Craig wanted to spit on the fucking bike but he saw the shitty looks he was getting from the scum, and he wouldn’t give them the satisfaction right now. Glancing back into the shop, he saw Constance smile up at that ugly biker, and then the man kissed what he shouldn’t.

Just the sight of the two of them together was enough to sicken him. Moving along the street, he made his way back toward his apartment near the graveyard. He hadn’t seen Constance tending to the graves of her family, and he’d been worried. No one spoke to him. No one even noticed he existed, and he was fine with that.

What he didn’t like was another man thinking he could take what didn’t belong to him. Entering his apartment, he turned on the light and looked at the picture over his fireplace. It was of Constance when she had been in high school. He’d found it online, printed it off at home, and now he stared at it every night.

Constance was such a pretty woman. A delicate flower that needed to be handled gently and with the utmost care. Looking around his apartment, there wasn’t a space that didn’t have something that reminded him of her. He even had the bottle of her favorite perfume on the coffee table.

A cardigan that she’d left at the graveyard one time was on his couch, washed and ready for her to wear.

He loved her and she was his.

Constance belonged to him, and he was getting tired of waiting. This new man posed a problem, and Craig was going to be sure to get rid of him.

* * *

Vengeance took Constance out to dinner, and she got to meet Weasel properly. He saw Weasel liked his woman, and for that, he was pleased. At the end of the night, he did the gentlemanly thing and made sure she got home safely.

“You can come in, you know?”

“I know, but I want you to have some rest. I’ve got to head out on the road for a couple of days, but the moment I get back, how do you feel about spending the rest of the weekend with me at my place, maybe hanging with the club, meeting my family?”

“I’d love that. Let me know, and I’ll make sure that I can get some time off.”

He saw the excitement in her eyes and was more than pleased that he had been the one to put it there. “I’ll call you.” He pulled her close and pressed a kiss to her cheek. She melted against him. He loved it when she did that. He lived for those moments.

It was time for her to meet Demon and the rest of the guys. It was time he let them know she was his old lady.

“Sleep tight, Constance.”

“I will. Have a safe trip.”

He waited until she closed the door and secured the lock before making his way downstairs to find Weasel still waiting.

“I like her,” Weasel said.

“It went without saying that you were going to like her. She’s a good woman.” He’d been out one night and found a pretty special woman. Shit like that didn’t happen to him, and he was just so pleased that he’d been the one to walk into the graveyard.

He frowned, looking back up at the building and then at his friend. “There was some asshole sniffing around her when I picked her up.”

“Easy enough to take if need be?” Weasel asked.

“Yep. He was at the shop talking with Constance and throwing off all kinds of fucked-up vibes.” Vengeance didn’t like the twisting he was getting in his stomach. Something was off about him, and he didn’t know what. “It’s probably nothing.”

“What is it?” Weasel asked. “It’s only going to bug you, so you may as well just tell me now, and we can get on with it.”

Vengeance rubbed the back of his neck. “That guy. I don’t know. The way he looked at Constance. The way he was fucking looking at me…”

“She’s a hottie. It’s natural for men to look. They just better not touch.”

“It’s not about her being hot or not. Maybe I’m imagining everything.” He shook his head. “I just got a bad vibe from him. Like he was looking at her as if he owned her. I didn’t like it.”

“In all fairness, Vengeance, you don’t like anyone looking at your woman.”

“I know. But something isn’t right with him. I’m going to have to watch out for him.”

“How did Constance react?”

“She seemed a little uncomfortable, maybe even surprised he was there. She said it was weird seeing him at the florist shop. He works at the graveyard.”

“Wait, what?”

“Constance likes to go to the graveyard, see her family, talk to them, and stuff. It’s where I met her. I told you all of this.”

“You did?” Weasel asked.

“I’m sure I did.”

“Whatever. I’ve had a lot to drink between all of this shit. Go on.” Weasel sat on his bike, waiting.

“She’s never seen him anywhere else, was even surprised he knew where she worked.”

“Look, it’s probably nothing. If she’s been spending all of her graveyard time with you, then of course he’s going to worry. He’s used to her pattern, and you’ve broken that pattern. Move on, and stop worrying about it.”

“I’ve invited her to spend some time at the club with the other old ladies. I think it will be good for her.”

“Deanna will love her. Constance has that vibe about her that just says they’re going to be total best friends.”

Vengeance rolled his eyes. Sometimes there was just no way of getting Weasel to talk any sense.

“Come on, let’s get out of here. I want to get on the road. Demon’s waiting.”

“Demon is always waiting for you at the moment. You spend your time with this woman. Are you going to take her away from her shitty life?”

Vengeance paused and looked at his friend.

“This is her life,” he said.

“You think that woman up there wants to spend the rest of her life working at a florist shop, and not getting down and dirty with you?”

Vengeance had seen a subtle change in her over the past couple of weeks. Whenever he arrived, and she hadn’t seen him yet, he saw her sadness. The moment she looked at him, saw right into him, she smiled.

In a strange kind of way, that was exactly how he felt with her. Until he saw her again there was a darkness inside him, clawing to get out, which only grew quiet when he was near Constance. Having her in his arms was a blessing, a dream, and he didn’t want to lose that, not for a second.

Straddling his bike, he waited for Weasel to pull off from the curb, and he followed behind him. Leaving Constance was growing more and more tedious. He wanted her on the back of his bike, riding with him every moment they could.

His club brothers had found a way with their old ladies. He didn’t see a reason why he couldn’t have that kind of life himself.

Being part of the Soldiers of Wrath wasn’t easy. It was hard and dangerous. Their lives were constantly under threat, but they were a brotherhood. Constance had no one else in the world.

His family could become hers, and their future twined together.

Vengeance was looking forward to getting back to her, and to giving her the chance to experience life with him.