Page 93 of Straight to Me

I can’t get the words out, but I nod. My heart sinks. I think about telling VP what’s just happened, but that will only cause more trouble no doubt. There’s no way I’m getting in the way of outlaws. They’ll kill each other.

“Mads!” I hear VP call across the room.

My VP. Always there when I need him. Except he can’t know about this. Rocco’s eyes tell me he’ll kill me if I breathe a word. He lifts a casual finger to his mouth and I take a steadying breath, wiping my eyes.

VP reaches us, looking between me and Rocco suspiciously. He puts an arm around me protectively. He smells heavenly. His big arms comforting me with light strokes on my back.

“What’s going on?” he asks.

“Nothing.”Just a threat from your leader, no big deal. Rocco straightens his spine.

“I was just giving your missus some friendly advice.”

“What kind of advice?” VP asks flatly.

“About flying,” I quickly say. “I’m scared to fly.”

Rocco sucks on his teeth before giving us a smile that makes me more uncomfortable than if he’d scowled. “Like I said, just a bit of ginger will keep those nerves right down. Works for seasickness just as well.”

He nods at VP before walking off.

VP seems to relax slightly, but I can tell his guard is still up. “You got nothing to worry about. Nothing’s going to happen with me there.”

That makes me smile. I pull away a little, wiping my face one more time. “And just how would you plan on stopping a plane from crashing?”

He grins, making me relax. “Oh no babe, we’d crash, but you’d die happy knowing I was your man.”

We walk back to the bar and finish our drinks quickly. I’m grateful for the alcohol and even more grateful to soon be putting thousands of kilometres between me and Rocco.

“You all set?” My blood freezes. I turn around to see Rocco and VP exchanging a handshake. Rocco’s eyes find mine in a silent warning.

“Yeah. Skitz is dropping us off now, and I messaged Ronnie. He’s picking us up early doors from the airport tomorrow.”

VP’s eyes flit from Rocco then to me, his voice trailing off as he speaks. I start putting my bag straps over my shoulders. Rocco steps closer to me, intruding my personal space once again. He places his giant hands on both my shoulders, then kisses my cheek. His face in too close a proximity to mine.

I close my eyes.

“Safe flight,” he says for everyone else to hear. When my eyes finally open, VP’s observing us like a hawk. Travis steps up, patting Rocco on the back, breaking VP’s line of vision. Rocco automatically lets me go, allowing me to exhale the oxygen I was desperately holding in.

Skitz calls out to VP from the door, letting him know he’s good to go. VP’s hand cups round mine, his thumb stroking over my knuckles. His simply being next to me calms my racing heart. Every fibre of my body relaxing at his warm touch.

As we leave though, I can feel Rocco’s eyes on me. My skin crawls, knowing full well it’s his eyes burning into the back of my head. VP holds the open door for me, and like a fool, my eyes look back, darting across the room.

Standing at the bar, and looking right at me is Rocco, wearing a malignant smile that says one way or another, this will be my final week with VP.

Chapter Twenty-Three

VP

Check-in is easy with only hand luggage. Mads has been shaky since leaving the clubhouse and I doubt it’s just her fear of flying. Rocco frightens her, and for the fucking life of me, I can’t understand why he’s so hung up about it.

Perhaps the fact I’ve never had a serious relationship? Not like this one anyway. Maybe he thinks it’ll make me soft.

I would never admit it to the club, but I know I’ve devoted all my free time to her lately, slacking in my duties with them. I just can’t get enough of her.

Call me dumb. Call me crazy. But she’s fast become my reason for breathing, my escape in this world I navigate.

The shit bubbling under the cracks with the Sodom Saviours will spill over eventually, and for right or wrong, being with Mads makes all that other shit seem less volatile. Not that I’d ever let her know just how on tenterhooks things really are. She’d only worry if she knew our enemies were trying to expand.

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