“Training…” she trails off, shaking her head. “I know nothing.”
“We have a lot to teach you, years of memories to share.” I smile softly. “As do you.”
“I-” She hesitates, stumbling over the conflicting emotions ripping through her- the love for her adoptive parents conflicting with a heartbreaking yearning for the love of the biological parents she believes abandoned her.
“Come here.” I pull her into a hug, ignoring Luca’s angry glare. “You know they didn’t want to leave you, right?”
“No. I mean yeah.” She relaxes into me, and I breathe her in. She smells sweet, almost like-
“Cotton candy.” She peaks up at me with a small grin. “You totally sniffed me.”
“Busted.” Berk walks over and places two large trays of food on the table. “They are bringing out the drinks and fried pastries.”
“Oh, wow.” She stares, and her jaw drops at the sight of all of the food, but she doesn’t leave my embrace.
“You need to eat,” Rais laughs. “Sit on his lap if you need to. I’m sure he won’t mind.”
“Not even a little.” I shrug, sitting down in the nearest chair, and tug her onto my lap. Wrapping my arms around her waist, I add, “Works for me.”
“Looks cozy.” Luca settles in beside us, glaring at me. “You good, Oats?”
“Uh, yeah.” She averts her gaze.
“And now she plays bashful,” Berk chuckles. “I ordered everything they had. Here, Sweets.” He offers her a small white box of noodles. “Not the best lo mein, but it smells decent.”
“Oh! Thanks,” She grins broadly. “I love lo mein. You’ve been digging in my head again, but I’ll overlook it. This time. Boundaries, you’re all gonna have to learn them.”
“You can sit on Dom’s lap, but I can’t peak into your thoughts? I mean you were practically screaming you wanted that. Actually, I think your exact thoughts were, ‘Oh my God, oh my God, Chinese food. I am such a noodle whore. I need me some lo mein.’ So, Sweets, what exactly is a noodle whore?”
She coughs, choking on a large forkful of the greasy pasta. “I did not.”
“Ha!” Luca hands her an egg roll. “I bet you did. Honestly, I was waiting for you to sing the song on the way in.”
“There’s a song?” Rais raises a brow, chuckling as he looks through the boxes.
“Try the middle one, Rais.” She points to the uncovered white dish in the center with her fork. “General Tso’s. You’ll like it.”
“You all are already getting creepy.” Luca looks around the table. “And yes, there’s a song.”
“Shut it, Lu!” She tosses a bean sprout at him. “Wontons are on the left.”
“Thanks.” He grins up at her, winking. “Guess the song is just for me.”
“Yeah, let’s not show all my weird at once, okay?” She clears her throat and hands me a fork. “I can practically feel you drooling back there. Try some.” She holds the small box out for me.
“Thanks.” I dig in, pleasantly surprised by how good they are.
“Not why he’s drooling, but nice cover,” Berk blurts.
“Yeah, so I will never intentionally read his thoughts,” She whispers, “Rather worried about the things I would see.”
“No worries there, Love,” I laugh. “Not sure he’s ever had a thought that didn’t immediately escape his lips.”
“I heard that!” Berk tosses a fried donut at me, but she catches it, taking a large bite.
“Thanks, Cute Ass,” she mumbles around her bite with a smirk, leaning back into my chest, and I relax, enjoying the simplicity of this moment. Things will get crazy, but right now, this is kinda perfect even if Luca is looking at me like he wants to gut me. Yikes.
10
Luca
For the last three weeks, they have been running the show. I hate to admit it, but I have had to fall in line since I can’t open holes to anywhere, detect dark magic, or communicate through Vulcan mind trickery. Damn sorcery bullshit. Still, she’s safe and sleeping peacefully, which is what really matters. But now, it’s my time to shine.
“This is where Pops said the bikes would be?” She scrunches up her nose, looking around the upscale neighborhood. “You’re sure?”
“Yep.” I stride toward the garage door, whooping when my eyes land on the four bikes parked in the bay.
“Lookie, lookie, what the cat dragged in!” A familiar, deep voice bellows.
“Uncle Jet!” Oats shrieks, bolting across the garage and launching into his arms. “What the heck are you doing here? Got a new lady?” She waggles her brows.
“Aw, come on, Little-Bit. You know me. It’s ladies.” He puts her back on her feet, ruffling her hair. “Speaking of lady, when did you get so damn big? Your dad said you and Luca were traveling with three guys, which was odd enough, but now…” His eyes zero in on the three newcomers. “What the hell do you want with my niece?”
“This is my new favorite day ever.” I stroll over, slapping Jet on the shoulder. “How have ya been, old man?”
“Good, son, fantastic, really.” He smiles. “I heard you guys needed some wheels. They are all clean, and maintenance is up to date. Best of all, Axel already paid for them, so they are all yours.”
“Wicked. Is that a-” I beeline for the FXDWG Dyna Wide Glide and climb on, running my hands over the bars reverently. “Mine!”
“Axel thought you might say that,” a feminine laugh pulls our attention to the front of the garage.
“Fiona?” Oats squeals, racing to embrace the woman who helped Axel acquire forged docs on us when we were younger, keeping any social workers from tracking us down. “Oh, my lord, please tell me you didn’t fall for Uncle Jet?”
“I did.” she exaggeratedly rolls her eyes. “But you know what they say about bikers?”
“I do, but I really wish I didn’t,” she groans.
“I would say you do.” Fiona grins my way before studying the others. Laughing, she adds, “Seems like you know a lot of things these days, girlie. Come inside. You can clean up while the boys talk shop and fire up the grill. You all are crashing here tonight.”
“We are?” I ask the rest of our group and shrug. “Sounds good. We could use the rest, and barbeque sounds fantastic.”
“Okay with me,” Oats follows Fiona out into the yard but glances back, addressing all of us. “One, No fighting. Two, No Fighting. Actually,” she points to Rais, Dom, and Berk and says, “you three are coming with us.”
“Awe, come on, Little-Bit, I wanted to get to know your new friends,” Jet jests. “Don’t you trust us?”
“No. Hard pass. I’m going to help Fiona get them settled into rooms and grab a shower. I’ll put your stuff in ours, and you can shower next. Oh, and I’m getting a turn driving tomorrow, so you better get ready to warm my back. Not every day we get our hands on a Harley like that.” She winks and leads the others inside.