“No.” I let out a laugh.
He grins, bringing his drink to his lips. “Then I guess I’m not offering.”
I nod my head. “Good.”
He takes a sip of his drink. “Mm-hmm.”
“Are you always this inquisitive with people you’ve just met?” I fold my arms over my chest.
He shrugs. “No.”
“That’s it? Just no. You’re not going to elaborate?”
“Yep.”
I let out a snort. “Wow! Well, aren’t you an open book?”
“You intrigue me, Jovie, but you’re as tight-lipped as they come. You won’t open up…” he shakes his head, “… so, why should I?”
“Oh, I see how it is… tit for tat, right?”
“You want me to share something about me?”
“I mean, I don’t know how long Sav and Rush are gonna be off for, so our conversation is gonna get old really quick if we keep doing this back-and-forth nonsense without actually talking about real things.”
He rolls his shoulders, staring me right in the eyes. “Okay, you want something real. How do you feel about bikers?”
KEVLAR
Jovie’s eyes widen as she tilts her head. “I mean, Jax Teller is a total babe, and that new guy in the Mayan’s, I wouldn’t throw him out of bed—”
I laugh, interrupting her while shaking my head. “No, real bikers, Jovie. Not television heartthrobs. I’m talking 1%ers. Not necessarily bad guys… maybe a little more, um… misunderstood?”
Her expression falls, her face paling as she peeks around like she’s being watched. “Are you part of them?”
The fear in her is disheartening. “Why? Would that be such a bad thing?”
Jovie’s breathing quickens as she sits taller, her hands gripping the armrest of the chair for dear life. “How did you find me?”
I jerk my head back in confusion. “What?”
Her eyes flood with tears as she exhales. “I knew we shouldn’t have stopped here. I knew they would find me. It was only a matter of time,” she mumbles more to herself than to me.
What the hell is she talking about?
My hand reaches out to try to placate her, but she flinches away. “Just kill me, okay? Please don’t hurt Savanah.”
My face scrunches as I reach out more forcefully this time taking Jovie’s hand in mine. “Jovie, will you listen? I’m not here to hurt you. I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, but I’m not here for you. I’m running from something myself. Whatever it is you’re running from, I can help you. I can protect you!”
Her body’s shaking beneath my hand as her eyes bore into mine. “Yo-You’re not sent by them?”
“No. I don’t know who them are, but I swear to you, Jovie, I’m not going to hurt you.”
She relaxes, but it’s only marginally. “But you’re a biker?”
“Houston Defiance.”
She exhales dramatically. “Shit.”
“We’re not bad guys, Jovie. We may not abide one hundred percent by the law, but as men, we’re decent human beings.”
“Okay…” She rolls her shoulders trying to center herself. “Say someone, we’ll call her Gina for this purpose… Gina works the diner all day—”
“Is she ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’?” I smirk, but she glowers at me. “Sorry, continue…”
“Gina’s working at this diner, and she’s taking out the trash, and then people from her past threaten her life if she doesn’t go with them and work for them.” She takes a deep breath. “The men chase after Gina, shooting at her as she ran to her car, but Gina got away, running to her friend Tommy’s house. Then they ran away together because they swore they would find Gina.”
“Hmm… so ‘Tommy’ and ‘Gina’ ran away to New Orleans, right?”
Jovie weakly smiles. “I guess Gina was ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’… a prayer that the men wouldn’t find her.”
“Jovie, I know you’re scared. If you have people from your past coming to your work making a scene, threatening you, then shooting at you, that stuff is terrifying.”
She inhales deeply. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this.”
“I think it’s a good thing we ran into each other tonight. My club can help if you want us to.”
“But what would I have to do in return?” She grimaces.
I let out a snort. “Nothing. That’s not how we work. You’re in trouble. I want to help you. Plus, there are some assholes chasing after an innocent woman. Obviously, they are not on the right side of the law, so that crosses into our territory. This is a job for us, Jovie… let us help you. It means you can stop running.”
Her eyes alight with those few words. “That’d be nice. Not having to watch our backs constantly.”
“Let me watch your back for you. You just enjoy NOLA, have a good time… let me be your bodyguard. I have nothing else to do while I’m here.”
“You’d really do that? For me?” She lets out a relieved huff.
“Yeah. I don’t know how long I’m gonna be here for, but while I’m here, you can stay, too. Then when it’s time for me to head back to Houston, you and Savanah can come to the club with me if the threat isn’t contained in that time.”
Jovie cranes her neck to the side. “Come and stay… like, at your clubhouse?”
“It’s not as seedy as it sounds. We have plenty of women there. Not just the club girls. But partners of my other members, sisters, we even have a baby.”
“Wow!”
“So, you see, motorcycle clubs aren’t everything the news makes them out to be.”
“I honestly can’t believe you’d put yourself on the line to protect me when you have no idea who these men are.”
I shrug. “Do you know who they are? Who they really are?”
“Yes.”
“And do you care how I stop them if the need arises?”
She hesitates for the briefest second, then shakes her head. “No. They want to hurt me.”
“Then, if they’re coming after you, I will stop them. No matter what.”
She reaches out, grabbing my hand and squeezes. “Thank you. Honestly, this is probably the most generous thing a stranger has done for me… ever.”
I don’t reply because, honestly, I’m not even sure why I’m doing this for her. I’m in deep enough shit of my own to be worrying about Jovie’s depth level. But there’s something about her. Her vulnerability, but there’s also that glimpse of fire in her, making me want to protect her. I haven’t felt the need to protect someone since Em, and I have to admit this feeling is equal parts terrifying as it is exhilarating.
Sitting back, Jovie glances around looking at all the revelers in the bar while I sip on my drink thinking about just how different she is to Em.
Comparison is never good, but for some reason, I can’t help myself.
Em was sweet.
Gentle.
Calm.