Page 19 of Bully's Darkness
I give a slight nod. “Is that pathetic?”
“Not at all. When you give yourself over to someone so freely, you lose yourself.”
“I spent so long waiting . . .” I trail off, realising I’ve said too much.
“It’s fine. You don’t have to explain.”
I take a breath. Why shouldn’t I speak from the heart? After all, it’s not like Bully wants to listen. “He was in prison,” I confess, “and I waited.”
“Wow. That’s such a hard thing to do.”
I like that he gets the magnitude of what I gave up for Bully. “Right.”
“How long?”
“Five years.” He gives a low whistle. “I put my life on hold for the first few months, and when I got used to him not being there, I forced myself to get a job and a place to live, things that had nothing to do with him. I think I always knew deep down that I’d need my own life to fall back on.”
“So, he got out, and you broke up?”
I nod. “More my choice than his. I don’t feel like he really appreciated how I’d waited. He got out and the first thing he did was go and see his stupid cl . . .” I trail off. “Sorry, you don’t want to hear this.”
“It’s fine. You need to talk about it so you can move forward.”
I smile. “You sound just like my sister.”
“She speaks wise words.”
“What about you? What do you like to do?”
He grins. “I like bikes. Always have. So, riding is my passion.”
My heart sinks a little. “Are you in a club?”
“And animals,” he adds, ignoring my question. “Mainly pigs.”
I frown. “You like pigs?”
He laughs. “I grew up on a pig farm. Dad was a biker too, but he was also a good pig farmer.”
“Wow, that sounds different.”
“We lived out in the country.”
Bria comes over. “I hate to interrupt, but I need to steal my sister for a quick minute,” she says, grabbing my hand and dragging me a few steps away. “Taz called me. Bully knowsyou’re talking to this guy. I think he’s watching the bar or something.” She glances around nervously.
“Taz called to warn you?” I scoff. It’s not something he’d usually do.
“They’re on their way. Apparently, this guy is bad news.”
“Of course, he is. They’d say anything to ruin this.” I go to walk back, but she takes my arm and tugs me back again.
“I’m serious, Livvy. You know I don’t listen to what they say usually, but this guy is the president of a rival club in the area. It sounds serious.”
I glance back to where Darren is watching us closely, and suddenly, I feel nervous. “What do I do to get away without raising suspicion?” I whisper. The last thing I need is a fight breaking out between the bikers.
“Tell him your kid woke up and the babysitter called.” I laugh. “I’m serious, it’ll scare him off.”
My smile fades. “Is he really that bad?”
