Page 7 of Dominic
I turned at the sound of the declaration to find Piston sitting in a booth in the corner, away from the window and in full view of the room and every entrance and exit.
Piston had been a member of Grim Road a long fucking time. I thought he might have been a member longer than anyone alive. At least, in our region. Like the Iron Tzars, Grim Road MC had more than one club in more than one area of the country. Since most of the members had been some form of Black Ops at one time or another, they tended to want their privacy. We kept our club relatively small compared to other clubs, but with the addition of our women and children, we were growing out of our hidden compound. Piston and his woman, Venus, were newly appointed in a role resembling ambassadors for the club. They acted as liaisons for Grim Road, Black Reign, and Salvation’s Bane MCs. The overall favorability of our clubs within the community and with each other had improved nicely.
“She in trouble?” I lingered by the entrance to the back, keeping myself between Annie and anyone in the diner. I’m not really sure why I felt the need, but there was no denying it. Fuck. This wasn’t good.
“Eh, maybe. She left… an encampment. Call it a commune.” He shrugged before continuing. “Venus thinks they’ll leave her alone. She’s eighteen and has been there since she was four. Her mother’s fully involved with thecommune. It’s likely she’d come for Annie if their leader tells her, but not on her own.”
“What about her father? He in the picture at all?”
“Nope. Me and Venus are tryin’ to see if we can locate him, but Annie’s mother won’t talk to us.”
“Like that’ll stop your woman.” I couldn’t help but grin. Venus could be insistent. Until she got fed up being insistent. Then she did what she deemed the path of least resistance, no matter who she had to run through. Considering she’d been trained as an assassin, she could generally run through anyone if she needed to.
Piston chuckled. “Not at fuckin’ all.”
As he spoke, the swinging door to the back opened and Annie emerged, tying an apron around her tiny waist. She gave me a small smile before moving to a customer who’d just sat down.
I loved the way she moved around. There was a quiet grace that seemed to wrap her in a cloak. She’d struck me as clumsy at the bikini contest, but that must have been due to an unfamiliar environment because Annie was efficient and deft in her movements. Kind of like a dancer.
“Yep. I can see you’re the right one.” There was amusement in Piston’s voice that was gonna get him a beat down.
“What’s that mean?” I barked out the question sharper than I intended, but instead of being intimidated or, God forbid, even more amused, Piston met my gaze steadily with only a raised eyebrow.
“It means, if you tell me you’re not interested in that girl, I’ll go fuck myself.”
“Fuck you, Piston,” I hissed. “Even I’m not that much of a dick. She ain’t ready for a man like me. Probably never will be and I ain’t the settlin’ down type. Lost that desire a long fuckin’ time ago,” I muttered.
“You might be surprised. She’s not had an easy time of it, but she’s resilient. She’s learning Spanish from Elena. Venus has been teaching her Russian. Also, I talked to Chief the other day. He helped us get her out. Took a likin’ to that girl.”
That surprised me. “Chief? I mean, the guy’s pretty amiable and never refuses to help when he’s needed, but doesn’t he pretty much keep to himself?”
“Yep. But he’s been coming to see Annie. To watch out for her. I think he comes here to talk to her when the diner isn’t busy.” He leaned back in the booth, one leg stretched out away from the table and one arm laid over the back of the booth. “He’s teaching her his language. Says she’s a fast learner.”
“Why me? You must know at least a dozen guys who’d be good for her. I’m way too fuckin’ old for her.”
“Yep. I could think of at least eight off the top of my head. Unfortunately for you, Venus thinks you’re the one she needs.” When I opened my mouth to question why, Piston held up his hand to wave me off. “I have no idea why, so don’t ask. I just do what she tells me to do. Go where she tells me to go.”
“You do hear how pathetic you sound, right?”
“Fuck you too.” He grinned just as Annie stepped up to our table, her little order pad in hand.
“Hi, Piston.” She gave the older man a warm, genuine smile. “Is Venus coming?”
“Not today, sweetheart. But she said to give you her love.”
That seemed to please Annie more than it should have. Her smile got impossibly wider and she looked so happy it was almost painful. “Tell her thank you. And she has my love too. I can never thank you guys enough.” She ducked her head, tucking a long, silky-looking lock behind her ear.
“Honey, you never have to thank us. Though if you really wanted to do something for us, I have a suggestion.”
“Anything, Piston.” She actually looked excited.
“You see this guy?” When her gaze flitted to mine with an uncertain look, Piston continued, “He’s in charge of security for our club.”
“Grim Road. Right?”
“That’s right. I think you met him earlier today?”
“Yes.” She gave me a shy smile. “Dominic.”