Page 12 of Property of Indiana

“If you want my opinion, I think that’s the only memorable thing from his childhood he has, Harrison.”

“I’m beginning to think you’re right about that, Zoe. Why don’t you finish eating and get dressed so we can find someplace private to talk?”

“Okay,” she answers. “But promise me there won’t be any secrets.” She side-eyes me before continuing, “You’ll tell me everything.”

“I’ll tell you everything I can,” I explain.

She harrumphs, shoots me a devilish look, then saunters over to the counter where she stabs the fork into her pancakes, her eyes never leaving me. She tracks me to the living room where I plop on the couch.

Zoey and I head to her backyard where she has a sweet set up on her porch. There’s an outdoor couch with a firepit in the center of it and two cushioned chairs. I can see many nights spent back here roasting marshmallows and sipping on some ice cold beer while unwinding after a long day. After reaching into the outdoors icebox, she hands me a cold brew and sits down beside me.

She brings out a bottle of wine and tips it over and pours a large amount into her wineglass. “I know it’s early, but I think I’mgoing to need this to help me get through everything you have to tell me.”

“It’s five o’clock somewhere,” I tease.

“I’m not a heavy drinker, but for some damn reason, this pending conversation has me nervous,” she admits.

“One glass will be plenty,” I state, removing the bottle from her line of sight and tucking it behind the outside couch. Twisting my body to where I’m facing her, I reach over and lace our fingers together, needing to have her touch while we talk about the ghosts from her past and I tell her about voting her into the club.

“You used to do this when you were worried about how I’d react to something you had to say,” she tells me as she stares down at our joined hands. “I thought you said it wasn’t bad enough that I’d need that bottle of wine.”

“Nothing about life is easy, but we can’t always use liquid courage to face our demons, babe. You’re the strongest woman I know, you can do this,” I encourage.

“But wine makes it more enjoyable to discuss,” she counters, popping out her bottom lip.

“Did that ever work on me, Zoe?”

“Sometimes,” she says, shrugging her shoulders. “Depended on what type of mood you were in.”

“You saying I give in to a pretty face, Zoe? You forget, I use the word no like it’s nothing.”

“You saying my face is pretty?” she asks, fluttering her eyelashes.

“Pretty, no. That’s not a good enough definition. Gorgeous. Stunning. Extraordinary. A piece of art, those better describe how I see you, Zoe.”

She waves me away, but I see the prickle of tears gather in her eyes as she clears the frog from her throat. “Thank you, Harrison.”

“Only speaking the truth as I see it,” I tell her. “Now, if we’re done flirting, are you ready to start this conversation?”

“I suppose so,” she quietly answers. “Like ripping off a bandaid, give it to me straight, Harrison.”

CHAPTER

SIX

ZOEY

My bright ideaof having wine while digging into the demons of my past wasn’t my finest idea. The few sips I’ve managed to imbibe in are sitting like a heavy weight in my stomach. I should’ve known better, but I’m a glutton for punishment it seems. I don’t know if he’s going to be able to handle what I have to say, but we did say no secrets and that’s the biggest one I have since he’s aware of Elodie.

“Right. I wanted to give you time to settle back in before pushing for anything but Icer put a wrinkle in those plans. He decided last night after looking you up online and discovering the things he did that happened to you six years back that something had to be done. His protective instincts, ones I wasn’t aware he had outside of his loyalty to the club, reared its ugly head and he put in a bid to bring y’all in under the guise of family.”

“What does that mean, exactly, Harrison?”

“It means that you’d have any protection given to a sister or brother of a club member,” he clarifies. “You’d be under theumbrella of the Kings; you'd be one of us and would be deemed untouchable by our enemies.”

“I don’t see anything wrong with that,” I state. “I’m alone here, it’s just me and Elodie.”

Considering the fact that since I got to town my anxiety has tried to take over and run my life, I like the thought of being protected by the club. Hopefully, our shopping trip didn’t draw any attention from the Onyx Dragons, but I trust that Harrison will never allow me to be hurt like that ever again. I’m confident if he had been in town, it probably wouldn’t have even happened to me.

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