I nod, appreciating the fact that he and any of the men are just a phone call away, no matter what I need or what shit I need help getting out of. After Arrow leaves, the men start to clear out. I stand with the woman still in my arms, ignoring her girlish squeals, and carry her off to my room.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but I’m sure as hell gonna enjoy today.
* * *
“You’re kidding me,” I say slowly as I stare at Talon in distaste. “Why the fuck can’t you or one of your men do this?”
Talon looks away, his white-blond hair covering his eyes as he looks down into his drink.
“No one wanted to. And instead of making one of my men do it, I thought, why the fuck not make it your problem?” The bastard actually grins. “Easy way out. And it’s an easy enough task. You stay with her at the house, guard her for a week, keep her out of trouble until we put the fuckers that are after her in the ground, and then you go back home without owing me shit.”
“So it could go for longer than a week?” I ask, grinding my teeth.
“If it does,” he says, taking a sip of his whiskey, “I’ll send one of the men to swap places with you. You owe me only a week. That’s fair, yeah?”
“Who’s after her?” I ask him. “And why?”
His lips press into a tight line before he replies. “She’s innocent, Vinnie, but her father isn’t. Some people are trying to make her pay for the shit her old man’s done, but I’m not going to let that happen.”
It was a vague answer, and I’d have let him get away with it if it didn’t affect me and how I handle the job at hand.
“The more I know, the better I can protect her.”
“Her father is an accountant,” he says, not looking happy about giving up added information. “He’s in prison for fraud and embezzlement. Shayla worked for him, helping him with accounts or whatever he needed, except she didn’t know and still doesn’t really know just what kind of dodgy shit he was up to. She’s not a certified accountant, she knows only what he taught her, which is fuckin’ convenient for him. That’s all you need to know. Keep her safe. Easy.”
“Don’t you think I should know exactly who is after her?”
“It’s not going to make a difference; the job remains the same,” he replies, making me want to punch him in the face.
Something’s not sitting right with me. “If it’s such an easy task,” I ask, “what the fuck is the catch? It’s essentially a babysitting gig, easy enough. Hell, I’ll crack a beer and watch some fuckin’ TV for a week—sounds like a holiday.”
Talon throws his head back and laughs, his drink sloshing out of the glass. “It’s not a fuckin’ holiday. It’s a test. A test of your fuckin’ patience.” He studies me, searching my eyes. “My cousin is a pain in the ass, Vinnie. None of the men want to watch her because she can be . . . a little difficult to manage.” He cracks his neck from side to side while I process the fact that she is his cousin. I don’t know how I feel about that.
“Your cousin,” I say slowly.
“Yeah,” he replies, eyes narrowing. “My cousin, and I’m fuckin’ trusting you with her, so don’t treat her like the enemy because she’s my family.”
Who the fuck does he think I am? I tighten my lips, not even justifying that comment with a response.
“I love her, don’t get me wrong, but I know how stubborn and hardheaded she can be.”
That’s it? The girl was stubborn? That still doesn’t add up.
“Big-ass bikers scared of a little girl?” I joke, grinning.
Talon pulls out his phone, presses a few buttons, and slides it over to me. I glance down at it and see a picture of a stunning Asian girl with long black hair, pale skin, and brown eyes. She is a petite little thing, with perfectly shaped lips that catch my attention.
Fuck.
“This her?”
He nods and takes back his phone. “They didn’t want the job because yes, she’s got an attitude problem at best, but also because she’s fuckin’ gorgeous, and they know if they touch her in that way, or in any way, I will personally fuck them up.” He pauses, studying me. “I know how loyal you are, Vinnie—to your club, to whoever you care about. And I know that you’ll look after her better than any of my men could, and that’s the damn truth.”
Better than his men?
His words were true, of course, but I’m still surprised at hearing them leave his lips. Perhaps he needed better men in his MC.
His cousin was a beauty, sure, but I’m not a man to be swayed by a pretty face.
“Message received,” I reply, standing up from my stool. “I’m viewing this as a job, Talon. I protect your bratty cousin—who, by the way, I have no idea how the fuck she’s even your cousin, seeing as she doesn’t look anything like you—then I get my ass home and hopefully never see you again.”
“Shayla’s adopted,” Talon explains, also standing. “Family isn’t always about blood; you already know this.” I nod. If I know anything in life to be true, it’s that family is about loyalty, not blood.
“I’ll text you the address now; they’re expecting you. It’ll take you about four hours to get there, depending on the traffic.”
“All right,” I say, just wanting it all over with. “Don’t worry about your cousin. I’ll keep her safe.”