Fire and blood (Book2 of Wolves of Milano)

3. Meeting the muse

It’s been two days already. She had meetings and appointments. She got the photographer and the times when they can use the animal shelter and the cute kittens. And she dreamed about Alessio. Day and night! She needs to get him out of her system and fast! She can’t function like this, daydreaming about a guy. She’s got a business to run and a reputation to maintain.

She will go the bike route to his libido. If this doesn’t work, nothing will. So she dresses in a pair of black ripped jeans, a tank top and her leather jacket with kevlar inserts. The boots are still the same black, knee length Doc. Martens with a thousand buckles on the side. Dressing up brings around the memory of her father and she smiles. She will do this ride for him and enjoy it!

She takes the keys to the garage and walks over the lawn. Opening the treasure trove to any bike fanatics wet dream, she turns on the lights and walks between the toys her father collected. None of them give her the vibe or the itch to drive. She passes them all and heads over to the corner. She will take her own bike. It’s about time her baby gets to feel the road under the tires again. And it will probably turn more heads than all the vintage bikes in the collection.

Grazia drives down the driveway of her house and onto the road. She lets the throttle go and roars down the road with a smile on her face. It’s the closest to flying and the freedom she feels right now is something she has been missing for years. She should have done this sooner. Riding is in her blood and it has nothing to do with her father not being there for the ride. It’s just her, the bike and the road. Nothing else matters. No time to think about everyday things. She just drives and feels. The adrenaline gives her a rush no coffee could ever duplicate.  She winds through the morning traffic and drives straight to the Firestation.

She stops in front of the open double bay doors and takes her helmet off. She lets her long blond hair spill over her jacket and she shakes them out. It was a thrill to ride again and she feels wide awake and alive. The adrenaline is coursing through her veins and she smiles widely to all the astonished faces of the morning shift. She was right to take her bike, just to see their faces and the open admiration for it.

“Oh. My. God! Is that a Hayabusa?” She hears the first question.

“Morning guys. Yes, it’s a Hayabusa GSX R 1300 turbo.” She smiles sweetly. “Is the Commissioner in? I have the calendar details for him.”

“They come in black chrome? Is there any chrome on that bike?” Alessio asks her.

“It's a custom build. Black matte finish and all the chrome parts are blacked out.” She answers. “It’s my baby.”

“May I touch it. I’ve never been this close to a Hayabusa before.” One of the Firemen asks her.

“Sure you can. I’ll even leave the keys in case you need to move it.” Grazia nods and slips the keys to Alessio with a wink. “I trust you not to steal it, but if I find a scratch on my bike, you’re all dead.”

“So? The Commissioner?” She asks them and gets no answer. She is forgotten and her baby is getting all the attention. “I’ll just find my own way.”

Grazia walks in and over to the hallway leading to the office. She hopes they can hear the call if they are all outside, because the station seems to be deserted. She shrugs and knocks on the office door.

“Come in.” The deep baritone voice invites her and she opens the door.

“Good morning, Signore Mutti.” Grazia smiles widely. He is such a warm person, she just has to get him for one picture. 

“Grazia, darling. What brings you around? I thought you would call me.” He answers her.

“I brought the schedule. We can have the photo shoot at the animal shelter on Thursday and Friday afternoon. But I was thinking that we could do a few pictures here with the big trucks as the background?”  She tells him.

“Great idea. I can tell you that we have 26 volunteers for the calendar and that my wife and daughters are all rooting for it too.” Domenico smiles. “And apparently all their friends. Even some of the firefighters wives have our backs with this.”

“I guess that means we have to be creative and get it done fast. We have the target audience and the first buyers.” Grazia laughs. “Will you be Mr. December for one calendar? Please?”

“How can I refuse?” He nods to her. “I’ll get the schedule over to you this afternoon. I have to do some rearranging in the shifts to let the men go to the shelter.”

“Wonderful. And I’ll get the props sorted. We have a huge storage at the agency.” Grazia writes a few notes in her notebook.

“When would you do the pictures here?” Domenico asks.

“On Saturday, maybe?” She says. “It was just a thought. I have to talk it over with my photographer.”

“Fine. Arrange that and let me know.” He nods and looks at her sideways. “What’s with the kevlar jacket? Are you in trouble?”

“Oh, no!” Grazia laughs. “I rode my bike. This is the jacket my father insisted on me wearing. It’s for safety, but I have never laid a bike down in my life.” 

“Where is your bike? Which one did you bring?” Domenico leans forward.

“Outside with the guys.” She snickers. “I think I’ll get my Hayabusa back polished to high gloss. Lucky for me, it’s matte black. Otherwise it would be like driving a mirror down the street.”

“You might be right. They are 90 percent bikers. And I haven’t met a person that would not admire a Hayabusa.” He laughs. “Go save your bike.”

-/-/-

Damn! The woman is a mystery. And she drives a bike. When she came with Allegra, she drove a modest Audi A6 sedan. Now she comes by with a 20 thousand Euro bike. Well, hers is probably worth even more, because it’s custom. And every one is pawing all over it. They better polish the fingerprints off, or she’ll have their heads.

“Guys? There are fingerprints all over the bike.”  Alessio grunts.

“s**t!” Evan exclaims and grabs a cloth from his pocket. “We better clean that off. it was spotless before.”

“Nobody scratches it.” Alessio warns them and they all hurry to get the bike clean again.

“Wow, guys!” Grazia exclaims when she comes back for her bike. “Your boss was right. You did polish it.”

“Sorry.” Alessio looks guilty and his big puppy eyes routine is working on her, because she smiles at him. “We got all the fingerprints off for you.”

“Thank you.” Grazia smiles again and winks at him. “I know where to bring my bike when it needs to be polished.”

“Any time.” He smiles at her.

“The Commissioner will work on your schedule. We have the first photo shoot on Thursday and Friday at the animal shelter.”

“Nice.” Alessio nods. He is looking forward to it. He has an idea how it works, the rest will be surprised. He has no intention of telling them how hard it is to be a model. 

“My key, please.” She stretches out her arm and he drops the key onto her palm. The slight contact makes him shudder. Is she flirting with him, because he wouldn’t mind her at all.

“Would you give me your number?” She asks him.

“Sure.” There it is. A shy smile. She is fishing for an excuse to call him. He should give her one. “Call me if you want a riding partner. But I have to warn you, my Harley is not as fast as this beast.”

“Meet me for coffee and I'll tell you about the other bikes I have.” She smiles and puts her helmet on. 

“You’re on.” Alessio laughs. “I get off at four.”

He is watching her drive off and he has to admit the girl knows what she’s doing. She is careful and considerate. She doesn’t rev the engine to wake up the dead. She rides because she enjoys it. She loves the power of the bike and she knows how to use it. She said she’s got more bikes? That got his interest up faster than her smiles and those pearly white teeth.

‘She would be fun.’ His wolf comments.

‘Yes, but I have the feeling she is not a one night stand kind of a girl.’ Alessio tells his wolf.

‘No harm in trying. At least go to that coffee thing and learn more about her bikes. She said she has more.’  The wolf growls. 

‘I will. She is interesting.’ He answers and returns to his previous work. Polishing the fire truck.

At the end of his shift, he has a message on his phone. She wants to meet for coffee at the small cafe down the road from the Fire station. He smiles all the way over there. He decided to walk the short distance and leave his bike in the safe spot at the station. He has the feeling that her bike will be the main topic for everyone. The coffee shop she chose is a known biker hangout and he wonders if she knows that? 

Probably! There she is. All casual and leaning back in her chair on the terrace, never leaving her bike out of sight. A smile is on her face and he knows she is listening to the oohs and ahhs from the crowd. He shakes his head and walks over to her. The guys and girls here won’t even notice him. It’s nice to be invisible for once. Maybe he should hang out with her more often, if she can provide the distractions?

“Hey, pretty lady. I see the bike stole the show.” He greets her. He is secretly glad for her bike. For once he's got peace to enjoy his coffee. Should he tell her that or just plan to see her more often?

“Hey, yourself.” She laughs. “I ordered you a black coffee when I ordered mine. I don’t think we’re getting anything else.”

“Did you know this is a biker hangout?” Alessio inquires.

“No. I never frequented these kinds of places, dad only took me to the Harley club.” She answers. “I wonder if he knew what we were missing?”

“Past tense?” He wonders why she speaks about her father this way.

“Yeah. My parents died five years ago. I took over my mom’s agency and finished my degree at the University on the go.” She tells him.

“I’m sorry about your parents.” Alessio nods at her and squeezes her hand. She is warm and alluring. And she smells amazing. 

“It’s fine. I got over it. On most days.” She smiles sadly. “Today is the first time that I have taken my bike for a ride after their deaths. I just couldn’t look at the bikes without remembering my father. His collection takes up the whole garage, but the Hayabusa is all mine.”

“You have all of your father’s bikes? Did he have a big collection?” Alessio asks her.

“Yes. There are 20 bikes in the garage. You can come over and see them, but I have to warn you. I’ll never sell any.” Grazia tells him and he is secretly happy about the invitation. She likes him, that is obvious. Maybe he does stand a chance with her after all?