Page 99 of Riff

“Yep,” I agreed.

“It waits for you,” he said, referencing the lyrics I was named after, making me smile as Riff moved into the alleyway.

“That’s exactly it,” I agreed. “It was my mom’s favorite song when I was born.”

She never really took the advice in the song, though, I guess.

“So, you’re with this lucky fuck, huh?” Rian asked as Riff came toward us, posture tight, his gaze hard as he looked at Rian. Protective, sure. But also a bit possessive. Which shouldn’t have been as hot as it was. “I was helping Vienna here catch a kitten.”

“You were standing there watching me,” I shot back.

“There’s a kitten?” Riff asked, looking around.

“Your girl was trying to save a giant rat, as it turns out,” Rian said, making Riff chuckle, his posture loosening up.

“Valiant effort, darlin’,” he said. “Ready to go home?” he asked.

“Yep,” I agreed. “Nice to meet you, Rian.”

“I have garbages at my house if you ever want to dig around those…” he offered.

“Fuck off, Rian,” Riff said, but his tone was light as he led me out of the alley. “So, you met your first Murphy brother,” Riff said, passing me the hand sanitizer as we got into the car.

“I did. He seems nice.”

“He is,” Riff agreed. “You were smiling at him.”

“It wasn’t like that!” I insisted, eyes widening.

“No, no, V. I didn’t mean to insinuate that. I mean… you were cornered by a strange man in an alley, and you were… smiling at him.”

“I knew he was a Murphy,” I said, shrugging it off even if it did feel like a pretty good step in the right direction.

I wasn’t panicking or having PTSD flashbacks.

That was a win in my book.

“Even so,” Riff said. “It’s good that you’re meeting the locals, too. Maybe we should hit up The Bog soon. Let you meet the other Murphys. Watch my idiot brother shamelessly flirt with Detroit’s cousin Lula.”

I’d been content for my life in Shady Valley to be rather, well, small. Trips to the grocery store, lessons at the studio, then just hanging out with the people in and around the club.

But, for once, the idea of actually getting back out there and socializing sounded intriguing. Fun, even.

Yeah, this day was definitely a win.

You know, aside from the rat.

Riff - 3 months

“There!” Vienna gasped, pointing in the distance where a line of long-legged, pink birds were walking at the edge of the water.

“Told you we would find them,” Lark, the wife of Remy, one of the bikers in our sister chapter in Golden Glades, declared, smiling at Vienna’s reaction. “They blew in with a hurricane last year, and just… decided to stay. You don’t usually get to see flamingos in the wild in Florida.”

“They’re so majestic,” Vienna declared, watching the birds with hearts in her eyes.

“We should really check out one of the wildlife centers. Those ones are tame. They will come right up to you for food.”

“Dunno, that might get in the way of V’s plans to hit up every single bookstore in Florida,” I teased, watching as she twisted her head over her shoulder and shot small eyes at me.

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