“No? Good. Cricket, you can offer her the job after Sandy’s last shift. Meeting adjourned, get the fuck out. Except you, Priest. I need a word. And Bones? Check on Ace.” Bones nodded to Duke and lifted his chin to me as he exited church, leaving me alone with my old man. Duke was giving me the stink eye, staring me down as an intimidation tactic. As a kid, it had worked every time; he’d call me into his den and stare sternly in silence. I’d get so unnerved I’d eventually break the silence, inevitably ratting myself out. It took me longer than it should have to realize I needed to just shut up and plead the Fifth.
A headache sprang to life at the base of my skull, and I officially ran out of patience for my old man’s tactics. “You wanted a word, prez. Have it.”
Duke’s eyes narrowed at my attitude, but I couldn’t find a fuck to give. I’d felt frustrated… pent up since we found that girl. Wound tight like a top about to spin out of control. The only thing that kept me from spiraling now that my quest for retribution for Ellis had ended was Los Cuervos. My family.
Any threat to the Crows had to be dealt with immediately and permanently. My gut told me this girl wasn’t here randomly and was hiding something important that could affect us. I wouldn't trust her until I figured out who she was and what she was keeping from us.
“Yeah, I wanted to ask you what the hell you got against this poor girl. I’m offering her a job and a place to stay till she gets on her feet. What about that rubs you the wrong way?”Okay, Pope John Paul, you wanna act like this is a humanitarian project? Bet.
“Is that what we do now? Take in strays, let ’em mooch off us, and send them off when they’re ready to strike out on their own? Are we a damn halfway house for broke bitches now?”
Duke’s fist slammed down on the table.“Don’t fuckin’ test me, boy. She ain’t done nothin’ to earn your hate that I can see. I’ve been watchin’ you watch her, you know? I’ve been listenin’ too. I know she hasn’t started shit with you, and that you can’t say the damn same. I know that poor girl has lived through some tough shit, but she still findsa way to be happy in herself and her situation. If I ever saw the living embodiment of ‘when life hands you lemons, make lemonade,’ it’d be that girl. I can’t say the same about every man in this club. It speaks to an inner personal strength that’s rare. So tell me, why do you hate her so much?”
I ran my hands down my face, scrubbing at the scruff on my jaw. “I don’t know! I don’t… it’s just something, a feeling in my gut. There’s something about her. Something isn’t right with her. I justfeelit.” I pushed away from the table and snatched my glass, heading to Duke’s bar cart near the back corner of the room. After pouring a finger of whiskey, I tossed the whole drink back. I poured a second and grabbed another glass, adding some for Duke.
When I sat back down at the table, the expression on Duke’s face had transformed. Before, he’d been Duke the prez, ripping his VP a new asshole for his shitty attitude. Now, he looked like Duke the dad, and to be honest… I think I preferred his righteous fury face over the bemused, indulgent dad face.
“What, what is that face for? I thought you were pissed?”
He took his glass and sipped, never losing his smirk. “Oh, I am. Your attitude toward this girl as VP of this club is unprofessional and shortsighted. The VP I know would take this girl, who’d inadvertently helped get justice for one of our own, and offer her aid when she so obviously needed it. The VP I know would want to protect this girl simply because it’s the right thing to do, not to mention that it could be mutually beneficial. She gets help; we get a potential new community member who could do good in a town like Sagebrush. As prez, I’m having difficulty recognizing the man I patched into the club in the man sitting before me.” I clenched my jaw, understanding that my old man basically told me he was disappointed in me. Not a nice feeling.
Duke took another sip. “But as your dad”—he chuckled—“it’s kind of cute.” My eyes flew to his, his sudden change in tone confusing the shit out of me. I choked a bit on my whiskey.
Coughing, I asked, “Cute? The hell, old man?”
Duke chuffed out a laugh over his glass. “Yeah, it’s cute how youthinkyou hate her. You can’t take your eyes off her; now, when you enter a room, you scan it until you find her. Did you know that? Yourgaze hasweight, boy. Heft. Now you’re tellin’ me she gives you feelings in your fuckin’ tummy. I think you’re fallin’ for her, son. And it’s cute as hell.” He was full-on chuckling at me now while I gazed on at his obvious descent into the throes of dementia, completely unamused. Losing his mind was the only excuse I could come up with for the crazy shit he was spewing.
“You’ve lost it.” I stood, shaking my head. “Mom will be devastated when I put your crazy old ass in a home.”
“Nah, you love me. You’d never put me in a home. When I need a nurse, you better do your pops a solid and get a stacked one. I always was a tit man.”
“You keep giving me shit, and I’ll make sure your nurse is a big burly motherfucker.” I reached the door and was almost through the threshold when I heard Duke call out.
“Uh-huh, you play nice with Girl now. No pullin’ on her hair… unless she asks you to,” he added with a wink.
The smug bastard was so off base. I didn’t do love or relationships. I didn’t have the patience for clingy girlfriends. Casual partners who were around for a good time, not a long time, were more my speed. I didn’t want or need the complication of an ole lady, so keeping my sexual interactions anonymous or extremely casual was a necessity. I tried not to fuck club girls when I could help it because I saw them too often. Proximity seemed to breed familiarity, and I wasn’t interested in being any more familiar than a fuck buddy to anyone. When possible, I preferred to get my kicks out of town when I finished a job—no muss, no fuss.
I strode down the hallway and back to my office. The whiskey was finally doing its job, numbing me pleasantly when my buzz began. I sat down on the couch and mulled over Duke’s words. The idea that I not only wanted but was falling for the feral hobo currently freeloading in our guest bedroom was delusional. I watched her because I didn’t trust her, not because she was hot. I wouldn’t lie and say the chick was ugly. Objectively, I knew she was beautiful. She had stormy-green eyes that reminded me of a worn piece of sea glass I had found once when Duke took us on vacation to California. I remembered thinking that the softly worn and rounded hunk of green glass was a piece of the sea, crystalizedand frozen in time. I kept it in my pocket all summer, taking it out and caressing my thumb over it like a worry stone. I probably still had it somewhere.
Her upper lip had a perfect cupid’s bow, giving her a pout that was kissable as fuck. Long ash blond hair waved past her shoulders, though she didn’t know what to do with it, so those waves often resembled a rat’s nest. She had perfect tits, which were more often than not on display. It was as if she wore her tops too small just to show off her chest. I bet she was trying to get some brother or another interested in her psychotic ass.
Which was thick, by the way. I wasn’t the only one watching her run her laps in those stretchy yoga pants Lennon gave her. I needed to talk with Lennon and see if she could get her some baggy sweatpants to run in. That girl didn’t need every man on the compound drooling after her while trying to exercise.
Shutting off that particular train of thought was harder than I wanted to admit when I noticed how tight my jeans were feeling at the moment. I shifted, adjusting myself, annoyed that she affected me at all. My dick thought she was hot, but the rest of me knew she was trouble, and thankfully, that part of me was in charge. I knew my dick wasn’t the only one who noticed how sexy the girl was, but my focus needed to be one hundred percent on the Crows so if one of my brothers was stupid enough to mess around with that crazy broad…well, it’d be his funeral.
Maybe I should warn them all off. Surely, the last thing we needed was a piece of ass in the club causing unrest between the brothers? We’d seen it before, two or more brothers fighting over the same club girl and causing all kinds of drama that we sure as shit didn’t need. I tossed back the last of my drink and slid the empty glass onto my desk. I needed to find something to eat to soak up the booze before Bones and I headed into Reno in a few hours to check on Savage Delights, our underground fighting ring, and get the weekly deposit from Bear, who oversaw the operation.
A buzzing in my pocket drew my attention away from thoughts of Savage Delights and the insufferable girl. I slid my phone out of my pocket to see a text from Bones.
Bones:Ace is at the bar. He’s got something you should hear.
Fuckin’ great, one more thing to add to my plate. Might as well slide a burger on it while we’re adding shit. I huffed out a sigh, wishing I could just go upstairs to my room, take a shower, and slide between the sheets for a much-needed eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Might as well ask for a damn unicorn. Instead, I texted Bones back.
Me:On my way, order me a burger. No tomatoes this time, dick.
Bones texted back a middle-finger emoji. He was my best friend in the world, but I wouldn’t eat tomatoes. Not even for him. I swiped my keys off the desk and left my office to head to the bar. Time to figure out what the hell was going on between Ace and Pyro and hopefully avoid seeingheragain.
Chapter 10
