Page 21 of Worth the Risk
Hannah: Me too.
I start and erase a response to her a dozen times before throwing my phone into the passenger seat in disgust. There’s nothing I can say to make any of this better. We’re screwed.
Maybe I could have figured out a way around this. But her uncle already doesn’t like me. If they’d had the same last name I might have realized it quicker. Hell, who am I kidding? My dick took over almost every damn time I was in the same vicinity as Hannah.
As I drive out of the player parking lot at The Sports Facility Zone, I find myself on I-70 heading west of town. I don’t know where I’m going, just that I can’t go back to my apartment. Knowing she’ll be right there … I just can’t. I drive in a daze, my car seemingly taking me somewhere it knows I need to go. I end up at a hole-in-the-wall bar outside Golden. A friend owns the place. We haven’t fully discussed what the bar is a front for, but it has to be something. Sebastian Garcia exudes confidence, danger, and lives on the edge of his seat at all times. While I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised if he was into some less than legal business ventures, everything I’ve ever known about Sebastian has been on the straight-and-narrow.
As I swing into the parking lot, I see his motorcycle. He’s in a MC, and he’s invited me to a couple of their parties. They are wild. Definitely not my kind of scene.
Heading in to the bar, I see the bartender nodding at me. Todd has been bartending here as long as I’ve known Sebastian.
“He’s in the back,” he says to me as he continues to dry off beer mugs, jutting his head in the direction of the back offices.
“Thanks,” I say as I walk toward the back. I hear Sebastian speaking quickly in Spanish as I approach. I’m not even remotely bilingual, so I have no idea what he’s talking about. I do catch the word ‘perra,’ which means ‘bitch,’ so I assume he’s yelling about a woman. He ends the call and throws his phone onto his desk in disgust.
“Fucking women!” he snarls out as runs his hands through his hair in frustration. Finally noticing me, he gives me a half smile. “Haven’t seen you in a while, Luca. What’s going on?”
Clearly I only come up here when I’m either in trouble, or avoiding something. I walk into his office and settle into a chair opposite his desk.
“Fucking women,” I respond wryly. He chuckles. “What’s your woman problem, Sebastian?”
He shrugs.
“Got a girl claiming to be pregnant by one of my members. Now she’s refusing to go get an ultrasound, or get tested to confirm the paternity. She’s also refusing to leave the clubhouse, locking herself in one of the rooms. It’s a mess,” he confesses.
“Damn. Might be worse than my woman drama,” I comment. Sebastian looks up at me.
“You have woman drama? You, the king of the puck bunny kingdom?” he muses. I give him a half smile.
“Am I really considered to be the king of the puck bunny kingdom?”
Sebastian shrugs. “I don’t know. The media certainly thinks so.”
“It’s all bullshit though. You know that, right? Like this fucking reporter shows up at my apartment and corners me outside. Claims she’s a fan, then suggests we go up to my apartment. I refuse, and tell my doorman to make sure she stays outside. The next day, there’s an article from her claiming she slept with me, and pictures that are staged so perfectly it looks like we’re having this intimate conversation. The bitch completely set me up.”
“Jesus Christ,” Sebastian swears. “What are you gonna do?”
“I put my agent on it. He’ll send a cease and desist to the news station and tell them to issue a retraction. But the damage is done. The article was front page. The retraction won’t get the same treatment.”
“It sounds like you’re over the lifestyle.”
“Yeah. And this girl …”
“Oh, do tell. This I gotta hear.”
I hesitate, trying to formulate how I need to explain what the fuck just happened.
“New neighbor moved in, we’ve had some moments, and when we decided to give it a go with things, we find out she works for the Wolves. Oh, and she’s the niece of one of my coaches,” I tell him.
“Holy fuck.”
“Yeah. That’s accurate.”
“What are you gonna do?” he asks.
“Nothing.”
“What?!?”