cream, or take her out to get it all the time.â
âFaye?â
âMy presidentâs old lady,â he explains, making my eyes widen in realization.
âOh,â I say, my tongue chasing some of the ice cream as it drips down the cone. âI forgot how good it was, just to get some fresh air and enjoy the simple things in life, you know?â
He nods, watching me for a moment before returning to his frozen treat. âYou know you canât live like this forever, right? Something needs to be done about the whole situation. I donât get how your father and Talon can allow this to continue, with you having to hide because of whatever shit he got himself into.â
âI know, but I donât really have a choice. I considered leaving the country, but Iâd have to take a new identity and leave behind Talon and my father, who are the only family Iâm close to. Iâve been hiding for a few months now, hopefully it wonât be too much longer.â
âI donât get it. Why doesnât Talon just hide you in his MC?â he says, sounding angry. âOr I donât know, come up with something other than your being stuck with strangers and being sent here there and everywhere. Itâs fucked.â
Talon wanted to hide me in the Wild Men MC clubhouse. In fact, that was the first thing he said to me. However, something changed, and he had to come up with a new plan. He didnât explain to me why, but I have the feeling somethingâs going on with his MC and he didnât feel Iâd be safe there for some reason. It doesnât really make sense, because those men are family to Talon, so I didnât really understand the situation either.
âHe wanted to,â I say, wanting to stand up for my cousin. âBut something happened. I donât know what. I do know that he has a reason for not taking me there though.â
âSomething else to discuss with him,â he says, jaw tight and clenched. âIâd feel like shit just leaving you, you know? Going back to my life and handing you over to some other dick, not knowing what the hell is going to happen to you.â
âThatâs sweet of you, Vinnie,â I say, laying my hand on hisforearm. âBut Iâm not your problem. You donât need to worry about me.â
I donât know what is going to happen, and Iâm trying to just take things day by day. It is unfair that people want to use me as leverage against my father, but there isnât anything I could do about it besides try to survive. He is right though, something has to give.
âItâs not as simple as that,â he says, taking a crunchy bite out of his cone. âI donât know; I need to think about it, but things arenât going to be the same when I leave as they were before I got here.â
He says it like a promise, like a threat.
And when he says itâfor some reason I believe him.
TEN
Vinnie
âW ANT me to drive down, brother?â is how Arrow answers the phone, making me smile.
âNo, but as usual I appreciate the offer,â I say into the phone, looking down the driveway. âI do need a favor though. Talonâs not answering his fuckinâ phone and I have a few questions for him.â
More like an interrogation. I donât care how much he tells me this isnât my business, he made it my business when he dragged me into it.
âIâll try to get in contact with him for you,â he rasps, not sounding too happy about it, but he wouldnât complain. Thatâs just Arrow through and through. âEverything okay over there?â
I didnât really know what the fuck to say. Everything was okay, but it wasnât. I know that Arrow will just tell me that this isnât my problem to deal with, that Shay isnât anything to me, that when I get back I need to forget all this shit.
But I couldnât.
âEverythingâs all
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