My legs were in fact a bit shaky as he unclipped my helmet for me, placing it beside his on the bike. “Aren’t you afraid someone could steal those?” I worried as he took my hand and began to head toward the restaurant.
He snorted as though I was crazy to ask. “No.”
Well, okay then.
“How was that?” he asked expectantly.
“Amazing,” I gushed. “I loved it.”
He looked down at me with a gorgeous grin. “I’m glad.”
The host’s eyes widened when we walked in, and he nearly tripped over himself to see us to our table.
I’d only just begun to understand the reach of the Knights and wasn’t surprised by his wide-eyed, fumbled greeting.
“How was the rest of your day?” Cash asked as we sat across from each other at a romantic table toward the back of the restaurant.
“Fine,” I replied, taking a quick perusal of the menu only to find that everything looked delicious. “I got some work done before I picked Riley up. She was in a great mood.”
“Were her and Charlotte wearing matching outfits again?” he asked with a raised brow.
Charlotte was Riley’s new best friend, and the two often coordinated outfits ahead of time.
I laughed. “Yes, that. But she also got partnered with Eli.”
“Seriously? That kid’s still sniffin’ around?” he grumbled, looking genuinely upset at the thought.
I muffled a laugh. “Babe, he’s five. There is nosniffingaround.”
“You can never be too careful,” he said just as our waiter appeared beside our table. Only, he never once looked at me, even going so far as to ask “For the lady?” while only looking at his notepad.
“What the hell?” I fumed when he’d walked away. “That was some sexist bullshit right there.”
“No, baby,” Cash replied, looking amused by my outburst. “That was respect.”
“How is pretending I don’t exist respect?” I demanded, genuinely confused.
His expression grew serious as he leaned forward. “Because he knows I don’t want another man’s eyes on you.”
“How on earth would he know that?” I asked in genuine confusion.
“Because you’re mine.”
“And how does he know I’m yours?”
“We sleep under the same roof, you’re on the back of my bike. Small town, baby. People talk.”
I sensed he wasn’t going to elaborate, not that he really needed to. And there was another subject I was more interested in him delving into.
“The men who attacked you were Black Riders,” he began, as though reading my mind—or my impatience. “Our clubs have a fucked-up history but we haven’t had trouble with them in years, not since before I joined. We’ve met with their prez and top soldiers. Turns out the attack on you wasn’t sanctioned. The two who attacked you were dealt with and ousted from the club. Like we thought, you did capture something with your camera a few weeks back. Turns out the assistant DA has been bribing the Black Riders. He has some shit on them they don’t want getting out. You inadvertently snapped one of their bribes taking place.”
I sat back in my seat in shock. “I had no idea.”
“You wouldn’t have. Took Gunner a while to even find what we needed, and he was lookin’. We know Marty’s part of this too, acting as the ADA’s errand boy. Probably why he’s come by with no excuse. The two of them are likely looking for dirt on our club so they can do the same shit to us.”
“Are they the dumbest people on the planet? To go after two different motorcycle clubs?”
He snorted. “More like power hungry motherfuckers who think they’re above consequence. We’ll be changing that and soon. But for now, I want to keep eyes on you and Riley. I doubt the ADA would come out and do something, but I’m not gonna risk it. I don’t know if he thinks you still have the photos or not.”