Under normal circumstances, I would’ve never dreamed of celebrating someone being killed in cold blood, but these weren’t normal circumstances. Lorenzo Rossi was a heartless killer who’d taken my family from me, so I didn’t hesitate taking that shot of tequila and tossing it back. Country gave me a wink as he said, “That a girl! Get ya another. You deserve it.”
I took the second shot, and everyone at the bar followed suit. Marlowe poured another round, and we were all just starting to feel the effects of the alcohol when Viper stormed into Stilettos, and if his expression was any indication, the man was not happy. He stormed over to the bar and glared at Jared and Lynch. “Something you boys need to tell me?”
When neither of them spoke, Viper motioned his head down the hall. “Office. Now!”
Lynch and Jared stood, then followed him down the hall to Menace’s office. When the door slammed, I turned to Marlowe and asked, “Is it just me, or is he pissed?”
“Oh, he’s definitely pissed.”
“You think it has something to do with the shooting?”
“Got no idea.”
When Marlowe looked over to Country, he held up his hands and said, “Don’t know. Don’t wanna know.”
“You’re no help.”
“That’s Country for ya.” Marlowe teased.
“Hey,” he said with a huff. “I’ve got feelings over here.”
Marlowe was about to respond but clamped her mouth closed when she spotted Viper storming out of the office. He didn’t say a word as he walked past us and out the front door. When I looked back over to Marlowe, she just shook her head and shrugged. Moments later, Lynch came out of the office and back over to the bar. He didn’t say a word, and I got the feeling he wanted to keep it that way. I was tempted to go back to the office and check on Menace, but knowing he’d never discuss club business with me, I figured it was best to leave it alone—at least for the time being.
After exchanging an awkward look with Marlowe, I went back to the locker room, and as I put on my uniform, I thought back to what all had taken place. It was bittersweet. While there were still many unanswered questions, his death closed the chapter on that part of my life. I could finally put it all behind me. As I looked in the mirror, I wondered how long it would be before I’d be able to close that chapter on my job here at Stilettos. I’d applied for several jobs and had finally gotten a bite from a place in town. I was hopeful that I’d get it and could finally put my marketing degree to use.
I gave my short skirt one final tug, then headed out to the bar and got to work serving tables. Thankfully, it was a busy night, so I didn’t have time to dwell on what had happened with Rossi or with Viper. When the night was finally over, I got on the back of Jared’s Harley, and he drove us home. As soon as we walked in, I went straight back to the bedroom and let Milo out of his kennel. I took him out for a potty break, then came back in to have a chat with Jared. Milo was jumping around, begging for attention as I walked back into the bedroom. Jared was about to get in the shower, but that didn’t stop me from going in to ask him, “Are you going to talk to me about what happened today?”
“Nothing to talk about.”
“Seriously?”
“I know seeing all that today had to take its toll on you, and I’m truly sorry about that.” He stepped over to me and wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly. “I wish none of this had ever happened.”
“Me too.”
His eyes met mine as he said, “I meant it when I said it’s over. That’s all either of us need to know.”
His tone let me know the conversation was done, so I nodded and said, “I understand. I won’t say anything more about it.”
I started out of the bathroom, but I couldn’t leave without asking, “Can you at least tell me if you’re okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Viper seemed pretty upset at the bar.”
“Yeah, but we’re cool. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Okay.”
When I started to leave once again, Jared called out to me, “Bree?”
“Yes?”
“Love you.”
“Love you too.”
I went to bed that night with a million questions floating around in my head—questions that I would never have answered. It was hard for me to let them all go, but I was a biker’s wife now. I had to accept things for what they were and move on. The next morning, I awoke to the sound of my cell phone ringing in my ear. I was still in a sleepy haze when I grabbed it from the nightstand and answered, “Hello?”
“Hi, this is Janice Cates from 501 Regency. May I speak with Aubrey, please?”
“This is Aubrey.”
“Hi, Aubrey. I’m calling to let you know that we will be sending you an offer of employment to review.”
“That’s great. I’m really excited to hear that.”
“Well, I hope you will be pleased with the offer and will come work for us. We’re on a bit of a time crunch, so we will need your answer by close on Monday.”
“I’ll look it over and get back to you as soon as I can.”
“Wonderful. I look forward to hearing from you.”
As soon as I hung up the phone, I rolled over and gave Jared a quick shake. “Babe, wake up!”
“What’s going on?”
“I got the job at 501 Regency! Isn’t that great?”
“That’s awesome.” He rolled back over and curled back into his pillow. “I’m really proud of you.”
The second the words slipped from his mouth, he was back asleep. I, on the other hand, was wide awake. There was no way I could go back to sleep, so I eased out of bed and tiptoed over to Milo’s kennel. I let him out into our fenced-in backyard for a potty break, then headed straight to the living room and sat down at the computer. I pulled up my email and went through every line of the offer. I was pleased to see that it was even better than I was expecting and couldn’t wait to go over it all with Jared. I was absolutely thrilled that I would finally have the marketing job I had always dreamed of. That thought had me rushing to my closet.
I started sorting through all my clothes and quickly realized, I didn’t have the kind of clothes I would need for a full-time office job. I figured it was a good excuse to go shopping, so I grabbed something to change into and got dressed. I pulled my hair up and put on a little makeup, then left Jared a note to let him know I had gone into town to do a little shopping. I was about to dart out to my car when I remembered Milo was still out back.
After I dealt with him, I was finally on my way. I spent the entire day shopping, and by the time I was done, I had more than enough clothes to start my new job. I was excited to show Jared what I’d bought, but he’d already gone to work. I sent him a message letting him know I was home. Milo and I spent a quiet night organizing the closet, and after a long, hot bath, we went to bed alone.
The next morning, I woke up to an empty bed. For a slight moment, I thought Jared hadn’t made it home, but then I heard a commotion in the kitchen. Curious to see what the hell Jared was up to, I threw back the covers and made my way down the hall. When I reached the kitchen, I found Jared hovering over the stove. He was wearing a pair of his boxer briefs with no shirt, and his hair was still wet from his shower.