Page 7 of Flyboy's Nightingale
Thinking back to Candy, the few times I’ve seen her, I can imagine that he does, in fact, know how to read that emotion on someone’s face.
“Well, thank you either way. Can I ask one more favor?” I pester, hoping he doesn’t think I’m imposing.
“You can ask. Doesn’t mean I can do it for you.” Pretty Boy shrugs, looking like a small boy.
“Can you tell me who all is in there with him? I just need to know what I’m walking into,” I convey, returning his shrug.
“Prez, Torch, Razor, and Duck, along with their old ladies. I can ask them to step—” waving a hand, I cut him off before he can finish speaking his thoughts.
“No, I would never disrespect them enough to ask them to leave. I just wanted to be prepared for it.” I chuckle, trying to play it off.
“One day, I will understand what that means. Why it is you’re always trying to beprepared.” Pretty Boy’s thoughtful tone tells me that he will figure it out… eventually.
I make a mental note to be more cautious of what I say and do around him. Having these guys dig into my past would mean me never being allowed anywhere close to them again. I stop walking as that thought feels like a punch to the gut. Getting more involved with these guys than I already am, is bad for me, and for them. For me, because they could see me as a spy, and my dad and brother would see it as complete disrespect—disrespecting them is the last thing anyone with their sanity intact would ever want to do.
“I don’t think I should go in there. I’m sorry, I just can’t.” I turn to leave when I hear my name being called.
“Riley. Oh, thank God. I think this man is about ready to take people out wanting to know where you are,” Lil’ Red says.
Sighing, I turn to her knowing that there is no way out of it now. As I make my way to her, her smile grows across her cheeks. When I get close to her, she pulls me into a tight hug. I squeeze her closely, needing the comfort of somebody I trust.
“Well, damn. Are you going to let her in or not?” Vixen asks, her voice carrying from the room.
We both burst out laughing. That woman says whatever comes to her and it’s one of the many things we love about her.
“Well, maybe I'll keep her to myself,” Lil’ Red sasses with her hip jutted to the right.
Out of nowhere, his raspy voice slides down my spine. “Is she here? I’d know that laugh anywhere.”
My pussy clenches at the need permeating from his gravelly voice. This is not good. My decision to leave settles more firmly in my mind. I swore when I left my dad and brother’s club that I would never find myself tied to another one. This one may be different, but it’s still a club. Club means you sit quietly, look, and if nothing else, you do not disrespect a brother for any reason. I also learned that saying, “No”, isn’t always the best option.
“She’s fucking here,” Vix declares, bellowing.
I step my way into the room, focusing directly on the man in the bed, so as not to have a complete breakdown with everyone in the room. I move my eyes up the bed taking in the external fixation device on his right leg. It’s bruised, swollen, and covered in road rash scares. I continue my perusal of him looking overhis hard chest with one side that is covered in partially healed abrasions. I finally become brave enough to meet his eyes.
Our eyes clash, and my body moves without thought. Making it to his bedside, we don’t say a word, just watch each other. I open my mouth to try and speak, only before I can get a word out of my dry throat, he beats me to it.
“What took you so long?” He rasps out the question.
Not liking the tone and accusation in his voice, I place my hand on my hip, and in a snarky tone say, “I had things to take care of. I got here as soon as I could.”
He narrows his eyes at me, and asks, “What plans?”
“Plans that are none of your business.” I decide to turn the conversation away from me and onto him. Swiftly, I go into nurse mode. “Tell me how you’re feeling? Not the bullshit answer you give everyone else, the truth, Flyboy.”
“Answer my question first. What were you doing?” he spits out while he continues to stare at me.
“Have the doctors been in? What have they said about your prognosis?” I proceed, ignoring his questions. What I was doing is truly none of his business.
“I don’t fucking know. There’s been so many people in and out of this room today, I can’t tell you who the fuck anyone is as opposed to the next person,” he snaps, nearly shouting at me.
I take a step back before leveling my own fierce glare on him. “Let’s start with this. One, you will not speak to me like that. Second, I have no idea who or what has been in here. Third, If that is how you are going to choose to speak to me, or others, we can leave your ass laying right here in this bed—alone.”
We just stare at each other without saying a word. I can feel the frustrated energy zapping between us. It takes everything I have tonotback down from him. It was then that I finally snapped out of it and found my inner strength.
I will not hide or back down from any man, for any reason, going forward. I will stand my ground, and not allow another person to walk all over me, or cause me to feel less than what I am. It’s time to reclaim my self-respect.
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