He stared down at her pale fingers spread over his own fingers. Killer was older than Kelsey by five years. She had so much goodness within her even if she was a dental nurse. He hated dentists.
Taking hold of her fingers he brought her hand against his lips. She smelled like vanilla.
“Kels, everything they were talking about is true. I killed people with my bare hands. I did it for my club, and it’s no excuse. If you can live with that then we can have a future, but I’ve got a feeling you don’t want to live a life with me like that.” He dropped her hand and straddled his bike. Killer wanted more than anything to pull her into his arms. She needed to know his past. He wasn’t going to live in fear of her finding out.
“Killer, wait.”
He didn’t wait to hear what she had to say.
Chapter Seven
“I’ve got a driver waiting for us,” Ned said.
Eva reached out grabbing her bag from the carousel going around. The rest of her luggage would be sent to her father’s house on the outskirts of Vegas. “Good.” She followed him outside to see Gavin stood against her father’s car. Stopping, she stared at the man she left behind over eight years ago. The last time she saw him his ass had been thrusting away inside another woman. She’d stumbled on the scene and had left as quickly. Leaving her note for her father was one of her last correspondence with him.
“Is this why you were talking about him?” Eva asked, stopping to stare.
Gavin didn’t have a patch on Tiny, at least not to her. Yes, he was tall and muscular like Tiny. Being a fighter, Gavin had no choice but to stay in top form. What Tiny had that Gavin lacked was maturity. Both men were covered in tattoos, but staring at Gavin she saw the teasing in his eyes.
Tiny didn’t waste his time with teasing. There was an intensity with Tiny. He captured her attention and kept her caught within his web.
She started walking.
“Hello, Eva.”
Staring at the man who’d sent her running, Eva nodded. “Gavin.”
He opened the car door for her, and she climbed inside. Her father took the passenger seat as Gavin took behind the wheel.
“Did you have a good flight?”
Eva stayed silent. Ned looked back at her, and she raised a brow at him. There was no way she was going to be talking to Gavin if she didn’t have to.
“Uneventful. Eva spent most of the journey reading a book.”
Silence fell around them once again. Eva didn’t try to talk. There was no need. Her father was trying to match-make.
After several minutes of no conversation Gavin and Ned started talking about work.
“Is the fight still on for tomorrow?” Ned asked.
“Yes. Lance is ready to prove himself. I’m thinking we can double our profit on this one fight,” Gavin said.
She drowned them out, resting her head against the seat. The heat was intense, and she instantly missed the cooler air of Fort Wills. Thinking about Tiny made heat pulse between her thighs. She wanted him, and there was nothing she could do to stop her feelings for him.
Remembering Tiny, she quickly clicked her phone back on. The moment it loaded up, the cell phone buzzed.
Tiny: Did you get there?
Smiling, Eva remembered the first time Tate talked him into getting a cell phone. He broke five phones before Eva talked him through the process of texting.
Eva: I’m fine. Heading home to bed.
Several seconds passed, and she checked to see other texts from Tate. Lash and Nash had left her well wishes. All of them had become her family in the years she’d been with them. Christmases had been spent together, lunches, fairs and parties where they celebrated everything.
“Are you okay, honey?” Ned asked.
“Fine.”
Tiny: I miss you.
There was nothing else she could say to that. Biting her lip she pocketed her phone and waited for the journey to be over. Vegas was buzzing even during the day. It was summer, and many people were basking in the joy and gambling on display. Driving down the strip, Eva shook her head.
Tate was right. This was not her home, but she’d have to make a go of it. Thirty minutes later, Gavin pulled into the gym Ned owned where he trained his fighters. The law knew what Ned Walker did, but no one could connect anything to him.
Gavin opened the door for her. She ignored him going back into the gym she’d once called home.
“Ned, what the hell are you wearing?” One of the men stood to embrace her father. Eva didn’t recognize him. His sheer size could put Killer to shame.
“I had a baby shower to get to. Lance, I’d like you to finally meet my daughter, Evangeline.” Ned smiled at her. Stepping close she shook Lance’s hand, making sure to be firm and hard as she did. Ned told her to make sure she didn’t show weakness even in a handshake.
“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Lance said, glancing up and down at her dress.
She still wore the dress she’d picked for the baby shower.
Eva recognized many of the fighters working out around the gym, and she went to each of them to hug.
“Damn, girl, it has been too damn long since we had you around here keeping us in order,” Frank said, kissing her cheek. They were like brothers to her. She’d grown up around them watching them advance into the lifestyle.
Ned Walker had his fingers in many baskets, but he never allowed his fighters to take the adventure of drugs or disease. If his men were with whores then they bagged their pole. She invested in condoms for the men to use.
Glancing to the counter she saw the condom bowl was empty.
“It’s good to see you, Frank. How is everything going with you?” she asked.
He smiled, pulling his necklace from around his neck. “I got myself a wife. She’s a good girl.” Frank showed her the ring.
“Congratulations.” She handed him the ring back.
She’d heard Erik and Mark were also fathers with women of their own. David was still a player.
“Right, boys. We’ve got some training to do, and my girl needs to acquaint herself with the books. She’ll be working around here, and I expect respect for her.” Ned showed her to the back of the office. He told her the codes to the safe, pulling out the books for her to get used to. “We’ll go home soon. I need to be here.”
“I know.” She smiled up at her father. Getting stuck into work suited her a lot more than going home thinking about Tiny.
The door closed behind him, and she sat back. Pressing on the fan she let what little cool air was over her. She felt like she was burning inside. Lifting the skirt of her dress up to her thighs, she tried to cool down. Nothing was happening.