Page 34 of Flyboy's Nightingale
As Riley looks at the paper, the trembling gets worse, and tears start to run down her face like a raging, tumultuous river. Riley opens her mouth several times before she can force the words out.
“That… ummm, that is my brother who was an Enforcer for the club when I left. And this one, this one is… ummm. Sorry, I... fuck, I... he was the VP of the club when I was there.”
Riley looks over at me, the tears still steadily flowing down her cheeks. “He was the main tormentor and the man who egged everyone on. I learned he was in town for the first time yesterday, when he showed up outside of my work when I was getting into my car and heading this way for lunch.”
“You know who they are, fucking find them,” Steel barks, causing Riley to startle. “Shit, sorry, Riley. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Steel murmurs, leaning back in his chair.
Blue leans back with him, rubbing the arm that is wrapped around her waist. “Riley, first let me start by saying how truly sorry we are about everything you’ve been through. The Ol’ ladies and I are here for anything that you need moving forward. Even if it’s to simply bitch about this lot of assholes.”
I watch as Steel leans down speaking in Blue’s ear, causing her to blush at whatever he says to her. I feel something squeeze tight in my chest with longing. Longing to have such ease with Riley. To have Riley lean on and depend on me the way all the Ol’ ladies do their own men. With my arm around her, I pull her tighter to me and do my best to ease her discomfort. Riley eventually lays her head on my chest sighing. Leaning down, I press a kiss on the top of her head. In complete surprise to me she relaxes even more, grabbing a fist full of my shirt, holding on for dear life.
We’re all surprised when Riley is the first to speak. “How long are you giving me to get packed and out of your territory?”
Steel’s eyes go hard and he grits his jaw, biting back whatever he was about to say before taking a deep breath. “Riley, can you tell me why you're so set on leaving? I know you have a major fear of the club and large gatherings of brothers, but you’ve spent time with us all. So tell me, why it is that you don’t want to stay?”
Riley’s sad sniffles pull at the black space that’s supposed to be my heart. “That’s just it. It’s not that I don’t want to stay here. I would fight every fear I have to be able to stay here. It’s the fact that they’re still willing to look for me after all this time. The hell they’ll bring down on the club is not something that I’m willing to do.”
“Don’t you think that’s our choice?” Steel questions with an eyebrow raised.
“That’s just it, it's not a choice. Y’all have family to take care of. You’ve got business to tend to that don't include taking in some random stray.” Riley’s voice is getting stronger.
Steel laughs, “That’s just it, darling. You stopped being some stray when you faced a fear we didn’t even know you had to help Flyboy here take care of Edge when she almost died. To then fight that fear daily, for months, to make sure that the same aforementioned asshole got the top-of-the-line care while laid up on his ass. You’re not stray, my dear, you’re one of us and we fight for what's ours.”
Riley sits up so fast that she almost falls off the couch. “Wait. What’re you saying to me? Steel, my father’s club are a bunch of no-good shit stains. Why would you do this?”
Leaning forward, I gently turn Riley’s face so I can look her in the eye, that way, there is not a fucking chance she misses what I’m about to say. I told my brothers in church that I am claiming Riley, and it’s time she knows that as well. I kiss her deep and hard, claiming every inch of her mouth.
Slowly, I pull away, pressing my forehead to hers. “Though everything Steel said is true, there's one prudent thing that he conveniently left out. As an Ol’ lady of this club, it’s not just my duty as your man, but the duty of the club, to protect all women and children who belong to us.”
“I’m not an Ol’ lady though!” she argues.
“As of church this morning, my intentions of laying claim to you were made clear. Meaning, you may not carry the Ol’ lady patch yet. However, you will as soon as we get all this shit squared away.” I kiss her hard again in order to stop any rebuttal she might have.
Riley pulls back with a slight glare. “Don’t think that this means you’re off the hook for being a complete fucking asshole.”
“I wouldn’t fucking dream of it.” I swallow hard because I have no idea what this woman has in store for me.
“Okay, you two, let’s get the rest of this shit handled before you start fucking right here on my couch,” Steels chuckles, reminding us both that there are others in the room.
When Riley blushes from her hairline, over her cheeks, and down her neck, satisfaction races through me. It’s been entirely too long since I’ve seen her blush like this. I rub my thumb over her cheek, taking in her beauty. Razor clears his throat before laughing. In response, I throw up the middle finger, kiss Riley on the lips, and tuck her under my arm as we lean back into the couch.
“Here's the plan. I’m going to reach out to your father and find out if he’ll tell me why his men are in my territory without notifying us beforehand. You, my dear, are going to go and get what you need from your place to stay here for a couple of weeks. Once you’re back, we’ll be on lock down. No one is leaving unless it’s for emergencies.” Steel holds his hand up to stop Riley from speaking. “We know you’ve got to work, so we’re reaching out to Across the Line Ops since Avery is married to one of them and see if they’ll help us cover the clinic.”
“Fine. I won't fight you for now. Just know, if shit starts hitting the fan, I’m not making any promises,” Riley quips, not sounding happy.
Blue laughs as Steel grumbles, “Why can’t you boys find a woman who will just listen and not argue about everything.”
Blue starts chuckling before turning to look at Steel, asking, “Where would be the fun in that? You men love us and wouldn’t trade us for anything.”
“You’re not wrong, woman!” Steel pulls Blue into a kiss, who then moans into his mouth.
Yep, time for us to get the hell out of here before I see something to scar me for the rest of my life.
“Riley, get my crutches. We gotta get out before the clothes start coming off,” I say as I try and stand quickly, cursing when my leg smarts.
Riley laughs, standing hastily, and helping me up. Razor is packing up his laptop, being sure not to look in the direction of Steel and Blue. I wave Riley ahead of me, moving as quickly as possible. When we make it into the hallway, Razor closes the door behind us, and we all burst out laughing.
“Fuck, that’s like walking in on your mom and dad fucking.” Razor shivers in disgust, causing us to laugh even harder.
