Unrequited (Fallen Aces MC #1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

walks in with their two girls. I stand in place for a moment and watch Twig as he picks up his daughters, hoisting them on to his hips before he leans over to give his old lady a kiss.
    Yeah, I’m jealous. So what if I’m young? I grew up watching my parents act the same. Married thirty-five years and they still behave like high-school honeymooners after all that time.
    I want that, the love eternal with a good woman who’ll stand by my side no matter what. Twig’s old lady has supported him through some pretty questionable times. From what I heard, he did a short stint inside, but who was there the day he walked out? His woman.
    I give Abbey a smile as I turn and head for the garage. Poor kid gets a bad rap around the place; she doesn’t deserve half the stick the guys give her. She stares at me with wide eyes as I pass, wound as tight as a two-dollar watch. Fuck knows what happened to her, but the damn kid’s like a stray fucking cat—all suspicious and ready to strike when you least expect it.
    I step over to my bobber and pat down my jeans, doing the obligatory check before I leave. I’ve got no idea how I’m going to find Elena, but I’ve got a fair bit of time before I need to be back here. I guess when I break it down I start with what I know first, which is she shops at the store Callum and I visited. Start there, and work my way out.
    I throw my leg over the bike and rub both hands over my face. What am I doing? I’m riding out on the chance I’m going to find a woman I met and spoke to once. Why? What the hell is it about her that’s invaded my every lone thought? I press the heels of my hands into my eyes and groan. I wish I had the answer. I wish I knew what it was that’s got me convinced I’ll regret this forever if I get off and walk back inside.
    The Harley growls to life after I punch the ignition switch and, with a few gentle twists of the throttle, she clears her throat ready for the road. I idle out to the gate and sit with my feet on the gravel, arms folded as gate rolls open. The trip south is ludicrous, it’s crazy, but I have to try.
    I have to know if fate will let me have her.
     

SIX
    Elena
    six days later
    Papa’s getting worse. The home-care nurse pulled me aside during her visit on Thursday and told me to make preparations.
    “His lung capacity is falling fast,” she’d said. “It might be a good time to check that everything is in place.”
    Everything what? He doesn’t have a funeral plan. He only had health-care because it was drilled into him from Mama that he needed to look after himself so he could see me grow up. I guess somewhere along the way he decided he’d seen enough.
    My running shoes hit the pavement in even strides. Something good came out of my angry run from Carlos the other day—I found a riverside track I never knew existed. Trees line the concrete path that’s cracked and risen in places where the roots push through, and the water is only a few feet to my left. The setting is peaceful, serene, and exactly what I need.
    I’ve run this loop every night since, enjoying the time to clear my mind. I file through the issues that hang over me when I wake each morning as I run, sorting them by what’s most urgent, what I can change.
    What I can’t.
    Carlos hasn’t been in contact since our spat. I should be relieved; it’s exactly what I wanted. But silence is unnerving. I’ve got no idea what he’s doing when he’s quiet. I’ve got no idea what I’ve done by getting offside with the man. My punishment will come—he doesn’t take to disrespect lightly. I just wish I knew what it would be . . .
    I pass the point I normally turn off and reach the end of the track where it connects back onto the street when I first spot him. The path climbs up for a few yards, rising until it comes to a set of steps that lead out to a row of cafés on the outskirts of the shopping precinct.
    And there, seated at an outdoor table, looking every part the hipster,