Chapter 8
Gray
“T his might be the longest quiet we’ve had…ever,” my dad said with a huff, lifting his beer to his lips. “Fuckin’ brace, boy. If history is any indication, shit’s gonna go real sideways before too long.”
“You think?” I murmured, leaning against the wall as I looked over the crowd. Everyone had shown up for the end of summer party, and there were kids and wives and Aces covering the entire yard. The forecourt was filled with bikes and cars. Someone had even set up a kiddie pool and sprinkler in the grass, and the kids were screaming with glee.
“Wish it wasn’t true,” he said with a shrug as he met my mom’s eyes across the yard. “But it usually is. Never stays peaceful for long.”
“I’m not hearin’ anything,” I replied.
“Doesn’t mean shit. The smart ones are quiet.”
“No one is ever that quiet,” I countered. My network was precise and extensive. I had eyes and ears everywhere.
“We’ll see,” he mused, walking away toward my mom.
I was glad for the excuse to see everyone. The clubhouse was usually pretty busy on the weekends, but there was only so much bullshitting I could do with the old timers before I started feeling ancient myself. I didn’t have a ton of friends—at least not ones that I wanted to spend time with—and the group of younger brothers that I actually did like hanging with hadn’t been partying as much lately.
Fuck it. I was full of shit. I hadn’t heard from Frankie, and I was fucking jonesing to see her. I’d had plenty going on. I’d spent some time at Otto’s setting up a little bike track for his oldest two kids. I’d gone to the fair with most of the Hawthornes and all their kids. I’d hung out with Harper the night she was in town. It wasn’t like I’d been sitting at home by myself. I just hadn’t laid eyes on Francesca Marino in far too long, and it had started making me twitchy weeks ago. Cian had mentioned that they’d all be at the party, and I’d decided there was no way I’d miss it.
When they finally pulled up, I straightened and watched as they parked. Cian and Myla were on the bike and easy to spot, but I didn’t let out a little breath of relief until Lou and Frankie opened their doors and climbed out of Lou’s car.
“I fucking knew it,” my mom sang with a laugh, poking me in the side as she sashayed past with Aunt Rose.
“Oh, how the mighty have fallen,” Aunt Rose joked.
I waved them off without looking away from the women walking across the forecourt.
Something was off. I looked between Lou and Frankie. They were carrying drinks, and Frankie had a reusable grocery bag over her shoulder.
As they got closer, I realized that I was gaping at them and fixed my face. I couldn’t contain the fury that filled my chest though. That seemed to be out of my control.
She looked like hell. The shorts and T-shirt she wore were hanging on her, and I knew those shorts, I’d stared at those shorts, they’d cupped her ass like a goddamn work of art before.
Frankie laughed, and I nearly winced as I glanced at Lou to see if she noticed how brittle the sound was. She hadn’t. She was chattering away about something, grinning, like everything was fine.
I wasn’t going to make a fucking scene. People were always making a goddamn scene at these things, like no one would notice. Everyone noticed. They enjoyed that shit. Everyone wanted to know what was going on with everyone else, and they thrived on the drama of it all. It wasn’t even malicious. They just loved to see the shit play out instead of hearing it second or third hand.
“You made it,” Otto said, walking up beside me. “When did you get here?”
“About the time that Ansel shot you in the face with the squirt gun.”
“Which time?” Otto asked drolly. “What are you doin’ standin’ over here alone?”
“Was talkin’ to my dad, but he took off,” I answered distractedly, watching Frankie as she moved through the crowd saying her hellos.
“What are you lookin—oh,” Otto said as he turned to see. “Myla here, too?”
“She and Cian went inside with some food.”
“Why are we staring at Frank and Lou?” Otto asked curiously, taking a drink of his beer.
“You don’t see it?”
“See what?”
“Look at ’em.”
“I see Frankie and Lou, man. That’s who we’re lookin’ at, right?” He paused. “You good?”
“I’m fine,” I muttered. “I’ll catch up with you later.” I was already on the move as I followed Frankie and Lou toward the front door.
The inside was only slightly less crowded as various people set out food along the bar. Generally, the old ladies each brought something to add to the mix, which meant that you got a whole array of different shit to choose from, and even the pickiest eaters could find something they liked. Frankie set her bag on the floor and pulled out a couple of loaves of some kind of bread and sat them along the bar. She said something to Lou, handed her the bag, and then headed toward the archway that led to the rooms and bathrooms.
I caught up to her a couple doors down from my room.
“Jesus Christ,” she yelped, spinning to face me the second I touched her. “You scared me.”
Up close, the differences since the last time I’d seen her were even more startling. Her cheekbones were sharper, her eyes deeper set with dark circles under them that she’d tried to hide with makeup. Her neck looked like a stiff wind would snap it. Everything about her looked breakable.
“What the fuck is going on?” I asked, leaning into her space.
“What do you mean?” she asked with an uncomfortable laugh. “Hello to you, too, by the way.”
“Francesca,” I muttered, the rage I’d felt when she’d walked across the forecourt still simmering under the surface. “What’s wrong?”
“Uh, nothing?” she looked around the hallway. “I was just going to pee.”
“Are you sick?”
No, that wasn’t it.
“He’s still fuckin’ with you?” I asked, taking a step sideways as she tried to avoid my eyes.
“Who?”
“Don’t give me that shit.”
“Hey, you’re the one who cornered me,” she said lightly, lifting her palms in surrender. “It’s good to see you, by the way. It’s been a minute.”
“Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Well, I might pee my pants,” she hedged, smiling. It didn’t meet her eyes. “But other than that, I’m good.”
Grinding my teeth, I took a step back and gestured to the bathroom door.
“Thanks,” she said, raising her brows. “I’ll catch up with you in a while, okay? Don’t leave without saying goodbye.”
She hurried into the bathroom, and I took the time to get my anger under control. She’d thought she’d fooled me like apparently everyone else. How in the hell she’d changed that much in a month was beyond me, but the fact that no one else seemed to notice made me want to find Cian, Brody, and Bas, and beat them within an inch of their lives. They’d been around her, and none of them had noticed something was off? I’d clocked it from a hundred yards away.
I waited impatiently, leaning against the opposite wall. When she finally reappeared, she froze in the open doorway.
And what the fuck was that all about? How the hell had I startled her twice already? It wasn’t as if I was quiet. My motorcycle boots made tons of noise on the concrete floor unless I was being careful—which I hadn’t been.
“You waited for me?” she asked breezily. “I can’t tell if that’s creepy or sweet.”
I wanted to wipe the fake smile off her face with my fingers. It looked obscene. Like some artist had drawn it on as an afterthought.
“Baby,” I said quietly, my chest tight. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong,” she replied in exasperation. “Why do you keep asking that?”
I was concerned for her. I wanted to handle her with care because clearly no one else had. But I was quickly losing patience with the lying. She knew what she looked like. She saw her own face in the mirror every day. There was no way that she’d somehow missed how haggard she’d become.
“Come on,” I said, putting my hand out. “Let’s get out of here.”
“What?” She shook her head. “I just got here.”
“They can party without us. I’ll take you out on the bike.”
Her eyes grew weary, and my gut sank.
“I told everyone I’d be here.”
“You made an appearance,” I argued, my hand still hanging there. “Come on, baby. Let’s go for a ride.”
She glanced in between my hand and my face. “Why do you keep calling me baby?”
“Why do you think?” I countered. I hadn’t even realized I’d been doing it.
“I think that you made it clear what you wanted when you barely gave me a chance to get dressed before you kicked me out,” she replied, lifting her chin.
I jerked in surprise. “That’s not how it happened.”
“Sure seemed like it.”
“That wasn’t my intention.”
“Yeah, well…” She looked away, crossing her arms over her chest.
After all the time we’d spent together, that was the moment she’d chosen to evaluate me by? I let my hand drop.
“You’re skinny as fuck,” I said bluntly. “You’ve got bags under your eyes, and they’re practically blue. Every single smile I’ve seen since you got here was fake. I don’t know how the hell you’ve convinced everyone that things are fine, but there’s something seriously wrong . What is it?”
“Can I come out of the bathroom?” she snapped.
“By all means.” Reaching out, I grabbed her hand and tugged her toward my room. Her hand was freezing.
If she’d resisted, I would’ve stopped, but she didn’t. She followed me all the way inside and stood still as I closed and locked the door behind us. “Tell me.”
“I’ve just been stressed out at work,” she replied, throwing her hands in the air. “There’s no big mystery, all right? Work sucks, and I haven’t been able to find another job yet.”
“Why are you so stressed at work?”
“It’s summer.” Her voice was thin and reedy as she desperately tried to find any way to talk around what I fucking knew was happening. “Construction business is crazy in the summer. Ask Tommy, he’ll tell you.”
“It was summer in June, and you didn’t like you were about to fall over then.”
“Well, it’s busier now.”
“Francesca, tell me what’s happening at work.”
“I just told you!”
I didn’t bother to respond, just waited, my jaw clenched tight.
“He’s always there,” she finally blurted. “Asking me out and sending me flowers and telling me that my shoes make my ass look tight and flirting and making plans and then complaining when I ignore them. Okay? It makes my fucking skin crawl!”
I thought I’d been angry when I’d seen her. I thought that had been rage. It was nothing compared to the wave that damn near took me out when she laid out what she’d been dealing with. She’d assured everyone that he wasn’t a problem. When I hadn’t heard from her in a while, I’d asked around, and the boys had told me that she hadn’t mentioned him again.
I should’ve fucking known that she wouldn’t have said anything no matter how bad it got.
“It’s fine,” she stuttered, her voice high. “I swear, it’s just annoying. It’s been a real pain in the ass trying to find another job and—”
She stuttered to a stop as I pulled her against my chest.
“Shh,” I murmured, kissing her hair.
The tightness in her body relaxed in small increments as I held her. First, her head rested on my shoulder. Then her arms found their way around my waist. Eventually, her entire weight sagged into me. The moment it did, I lifted her and walked over to the bed, sitting down so I could hold her in my lap. She shuddered and held me tighter as I gently rubbed her back.
“He scarin’ you?” I asked quietly.
“Fuck no,” she replied defensively. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “It’s creepy. I don’t think he’d do anything—physically—but I never know what the next thing will be.”
“You shoulda come to me.”
“I appreciate it,” she said. “But you’ve already done enough. I can take care of this on my own.”
“How’s that worked so far?”
“I’ll find a job soon,” she countered as she pulled back to meet my eyes. “Or he’ll stop. Preferably both.”
“You haven’t been sleepin’.”
“I’ve always had insomnia.” She shrugged. “When I’m stressed, it gets worse.”
“You’ve fallen asleep on me twice,” I pointed out.
“Yes, but one of those was during the day, and naps have never been an issue. The other time I woke up after you left, and I was up most of the night.”
I nodded.
“You need to get away from here for a bit.” Sliding my fingers through the hair at her temple, I tucked it behind her ear. The skin was delicate and pale, and she really must have been self-conscious about them because there wasn’t even a piercing scar.
She gave her head a little shake so that the hair would fall back out and cover it again.
“Where the hell would I go?” she asked sarcastically. “Use the savings that I might need soon to go on vacation?”
“You got vacation days saved up?”
Her eyes lost focus as she thought. “I have nine days left this year, but I’m supposed to go to a concert in Seattle in October with the girls, so I can only use eight.”
“Eight’s plenty.”
“Right,” she scoffed.
“Let’s go,” I said, the idea taking shape in my mind. “We’ll pack light. Ride down through the Redwoods. Or head east and hit Sturgis, if you want. Grand Canyon. Vegas. We can get pretty far in eight days.”
“What, you want to go with me?”
“My bike,” I said, my lips tipping up. “Think you’d be goin’ with me.”
“I can’t just take off on the back of your motorcycle.”
“Sure you can. What’s stoppin’ you?”
“Well, for one, I didn’t get the days off in advance.”
“Tell them you’ve got a family emergency.”
“Like what?” Her hands had idly moved up the center of my back and were currently brushing lightly against the hair at my nape. I didn’t even think she realized she was doing it.
“Tell ’em your man’s mother died.”
She looked at me blankly for a moment before her mouth dropped open, and she laughed. A real laugh. “That’s so fucked up.”
“Not a lie.”
“You’re not my man.”
“All right, stretchin’ the truth a bit.”
“It’s crazy. The whole idea is crazy,” she mumbled. I could tell she was considering it, though.
“We’ll leave tonight,” I said, running my thumb back and forth gently along the side of her thigh. “Send ’em an email.”
“Don’t you have to work?”
I just grinned. It wasn’t a true question. She knew exactly how the garage worked—which is where she assumed I spent most of my time. There wasn’t a single person who would blink at me taking off on my bike for a week or two.
“I—yeah,” she breathed, closing her eyes for a moment as her shoulders slumped. She opened them again. “If you’re sure?”
“Fuck yeah,” I said immediately. “Let’s do it.”
“I need to pack.”
“Pack light.”
“I’ll try,” she hedged.
“No tryin ’,” I replied with a chuckle. “We’re on the bike. You need to fit your shit in a backpack.”
“You have saddlebags.”
“Woman, where the hell do you think I’m supposed to put my shit if the saddlebags are full of your shit?”
“Good point,” Frankie said.
“You already look a little better,” I muttered, reaching up to run a finger under her jaw. “Tension along here is gone.”
“I’m going to get a complex if you keep talking about how horrible I look.”
“No, you won’t,” I scoffed. “You know you’re gorgeous—just need to get some sleep and eat a fucking meal.”
“Why do you even care?” she asked, her voice small.
“I care about you.”
“Since when?”
“Probably since that night you wiped out and hit your head on the corner of the pool table, and it knocked you out for a couple seconds.”
“That was like two years ago.”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve never given any indication—” she stopped and swallowed hard. “Right.”
“We weren’t in the right place then.”
“Are we in the right place now?”
“No, but we’ll get there.”
Someone knocked and tried to open the door.
“What?” I barked, irritated that they were interrupting us. Frankie shook with a silent laugh.
“Food’s out,” my dad called through the door. “Tell Frankie to put her pants back on, that girl needs to eat somethin’.”
“Fuck me,” Frankie groaned, dropping her head to my shoulder.
“Might be a while,” I called out jokingly.
“Yeah, in your dreams, kid,” my dad replied with a laugh.
“I cannot believe you just said that,” Frankie said, jerking to her feet.
The skin on her neck and jaw was bright red.
“He was jokin’,” I assured her as I stood. “And he knew I was.”
She took a deep breath and set her shoulders before letting it out, her chin tipped up. “Okay, let’s go eat.”
“And then you’ll head home to pack?”
“I rode with Lou, but I’ll see if she can run me home really quick.”
“That works.” I walked over and unlocked the door, swinging it open. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“We could just leave tomorrow,” she hedged as she walked into the hallway.
“We plan for tomorrow, and you won’t sleep tonight,” I said, already knowing exactly how it would go. “And by mornin’, you’ll be full of reasons we shouldn’t go.”
“I would not,” she replied stubbornly.
“I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“I don’t have a helmet,” she said as we reached the main room of the clubhouse. It was packed with people getting food.
“I’ll grab Harp’s from my parents’ house.” Reaching out, I wrapped my hand gently around the back of her neck and pulled her toward me. Her hands hit my chest at the same moment that my lips touched her forehead. “Go eat. It’ll be hours before dinner.”
“I will.”
“Can’t have you passin’ out while we’re on the road.”
She glared at me. “I’m not going to pass out.”
“Eat, baby,” I ordered, pointing at the bar covered in food.
“You’re not the boss of me,” she retorted as she strode toward the end of the line.
I grinned and headed across the room, my expression falling.
“Grandson,” my Grandpa Dragon greeted, leaning back in his chair. I could’ve gone to anyone about the time off, but for the rest of it, I needed to speak to the President.
“I’m gonna be out for a week or two.”
“That right?”
“I’m takin’ Frankie out on the bike.”
“Looks like she needs it.”
“Asshole at work won’t leave her alone,” I said, keeping my voice low as I sat down across from him. “It’s gonna need to be handled while we’re gone.”
“Done. Set it up.” He watched me intently. “You don’t want to be here for it?”
“I’d kill him.”
Grandpa nodded in understanding.
“I’m not gonna wear my cut,” I said, holding his eyes. “Not sure where we’re goin’ or whose territory we’ll hit. Don’t wanna put her in the middle of anything that coulda been avoided.”
Grandpa was silent for a moment. “You’ll carry it with you,” he ordered finally.
“Planned on it.”
“Let us know if you run into any trouble.”
“I will,” I replied, getting to my feet.
“She’s it?” he asked curiously.
I paused. Fuck.
“Yeah, she is.”
“Good choice,” he said simply.
I spent the next few minutes tracking Frankie through the line as she chatted with a couple of the old ladies while they filled their plates. She looked so fragile standing between them. It was so incredibly unlike her that I was still fucking furious no one else seemed to notice.
“Mick,” I called out as my cousin opened the front door. He waited until I caught up to him. “Round up the Hawthornes. Cian and Bas. The MacKenzies. Meet me out back.”
“On it,” he agreed.
Ten minutes later, we’d gathered around the side of the building. The boys were confused but game for whatever.
I hit Cian first. While everyone was wondering why the hell I’d done it, I turned and clipped Bas in the jaw, too. Brody, well, he knew by then what the fuck was happening, and he stood still for his.
“The fuck?” Rumi asked, his eyes lit with glee. “I mean, I love a good sucker punch, but I have no idea what’s going on.”
“She’s fuckin’ wastin’ away, and not a single one of you noticed,” I ground out.
“Who—” Cian muttered, staring at me. My hand curled into a fist again as realization hit his expression. “Frank.”
“That motherfucker has been terrorizin’ her at work,” I said, barely keeping my voice level. My throat strained as I struggled against raising it. “I asked you, every one of you, and every one of you said that shit was over.”
“That’s what she told us,” Brody replied quietly.
“All you had to do was fuckin’ look at her.”
Bas was silent.
“I’m not seein’ what you’re seein’, man,” Otto said softly, trying to calm my ass down. “It’s easy to miss.”
“I noticed it,” Mick countered. “Just saw her inside and wondered if she’d been sick or somethin’.”
“I did, too,” Jamison muttered.
“I’m takin’ her out for the week,” I announced, looking around at them. “And you’re gonna take care of it.”
There were nods all around.
“Cian, Bas, Brody, Titus,” I snapped. “You’re out. He’d recognize you too easy.”
“Fuck that,” Brody argued.
“Not up for discussion.”
“The rest of you are gonna make it hurt. You find him every day. He never knows who you are. You never, ever, say Francesca’s name. Make it clear that if he ever fucks with any woman again, you’ll be back.”
“We’ll make sure it sticks,” Rumi said, his face unnaturally solemn.
“Keep this to yourselves. This gets back to Frankie, those love taps I handed out are gonna be the least of your worries.” I met each of their eyes. I wasn’t fucking around. “Now go back to your women before they start wonderin’ where you are.”
The group thinned out, but I stayed where I was. I wasn’t ready to go mingle again. I was having a hard time stopping myself from going to grab Frankie right then so we could take off.
“Can’t believe I missed it,” Bas said once it was just the two of us. “How the fuck did I miss it?”
“Don’t know,” I replied. I didn’t have it in me to console him. If he’d pulled his head out of Lou’s ass for two seconds, he would’ve noticed.
“Fuck,” he spat. Turning, he punched the brink. Once, twice, a third time.
“Don’t break your hand,” I ordered as I walked away. “You’ll be useless in the garage.”
I had no sympathy or patience for the men who called themselves her best friends and then let her wither away. None.