Hyde's Absolution (Sydney Storm MC 4)

I’d never understand their relationship. It wasn’t like King to let anyone control him, and yet there he was changing his life because of her.

He passed me the envelope of cash. “The plan for today has changed. Salvatore’s trip has been extended a day. I’m gonna take care of some other shit that’s come up. I want you and Nitro to visit that guy Fox told you about. He’s finally home. Do whatever the fuck it takes to get an address for Marx. I want a fucking face-to-face with the motherfucker.”

Marx had been eluding us at every turn, and King was reaching crazy levels of fucked off about it. I nodded. “Will do.” I didn’t intend to leave that asshole until I had what King needed.

Chapter 15

Monroe

“You’re not yourself. What’s going on?” Tatum asked.

I drank some of my cosmo before turning to face her. “It’s Hyde. That’s what’s going on.” Just the thought of the man caused my stomach to swirl with butterflies. And not just the good type of butterflies. There were some seriously confused butterflies in there too.

We were sitting in the pub after work, the night after I spent time with Hyde at the skating rink. I’d seen him that morning to give him the money I owed him, and I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him all day.

“Are you seeing him?” She seemed just as confused as I did.

“No.”

“So how’s he affecting you? You’re not making any sense, Roe. You’re usually cool and calm over men, but you seem anything but calm tonight.”

I exhaled a long breath. “I’m interested in him, but I don’t want to be. He’s a biker, and you know how I feel about bikers. And he can be infuriating sometimes with the way he tries to boss me around. I do not need a man in my life who is always trying to take charge of me.”

Her lips pulled up slightly at the ends as if trying not to smile. “Wasn’t it you who said you wanted a man with some balls to go with his dick? Or something like that? I kinda think you do want someone to boss you around. Just a little bit. And as far as bikers go, don’t judge Hyde based on that. Look at Nitro. You didn’t like him to begin with, and now you’re all about him.”

“Well, there’s a difference between a man who bosses me around a little and one who does it a lot. Hyde’s argued with me over a few things now. Like last night, he was at the skating rink when Bree and I were there, and he walked us out. Someone had smashed one of the windows on my car, and he just took it upon himself to call a friend to come fix it. Without asking me!”

She laughed at that. “Oh, Roe, come on, admit it—deep down you like a man who can take charge. I think you’re just fighting your attraction because he’s a biker and you’re scared that he’s different to any guy you’ve ever dated.”

“I don’t need a man who will fuck me over, Tatum. I’m not saying Hyde would, but he told me he doesn’t have much experience with dating, so I really don’t think he’s the kind of man interested in settling down and having kids. I don’t have time to waste on a guy like that.”

“Hang on, when did you discuss dating with him?”

“That night he showed up at my house. I told you about that. I was drunk and said lots of inappropriate things to him. I forget some of it, but I definitely remember discussing his love life with him.”

She finished her drink and slid the glass across the bar before turning her body to me. “Okay, let’s go over all this. You are way too anxious about it all. You’ve let dating become a task you need to do in order to achieve your mission. You need to take a step back, Roe, and breathe, and just have some fun. Take a chance on him if you’re that interested in him. See where it

goes. Maybe it’ll just be some casual sex and fun before you move on to someone else who might end up being the man for you.” She shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun in your life.”

I stared at her. “Umm, since when did Tatum Lee become all about fun?” I had to admit, though, that I loved this new side of her. It was good to see her happy.

Her gaze shifted to look at someone behind me, and her face lit up. Glancing back at me as she slid off her stool, she said, “Since this man.” Nitro moved next to her, slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close so he could drop a kiss on her lips.

“Vegas,” he murmured in greeting. Still a man of few words.

She looked up at him. “I’m ready to go.”

Frowning, I said, “We just got here. You need to stay for at least one more drink with me.”

Smiling at me, she shook her head. “No, you’ve got other things to do. I’ll call you tomorrow to check in.”

It wasn’t until Nitro stepped to the side that I realised what she meant. Hyde stood behind him. His eyes met mine when Nitro moved, darkening as he took me in. Being watched by Hyde was one of the most unnerving things ever. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hide from him or bare my soul.

I tore my attention from Hyde and gave it back to Tatum when she said, “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Hyde’s presence had pretty much wiped all coherent thought from my mind, so I simply nodded and murmured, “Okay.”

As she and Nitro walked away from us, Hyde moved closer. His scent almost hypnotised me, if that were even possible. Looking down at me, he said, “What are you drinking?” The husky tone of his voice was like the final nail in my coffin. He could lead me down the path to sin with that voice.