Valen (Henchmen MC Next Generation 6)

“Wait. No. Lu… did he not call you?” she asked.

“No. That’s… that’s why I came by. I thought something was wrong maybe.”

“Lu, he left. Like town. He packed a bag and he took off on his bike. He said he wants to travel. He said he doesn’t know when he’s coming back. If he’s coming back.”

Louana didn’t really hear much after that, not through the sounds of her heart shattering in her chest.

He was gone.

He wasn’t sure if he was coming back.

And he hadn’t even said goodbye.

She was pretty sure at that moment, and the many after as she toppled into her bed, crying so hard and so uncharacteristically that her parents were scared about her well-being, that she would never get over it. Or him.

But in the weeks that followed, as grief slowly but surely transitioned to something she found more comfortable, more familiar, she knew another thing.

She was never, fucking ever, going to forgive him.

CHAPTER TWO

Louana

I missed Navesink Bank for a multitude of reasons when I went away on my almost never-ending trip across Europe, searching for something—or some part of myself—though ultimately not quite finding what I was looking for.

But I really, really missed She’s Bean Around.

Part of it was the coffee. Which was some of the best I’d ever had. Which was saying something because I had the best espresso that Italy had to offer, and strong cups from Turkey, France, and Norway.

But there was just something special about She’s Bean Around’s blend. Or maybe it was simply the nostalgia of it. Each cup felt like a warm hug because that was what it had always been for me.

Got a bad grade at school?

Go for a cup of coffee at She’s Bean Around.

Had a fight with a good friend?

She’s Bean Around.

Horrific break-up that you never saw coming?

Yep, you guessed it, She’s Bean Around.

It was more than simply the coffee, though. It was the atmosphere. And the people.

Even if, over the years, the interior of the shop went through many design changes, each more distinctive than the last, there was just something so warm and welcoming and familiar about the place.

After I stopped to see my parents when I got stateside again, She’s Bean Around had been my first stop.

And these women, these crazy, loud, larger-than-life women who owned the place, had my usual order waiting for me by the time I made it to the counter.

I was on my third cup of the day when the door opened and a familiar face walked in.

He was older, of course. As was I. And time had etched his features into a much more manly version of the boy I’d known. He looked a lot more like his father now. Which was saying something because I’d always thought his dad was kind of hot. That arms-dealing biker with the equally hot purple-haired wife.

Seth.

I can’t explain the look on his face when his gaze landed on me, but I could have sworn it was something like, I don’t know, glee.

Which made no sense.

I mean, I’d known the guy, but we hadn’t exactly been buds. He kind of hung out with the next-gen biker kids. And I sort of kicked around with different groups. Our paths hadn’t crossed much.

But, sure enough, that smile just stretched wider as he made his way in my direction, gate long-legged and confident. Gone was any of that adolescent gangly-ness and uncertainty that had plagued most of us back in the day.

Judging by the cut he was wearing, he’d gone ahead and followed in his father’s footsteps, prospecting, then getting patched in at Navesink Bank’s favorite outlaw biker club. Which made sense. I think all of us figured all the offspring would do the same eventually. After some went away to college to placate their parents.

“Louana!” Seth said, and up close, I was almost certain there was something mischievous behind that warm smile on his face.

Seth had always been a bit of a shit-starter in school and life outside of school.

But what shit was he starting with me, someone he hadn’t seen in years?

“Seth,” I said, getting up from my seat to accept the hearty handshake he offered me. “How have you been?”

“Good. Good. Where have you been?” he asked, shaking his head.

“Oh, you know, here and there. I did a lot of traveling.”

“That is… that is… very interesting,” he said, and, again, I couldn’t quite pin down the strange look in his eye or the tone in his voice.

Something was going on that I wasn’t aware of. It shouldn’t have bothered me as much as it did. After all, I’d been the one who’d been away and out of the loop for so long.

“Yeah. It’s been an adventure. So how are things? What’s new?” I asked.

It was then that the smile went from mischievous to downright wicked.