“Just what, Aubrey, or whatever your real name is.”
“So, you already know I’m not Aubrey Cash?”
“I do.”
“Oh God. I shouldn’t have come to you with this.” She stood and started to leave. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m just gonna go.”
“Seriously? That’s it? You’re just gonna run again?” I leaned back in my chair and tried to say whatever I could to keep her from walking out. “You said yourself that things were going good here.”
She turned around to face me. “They are, but...”
“Then, why are you giving up so fast? No one asked you to go.”
“You don’t understand. I don’t have a choice. If you’ve looked into me or if you’re going to, it’s only a matter of time before they find me and I can’t let that happen.”
“You can’t let who find you?”
She looked over to me, and seeing the worry and pain in her eyes got me right in the gut. I wanted to stand up and go to her, wrap my arms around her, and assure her that everything would be okay, but I resisted and remained planted in my chair as I listened to her say, “I wish I could tell you. I really do, but I can’t. It’s just too dangerous.”
“So, you’re in danger.”
“You have to stop, Menace. Please.”
“That’s not gonna happen.” I couldn’t stand it a moment longer. I stood up, walked over to her, and brought my hand up to her face, softly brushing my knuckles across her cheek. “You don’t have to keep dealing with this all on your own. I can help you if you let me.”
“And what happens when you get hurt, ’cause the last time someone tried to help me, they ended up dead.” She took a step back and shook her head. “I can’t take the chance on that happening again. I just can’t. Not with you.”
Before I could respond, she turned and bolted out of my office. I was just about to go after her when I spotted Viper and Axel walking down the hall. As soon as Viper saw me in the doorway, he shouted, “You coming or what? Locke will be back any minute.”
“Yeah, sure.”
I followed them back out to the main bar, and the whole place was completely decked out with decorations and enough food for a fucking army. Normally, we’d have our prospects complete a final run or a trivial-but-difficult task before patching them in, but we’d all agreed that Danny had gone above and beyond during his year of prospecting.
When Hawk gave the signal, all the brothers gathered by the door and waited as Locke got out of Delilah’s car and started over to the door. As soon as he entered the bar, the girls started cheering, and Locke just stood there staring at us with a look of utter disbelief. Viper took a step forward and held up Locke’s new Ruthless Sinners’ cut and said, “Welcome to the brotherhood.”
“Are you fucking serious?” Locke gasped. “I’m in?”
“Yeah, brother. You’re in.” Viper leaned forward and grabbed Locke, giving him a huge bro-hug and slapping him on his back as he said, “You did good.”
Viper helped him slip on his new cut, and then the rest of us stepped up and congratulated him. Once we were done, we all headed over to the bar and did a round of shots. One round led to the next, and it wasn’t long before Locke was feeling pretty fucking good. He was staring out at all the decorations when he asked, “Is this why Delilah had me at the fucking mall for hours on end?”
“Yeah.” Hawk chuckled. “We had to find a way to get you out of here for a while.”
“I still can’t believe it. I’m actually a Sinner now.”
“That you are.” I gave him a pat on the shoulder and teased him. “Now, don’t fuck it up.”
“Not a chance.”
I was just about to do another shot when it hit me that I hadn’t seen Aubrey since she left my office. I took a quick look around, and when I didn’t see any sign of her, I turned to Lisa, our main bartender, and asked, “Have you seen Aubrey?”
“I saw her earlier, but now that you mention it, I haven’t since Locke got here.”
“Goddamn it.”
When I stood, she asked, “Why? Is everything okay?”
“No. No, it’s not.” I scanned the area one last time, but Aubrey was nowhere to be found. “I’ve gotta go. You mind closing tonight?”
“Sure thing.”
“Thanks, Lisa.”
I headed straight over to Viper to let him know I was leaving. He was talking to Axel, and I could tell by his expression something was troubling him. As soon as I approached, he looked over to me and said, “Just the man I was looking for.”
“Something going on?”
“I just got a call, and apparently, some rumbling is going around about the manager over at the Pink Pony. He’s pissed that we stole some of his best girls.”
"I’m sure good ol’ Gary is pissed, but he brought that shit on himself by demanding sexual favors for a decent fucking schedule. Besides, we couldn’t steal what came to us freely.”
“Sounds like Gary got what Gary deserved.”
“That he did.” I didn’t have time to get into a long discussion about Gary and his bullshit, so I told Viper, “I’ve gotta get out of here for a bit, but I’ll be back when I can.”
“Everything okay?”
“Not sure, but I intend to find out.”
“Let me know if you need anything.”
“You know I will.”
I gave him a quick nod, then headed out to the parking lot. I hopped on my bike and headed over to Marlowe’s old apartment, the whole time cursing myself for letting her walk out of my office. I should’ve stopped her and forced her to talk to me, but she bolted before I got the chance. I would’ve gone after her then, but there was no way I could miss Locke’s induction into the club. It was a rite of passage for him—one that he’d spent a year of his life earning, and I owed it to him to be there. Besides, no matter what was going on, the club always came first. I’d done what I needed for my brothers, and now it was time to find out what the hell was going on with Aubrey.
When I pulled into the apartment complex, I was relieved to see Aubrey’s car still in the parking lot. I whipped into a spot and parked, then rushed up to her door. I knocked and tried my best to collect myself as I waited for her to answer. After several long, agonizing minutes, the door opened, and a surprised Aubrey gasped. “Menace! What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk.”
“No, we don’t,” she argued. “I’ve already said too much.”
“You’re wrong. You haven’t said nearly enough.” I took a step closer to her, and that’s when I noticed her luggage on the kitchen floor. “What the hell is this?”
“I’m leaving.” She eased the door open, allowing me to step inside. “I’ve already stayed longer than I should.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’ve gotta go, Menace.” Anguish marked her face as she said, “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to you or one of your brothers.”