Page 63 of The Price of Love

“It complicates things,” Shadow says.

“I was going to say, but I’m glad I did.”

She smiles. “Me too. But it still complicates things.”

“It doesn’t have to.”

“Sure, because Wiz will graciously accept it. She hates the Thorns, and from what I can tell, you’re not a big fan of hers.”

“It goes way back.” I squirm, knowing I shouldn’t be having this conversation with a Grace.

“Goes way back to what? Nobody can tell me or won’t.”

“I don’t know myself. Aces and Wiz met in college, so the rivalry started back then. Apparently, they’ve hated each other ever since.”

“Wiz is pushing sixty. Forty years is a long damned time to hold a grudge.”

I shrug. “Aces wouldn’t talk about it. I asked her once. Once!” I scrunch up my face, showing how unpleasant it was.

“What happened?”

“I was a prospect. It was during a charity event. The Thorns and Graces were both there. I noticed the tension between them, and I’d heard the other girls talk about how much Aces hated Wiz. When I asked Aces, she gave me her patented withering glare and told me to leave the past in the past.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad.”

I give her a half-smile. “It wouldn’t have been had I not been a young, foolish prospect.”

“Uh-oh, you pushed.”

“They don’t call me Storm for nothing. Aces said I blew in like a storm, and sometimes I struggle to harness all that energy.”

Shadow tilted her head. “I don’t see you like that. It makes you sound like a hothead. Out of control.”

“I’m older now, but I was raw and untamed when I first met Aces.” A lump catches in my throat. “But she saw something in me. Believed in me when others would have tossed me aside. I was angry and lost back then.” I wave my hand. “That’s a story for a different day.”

I see the hesitation in Shadow’s eyes, but then she nods. “I’m gonna hold you to it—to telling me your story.”

The tension in my chest releases. “Does that mean there’ll be a next time? That you want to get to know me better, too?”

She breaks eye contact and glances at our feet. “I do. But for now, would you finish your story?”

“Oh, yeah. So I push Aces for answers. Remember, I’m a prospect—no patch on my back. The other girls looked at me like I was fucking insane.”

“Oh, god, tell me you didn’t confront her in front of the other club members.”

“I wish I could, but I was young and dumb. Aces was chill unless she was pissed. And man, was she pissed. She shoved me against the wall so hard my teeth rattled. Her forearm was against my throat, and she’s staring at me with her ice-blue eyes. My heart’s beating out of my chest, knowing that if I fight back, I’m out of the club, so I’m preparing to get my ass kicked.”

Shadow’s eyes widened. I doubt the Graces’ confrontations get physical, but that ain’t true with the Thorns. Sometimes an ass-whupping is the best way to settle our differences.

“She jabbed her finger into my prospect patch, looked me dead in the eye, and said, You’re a disappointment.” The memory still tugs at me after all these years. “At least, that’s what I heard. She claims she said, I’m disappointed in you. Either way, it practically killed me. I worshipped Aces. She didn’t talk to me for over two weeks. I thought I was gonna have to leave the club.”

“Oh, Storm.” Shadow squeezes my hands. “How did you fix it?”

“When Aces stopped talking to me, everyone else shunned me, too.” I smile. “Except Dimples, but she didn’t let anyone see her talking to me. Then one night, I’m sweeping the clubhouse floors, and Aces calls out, Hey, Prospect, get your ass over here and have a beer with me.”

“Did she tell you why she reacted so bad?”

I shake my head. “Nope. We didn’t talk about it then. It was years later I told her how much it tore me apart when she called me a disappointment. She denied saying it. Said I could never be a disappointment to her, but that day she was disappointed in how I acted.”