It’s true. Jimmy is a gearhead, and now that Journey and I will be in charge of hiring, we can bring him on board.
After talking with Stunner for a few more minutes, I head outside to go into the shop. As always, when I’m on my Harley, I feel alive, unburdened, happy. But when I arrive at the shop and see a familiar motorcycle, my stomach drops.
“‘Bout time you got here,” Shuffle states as I enter through the front.
The president of Limitless Throttle MC isn’t an enemy. In fact, I consider him a friend, but he never shows up without an appointment unless he has information I’m not gonna like.
“What’re you doing here?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Was in the neighborhood, and a little birdie told me that the shop’ll be transitioning to new owners. Just came to congratulate you.”
“Jesus, word travels fast,” I mutter.
Shuffle laughs. “Nah. Crow called to fill me in since Limitless Throttle owns the laundry mat down the road. He wanted to make sure I knew y’all weren’t encroaching on our territory.”
“No interest in anything here other than this shop,” I tell him. “You’ll have no trouble from us.”
“Fuck, I know that,” he says.
“Good. Now, can I get to work?” I snap, itching to get through some of the repairs waiting for me in the back.
Shuffle taps the counter. “Sure thing. Why don’t you come down and see me when you’re done here tonight? We can go grab a drink to celebrate.”
“I can do that.”
“Good. See ya later.”
“Later.”
After he leaves, I get to work. The day passes in a blur, but I can’t remember the last time I felt this content at the shop. Things are falling into place in a way I thought wouldn’t happen, and life is good.
CHAPTER 5
ROXIE
I need to feel safe.
“Where are you?”
I roll my eyes at the concern in my brother’s voice. It’s been two weeks since I left Jace, and I’ve slowly been making my way to Marble Falls. I checked into my current hotel two nights ago, and once I check out, I’ll finish the trip. I haven’t talked to Shuffle in roughly a month, but when he called this morning, the urge to talk to him was strong.
“Well, that’s the thing. I’m?—”
“And why is Jace calling me, asking if I’ve seen you?” he demands without giving me a chance to answer his first question.
Groaning, I put the call on speaker and toss it onto the bed before flopping onto my back. “Are you gonna let me talk?” I counter.
My brother sighs. “Yeah, fine.”
“I’m a few hours from you,” I admit before swallowing past the lump in my throat. “I, um, am moving back.”
The bruises have faded and can be completely covered with makeup, and the pain from my other injuries is bearable. The last thing I wanted to do was return to the control of my brother and the club, but it’s also the only place I know I’ll be safe.
And I need to feel safe.
I’ve spoken to Sammie, Greg, and Melody, and they’ve been keeping an eye on Jace as best they can. They’ve each assured me that he seems to be going about life like nothing happened, but that’s little comfort now that I know he’s called Shuffle.
“Rox, what the fuck is going on?” he demands, pulling me back to the conversation.
