Page 118 of Property of Chaos

“Sort of.” She brushes off the woman’s comment, stepping closer to where I lean against the tail of my bike, arms folded.

“Can we talk?” I roll my lips while I wait for her answer, well aware that the whole fucking group has eyes on us.

She draws a deep breath and turns to take in the men standing to my left and right. Circus and Crow caught up to us late last night, giggling like school girls and fucking high on the rush of racing one another down to Kansas, where I’d stopped in to collect two of the brothers from the Fallen Aces’ newest chapter.

I’m sleep-deprived, sore, and probably need another shower, but relieved.

Feeling as though I’m home just seeing her face.

“I guess.” She frowns, clutching her elbow as she turns to her aunt. “I’ll catch up with you soon.”

“Are you sure?” Evelyn frowns, her gaze darting between her niece and my entourage.

“Where were you off to?”

Ness snaps her head at my question as though caught off guard by my voice. Not that I’m sure why. We’ve talked. She’s heard me talk in public. Maybe because it’s the first time we’ve spoken in front of other people.

At least, people other than fucking Theresa.

“Evelyn and I were heading to grab lunch.”

“I can send someone to bring you something back.” I snap my fingers at the Kings. “Who’s hungry?”

“Ready for a fuckin’ sleep more like,” Crow mutters.

“Pussy,” Highway bitches.

Circus raises an eyebrow at our tail gunner, and I sigh.Fucking children.

“I’ll go.” The vice president of the Fallen Aces Kansas chapter steps forward. Tap, his name is. Tall and tanned, he used to be the president of their California base. “Happy to escort the lovely lady.”

Evelyn draws a sharp breath as he approaches, yet I’m sure it’s from something other than fear.

“What would you like, Vanessa?” Tap waits patiently for her answer, holding his hand at her aunt’s lower back.

Interestingly, Evelyn doesn’t move away.

“Um, I don’t know. Some nigiri would be good, I guess.”

I push off the bike and close the space between us. She looks so isolated, standing there by herself with the weight of six men watching her. I block her from view from most of them, hand trembling as I set it against her waist.When the fuck did I become such a pussy?It’s hers. It’s always been andonlybeen Vanessa who has the power to do this to me.

I’m that fuckin’ scared of screwing it up again. Of doing something wrong and creating an irredeemable issue.

Her small hand covers mine as she says goodbye to her aunt, her thumb moving the tiniest fraction to stroke the side of my palm.Can she feel me shake?Feel the absolute terror she induces.

The unquantifiable desire?

Is this what true obsession feels like?People use the term loosely these days, applying it to anything they find cute or interesting. Oh, what a cute tumbler. I’m so obsessed. What a sick paint job on that bike. Obsessed.

Obsessed.

Obsessed.

Obsessed.

It feels like dying. Over and over, every second, anxious to get to the next so that I don’t miss a damn thing.

It’s the worst kind of FOMO. The fear that if I fuck around, I lose valuable time with the person I love. Time I can never recover.

---