Hearts of Winter (Bleeding Angels MC Book 2) by Olivia Stephens Read Free Book Online Page A

must be almost full term now,” I say as I refill one of the regular’s coffees. 
     
    I’d known Nolan since I was a little kid, and his daughter had been a few years ahead of me in high school.  We’d been talking about how proud he was of her and how excited he was over having a little grandkid.  Now it seemed like he could barely wait for me to leave his general vicinity.
     
    “Oh yes, fine, fine,” Nolan says quickly, nodding and looking down at his coffee again without giving anything more away.
     
    I’m hurt, but I try not to show it.  I need to get used to being treated this way by the people around town.  It’s unlikely it’s going to change anytime soon.  “Well, give her my best,” I say to the older man, turning and heading back to the safety of the kitchen.
     
    As I go to collect the all day breakfast order that truckers seem to favor at this ungodly hour of the morning, George catches something in my expression.
     
    “What’s up?” he asks in his typically brief manner.
     
    “Nothing,” I answer, shaking my head.  The guy has just given me my job back—the last thing I want to do is to complain about the fact that the customers don’t want to be my best friend anymore. 
     
    “Give them time,” he urges, quietly. 
     
    My head snaps up to look at George, but he’s concentrating hard on the eggs he’s frying.  He still has the power to surprise me with his intuition.  He doesn’t let on that he’s watching and taking everything in, but that’s exactly what he’s doing.
     
    The bell over the door chimes angrily, signaling a customer has just walked in.  I grab the breakfast plate on my way out, fixing a welcoming smile on my face to greet the walk-in.  But the smile slips from my face as soon as I see the two men that have just come through the door.
     
    Blondie and Baldy, as I had christened them, are smiling their wolfish smiles.  I lay the plate of food on the counter. My hand is shaking so much that I’m afraid I may drop it.  I’m faced with the two men that terrorized the diner on collection night and stabbed George through the hand with no warning and no remorse.
     
    The last time I saw them, they were standing with the other Bleeding Angels, watching my home burn while I negotiated with Scar.  It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that they were some of the last people that I had hoped to see, especially on my first night back working at the diner. 
     
    “I’ll show you gentlemen to a booth in a second; I just need to deliver this.” I nod towards the plate that I’ve deposited on the counter.  My voice sounds much steadier than I’m feeling, and I feel proud of myself at being able to distance myself from them with a little professionalism.
     
    “No worries, Aimee,” Baldy says, smiling through his cracked teeth.  “We’ll show ourselves to our seats.  Don’t you worry your pretty little head about us.” Both he and Blondie almost collapse with laughter.
     
    They’re standing so close to the counter that I have to brush against them to get past.  I know it’s not my imagination that they both lean in even closer to me as I move past them.  I have to force myself not to recoil at the smell of booze that comes off them in waves.  They smell like they’ve been bathing in the stuff.  I know from experience that if there’s anything worse than having a couple of Angels in the diner, it’s having a couple of drunk Angels.
     
    I deliver the food as quickly as I can and rush back to the kitchen.  As the doors swing shut behind me I breathe deeply, trying to calm myself. Forcing myself not to get out of control.  Slowly, my heart rate evens out and my breathing returns to as close to normal as it’s going to get while the bikers remain out there.  I look up at George, and underneath his olive skin, his face has gone white.  I don’t need to tell him who has just walked in; it’s clear that he already knows.
     
    “I’ll