“Hammond Boothe,” the guy said, holding his hand out to me.
Hammond?
Even this guy’s name was showy.
“Blade,” I said, squeezing his fingers as I shook his hand.
“Blade…nice.Did you get to pick your own nickname?”
“What makes you think it’s a nickname?” I asked.
“Well…” he trailed off with nervous laughter as he looked as Axel, then back to me. “I mean… Blade isn’t a real name.”
“But Hammond is?”
Trainer barked out a loud laugh, making Hammond jump before giving us a smile of his own.
“Fair enough. You guys are Outlaw Souls, right?”
“Maybe,” I said noncommittally. “And what are you guys?”
Hammond looked back over at his friends, then at me. “Just a couple of guys that like riding. Thought you guys might be cool.”
“Oh, we’re very cool,” I said. “But if you want to hang out here, you’ll have to prove yourself.”
Axel grinned broadly as he realized what I was doing.
“How?” Hammond asked.
“Taking on arealbiker in a drinking contest.”
“I can do that,” Hammond said confidently.
“We put money on the line. Five hundred.”
He didn’t even hesitate. “Done.”
“You heard the man Axel. Set us up with Jameson.”
“Whoa,” Hammond said, looking uncertain. “Whisky? That’s some hard shit.”
“You wanna back out?” I asked with a challenge in my voice. I made sure it was loud enough for his buddies to hear.
“No way,” Hammond said, literally puffing out his chest.
“Let’s do it then.”
I turned to Trainer with a grin and saw laughter in his eyes. It looked like I had found some fun for my Friday night, after all. Axel poured the drinks and carried them to the table, and Hammond’s eyes widened when he saw how much there was. This was going to be like taking candy from a baby.
* * *
The next day,I was five hundred dollars richer, but I was also hungover. The tattoo shop seemed a thousand times brighter than usual, and I wasn’t in the mood for work. But here I was, wearing sunglasses inside and lounging in my tattoo chair. I didn’t have an appointment for another hour, so I figured I might as well make use of the thing.
“Rough night?” Kat’s voice was definitely louder than usual, and I had an idea that she was doing that on purpose.
“Can you lower your voice to foghorn level, please?” I asked. Piper snickered nearby.
“You know what I think, Piper?” Kat said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “I think I’ll have the triple bacon cheeseburger from the food truck down the street for lunch. You know, the really greasy one? And fries with dripping cheese sauce.”
