Blade turned with his brow furrowed. “What? What’s wrong?”
I’d seen Blade wear his leather jacket before, and I’d even ridden on the back of his bike, but there was no way he’d been wearing an Outlaw Souls patch before today.
“You can’t seriously be an Outlaw Soul.” It wasn’t a question, because I didn’t want him to confirm it.
“You have a problem with motorcycle clubs?”
“I have a problem with that one,” I said, sitting the remaining three coffees down on the counter and crossing my arms over my chest.
“Why?”
He seemed genuinely curious, but beneath that, I could sense his loyalty to Outlaw Souls. I’d seen it in my father long enough to recognize it. I lifted my chin and met his gaze head-on.
“I’m connected to Las Balas,” I said, not sure how else to phrase it. Mad Dog had said I was family, but I wasn’t so sure about that. My dad and my brother, sure, but I was more like a close family friend. My dad and brother were definitely family.
Understanding seemed to dawn on Blade’s face. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
“Be serious,” I snapped angrily. I knew that Blade didn’t know about my ties to a rival club, but I couldn’t help feeling betrayed. I thought he was a good guy, but how could I believe that after being told my whole life that Outlaw Souls were the enemy?
I wasn’t naive enough to think Las Balas were all stand-up guys. I knew that they got up to trouble sometimes. So iftheyclaimed that Outlaw Souls were bad people, the rival club must get up to some bad shit.
“How can you align yourself with those people?” Blade asked, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Me? Look who’s talking. And I’ll have you know that my father is a member and my brother’s a prospect of Las Balas.”
“So, iseveryonein your family a piece of shit?”
“Whoa,” Piper’s voice distracted me from the tirade I was prepared to throw at Blade. “What’s going on here?”
She’d just walked in, and I saw Brie lingering behind her, watching us with concerned eyes.
“You won’t believe this,” I told my best friend. “Blade’s an Outlaw Soul now.”
“What?” she looked to Blade, who nodded with a stubborn glint in his eye.
“I was initiated on Saturday.” He shrugged out of his jacket and showed them both the patch on the back. I forced myself not to ogle his thick arm muscles that were easy to see through his tight shirt.
“Oh,” Piper’s eyes flitted to me for a second before widening. “Wow. That’s…unfortunate.”
That was one way to put it.
“I can’t believe this,” I sighed. “I slept with the enemy.”
At this, a dark anger flashed in Blade’s eyes, and there was a rough edge to his voice when he spoke. “You didn’t complain at the time.”
“Okay, maybe it’s time to calm down,” Piper said.
“At the time, I thought I knew who I was sleeping with,” I bit out, ignoring her. “You guys go out of your way to harass Las Balas, declaring war, and for what? To make yourselves feel like big men by pushing out the only other motorcycle club in La Playa?”
“Are you really this naive? You think that Las Balas are the good guys in this fight?”
“You know what? You’re new to Outlaw Souls, so I’ll give you some advice. Don’t piss off your president. I’ve heard that he’s got a violent history, and I’d hate for you to learn the hard way that you’ve misplaced your loyalty.”
I crossed into my workspace and pulled the curtain shut around me before he could reply. I didn’t want to see his face right now, I was too worked up. Taking a seat on my stool, I dug around in my purse until I found my last piece of gum. I popped it into my mouth as I heard Blade mumble something about crazy women before the telltale sound of metal against metal that was the track of the curtain signaled he’d closed the one around his station, as well.
“Well, today’s going to be fun,” Piper said, and I hated that she was in an awkward situation, but it wasn’t my fault. Blade was the bad guy here, and it was a shame because I really liked him.
Sixteen
