Gentleman Wanted 3

Gentleman Wanted 3
Gemma

Never in a million years had I thought that moving home would be such a logistical nightmare. But then again, what did I know? When we had run, it had been with nothing but what I could throw into a backpack.

Going home, although it was hard to think of it as home now, was a different ball game altogether. Bobby had a lot of things, a crib and clothes, and it was going to take a van. Ruin hadn’t seemed worried. One call was all it had taken, and the Black Aces had come down en-masse. A guard, he had said, our very own little convoy to make sure we were safe on the road. 

Personally, I thought it was a little over the top, but I wasn’t about to argue with him. Even if I had wanted to, I didn’t think Gent would let me.

The drive back, complete with removal men and a half dozen bikers, had taken a relatively short amount of time. But I had to admit I was glad when we rolled past Cooks and headed towards the gated compound that was The Black Aces’ headquarters.

It was only then that it hit me.

I was back, but I had nowhere to go. Not really. 

I didn’t have my tiny apartment to go back to. My landlord would have let that out as soon as I defaulted on my rent.

“Gent?”

He turned his head sharply, for a second taking his eyes from the road, his face worried. 

“Where the hell are me and Bobby meant to stay?” I wasn’t sure how it was possible that I hadn’t thought of it before. It wasn’t like it was a little thing. Having a roof over our heads was important. 

For a second, he frowned, his plump lip disappearing between his teeth as he chewed on it, and then a small smile lifted the corners of his mouth. One hand leaving the steering wheel, he reached out and gathered my hand in his. 

“It will be ok. I will work something out, ok?” His words were so soft that for a second, I wasn’t sure I had heard him correctly. “For all of us.” His grin was a flash of white in the dark confines of the car.  “If we have to stay at the clubhouse for a few days-”

I cut him off. “I don’t want to stay at the clubhouse, not with Bobby.” Glancing back, I checked the back seat for the sleeping form of my son. 

He was such a good baby, and I knew how lucky I was. But I was still a new mum. I couldn’t help but check up on him, going so far sometimes as to wake him up just to make sure he was ok.

Gent’s lips brushed against the back of my hand. And for a second, my stomach flip-flopped. He had never done that before. Not once in all the months we had spent together. Not that he made a big deal out of it. It was almost like it came naturally to him.

“Then I will get us a hotel or something, just trust me.” His words were soft, and I found myself staring at his face.

Gent had always been good looking, much more clean-cut than his club brothers, but it didn’t make him feminine. There was an old-worldly kind of charm to his looks. One that women found appealing.

One that I had always found appealing, too, if I was being honest with myself.

“Gent.” I tried to keep my voice neutral. “You know we aren’t your responsibility, right?” I didn’t want him to think that he had any kind of obligation to us. 

He never had.

“I’m aware of that Gem,” The steering wheel creaked as his fingers tightened around it, his eyes firmly on the road ahead. “But maybe, just maybe, I want you to be.”

I didn’t have anything to say to that, so I kept my lips tightly shut. Both of us sat in silence.

It was a silence that Gent broke as we pulled through the gates and came to a stop in front of the Black Aces’ clubhouse.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen now, Gem. No one does. But I want you to know I have your back. Now and always, you and Bobby are my family, and I look after my family.” Not bothering to look at me, he slipped out of the car, slamming the door behind him.



It seemed like the moment I stepped out of the car. I was surrounded. Where the men of the Black Aces swarmed over Gent, welcoming back their lost brother, the women were all there for me. 

“Gem?”

Pulling myself out of Avery’s arms, I turned to the woman who had been hovering at the edge of the crowd. My eyes took in my best friend Ruins. That’s what Cali was. She had been my best friend since I had first met her. She was still as beautiful, still as sinfully gorgeous as she had been that first night at Cooks. The only thing that was different was…

“You’re pregnant?” I couldn’t tear my eyes from her rounded stomach. I knew I had been away for a while, but I hadn’t expected her to be having a kid.  “Truth’s or...?”

She swatted my arm playfully before wrapping me in her arms. “Of course it’s fucking Truth’s, you dimwit. Who else’s would it be?”

I didn’t answer her at first. Instead, I let my head come down to rest on her shoulder, not ashamed at the way my tears were suddenly flowing. 

It was so good to be home. To have my friends back. I hadn’t realised until that moment just how much I had missed them. How god damn alone I had been. 

Sure I had Gent, but nothing could compare to girlfriends, to that bond that girls had. 

“I don’t know, plenty of good looking Aces,” I joked as she pulled away.

“Truth is the only man for me, now and always.” Even as I watched, she threw her man a look over the roof of the car. And the smile he gave her back was dazzling. 

Something twisted in my gut. 

I wanted what they had, I realised with a start. I wanted a man to look at me like I was his entire world. 

“I’m glad you are happy.” I managed to say, and I even meant it. She was my friend, and I was happy for them. Not many women would have forgiven a gun being pointed at their heads.  “You guys deserve to be happy.”

Cali must have seen something in my face; her smile slipped. Hooking her arm through mine, she kissed my cheek. “You do as well.” Her eyes settled on Gent. He turned like he could feel us staring at him, and the smile he returned was a little uncertain.  

I wanted to tell her that there was nothing going on between Gent and me, but the words died on my lips. An hour ago, I might have believed it. But that was before he had kissed the back of my hand. 

It might mean nothing, but it didn’t feel like it meant nothing.

It felt like something was changing between us.  I just wasn’t sure what it was yet. I knew things would change, one way or another, now we were home. That didn’t mean I was ready for it. 

“One day, maybe.” I shrugged, tearing my eyes from Gent’s wide back. I was being silly. Gent didn’t have romantic thoughts about me. He was just my friend, that was all. “I think finding somewhere to live and a job might be higher on my to-do list for now than finding a man.” I laughed.

Gent turned, his handsome face frowning, but he didn’t say a word. He just stared at me like I had grown a second head. 

Oblivious, Cali hugged me again. “You have a place to live, Gem, your apartment. And if it’s no good, then we will help you find somewhere more suitable.”

“My apartment?”

“Of course, I kept up your rent. The guys will already be moving your stuff in, that’s ok, isn’t it?” She searched my face as if worried she had done something wrong. 

“Of course that’s ok, thank you...” Fresh tears flowed down my cheeks. “Thank you so much!”

“Don’t thank me, I didn’t actually pay for it.” She trailed off, but I caught the pointed look she gave Gent.

Just how much had that guy done for me? I was starting to believe I would never really know. What I did know was that I owed him a lot. 

Maybe everything.