I did. I had to because the way I was living was going to land me in jail or in a body bag.
A strange emotion comes over me seeing the guy she is smiling at in the photo.
Some guy with a buzz cut, and only wearing shorts, their smiles are wide and full of life. She looks stunning, happy, and carefree. I fucking hate that she is smiling at him, yet she was guarded with me until I brought up why I came back.
I know that my explanation was the reason she bolted and was kind of hoping she would give it to me straight but she played it off, kissed my cheek, and ran out of there like her ass was on fire.
That was three days ago and fuck, I cannot get her out of my head.
Over the years I have thought about her, wondering what she is up to, but I never reached out. It settled in me that she was still close to Val and I wasn’t sure I wanted to get into that again. Yet, after seeing her, she is now in my head for a whole other reason. That reason was just finished off in the shower.
I adjust my dick seeing her practically naked; she is a hot woman. Stunning actually. Even though I have thought about her over the years, thinking of her in a sexual way is something new.
A bang on my door pulls me from my dirty thoughts.
“Church. Maverick has some info for us,” Guardian calls through the door.
“Be right there.” Sending a friend request I lock my phone, then get dressed.
Slipping into my usual jeans, T-shirt, my cut, and boots, the scent of leather hits me every time I pull it on. It is a reminder of what I have in my life, and what I could lose if I fuck up.
Grabbing what I need, I leave my room. I nod to Guardian as we step into church together. He got his patch at the same time as me, because he did what needed to be done. Emmie and Rex are always under his protection, and I think they will be until the day he takes his last breath.
We all take our seats and Racer hits the power button for the plasma TV in the room, so we can video call Maverick.
“Brothers and Savage,” Mav greets once we connect.
Savage flips him off and we laugh. They always like to banter back and forth, talking about who has fucked the most men in their lifetime; we all know that now that Maverick has settled down, Savage is winning the race.
“Okay, enough with the childish antics. What have you found out?” Racer asks, his voice stern and his face like stone, showing no emotion.
“Fine.” Maverick sighs, but his lips twitch. “Vinnie was sentenced to six years for the amount of drugs he had on him, but he also assaulted an officer while getting arrested. He was in deep with the MC as well as the street crew, owing both money. He thought he was some kind of Fast and the Furious driver but people kept beating him. So, he turned to dealing for both the MC and crew, but he also decided to sample what he was dealing. When he got caught, Valarie was in the car waiting for him, so she ran when she saw her brother in cuffs. Went straight to the MC and not the crew. Stupid mistake by her. Sorry, brother.” I know he is acknowledging me, so I nod.
“Using her appeal and street smarts, Valarie convinced the club to take her on as a new dealer, but targeting the college students and people at the races, since she had some pull with them. Not long after, she got claimed by their SAA, and we all know how that turned out. Now she is with the street crew, dealing for them, but also from my sources, she is fucking the main guy and his right-hand man. All while working off her brother’s debts, but making a name for herself.”
“Valarie became obsessed with power and money after she got a taste for it from my racing,” I add, the men in the room looking to me. “I am good at what I do— it is how she got used to the good life. But her brother was her soulmate; they did everything together.”
“Did they fuck?” This comes from Savage, and I send him a glare.
Only he could ask something like that, with the way his mind works.
“No, she was fucking me. You dick.”
He shrugs, his knife twisting between his fingers. “Hey, that does not mean they were not fucking behind your back, handsome. We are all into all kinds of different kinks.” He winks.
Before I can refute his argument, Target cuts me off.
“We need to pay her a visit and see exactly what her role is in the crew,” Target says.
“I agree.” Pres nods. “Thanks, brother. If you find anything else, let us know.” Maverick salutes us and the screen goes black.
“Okay, this is how it will play out. We take a ride over to her known address and see what she has to say. Crash, you keep your emotions locked the fuck down; you let me handle shit, okay?” I nod.
I am not going to piss off my Pres, when I am newly patched in. Being here means so much to me that I am not going to go and fuck it up just to save someone who might not want to be saved.
The way that Valarie looked at me, the hate and rage aimed toward me, showed me that she is not the same girl I left years ago. The venom in her tone made my gut knot, along with the thought that there was no saving her.
She made her bed, but that does not mean that I will turn my back on her if she needs me. Stevie’s words float around my head: her telling me how bad Valarie was when I left, how deep she got, but also how she treated people.