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Judging by Drake and Kai’s persistent glances, I’m sure they know about what happened the other night. I can see it in their eyes. The lust, a deluge of dark and dirty thoughts directed at me.
When Orion comes into the bar accompanied by his friends and partners, he simply nods at me. I watch them go directly upstairs before I shift my focus back to work. We’ve got a full house tonight, with club members, prospects, and locals gathering for a pool match.
The bets are heavy, and the drinking heavier, so the bar is busy. I don’t mind; it keeps me occupied.
I’ve spent the past couple of days thinking about that moment I shared with Orion, thinking about how eager I was to be claimed, how I loved every damn second of it. I was tender afterward, but I felt like a full woman for the first time in my life.
I felt wanted and deeply desired. He claimed me. Maybe I should’ve told him that he’d be my first before anything happened, but I feared he might’ve pushed me away.
Not might have, but he definitely would have pushed me away. At least this way, I got to experience him, even if he’s still fuming mad at me.
“Are you okay, honey?” Paddy asks when he stops by the bar for a hot second.
“Yeah, just tired, I guess,” I reply with a warm smile.
“It’s a tough night,” he says. “Look around you, what do you see?”
“I see a full house.” Once I’ve served a couple of customers, I move closer to Paddy’s side. What else am I supposed to see?”
He points around us. “Is anybody happy?”
He’s right. They’re playing pool, drinking, and socializing, but there isn’t a single smile to be found. Come to think of it, Orion seemed gloomier than usual, Kai was downright morose, and even Drake couldn’t muster a half-smile for anyone.
Something is going on.
“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s happening?” I ask Paddy. Part of me worries it might have something to do with what transpired between Orion and me, but that doesn’t make any sense. Nobody else knows—nobody outside the tight circle, that is.
Paddy leans in closer, narrowing his bloodshot eyes at me. “A rival MC is making some aggressive moves around Orange County. They struck a clubhouse up in northern Anaheim last night,” he says. “We think they’re coming for us next.”
“Oh,” I reply. “Why would they come for us?”
“Money, Nadia. Money and power,” Paddy says. “It’s why the boys are working so hard to push the Blackthorn Riders in a different direction. There’s gonna be trouble at our doorstep soon enough. I don’t think you need to hear the details, but I’m letting you know so it doesn’t take you by surprise.”
Fear tests my spine with tiny electrical impulses that cause goosebumps to tickle my skin. “Should I be worried, Paddy?”
“You should be vigilant. You have us on speed dial if you need us, but we’re gonna have some of our bigger guys stationed here from dawn till closing hours, every day, from now on. Just be ready to get out of sight if you see the wrong kind of people walking in, all right?”
I nod slowly. “Okay.”
“You’ve been here long enough to be able to spot someone who doesn’t quite belong,” he adds.
He’s right. I’ve gotten to know the club’s regular customers by now—the members, prospects, their buddies, and extended families. I know the locals, too—the hard-working neighbors, the women who come in looking for a good time, the strippers who stop by before their shifts start, the escorts, and the working girls. Yeah, I know all of them.
“Does my father know?” I ask Paddy.
I rarely see my dad these days. Our last conversation was tense and uncomfortable, and we usually spend a couple of weeks actively avoiding one another before burying the hatchet. We’re both strong-willed, proud, and pig-headed.
Mom used to laugh about it, but in her absence, it’s awkward and unpleasant. Yet neither of us can find a way forward, so we just roll with the punches and let the conflicts simmer down, hoping that time can heal or at least tuck the issues away.
It never fully does, though.
“No, and I don’t plan on telling him, either. Not until there’s a concrete threat, that is,” Paddy replies. “That being said, if I get so much as the slightest feeling that you might be in danger, Nadia, I am gonna send you away.”
“You will do no such thing,” I firmly reply. “I’m a grown-ass woman. I can handle myself. Besides, this is Orange County, not some war zone. We have cops.”
“Oh, honey, there’s a lot you don’t see because Quicksilver was, well, quick to get you and your mom out of here a long time ago,” Paddy chuckles dryly. “I’m warning you, though. You keep your eyes wide open. And you’d better call if anybody iffy comes knocking around. From what I understand, those bastards like to poke and prod before they hit a clubhouse.”
“Duly noted, Paddy. Thank you,” I reply.
