grease to the metal arms on occasion, just in case.
Once they were up the ladder, Scar closed the hatch.
But for a faint glow from the small round window, the room was pitch black. This did not stop Scar, and of course, it didn’t impede Tally at all. He stepped carefully, knowing which boards made sounds and which boards were silent. Tally followed his footsteps almost exactly.
José and Abby’s attic was mostly storage for various holidays. Amongst the boxes, all the way in the far back, was one neither of them had ever opened or knew existed. Inside the box was a three and a half ounce aluminum jar of propane, a water jug, a portable pot and jet burner, a variety of MREs, a single fork, and a single change of clothes.
Scar touched his fingers to Tally’s ear and then to her mouth. The clicking sound she made was very light, one that could have been mistaken for drops of water against tile. In the silence of the attic, Scar went to work making them their meal.
When the meal was ready, he sat against the wall with Tally between his legs. Since there was only one fork, they shared it, taking turns between bites. Scar marveled in how tranquil she was, acclimating to what had to be an unusual situation like sneaking into a stranger’s house and eating a prepackaged Meal, Ready Eat was an everyday occurrence for her.
Scar felt bad that he didn’t have a pillow or a blanket to offer her. It took some pillaging through the boxes to locate a Christmas tree skirt and a stuffed Easter Bunny for her to use.
After she was settled, Scar laid down beside her. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to sleep, having slept that morning on the ride back from Washington, D.C., following his rescue, but he wanted to hold her as she did. Tally rolled, curling herself against him, chest to chest.
“If this is your bedroom,” she sleepily whispered into his ear, “I would hate to see your bathroom.”
Scar’s chest shook as he silently chuckled.
* * *
Scar waited until he was sure Tally was truly asleep before he left. Fuck, he absolutely hated leaving her, but he needed to get some answers. Too much had happened in such a short amount of time and he did not like being out of the loop.
His body ached for the woman he’d left in José’s attic. In many ways, it made absolutely no sense. He was used to being alone. He’d been alone since the moment Little Tyke had leapt off of that fucking crate. But now it was like his body rebelled against the notion. He needed Tally, needed her touch like his body was starving for it. He had no idea if his attachment to her was what experts would call ‘healthy’ but fuck if he cared.
Making his way into the clubhouse, he headed down the hallway where the club members’ apartments were. Technically, he had one, but he’d never entered it. Or he had had one. Likely whichever one had been his was no longer since he wasn’t a member anymore.
He was going to need to address that soon. He didn’t know what his plans were. That was still a conversation he and Tally had to have. Part of it depended on the conversation he was about to have.
Entering Keys’ apartment, he found the tech wizard asleep on his twin mattress. He was wearing nothing but a pair of lounge pants with blue police boxes on them. Scar had no idea what the significance of that was and honestly didn’t care. He picked up one of Keys’ discarded shoes and tossed it onto the bed.
Keys made a swiping motion with his hand but continued sleeping.
Scar threw the other shoe. It landed on Keys’ bare belly.
Keys shot upright. “What?”
Scar turned on the bedside lamp.
Keys blinked up at him, squinting his blue-gray eyes. “Scar? What the hell, man? What time is it?” Scar tossed Keys’ glasses onto the kid’s lap. He scrambled for them, putting the dark frames on his face. “Are you kidding me? It’s like two in the morning! Why aren’t you asleep? Where’s Tally?”
Scar just stared at him. Tally was his to protect, his to guard. She was not Keys’ responsibility nor his to worry about.
Keys let out a long sigh. “Okay, fine. What is it you want from me?”
Scar pointed to the kid’s massive computer set up.
“I’m assuming you don’t want to play Solitaire ?” Keys deadpanned.
Scar stared at him.
Grumbling, Keys got out of bed. “I thought not. Let me take a piss and I’ll catch you up on what I know.” He headed towards his bathroom. “By the way, you’re an asshole. I messaged you for months and you couldn’t even write back a single word to let me know you were alive.”
Scar should feel sorry for that, but he didn’t. He couldn’t. A single change in the past month of his life would not have had Tally falling asleep in his arms earlier tonight. Perhaps he truly was as selfish as José claimed, because he couldn’t regret his decisions.
It was nearing dawn by the time Keys finished going over everything that he knew about Primis and Alpha. There was a lot of good that had come from the club storming Primis Headquarters to get Scar out, but there was still a lot that was unknown or that still had yet to unfold.
Heading back to José’s attic, he found Tally still asleep. He wrapped himself around her, his mind whirling with the information Keys had just laid on him. Scar knew in his soul that it wasn’t over. Alpha would keep coming for him, and Scar knew it had absolutely nothing to do with his feelings for the man’s daughter.
Tally didn’t wake until mid-morning, a testament to how little sleep she’d gotten over the past week.
Wanting to give her a proper breakfast, as well as a proper bathroom, Scar lowered the hatch, no longer caring about stealth.
They exited the attic to find a shocked José staring at them, a naked, wet Caleb in his arms. No doubt he’d been giving his son a bath when he heard his attic door spontaneously descend and had grabbed the toddler out of the water to come investigate.
“Really? Are you fucking kidding me?” Then gentler, he added, “Good morning, Tally.”
Smiling at Scar’s brother, she said, “It will be if I can use your bathroom. And then I have plans of taking over your kitchen. Have you guys eaten breakfast yet?”
“If you’re cooking, I’ll happily eat a second breakfast,” José replied with eager anticipation. As soon as Tally closed the bathroom door, clicking as she walked, José punched Scar in the arm. Hard. “You asshole! I knew you were living in my attic like that fucking raccoon!”
* * *
“You’re leaving again, aren’t you?”
The fork partway to her mouth, Tally paused at Bulldog’s question. It had been a very interesting morning, observing Bulldog and Scar interact while she prepared breakfast. She didn’t have siblings, but she knew enough people with them to have picked up some of the nuances. She loved how Bulldog called Scar out on some of his more eccentric idiosyncrasies. Like his namesake, Bulldog was more brash and tenacious. Whereas Scar was like a hunter, all precision and patience while he waited for the opportune moment to strike.
Bulldog and Abby’s two youngest kids were in the house, both toddlers in a playpen in the other room. Tally learned that Bulldog’s oldest, Cassie, had agoraphobia and rarely left her house. While the walk to her best friend’s house was a struggle, Cassie was occasionally feeling up to being adventurous. In Tally’s opinion, it was a good thing her best friend lived next door. Tally was going to need a list to keep all of Scar’s brothers and their families straight.
Other than when she’d been in the bathroom, Scar was always right there next to her. He wasn’t in her way as she learned the layout of Bulldog’s kitchen before starting to cook their breakfast. He moved with her, mimicking her like a shadow. His hand was always on her in one way or another. Whenever she was standing still, he’d crowd around her and bury his face into her thick hair.
She didn’t mind. She could only imagine what it must be like for him. She didn’t know the details of his captivity, and she didn’t want to know, but to have lived the last decade of his life recoiling against human interaction hinted at the horror he’d endured. As far as she was concerned, he’d earned the right to touch her however and whenever he wanted. Additionally, she loved being touched by him because it was a testament of their unconventional romance.
It was so easy to forget their audience and Bulldog had had to clear his throat several times to remind them of his presence.
Scar didn’t eat much. The Eggs Benedict with hollandaise sauce she was craving that morning would be too heavy for him. He’d eaten less than his half of the MRE they’d shared the night before and he’d only eaten that much because she’d encouraged him to. Rather than the rich breakfast she prepared for Bulldog and herself, she made Scar oatmeal with vanilla and cinnamon. She needed to build his appetite back up before offering him rich foods. Thankfully, Bulldog had Greek yogurt when she asked and was able to add that to the oatmeal for a creamy texture as well as protein.
Tally practically preened when Scar ate the whole bowl, and fairly quickly, too.
Once he was done eating, Scar crowded himself behind her, his head on her shoulder as he silently listened as Bulldog told her the story of how he and Scar had met at basic training when they’d both been eighteen. By extension, she also learned that both Bulldog and Scar were thirty-six years old.
Of course, that gave Tally the opening to joke about how astonished she was that Scar had human parents and wasn’t a robot-human cyborg that had been built by a mad scientist.
He’d nipped her shoulder in retaliation.
Bulldog had already finished eating and was now sipping his coffee as Tally finished her own plate. His question about Scar leaving, while a little out of the blue, was also one that Tally herself wanted to know. She wasn’t sure what was next—other than finding her luggage and begging Bulldog to let her use a shower.
Tally felt Scar’s heartbeat against her back waver slightly. “Yes,” she answered for him. Then added, “Once we’re packed up, we’ll be heading out.”
Scar’s nose nuzzled her ear in approval.
Bulldog made a sound like a disappointed grunt. “I can’t stop you, but I wish you’d stay, brother. We only just got you back.”
“We’ll be back,” Tally promised him, knowing it was true. “But we need some time alone to figure out what our future holds and I think all of this attention is starting to get to him.”
Under the table, Scar’s hand crept lower from where it had lazily been resting on her hip to slip between her thighs. Tally leaned back against him, wishing they were alone. He didn’t move his hand, didn’t rub or try to excite her, but his message was no less clear. He was staking his claim. He wanted her, and fuck if the arousal she’d been fighting for weeks towards this man didn’t nearly ignite within her at the idea of being able to claim him .
To distract herself, Tally continued her explanation. “Sissy told me the basics of what happened yesterday. There’s a lot that I don’t know, but I know my dad’s still out there. Scar’s going to want to deal with him and I certainly want to give him a piece of my mind.”
This time, when he nipped at her, she sensed his disapproval.
“Tough shit, Scar. He’s my father. I deserve to be there and hear whatever fucked up excuse he has to justify what he did to you. I have a right to learn just how much of my life was a lie.”
Her voice broke on the last word, and Scar’s grip on her increased. She felt the way his face scrunched. He didn’t like it, but he wasn’t going to fight her on it.
Tally lowered her left hand to his thigh. “Thank you.”
* * *
It took a bit to track down her luggage. Simone and Tom were staying at a hotel in town with the kids. After Tally had basically vanished on them the day before, they’d left the club’s property to go check-in and inadvertently taken her suitcases with them. She didn’t even have her purse or the bag she’d used as a carry-on.
Since Tom was already planning on meeting with Keys that morning, they agreed to bring her things to Bulldog’s house rather than Tally having to journey out to their hotel to get them. From what Bulldog had told her earlier, the club kids still did not know that their Uncle Scar was alive or that he was back. Obviously Georgie and Caleb, Bulldog and Abby’s youngest, had seen Scar that morning, but they were still young enough that they wouldn’t have understood Uncle Scar’s death or the significance of seeing him again.
Simone did not understand why Tally and Scar were leaving so soon. Tally sensed her best friend’s wariness around Scar. She still was not completely on board with Tally’s decision to be with him. What she didn’t understand was that it wasn’t so much a ‘decision’ on Tally’s part, but an unrelenting need.
Hell, Scar didn’t even like giving her enough space to be able to shower on her own. Tally wasn’t too fond of that distance either, but Scar had encouraged her to head to the bathroom. When she asked him where he was going, he made a jerking motion with his head. Tally didn’t know his specific destination, but she knew he’d be back and soon. The kiss he placed on her in the threshold of the guest bathroom promised that.
Since Abby and Bulldog’s house was not designed or organized for a blind person, Scar had spent the time after breakfast while they were waiting for Simone and Tom to arrive with Tally’s luggage to clean up and move anything he deemed hazardous for her. It really was adorably sweet. There was something so profoundly comforting about knowing he would protect her from anything—even a bruised shin.
Tally took the time to repack while waiting on Scar to return. She didn’t know where they were going or how long they would be gone, but she figured carrying two large suitcases wouldn’t be ideal. Bulldog told her to leave behind whatever she wanted and he’d store it in Scar’s apartment in the clubhouse.
“He has an apartment ?” she demanded, her back only just now feeling better from sleeping on the hard floor of the attic.
“He has one,” Bulldog reiterated, “but he’s never used it to my knowledge. I know some of the other brothers have checked on occasion to see if that’s where he’s secretly been living, but the amount of dust in that place suggests otherwise. Before our, uh, current housekeeper was hired, the former staff members refused to go in there to clean for fear of him.”
Tally didn’t know why Bulldog was hedging around the fact that they’d had staff members before hiring whoever their current housekeeper was, but clearly something had happened. Maybe there was an incident with one of the brothers? She knew there was a different culture to motorcycle clubs, and she had a lot to learn to become part of it.
The roar of a motorcycle approached and Tally’s heart leapt with excitement at the idea of being able to ride one again.
She heard the rustle of fabric and then Bulldog announced, “It’s Scar.” Opening the front door, he called out without leaving the house. “Stealing is against the law, you know! Just because we own a Harley dealership doesn’t mean you get to just take any ole hog off the lot without paying for it.” Tally heard boots on concrete approach and then there was the crinkle of paper followed by the slapping of flesh. Bulldog grunted. “What the hell is this?”
As she felt Scar approach her, she heard the sound of paper again coming from Bulldog’s direction. Tally held her arms open, waiting. Scar wrapped her up in his embrace, pressing his nose into the crook of her neck. His body shook like he’d been in physical pain being away from her. Tally ran her hand through his hair in comfort and noted that he too had showered. He was also wearing another leather tactical vest like he’d had on in her apartment the morning he’d been captured by her father. From their time in her storage unit, as well as what she could feel now pressed up against her, Tally knew it carried his weapons.
“‘Gene Wilder’? Really? You couldn’t have come up with a different alias?”
Tally giggled at the name. “What does he need an alias for?”
“Your man bought a motorcycle,” Bulldog explained. “Pretty sure that’s the first time he’s ever done that.”
Tally continued to stroke Scar’s hair, noting his heart rate was already slowing down to a much more normal pace. “Um, he didn’t have one before?”
“Of course he did, but I highly doubt they were ever purchased or that he held the title for them. More than likely, they were procured rather than bought.”
While Scar did not deny Bulldog’s words, there was also nothing in his stance that indicated he was ashamed of his actions. There was something to be said for being so unrepentant. He was who he was and he wasn’t making any excuses for it.
Tally turned her head, her lips connecting with the skin behind his ear. “You think I didn’t know he only viewed laws as suggestions? A lot of bodies dropped in Atlanta during his time there.”
“Wasn’t trying to scare you or make you uncomfortable. But you need to be informed if you’re going to ride off with him.”
Scar stiffened in her arms slightly, but she didn’t think it was from fear of her opinion of him. “I know exactly who Scar is, Bulldog.” Then she tapped Scar on the back of his head. “And you. Of course, I’m coming with you, and no, you’re not leading me into danger. I can take care of myself, remember?” Swiping one of the blades from his vest, she twirled it in her hand before putting it back. In his ear, she whispered, “You don’t work alone anymore, Julian. You and me, we’re not just a couple, we’re a team .”
She felt his smile against her throat and her lips returned the sentiment.
“I’ve got my bag all packed, but I don’t know if it’ll fit in one of the saddlebags. Did you buy me a helmet?”
He nodded into her neck.
Tally pulled on his hair playfully. “Good boy.” She hated to separate from him, but she also was eager to get on the road. “I found something of yours in my apartment. It’s what brought me here.” Stepping back, she reached for the couch behind her where the smaller bag she’d used as a carry-on waited for her. Scar’s cut was draped over the zipper. She picked it up by the shoulder seams, showing him. “Thought you might want this back.”
She felt the material bunch as he grabbed it and then let go as he pulled it towards himself. She expected to feel the rush of air as he threw it over his head to put it on. Instead, he lifted her arm and threaded her hand through the hole. Walking around her, he placed the worn leather over her back. Tally lifted her other arm for him.
Her hands gripped the edges at her chest, bringing the leather up to her nose. “Sissy told me that only an ol’ lady is allowed to wear her member’s cut. Guess this makes me your ol’ lady, huh?” A low rumble projected from behind her, a very similar sound to the first time she’d called him by his birth name. Tally smiled, turning her head slightly over her left shoulder so he could see it. “I can live with that. Ready to get out of here?” He placed a hand on her hip, squeezing. “Then let’s ride! But I swear to God, Scar, if you take me to some stranger’s attic tonight instead of getting me a real bed, I will take one of those daggers you love so much and stab your sexy ass.”