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.”