I grunt since, clearly, I’ve just gate-crashed a conversation I have no interest in being a part of. While I have no objection to Grace, I’m still in denial that my best friend and fellow brother Zach is planning a fucking huge society wedding.
“Yeah, I’m having a whole weekend away with her and her sister next week, just to do wedding stuff.” Kat pulls a dramatic face, but I’ve known her all her life and she’s just like another sister to me, so I’m not fooled.
“You can’t wait.”
“Grace is okay.” Mom squeezes my fingers before releasing me. “Nothing like the girl I thought Zach’d end up with, but she’ll do.” High praise from Angie Jenson, that’s for sure, and deep inside my chest, something twists. Well, fuck. I’m not going there. She didn’t approve of Jas because we were too young.
That’s not the only reason and you know it.
I fold my arms, and the girls’ conversation washes over my head. Mom leans back in her chair and gives me a considering look. “What’s on your mind, Ty?”
Nothing escapes this woman’s notice.
“Kelly Gallagher just died.”
“How?” She doesn’t sound especially interested, which isn’t surprising, since she never liked Kelly from way back, when Kelly used to hang around the clubhouse.
“Don’t know.” I scowl into the distance. I should’ve asked Jas. Or maybe not. Kelly liked using, even though she swore blind she was clean whenever she came into work, and I never dug any deeper. Not my business what she did outside of the Hammer. So why do I feel responsible?
“I never understood why you hired that slut.”
There’s no way we’re having this conversation again. Kelly jacked in the stripper gig with the Bastards and disappeared off my radar three years after Jas left town. Truth is I’ve never been sure why I took her on as a cleaner a couple of years ago. She turned up at the Hammer one night and asked me for a job to my face, and some fucking stupid sense of nostalgia made me say yes.
The silence hangs heavy between us, not that Mom appears to notice as she joins in the girls’ wedding gossip, but her deliberate refusal to ask the obvious question of who told me about Kelly is pissing me off.
Kelly worked for me. Anyone could’ve let me know about her death.
I nearly tell her Jas is back in town, just for the reaction, but it’s not worth it. Not when I’m never gonna see Jas again. A headache thumps behind my eyes. I need to get out of here. “Catch you later.”
Mom reaches out to me, but I don’t meet her halfway. “You’re not staying for anything to eat? There’s plenty.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Okay, baby. See you over the weekend.”
It doesn’t take long to ride to the clubhouse. There was never any doubt in my mind that I wanted to follow my old man into the life. It’s in my blood. The Viking Bastards Motorcycle Club was formed more than fifty years ago, with my mom’s dad being one of the originals. Although I’m not a straight third-generation the way Zach is, since my dad’s old man had nothing to do with the club, it’s always been a family thing. Mom’s brother, Viper, was our enforcer until he died four years ago.
Damn, I still miss that son of a bitch.
It’s a typical Friday night, although Zach and his younger brother Gage are conspicuous by their absence. Fucking pair of pussy-whipped assholes. All their old ladies have to do is raise a finger and they’re both on their knees.
And once, long ago, I was the same with Jas.
I grab a beer and lean against the bar as a couple of strippers start a sexy routine. It’s a given that I enjoy the shows, and I generally end up with one of the chicks. But it’s all a farce that started ten years ago, a way to prove I’m single and loving it, so Viper felt he was helping me get over Jas. Screwing around is a habit, one the brothers expect of me because I’m Ty Jenson, VP of the Viking Bastards, the ultimate believer in bros before hos.
More fucking lies.What the hell’s wrong with me? Usually it’s not this hard to show an interest, but tonight their suggestive moves just aren’t doing it for me.
They’re blondes.
I grip the neck of the bottle and ignore the thunder in my head. I’ve no problem fucking blondes. Or redheads. Hell, I don’t give a shit what color their hair is, so long as their pussy is wet and willing.
Because that’s my rep and my shield.
Jas’s face and long black hair fill my vision, and I grit my teeth.Get out of my head.I swing about and march into the other room, where Cade and Hawk are shooting the shit and half watching a porn movie on the flat screen.
With grim determination, I glare at the screen, where some chick is taking it every which way. It’s hot and dirty, just the way I like it, but tonight something’s missing and I can’t switch off my brain the way I usually do.
“Hey, Ty.” Skyler, one of the blond strippers, wearing nothing but a G-string and stilettos, wraps herself around me and rakes her long nails down my neck. “Want some fun?”
