Page 54 of Vex

We chat and snack for a few minutes before the guys start entering the room. Church is over. Vex takes the last seat at our table and gives Craig a fist bump. Another guy walks up and tousles Craigs hair and earns a grin for his effort.

“Are you Pooh?” I ask.

“The one and only,” the man says with a sexy smirk.

Damn! Pippa’s done well for herself. Now I understand the constant smile on her face. I’m thinking this when a hand is waved in front of my own smiling face, and I jerk my eyes to Vex’s.

“When you’re done pissing me off, you want to talk?” Vex asks with a frown. I listen, but I don’t look, when Pooh starts laughing his ass off.

“Uh, yeah, sure. That works,” I mumble out.

“Hi, Taja! Good to see you again. You go talk with Vex and I’ll help Craig with these snacks,” Chubs says from next to me.

“Thank you for the snacks, Craig. Maybe we can do this again someday, if you’d like,” I tell the little guy.

“Sure. I’ll show you my fort, if you’d like,” Craig offers.

“Sounds good. Bye,” I say as Vex stands, pulls me up and guides me out of the clubhouse.

“Tessie in my room sleeping?” Vex asks as we walk toward the vehicles.

“Yeah, she’s exhausted.”

Reaching Vex’s truck, he opens the door, waits for me to get seated and then closes it. He walks to the other side and climbs in. Turning to me, I see his eyes are serious.

“Did Tessie talk to you about what all happened?” he asks.

“Yeah, some. I don’t think she told me everything, though. She didn’t want to talk about the bruised ribs, and I didn’t push. Just told her we could talk about it whenever she’s ready. Other than some bruises, they didn’t touch her. I mean, they didn’t sexually assault her,” I softly say.

“From what I overheard from the men there, they weren’t allowed to on orders from Rooster. Not out of any fatherly concern but because it would lower her value,” Vex spits out in anger.

I’m not surprised because I suspected as much. Money’s all that matters to Rooster. The Devil’s Angels getting her back when they did saved her from a fate worse than death. I couldn’t be more grateful to them for that.

“What do I do now, Vex? Rooster isn’t going to let this end. He doesn’t like to lose to anyone. Should I take Tessie and leave? Where do…”

“No, neither of you are leaving. We made it clear that his beef’s with the Devil’s now. I don’t think he ever really wanted Tessie to begin with. He was making a point that he gets his way, every time, and you had defied his orders. There’s history between the two clubs that dates back to before Gunner was Prez. Petey, Reno, Trigger—they all remember the Skulls and the issues between the clubs. We’ll handle Rooster. In the meantime, we need to keep you and Tessie out of his reach. You’d be nothing but a bargaining chip for him.”

“We can stay with Suki. She came to the clubhouse to see me while you were gone, and I know we can count on her.”

“Not safe enough, Taja. Rooster won’t care about collateral damage to get what he wants. And Suki would be nothing but that to him. I think it’s best if you let Tessie stay with Petey, Trudy and Bella. Petey offered, and he wouldn’t have if he didn’t mean it. The girls are friends and Tessie can still go to the garage because she’d be riding with Petey. It’s not going to be forever, just until things are safe again. Would you go along with that?” Vex asks.

“Yeah, I will. I know she’s safer with Petey and on the compound than anywhere else right now,” I answer after thinking it over for a moment. “I’ll talk to her tonight and explain that this is just how it’s got to be for now. God, I hate being separated from her again. How’s it possible to hate one’s own father as much as I do?”

Vex reaches over and cups the side of my face. I lean into it and allow his comfort to soak into my soul for a moment. I’ve liked Vex from the start, but he’s becoming more to me with each passing day. That scares me because I don’t think it’s going to last, and I’ll have to find a way to move on when the time comes.

Vex pulls his hand back and starts the truck. I look at him bewildered, because I thought we were just sitting out here to have some privacy, but he throws it into gear and off we go. I scramble for my seat belt, get it on and turn my head his direction.

“Where we going?” I ask.

“To your place to get Tessie some things,” Vex answers as he reaches over and grasps my hand. He pulls it his direction until our joined hands are resting on the console between us. I stare at our fingers, intertwined, and feel my heart give a slow thump.

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“You got everything she might need?” Vex questions as he lifts the suitcase and backpack off the floor.

“Yeah, I think so. If not, I’ll bring whatever I missed to her tomorrow,” I answer.

“Taja?”

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