“It was my code name in the Navy and now it’s my road name. Real name is Jesse Malone, but I haven’t used that one in years, although it’s how the government knows me,” Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome answers. Road name? What the hell? Wait… does that mean what I think it does?
“Are you part of a motorcycle club or something?” I tilt my head to the side as I ask this question.
He smirks at me before replying, “And what do you know about motorcycle clubs?”
“Not a whole lot, to be honest. I know you ride, wear leather jackets, and usually have a ton of tattoos,” I confess. What I don’t profess, is that I’ve watched a few television shows with MCs and the men are hot as hell.
“Well, the cuts we wear are usually under the jackets when it’s cold outside. I’ve got mine with me, but since I’m out of our territory, I won’t wear it out of respect for the local club. As for tattoos, some have more than others. What else do you know?” What is this, the Spanish Inquisition?
My head drops because I’m nearly at the limit of my knowledge. “Some clubs are better than others. I mean, some do things that are not exactly legal.”
This time, he throws his head back and laughs. “You phrased that so… delicately, for lack of a better word. You’re correct; there are some clubs who dabble in things that are on the other side of the law. My club, however, isn’t like that.”
“Good to know.” Not that I have much of a choice but to believe him and what he tells me. I mean, I’m out in the middle of nowhere with this yummy stranger. There’s at least two feet of snow on the ground, with more steadily coming down outside I notice as I glance out the slightly opened, curtained window, and, well—he’s bigger than I am. Waaay bigger. As a matter of fact, I think one of his thighs equal both of mine put together.
“Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, what in the hell were you doing out in this storm? Walking in a blizzard at that?” he skeptically questions. I see the laughter dancing in his eyes, but he never portrays that in his voice. If anything, he sounds more angry than amused.
Ah, he’s ready to pull out the big guns. I see his play plain as day; get me all relaxed and cozy with some hot chocolate then hit me up when I’ve mellowed out. “You want the short version or the long-winded answer?” I calmly inquire, raising a single eyebrow and aiming it in his direction.
He glances through the window, and even though there are curtains, there’s a slight gap and I can see the wind blowing and snow swirling. “Long answer works for me, Lillianna.” Well, of course he’d want to hear that version.
I take a deep breath, let it out, then intake another, before I nod. “Okay, well, um, I’ve been seeing someone for about six months now. His name is Anson Matthews. Wait, maybe I should backtrack.” I shake my head ferociously because now that I think about it, everything actually started about nine months or so ago. Knowing that I was nothing but a means to an end pisses me the hell off. “So, my parents owned their own business. Because of a website that Anson developed for them, their online store took off and they became relatively successful, all things considered. They took the business over from my grandparents, so when my grandparents passed, I was informed that I had a trust fund that I’ll get two weeks from today, when I turn twenty-five. Anyhow, my father liked Anson, so I met him several times at functions and six months ago, he asked me out and I accepted. Thought it was the right thing to do ya know, seeing as he was an important piece in our lives. I thought, hey, I may not like him so much right now, but feelings can change in time. I gave him… us a shot. About two months ago, he asked me to marry him. I didn’t understand why he wanted to get married so soon and was pushing to move the date back further. I didn’t see any reason we couldn’t have an appropriate engagement. Then,” I clear my clogged throat, “then …,” I can’t continue, the memories of the last month pour down like a booming thunderstorm, washing over me.
“We’re sorry to inform you but Jack and Serena Rose were killed tonight in a head-on collision,” the uniformed officer standing in my doorway says. My mind goes blank as I step back, only to feel Anson’s arms wrap around me.
“I’ve got you, Lilli, it’s going to be okay,” he whispers. “Thank you, officer. Ah, what does she need to do to handle things?”
The officer hands me a card and says, “Call them in the morning with the funeral home information and they’ll get it all handled for you. Miss Rose, I was there. Please, don’t feel that you need to identify your parents.” The look he gives me lets me know that my parents were likely injured so badly that they wouldn’t look like I remember them anyhow.
“Thank you for coming.” My voice sounds different. Tiny and far away. Like an echo in the back of my mind.
“Are you staying with her?” the officer asks Anson.
“Yes, sir. I’ll help her get things sorted out.”
The blur that has been my life for the past month washes over me and I feel the tears steadily stream in rivers down my face. When I feel a warm hand gently stroking my face, I glance up to see Poseidon’s face twisted in grief. I feel as if we’re kindred spirits. I don’t know how I know this, but he’s experienced the loss of a loved one at some point. “I’m sorry for breaking down,” I whisper.
“Honey, it sounds like you needed to,” he responds, handing me a tissue from a box that’s on the end table next to me. “You okay to continue, or do you need a break?” he asks. In order for him to be willing to help me, I know I need to share it all with him. No good man will throw a woman out into this weather after learning everything she’s been through. And despite not knowing him from Adam, I sense that he’s good down to his very core.
Surprisingly, even though I’m still grieving my parents, telling him even a small part of the whole thing has me feeling lighter than I have since this whole nightmare began. “I’m good. Okay, so my folks were planners and they had all the stuff for their funeral already taken care of, down to what they wanted their obituaries to say. The only thing I did was rework it since they passed together. I got through the memorial service and the funeral with both Anson and my best friend, Kassidy, by my side.”
“Why do I feel like there’s more to this story?” he raspingly inquires when I stop for a moment to gather my thoughts. His voice is so full of anguish, that it sounds as if he’s gargled some rocks instead of antiseptic mouthwash.
“Oh, hell yeah, there’s more.” I feel a spark of anger at the events of the past few days. “I picked up their remains two weeks ago when I went to the lawyer’s office. Since they both passed, everything, including the business, was left to me. Thankfully, there’s a great board of directors in place so I don’t have to handle that because I am not business-minded in the least.” He chuckles and my breath catches at the sound. I glance at him and notice he’s got laugh lines around his eyes and I decide that I like that about him. Get a grip, Lillianna! I clear my throat then say, “Well, after Mom and Dad died, Anson started pushing for us to go ahead and get married. Then, Kassidy started agreeing with him. I was dealing with the flu or something and didn’t want to mess with getting married.”