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Leaning in, I drop my voice so only he can hear me. “Coming to my rescue.”
12
HARLOE
The flames dance in the firepit outside of the bunkhouse when we pull to a stop at the side of the garage. East is sitting in one of the chairs around it, sipping a beer with a girl I recognize from high school on his lap. He tips his drink at Shane as we walk past, not saying anything about my arrival in the middle of the night.
Given the fact that East and Olivia are barely dressed, I doubt he cares what I’m doing here. Not to mention that Shane told me he gave his club a heads-up that I was coming back with him while Nora packed me an emergency bag of clothes and toiletries.
There was a chorus of pings from the living room that made me wonder what they thought of it. But at least East seems unaffected, and Aiden and Lawson are nowhere to be seen.
The fire snaps, and I flinch.
I love sitting by the fire, but right now, the smell of burning wood and smoke has my stomach turning over.
Shane slips his hand into mine, leading me inside.
“Any chance I can use your shower?” I ask as we step through the door.
“Yeah, this way.” He guides me down a small hallway.
Last time I was here, I stayed in the main living space and didn’t pay much attention to the rooms off to the side. There are four of them all in a row, cramped together. Shane takes me to the end of the hallway into a room that must be his.
The room is tight. Cramped, with only a king-size bed and a dresser filling the space. I’m flooded with the scent of his cologne as he closes the door behind us.
There’s minimal decor, as if Shane has yet to really move in. Apart from some cash on the dresser, the unmade bed, and a pile of his clothes in the corner, nothing indicates someone lives here.
“I see you’re a minimalist.” I glance around at the bare walls and messy sheets.
He drags his hand through his black hair. “I rode into town on my bike. Could only bring what fit in my saddlebags, so I left most of my shit back home.”
“Home?”
“Vegas.”
“Oh.” I pull my lower lip between my teeth. “I didn’t realize you weren’t here permanently.”
“I’m not leaving anytime soon.”
“Not until the clubhouse is finished?”
He nods, scanning my face, and I hope that I’m schooling my expression because I do not need to add anything else to this shitstorm of a night. Of course Shane is leaving. Why would he stay in middle-of-nowhere Texas?
And why do I care?
It’s not like this is anything—or can be anything.
“Shower is through that door.” He lifts his chin to an open door across from us. “I’ll grab you a towel.”
He sets my backpack inside the bathroom and then leaves me alone while he heads into the hallway in search of a towel. I glance around the room again. There’s not one hint of Shane, and I hate that it has me wondering what his place back in Vegas looks like. Would it give me a better idea of who he is?
Shane is a mystery.
I know he’s a biker, clearly loyal to his club. Hints of his personality have proven he’s protective. He’s mentioned having a complicated relationship with his family and a dislike when it comes to snakes. Other than that, what do I really know about him apart from how it feels to be around him?
He’s kind to me.
I feel safe in his presence.
