Page 18 of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

“Is that Amy woman your old lady too?” The weird, quizzical look on Tango’s face made me think my question was silly for a moment. That moment didn’t last long though.

“No, why would you ask that?”

“Her Kutte had ‘Property of WTF’ written on it. I thought that stood for you three guys.”

“No, her property patch says W plus F.” He said it so nonchalantly that I didn’t think to question it anymore.

“Looks like WTF. They might want to get that fixed so there’s no confusion, considering you told me everyone calls you three WTF collectively.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” he offered.

“Do you have an old lady? Is someone going to come to your room looking for you later, and want to kick my ass for being here?”

Tango laughed then. “Nope. I haven’t been with a woman in almost two years. Nearly made the mistake of asking a cheating girlfriend to marry me. Thankfully, she let me know what she was about before I pulled the ring out.”

“Shit, that’s rough! I guess I can understand the hiatus then.”

“What about you? No boyfriends, fiancé, or husband being left behind. It was my turn to laugh.

“Definitely not,” I muttered.

“Why definitely not?”

“I’ve dated here and there over the years, so don’t get me wrong when I say this, but my ordeal I went through at 19 left me undateable for the most part.”

“What do you mean? Were you too traumatized?” He asks, his voice full of concern for me.

“No, nothing like that. It’s just that locals in Reno wouldn’t go near me, because I’d been marked by the assholes. The few men from out of town who would date me weren’t there long enough to make anything out of it. Those who decided to stick around, and there were only two, were quickly run out of town once they found out what the marks on my arms meant. I tried to live a normal life in spite of what happened to me, but someone in that fucked up MC there didn’t want me to have an ounce of happiness.” I sighed.

“So the punishment you got for your brother’s bullshit years ago never really ended?”

“No, I guess in a way, it didn’t.” We had managed to make it all the way up the stairs, down the hall, and to the third door on the right from the balcony area overlooking the goings-on down in what I’d heard referred to as ‘The Commons’.

“This is my room,” Tango explained as he unlocked the door. “Well, it’ll be yours until the other guys leave and we can get you one on this same hall.”

“Thank you.” I hoped he understood just how genuine that sentiment was, because I truly meant it. He didn’t have to get involved, or get his club involved with rescuing me from my brother’s bullshit. He left a tattoo convention early to get me out of town faster, and now the man was giving up his personal space for me. “Can I ask you something, and you not think I’m a total nutcase?”

He chuckled. “I guess that depends on what you’re asking.”

“You know my history. Do you think…”? I glanced around noting the bed was a King size and there was a small loveseat tucked up under the windowsill. Perfect. “Do you think you could stay in this room too until mine is ready. I just.” I stopped short trying to form my thoughts into words. “Logically, I know you’re trying to help me, and that you guys aren’t like King’s Demons. Hell, what your president just did with the women who stole my things proved that. I still, um… it’s just that all the bikers… it makes me nervous being here.” Okay, so that wasn’t the most eloquent way to basically say I’m quaking in my boots, but it apparently got the job done.

“You don’t need to say any more. I’ll hit up the couch,” he nodded to the loveseat.

“Um, no. I’m 5 feet 5 inches. I think I can fit that just fine, whereas you’re what? I’m guessing 6 feet 3 inches or more?”

“I’m 6 feet 4 inches and it wouldn’t be the first time I passed out there, so it’s no big deal, really.”

“Whatever. Please, don’t argue. I’ll feel better this way. Besides, I’m liable to have some nightmares considering all the triggers in my life at the moment, so you better get all the good sleep you can right now.”

The rest of the night and the next day proved much less stressful as Tango took me shopping for the things I needed to replace, and we settled into a quiet little routine of splitting bathroom time and dancing around each other like we’d been in each other’s lives forever and not just five days. We had already been sharing a hotel room for three nights, so that was probably why it seemed so familiar sharing a room with him here in the compound too. If I was being honest with myself, I wasn’t sure how I was going to cope when I was able to get a room all to myself. Worse, I didn’t think I wanted to be without Tango, a man I had known less than a week. The connection we felt was just undeniable though.

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