Waverly
Two weeks. Two weeks without Gio. Or Razor. Whatever his na was.
I wish I could say things had gone back to normal, and I didn’t miss seeing him at the clinic, or at Connor and Maisie’s. No, sorry, Hatch and Maisie’s.
Or running into him at the store. Or having him in my space.
But it hadn’t been normal.
It had been two weeks of total hell.
I couldn’t sleep. I’d barely eaten anything. I was subsisting on wine and Cheetos. It was a miracle I hadn’t turned orange.
Or contracted scurvy.
I’d texted Lennon and asked her to call when she could, but nothing yet and I was going crazy with the wait. I an, I get it. She’s working weird hours, and she’s in Africa. But I needed her, goddamn it!
As I dragged myself ho Friday after an excruciatingly long week, I grabbed my laptop and decided to do a little digging.
I started with the Dogs of Fire Motorcycle Club. And man, did I go down a rabbit hole there.
If the interwebs were to be believed, they were saints. They did a charity drive for kids every Christmas, and didn’t stop there, often helping an organization by the na of Bikers for Kids who helped children being bullied at school.
They’d ride their bikes to the school, and take that kid ho, or ride with them to school, and sotis hang out, making friends with other kids, making sure everyone played nice.
Gio had said they owned different businesses, and it took a little while to find them, because they weren’t listed under the club na, but rather, a subsidiary, but I found it because it was apparent they weren’t trying to hide anything. They were probably just trying to keep things separated and above-board.
I then did a search for Gio Rossi and not a whole lot ca up because he didn’t have a social dia presence, other than what was on the auto shop and professional pages. There was one video of him showing everyone how to change their own oil, and I’m embarrassed to admit, I watched it ten-million tis because if I couldn’t admit it to him, I sure as hell needed to admit it to myself.
I was stupid in love with the man.
Watching him in all his powerful glory, without any injuries, actually teaching us how to change the oil on a car, made want to go outside and change my own damn oil. He was funny, he was self-deprecating, and he was so fucking gorgeous, it hurt to look at him.
And yet, I continued to replay the video.
Over and over and over.
Because I couldn’t find anything on the social dia front, I decided to pay for a background check, and it found nothing. Not so much as a parking ticket for the man.
He was clean, as they say.
My phone buzzed beside , and I jumped slightly. I grabbed it and let out a quiet squeak. "Hi!" I breathed out.
"Hey, honey, are you okay?" Lennon asked. "I’m sorry I couldn’t call sooner."
"No, I’m not okay, I’m lting down and I don’t know what to do."
"Shit, what’s going on?"
I filled her in on everything. And I an everything, including the junk food black hole, Gio telling he loved , all of it. I didn’t leave anything out and she listened. Didn’t interject, just stayed silent. So much so, I thought the call had been disconnected.
"Are you there?" I asked.
"Yeah, Gravy, I’m here."
"So, what do you think?"
"I’m not sure what to think."
"Are you mad?" I asked, grimacing.
"Mad that you fell in love with a biker?"
"I didn’t know he was a biker!" I snapped.
"Yeah, but now that you do, what are you going to do, Waverly Annabelle Anderson?"
Uh-oh, she used my na.
"I don’t know," I breathed out.
"Yes, you do."
"No, I don’t," I countered.
"Then, you’re an idiot."
"Lennon!" I admonished.
"Honey, I love you more than life itself, you know this, but if you let this man go because he’s in a club, then you’re cutting off your nose to spite your face. I can talk to Snarl and find out more about Razor’s club if you want, but I think you already have all the answers you need, you just have to go with your gut. Before you turn into Chester Cheetah."
"What if I can’t get past it?"
"You won’t know unless you try. But it sounds like all of those people did everything they could to make you feel comfortable, including not wearing their cuts in your presence, and that’s fucking huge, Waverly. Huge."
"It is?"
"Yeah, honey. They don’t leave the house without their colors, unless there’s a life-or-death situation. And if you didn’t see any evidence of motorcycles at Hatch and Maisie’s that was to make you feel safe, believe . Bikers don’t hide who they are for anyone."
"Gio ntioned there was stuff going on."
"He did?"
"Yes."
"Okay, well, yes, there’s so really bad stuff going on, so if he shared that with you, then you’re in, Waverly, and he trusts you. I know you enough to know you’ll never betray that trust, but you need to hear when I tell you, if he shared, he must love you. Like deep, babe. They don’t share shit like that."
"You know about the bad stuff?" I rasped.
"Yes, because it affects the Howlers," she said. "I can’t go into details. If you decide to be all-in with Razor, then he can fill you in, but it’s not good, so keep your head on a swivel. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Razor doesn’t already have soone on you."
"On , how?"
"Soone watching you. Making sure you’re safe."
I frowned. "But I told him I wanted nothing to do with him."
"Didn’t he also say he was keeping you?"
"I told him I wanted nothing to do with him," I repeated.
"Yeah, it doesn’t really work that way."
I gasped. "He wouldn’t."
"He might."
"That’s just... just wrong. It’s stalking."
"I swear to god, Waverly, sotis I want to poke you in the eye with a very dull stick," she bit out.
"Len—"
"No, listen to because I don’t have much ti. I have to catch a bus and it’s already getting very crowded at the depot, so I have a feeling I might have to stand for the next two hours. This man is a good man and you’re just being obstinate now. What happened to you is awful, no one is disputing that, but you’ve fallen in love with a really good guy, and you’re pushing him away because he wears a cut. The Dogs of Fire are nothing like the other club. You’ve just admitted you went down the rabbit hole and found nothing but good stuff, so go with your gut. If it goes belly up, I will be ho soon and there to catch you if you fall. But I have a feeling it won’t, and you know why it won’t?"
"Why?"
"Because these people have already bent over backwards to make you feel safe. You don’t actually think they’ll stop now, do you?"
I bit back tears. "No, you’re probably right."
"I’m always right. Look, I have to go, but I need to know you’re okay."
"I’m okay. Thanks, Len. I an it."
"Pull your head out of your butt, okay? I miss you like crazy and I want you to be happy."
"I’ll think about it. I miss you, too."
"Love you."
"Love you, too."
We rang off and I grabbed a bag of Cheetos and flopped my ass onto the sofa.
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