Page 27 of Signed For Him

"I love it. Thank you," I tell him as I close the lid of the box and smile up at him.

"Is it your dad that runs the O'banians?" I ask suddenly, my earlier idea coming back to me in the silence.

"Yeah, he's the one in charge of our patch, why?" Crow asks, his gaze infiltrating my own suspiciously.

"What's he like?"

"He's pretty chill. I mean, he can be a scary bastard when he wants to be, but he's not that bad really." He laughs lightly, his eyes still watching me as if I'm about to pounce.

"Would you be able to arrange for me to meet him by any chance?"

"I'd love for you to meet my dad knowing that you're mine, but I have a feeling this isn't one of those 'meet the family because we're together' type of dinners, is it?"

"I have an idea I'd like to run by him," I tell him.

"Are you going to tell me this idea of yours?" he asks as he places a hand on my leg and begins caressing it steadily.

"Arrange a meeting with your dad and you can be there to find out."

Fourteen

Charlie

Isaid that I would go to the club today and up until about five minutes ago, I was feeling completely at ease with that thought. Now that I'm standing outside the Club doors, however, I am suddenly feeling like I'm either about to very literally shit myself, cry, or have a complete breakdown. Or maybe all three. Hopefully not at the same time.

Aside from when they've had no choice, Liam nor Crow have left my side once and they're both here now, insisting that everything will be absolutely fine. Liam needs to be interviewed. Again. And I need to get over the built-up fear of being inside of the Club.

"Come on, why don't we spend the afternoon together? After we've done everything we need to here?" Crow asks as he pulls his leather jacket on.

"The three of us?" I ask, confused.

Although neither have left my side, both Crow and Liam have also somehow managed to avoid being with each other all that much. If I'm upstairs, one of them has been with me while the other is downstairs. Usually Liam is the one downstairs. We've hardly had any chance to talk since being home.

We've not managed to speak about anything that happened, what's going to happen now, or if what did happen was just a case of us both being in a rather sticky situation where we used each other as an outlet for that. I don't think that's the case but until I have the opportunity to ask him what the hell is going on in his mind, I also have absolutely no idea either. He's hardly touched me since being home and though even a few weeks ago, that would have pleased me, I find myself now missing his touch and the comfort I'd become used to from him.

"Yeah, Liam will too, won’t you?" Crow asks him, giving him a look that says 'say yes or else' but I don't stop him. If these two could get on, it would make everything so much easier.

"Yeah, course," Liam says as he opens the door in front of us and waves his arm in front of me, signalling for me to go in front.

I stand there transfixed, listening to the music coming from inside for a moment, doubting my ability to overcome this so quickly. But if I don't go in now, will I ever? I have Liam and Crow right by my side. They weren't here last time, and that's why I managed to get taken. They wouldn't let anything happen to me. They won't. I'm safe. I'm ok. Everything will be fine.

I walk inside with Liam and Crow at my side, heading straight towards Ben at the bar. He's the first familiar face that comes into my line of sight. I take hold of that and aim for him. He hasn't noticed me yet, but when I take a seat on one of the bar stools, his head rises and a line of confusion crosses his eyes before a smile lights up his face as he sees me.

"Char! Oh, bloody hell, girl, I haven't seen you in forever," he says as he opens the flap of the bar, walks through, and comes to give me a hug.

Ben is one of Gray's usual hookups. Not as though he's told me that, but I've noticed the way that Ben looks at him and very conveniently gets to finish work and follow Gray to one of the rooms here and then comes back dishevelled and messy. Gray thinks I don't notice these things, but I most definitely do. Ben is only a few inches taller than me, maybe 5'10 at a guess, has a slim build and no hair on his face. He has dark, nearly black eyes and hair to match that goes in every which direction.

"Oh, you're looking good, babe! You want a drink?" he asks as he lets me go, looking at me once more with a smile before going back behind the bar and waiting eagerly for my order.

"Yeah, I'll just have an orange juice please. Way too early for the harder stuff," I joke as he laughs and takes Liam’s and Crow’s orders before collecting our drinks.

"So, what are you doing here? Alice isn't around today, but she'll be back in tomorrow if you were looking for her," He tells me as he slides my drink over the counter and waves away the notes that Liam offers him.

"No, Liam and Crow have got a meeting and are busy this afternoon, so I thought I'd stop by with them instead of waiting at home on my own. Is Dad around?" I ask as I glance around and see many other familiar faces but not my dad’s. He said he was going to work early this morning but that didn't necessarily mean that he was here.

"Yeah, he's in one of the meeting rooms. Probably waiting for you lot. Are you late?" he wonders with a wag of his eyebrows.

"I don't actually know," I tell him with a small laugh as I look towards Liam. "Are we?"

---