“Hold that thought,” she says, finger in the air before she rushes to the kitchen and comes back with a bottle of red and three glasses. I smile in amusement at how comfortable she is at my parents’ house.
Mom holds the glass while she pours, then passes it over to me. I wait until both of their glasses are filled up before I start my story.
“So, I don’t know how much you both know already,” I say, glancing between the two. The MC loves to gossip, so I doubt they are going to be shocked by my update. “But I started seeing a guy—”
“Atlas. Yes, we know,” Mom interrupts, a small smile playing on her lips. “I mean, we all knew that was going to happen when you brought him to the clubhouse for Dad’s birthday.”
“He’s a hottie,” Faye adds, nodding in approval. “And I hear you get two for the price of one.”
I open my mouth, then close it, laughing at her comment. “I don’t get two. Right now I’m not sure if I even have one.”
“If you’re having trouble already, that’s a bit of a red flag,” Faye says, drinking some wine. “Start from the beginning.”
“So you know I’m loving my new job and working for Jaxon is a big deal.”
Faye nods to my mom. “He is the best at what he does.”
“So I had to go to the station to get a new client of mine out of prison, and it just so happened to be Marko—”
Faye stops drinking, and Mom’s eyes widen.
Okay, so they knew about Atlas but not about Marko. Interesting.
“Marko? As in...” Mom trails off.
“Yes, that Marko. I told Jaxon everything and he thinks for my safety I need to continue representing Marko, but have another associate, Cole, take the lead.”
“Shit, that’s smart,” Faye says. “I wouldn’t have thought about that, but he’s right. If Marko gets wind that you’re not his lawyer anymore and starts digging, you could become a target.”
I nod. “So now I’m in a hard place. Marko is now technically my client and all that goes with that, but, of course, I knew the Wind Dragons, Knights and Decker have been looking for him and are going to want to know where he is. I mean, this is big. But I also have to be ethical, and this is my career I’m talking about.”
“So what did you do?” Faye asks, tapping her red nail against her lips.
“I sat on it. For too long. I was trying to figure out a way to tell someone without telling someone. But Felix saw me at the station and told everyone. So they all knew that I knew and didn’t tell them,” I admit, wincing. “And then Atlas came over and he seems really disappointed that I didn’t run to the MC and tell them right away, and now things are awkward with us and I don’t know where we stand. Aunty Faye, did I do the right thing?”
Faye makes herI’m thinkingface.
“I think Atlas thought that I was a ready-made old lady, but we only went on one date! He assumed I would just put them number one no matter what, and now he doesn’t know if he can trust me. And Cara kind of thought that I should have told them, too. So it’s not just Atlas.”
Faye rubs the back of her neck. “Yeah, I can see why you’re hiding out here.”
“I know your job is important to you, Natty, but you know all the things Marko has done to our family,” my mom says, reaching out and taking my hand. “So what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “That’s why I’m here. Faye, what do you think I should do? You must have had to deal with things like this during your career. Marko is technically still my client right now. I got him out on bail today, although I did tell Atlas and everyone about that.”
“Of course.” Faye nods, sympathy in her gaze. “It’s hard to keep a balance, and you’ve just been thrown into the thick of it right off the bat, so it’s only human to feel a little overwhelmed right now. Did you tell Atlas why Marko is still your client and why Jaxon doesn’t want you to break confidentiality?”
“No, he didn’t give me the chance.” I was taken by surprise that he knew and didn’t think to tell him.
“You need to tell Atlas. Dex didn’t understand a lot of things I did, but I found that when I communicated with him, even if it meant telling him I couldn’t tell him everything, he understood me better. Do you want to be Atlas’s old lady?”
“Aunty Faye, we went on one date! I don’t know.”
“Do you think he is the one for you, Natalie? I know that you never wanted to end up with a biker,” Mom asks, leaning back on the couch and drinking from her glass.
I think about our time together, and how Atlas makes me feel.
“I think he is, but it’s too early to tell for sure,” I admit, groaning out loud at the realization. “And now he doesn’t trust me.”