“I don’t need to know what you call it!”Tanya covers her ears and sprints up the steps, leaving me with Warner, who seems to be strangling on suppressed laughter as his eyes glitter with amusement.
“Did I just scar your sister?”
The guy leans back against the wall, letting loud guffaws spill out.A reluctant grin plucks at my mouth as I finish climbing the steps.
Chuckles trailing off, Warner leads me through another door into an apartment that could be cozy if it had a little more personality.A coat rack holds both a leather vest and leather jacket with The Dark Moon Riders patch stitched on the back of both.The only wall decoration is a large, mounted TV.Two mismatched couches face the screen, and one holds a young man that looks strikingly similar to Tanya, who now leans on a kitchen island, eyes focused on her phone.
“This is my younger brother, Isaac.”Warner gestures to the guy, who nods silently before his eyes flick back to whatever game is playing on the TV.
“Nice to meet you both,” I announce.
Tanya waves a distracted hand at me.
“This way.”Warner gestures I should follow him into another room, where I find myself in a small workshop.
“Wow.Not the normal setup you’d expect in an apartment.”I run my fingers along the high top of his workbench and admire the wide array of tools hanging in organized patterns on the walls.
Warner shrugs.“Some people need an office.I wanted a workshop.Besides, it’s not like I have downstairs neighbors who’d be bothered by the sound of a power saw.”
“Do you make things?”
He nods.“Sometimes.More often, I’m repairing things.Broken chair leg here, cracked floorboard there.”
“That’s your job?”
His grin is rueful as he scratches the back of his neck.“Nah.I earn a paycheck at my uncle’s construction company.This is like a hobby.People bring me their small projects.”
“That’s sweet.Are you sure you’re part of a badass motorcycle gang?”
Warner seems more like the guy to help an old woman cross the street rather than roar down it on his insanely loud hog.
He grimaces.“It’s not that kind of gang.We’re not running drugs or anything.”
“So, everyone in town loves The Dark Moon Riders?”I ask, thinking back on Juliet’s words.
A few different emotions flick across his face until he pulls a casual give-nothing-away mask into place.“Feelings are mixed.”
I’m tempted to ask more, but I don’t want to keep Warner from what looks like a family gathering.
“Well, so far, I have nothing bad to say about you all.Especially since you’re helping me out with this jigsaw.”
That earns me a genuine smile, and he pulls open a metal cabinet drawer, only to come out holding the beautiful, versatile saw.The fact that it’s a lime-green color only delights me more.
“You’re a lifesaver.I owe you.”
“Really?What exactly do you owe me?What’s this saw worth to you?”Warner holds the tool just out of reach, tempting me to step closer to him.
This is flirting.I know it is.And I should run in the other direction.But I can’t help moving in closer.
“You’re doing me a favor, so I owe you a favor.What that entails is up to you.”I hold my hands out, and he relinquishes the saw.“But honestly, I think me holding this in your presence should be payment enough.What with women and power tools being the sexiest thing you can imagine.”
His eyes get darker while I taunt him with his previous claims.
“I—” he starts, but I don’t get to hear the end of his thought.
“We’re out of here,” Tanya yells.
Warner frowns and strides out of the room.I follow.
