Untitled Book 2

by Chantal Fernando

  Before she can speak, however, I have a question of my own. “Wait just a second. Vinnie said he knew Zada Ryan, and you just said her stories could end up in one of Lana’s books. Which means . . .”

  “Fan, are you?” Faye asks, looking at me and laughing. “I’ll take your expression as a yes, then. Yes, Lana is Zada Ryan.”

  “Oh my god!” I whisper, wide-eyed. “Her books are awesome.”

  I need to not fangirl right now, because that is going to be awkward if I make a total fool out of myself in front of everyone.

  “Wait until you meet her,” Faye says, smiling fondly. “She’s sweet and quiet. Very unassuming.”

  Anna walks back into the kitchen and sits down next to Faye. “Should we tell everyone to come over to welcome Shay? It’s like half the women are missing.”

  Rake walks into the kitchen and grabs a chair, turning it the other way and straddling it. “Irish said Tina will be here soon. Jess will probably come after work. Who else are we missing?”

  We’re still missing Zada Ryan, I think to myself.

  Faye looks at her watch and stands. “I have to go and get Clover. Are we just going to hang here all night? I might do a store run and get enough stuff for dinner. What do we feel like? How about a barbecue?”

  “Yes,” Rake immediately agrees. “I like this plan. Do you want help? Bails, do you want to come with?”

  “No, I’ll stay here and keep Shayla company,” Bailey replies, winking at me.

  “Yeah, sounds good,” Faye says, looking at Bailey. “Don’t let anyone scare Shay off, will you?” She pauses. “And maybe protect Lana from her.”

  “Very funny,” I say, grinning. “I might have a few questions, but that’s all. Such as where she got her inspiration for Colt.”

  Tracker walks into the kitchen and Faye points at him. “Right here, Shay. Right here.”

  “Right here what?” he asks, taking Faye’s place.

  “She’s asking about Lana’s inspiration for Colt Smith.”

  Tracker snaps his head to me and flashes me a slow-spreading smile. He kind of reminds me of the guy from Tangled with his smolder right now. He even flexes his biceps. “In the flesh.”

  I roll my eyes and say, “That’s not something Colt would say.”

  Faye laughs and pulls Rake’s arm. “You tell him, Shay. Colt’s ego isn’t as big as Tracker’s.”

  “Colt is the improved Tracker,” Anna adds, touching his man bun. “Although you do have some great hair.”

  “Traitor,” Tracker mumbles, grabbing some pizza and taking a huge bite. “So, Shay, why don’t you tell us all something about you? Favorite sexual position?”

  Bailey almost chokes on her pizza.

  Anna slaps his shoulder. “You can’t just ask people that, Tracker! Not everyone lives with Lana and discusses shit like this in casual conversation. Don’t listen to him. Yesterday she started asking me about how many times Arrow usually makes me come in one night, while we were at the grocery store. An old man pretended to look at grapes for five minutes just to listen.”

  Tracker smiles, eyes gentling. “She’s something, isn’t she?”

  No wonder Lana writes amazing, sexy love stories. She has a man like Tracker, who obviously loves her and is proud of her.

  “She is,” Anna agrees, then laughs. “Speak of the devil. . . .”

  A pretty, dark-haired girl with glasses walks in, dressed in jeans and a plain black T-shirt. “Sorry I’m late. What’s the big drama that’s happening? I’m supposed to be finishing this book but I didn’t want to miss out.”

  I raise my hand and say, “I guess I’m the big drama.”

  I can’t take my eyes off her. This woman’s mind is so creative, so twisted, I’d love nothing more than to get inside it. How does she come up with all the plotlines? She’s crazy talented and I really want to hug her right now, but I don’t want to freak her out.

  “Hello,” Lana says to me, smiling.

  To me!

  Zada Ryan said hello to me.

  “H-hi,” I say, waving ungracefully. I’m not usually this awkward, but how does one act around someone she feels like she knows through her books, but doesn’t actually know at all? I know her mind, her thoughts, because she’s shared them with me.

  “This is Shay,” Tracker says, watching me with amusement playing all over his face. “Vinnie’s woman.”

  “Vinnie has a woman?” she asks, eyes going wide. “I’m so glad I came! Someone needs to tell me everything, pronto.”

  She puts her bag down on the table and looks at me. “How did you meet Vinnie?”

  “She’s the marker,” Tracker says, pulling Lana onto his lap. “Vinnie went to pay back Talon’s marker and he comes back with Talon’s cousin. And Talon doesn’t know yet.”

  “Holy shit,” Lana murmurs, looking at Anna. “Who’s going to talk to Talon? And what is he going to do? Does he know she and Vinnie have anything to do with each other? Didn’t Vinnie just get there the other day?” She looks back at me. “So many questions.”

  And all I wanted to do was pick her brain about the ending in Colt’s book.

  Anna lifts her hands up in surrender. “Vinnie said he’s going to handle it, and he should. I don’t know the answers to most of those questions, but it seems that Shay is safer here, and for some reason she couldn’t stay at the Wild Men MC.” She looks at me and squints. “Is that right so far?”

  I nod.

  “And now Faye’s gone to get groceries with Rake, because this whole drama has now turned into a reason to have a barbecue,” Bailey adds, smirking. “I fucking love this place.”

  Vinnie walks into the crowded kitchen, searching the room until his gaze lands on me. He’s changed into a pair of track pants and a white T-shirt, his hair damp from a shower. “Have you decided that you’d rather take your chances with the bad guys yet?”

  “Who are the bad guys?” Lana asks, stepping to Vinnie and giving him a quick hug. “Did you hear? We’re having a ‘Vinnie brought home his marker’ barbecue.”

  Vinnie sighs and mutters, “Jesus. Whose idea was that?”

  Everyone in the room says, “Faye’s,” at the same time.

  “Should’ve known.”

  Vinnie reaches his hand out to me, so I stand up and go to him. “Come with me. Sin wants to meet you.”

  We walk through the spacious clubhouse, passing what looks like a game room until we come to the back door. “You okay?” he asks, studying me.

  “I’m fine. Everyone has been really nice,” I say, then lower my voice. “I kept my cool around Zada fucking Ryan, okay? I think I deserve an award right now.”

  Vinnie stops, throws his head back, and laughs. “Fuck, I forgot about that. So you hid the crazy eyes?”

  “I think so,” I say, shrugging and cringing a little. “I don’t really know when I’m doing them.”

  Vinnie laughs again and leads me outside, where a good-looking dark-haired man is watering the lawn. With no shirt on.

  “That’s him?” I ask, jaw dropping. “I was expecting an old man with a smoker’s voice, a beer belly, and a beard.”

  “Sounds like Jim, the old president,” Vinnie says, chuckling, then calls out Sin’s name.

  He turns to us, sees me, and narrows his blue eyes. “So this is who all the fuss is about, hey?”

  Vinnie’s hand tightens around mine, but he says nothing. Neither do I.

  “Let me talk with her for a minute,” Sin says to Vinnie—a demand, not a request.

  Vinnie opens his mouth, seeming like he is going to argue, so this time it’s me who squeezes his hand, silently telling him not to, that it’s fine.

  “All right,” he says, letting go of my hand and returning inside. Sin turns off the hose, then gestures for me to take a seat at the outdoor setting.

  He sits opposite me. “There are holes in this story. Your father is in prison for fraud and embezzlement, is that correct?”

  I wince but nod. “Yeah, apparently
he cooked the books for his clients. I really don’t know the specifics, since he kept me away from that part of his business.”

  “And now that he’s away in prison, where no one can touch him, you’re the one everyone wants. I want to know why.”

  His crystal-blue eyes bore into me, making me squirm on my seat. “I don’t know the exact details,” I start, licking my lips, not knowing how much to tell him. “What I do know is that my father has hidden accounts and there’s a ledger with lists. Names. Dates. Things that could incriminate people and get them killed. And everyone thinks I have this information.”

  “Do you?”

  “I do have access to some of his accounts, but not all. So some of the money, yes,” I admit. “As for the rest of it, no. I don’t have anything.”

  “So you’re saying your hands are clean?”

  I nod my head.

  “Because if Vinnie’s getting his even dirtier for you, you better be telling the truth,” he says, the threat clear and simple.

  “I am. I wouldn’t do anything to get anyone hurt,” I state, being completely honest.

  I want to add that I care about him, that I don’t want him or anyone else to get hurt because of me, but I decide to stay silent. Sin can judge me all he wants, but I think he’ll trust only my actions, not my words. Words don’t mean anything at the end of the day.

  “Okay,” he says slowly, sitting back in his chair.

  Vinnie opens the door and sticks his head out, waiting for Sin to say something.

  “It’s okay,” he tells him, standing. “We’re done here.”

  Sin says something to Vinnie that I can’t hear, then heads inside.

  “Everything okay?” he asks, his brow furrowing.

  I stand up and wrap my arm around his waist. “Everything is fine.”

  So much has happened.

  And we haven’t even had sex yet.

  EIGHTEEN

  Vinnie

  “UNCLE Vinnie!” Clover yells as she sees me walk into the kitchen.

  “Princess.” I grin, lifting her into my arms as she runs to me. “Ugh! Someone’s getting heavy.”

  Clover grins and flexes her biceps. Or at least where her biceps were meant to be. “I know. Daddy says soon I can get my own motorcycle.”

  I look to Faye, who smiles but shakes her head as if to say, That is never fuckin’ happening.

  “I think you have to ask your mom about that,” I say, lowering my voice to a whisper. “Don’t tell your father, but she’s the boss.”

  “I already know that,” she whispers back conspiratorially. “Daddy gives Mama whatever she wants.”

  She pulls back and grins at me, and I do the same.

  “Where have you been, Uncle Vinnie?” she asks me, pouting. “Mama told me in the car that you have a new girlfriend.”

  “Mama’s been gossiping with you, has she?”

  “It’s not gossip when it’s a fact,” Clover says, making me unable to keep a straight face.

  “You told her I have a woman?”

  I look over Clover’s head at Faye, who just shrugs and says, “Well, you do.”

  I kiss Clover’s cheek and put her back down. “Shay is outside talking with Bailey and Tina. Do you want to go and meet her?”

  “Okay,” she replies, bouncing on her feet and looking to Faye. “I’m going outside to find Uncle Vinnie’s girlfriend and say hi. I’ve never met one of Vinnie’s girlfriends before. I was starting to think that maybe he wants to be alone forever, but that’s okay too, isn’t it, Mama? My friend told me that sometimes people live alone and just get lots of pets. I was going to get you a goldfish for Christmas, Uncle Vinnie. I wanted to get you a cat, but I don’t think you’d like a cat. A goldfish is perfect though, because even I could feed it for you. Then every year I could just keep getting you more and more. I think we should name the first one Nemo. What do you think?”

  When I stay silent and just look at the little girl with a larger-than-life personality, she keeps talking, just like her mother, never knowing when to be quiet. “No? Maybe a puppy then, but I’ll have to keep saving my allowance because I don’t think I can afford one right now.”

  I look at Faye, who can’t control her laughter now. “You can definitely tell whose child she is.”

  Faye manages to get herself under control, then says, “Why don’t you go and see Shay, honey?”

  “Okay,” Clover replies. She runs out of the kitchen, forgetting to even take me with her.

  “She’s getting so big,” I muse, watching the door she just disappeared through.

  “I know.” Faye sighs, rubbing her stomach. “How are you doing, Vinnie? This whole thing is a lot to take on, don’t you think?”

  I nod, but say, “My gut is telling me it’s the right thing to do.”

  “It’s always something, isn’t it?” she says. She places a hand on my shoulder and, with the other, snatches an apple from a basket on the counter. “But we always survive. I like her, Vinnie. I think she’s perfect for you.”

  “You like everyone,” I mutter, then add, “Except Allie.”

  She winces and takes a bite out of the red apple. “Do you have to bring that up?”

  Allie used to live here in the clubhouse and date Tracker. Faye didn’t get along with her—hell, neither did many of the women. When I first came here, I kind of had a crush on her though, and only Faye knows that. Allie died, which makes Faye uncomfortable now—she doesn’t like to speak ill of the dead.

  “It’s one of the only things that makes you feel awkward,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest. “Otherwise you have an answer for everything.”

  She chews and swallows, narrowing her eyes on me. “Guess what weapon I’m learning how to use right now?”

  “What?” I ask, feeling amused. Faye moves from weapon to weapon faster than anyone I know. She may joke a lot, and be caring and sweet, but she isn’t a woman to fuck with. She has a core of steel that nothing can penetrate. She’s the perfect woman to be Sin’s old lady.

  “Nunchakus,” she says, grinning widely.

  I bark out a laugh and ask her, “Are you gonna beat someone up with nunchakus like a fuckin’ ninja?”

  I wouldn’t put it past her, to be honest.

  “Like a Ninja Turtle, at least,” she replies, shrugging. “I like to keep my options open. I feel all badass when I’m waving those things around. So cool.”

  I shake my head at her, smile, and kiss her on the forehead. “Don’t change, Faye.”

  “Never,” she replies, her voice gentling.

  We both look each other in the eye, sharing a moment.

  “I can see the headline now,” she says, breaking the silence. “Lawyer beats up Mafia assholes with nunchakus.”

  I throw my head back and laugh.

  She’d do it in fuckin’ stilettos too.

  Clover runs back in, a cheeky grin on her little face. She puts her hand out and says, “Are you coming, Uncle Vinnie?”

  I take her small hand in mine and let her lead me outside. Shay is sitting with Bailey, Tina, Lana, and Anna, and I can hear her laugh over all of theirs. She’s freshly showered and wearing jeans with a tight white top.

  “Shay,” I say, getting her attention. I go and stand by her seat. “This is Princess. Princess, this is Shay.”

  She looks up at me and says, “My name is Clover, Uncle Vinnie.”

  Shay smiles warmly. “Hello, Clover. Nice to meet you.”

  “She’ll always be the princess to us,” I say, grinning when Clover jumps on Shay’s lap. I sit down, listening to the conversation and inserting my input when needed, but really my attention is on Shay. What is it about her? She starts to laugh again, and it makes my dick harden. I love seeing everyone, and I love that they’re welcoming Shay like this, but really I just want to take her into my room, lay her down, and fuck her until she screams. I want to taste her. Devour her. Since we haven’t even started up the grill, I don’t think that’s going to be hap
pening for at least the next few hours. Maybe I could sneak her away after we’ve done our time being social.

  “What are you thinking about, Vinnie?” Lana asks, pushing her glasses up on her nose. “You look like you’re planning something evil.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m doing,” I tell her, grabbing a chip from the center of the table when I see Arrow heading toward the barbecue. I follow him and offer my assistance, which he declines. He takes his own cool time cleaning it, then firing it up. I shift on my feet, my gaze going back to Shay. The top she’s wearing makes her tits look good. I really want those in my mouth and hands right now.

  “A little impatient today, huh?” Arrow asks, smirking at me knowingly. I drag my gaze away from her and onto Arrow, which instantly kills any sexual thoughts.

  “Just a little. It’s like everyone is going in fuckin’ slow motion,” I grumble, running my hand over my head.

  “Go disappear for a bit,” he says, eyes dancing with amusement. “Food won’t be ready for another hour, my guess.”

  That sounding like a perfect idea, I tap Arrow on the back, and then head for Shay, one thing on my mind. I offer her my hand, and she gives me a look of confusion but takes it, letting me pull her out of her chair and lead her inside.

  “Where are we going?” she asks, her steps quick as I practically drag her to my bedroom. I lock the door behind her and pull off my T-shirt. I must have a predatory look in my eye, because she takes a step back, biting her lower lip, her eyes roaming down my chest. She likes my body, I know it, and I’m not ashamed to use it to get what I want.

  “We can’t just—”

  “We can,” I cut her off, crooking my finger. “Come here.”

  She steps toward me, resting her hands on my bare chest.

  “I want you, now.”

  “I want you too.” She breathes, pressing her lips to my skin.

  That is all the permission I need.

  I grip her face in my hands and kiss her deeply, lifting up her face. I show her how much I want her with my mouth, the kiss hungry and almost desperate. I walk her backward with our lips still pressed together, until we reach the bed. Then I start to lift off her top, pulling back from her only to get it over her head. Her bra goes next, and I lay her back on the bed, kissing her as my hands cup her breasts, flicking my thumbs over her nipples.