Chapter 2
Sean
The next day my mind's still on Gina. How good she looks after all these years.
She's even curvier than when I left, with a mouth-watering booty that I’d love to get my hands on. Sure, there are creases around her eyes that weren’t there before, but God damn that woman is a sight for sore eyes.
I knew she wouldn’t be pleased to see me, but I didn’t expect that level of coolness.
I never meant to leave her the way that I did. But the circumstances were something that I couldn't control.
I thought I could explain it in the letters, but she sent every one of them back unopened.
After a while I gave up, telling myself it was the best thing for her.
I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to come back to the States and I didn’t want her to wait for me, for something I might not be able to give her.
I expected her to move on, as much as I hated the thought of it. Gina always wanted a load of kids, and I’m sad that hasn’t happened for her. But also relived. The jealous bastard in me can’t stand the thought of her being with anyone else.
I’m nursing a cup of coffee in the clubhouse the next morning when Bruno sits down opposite me. He slides me a bacon sandwich and bites into one of his own.
“Are you back for good?” he asks between mouthfuls.
It’s just like Bruno to get down to business, no small talk.
“I hope so.”
The club was my life before I left the States, and I hate that I had to leave it behind the way that I did. I missed it almost as much as I missed Gina.
I fill Bruno in on what I’ve been up to. We stayed in touch over the years, so he knows that I got a fake identity and tracked my mother down in Cork, helping her run the family business.
But as soon as I heard it was safe to come back to the States, I took the first plane here.
“There's always a place for you with the club if you want it.” Bruno says. “I’ll speak with the guys, but I know you’ll be voted back in.”
Bruno brings me up to speed with what the club's been up to, the legitimate strip club business and their troubles keeping drugs out of the territory.
He catches me up on what my MC brother’s have been up to and the new old ladies around the club.
It turns out I’m not the only brother that had to leave in a hurry.
He tells me about Ronan whose actions might have started a turf war.
How he had to leave by sea the night a storm rolled.
They all thought he was dead until he turned up with the local tarot reader at a caravan park in Temptation Bay.
He shows me pictures of his wife and kids on his phone. It’s hard to imagine the wild Bruno I knew seven years ago settled down as a family man. But he seems happy enough. More than happy. He’s beaming as he tells me about Scarlett and the audacious way he kidnapped her from a rival clubhouse.
As he’s scrolling through his phone, it stops on a photo of a young woman. She’s curvy with long auburn hair and bright green eyes.
“She's a beauty.”
I realize my mistake as soon as I've said it.
Bruno shoves his chair back and grabs my shoulder, his fingers digging into my collarbone.
“That’s my fucking daughter, man.”
“That’s Lily?”
When I left, Lily was an awkward adolescent, all gangly legs and braces. “I’m sorry, man, I didn’t mean anything by it. All I mean is that she’s grown into a lovely young woman.”
He grunts at me but loosens his grip.
“Don’t get any ideas, O’Leary. She’s off limits.”
Its goes without saying. You’d be a fool to mess around with the Pres’s daughter. Bruno may have settled into family life, but he still presses iron most days by the looks of him.
“I didn't mean anything by it, Pres.”
He narrows his eyes at me, still suspicious, but he sits back down.
What would I want with a young girl like that when there's a woman like Gina around? Which brings me to what I really want to talk to Bruno about.
“So, Gina’s no one's old lady?” My fist clenches under the table, afraid of the answer I’m going to get.
“No.”
Relief floods me, and tension eases out of my body. As much as I told myself I wanted Gina to move on, I’m so fucking glad she didn’t.
“She’s not met anyone then?”
Bruno gives me a hard look.
“No, not since you left.”
He must see the relief on my face, but it only seems to make him tense.
“Gina was broken up after you left, Sean. Like really heartbroken.”
A sharp pain tugs at my heart. I never meant to do that to Gina. I hate that I'm responsible for causing her pain.
“I had to leave. You of all people should know that.”
“I know, and Gina knew why you left. But that didn’t make it any easier for her.”
“I want to make things right with her. I want her back.”
Bruno narrows his eyes at me, and he takes my shoulder again.
“Sean, I love you like a brother. But you fuck with that woman again, and I will rip your balls off.”
His fierce protectiveness is terrifying. I’d hate to get on the wrong side of Bruno, but I’m glad Gina has him in her corner.
“I don’t intend on hurting her again.”
“Good.” He pushes his chair back and stands up. “But unless you're planning on sticking around for good, you leave her alone.”
Bruno strides across the clubhouse, leaving me feeling like a pile of shit.
I hurt the only woman I’ve ever loved, and now I’m back here looking for a second chance. Even I know she’d be crazy to give me one.