“Like I said,” Mak snorted, letting his gaze roll all the way to my boots before he found my eyes again, “you ain’t shit. You’re just as dumb a bitch as your mother was.”
I grabbed his shoulder, jerked him back to face me, and returned the favor with everything I had.
Those girls didn’t have the good sense to leave us. That van emptied before we finished rolling and grappling. My back ate the gravel, but that didn’t stop me from feeding him punches. I knew better than to cower with him mounting me.
It wasn’t the first time we’d aired things out with fists, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Especially the way he played with powder.
Chapter Seven
All Worked Up
Anthony
The pillow felt amazing, even if my jaw was stiff when I opened my eyes. The house was quiet, which wasn’t anything new. My brother, Eric had been deployed for over a year, so it was just me and Aunt Daisy these days.
Her door was still closed when I opened mine and ventured out into the tiny hallway. The coffee pot was scheduled to brew at six sharp every morning, but it was still sitting full and the clock on the stove read five after seven.
I groaned and made my way to the shower, letting the heat and steam do what it could for my muscles while I washed and stretched. I could see the faint red marks on my lower back where we’d scuffled about alongside the highway, but otherwise it looked no worse for the wear.
I’d made it home just fine on my own bike, so I couldn’t complain too much. It could have been worse. If any of the guys had seen or girls the guys knew, it would have been really bad.
As it stood, Mark would probably ask Mak what happened, and he’d be smart enough to lie for both our sakes.
I wrapped a towel around myself and stepped out onto the fluffy rugs Daisy favored in the washroom. I smiled at my reflection in the mirror just thinking about what she would say, if she’d seen me with the blood on my face last night.
I didn’t see any obvious swelling. There was a faint scratch near my ear, but I didn’t think anyone would notice. I took my time dragging the razor around my jaw until I was perfectly lined up. Daisy hated my grooming tactics. She said I was worse than any sister she had.
I don’t know how that is possible. It isn’t like I was doing anything special; I just liked a crisp hint of a beard. I heard the cabinet door closing in the kitchen and the trickling sound of her coffee being poured.
“Be out in just a minute,” I called, as I completed the finishing touches and washed my face clean.
I didn’t think anything of the lack of response, until the door opened behind me.
“Oh,” she murmured, clearly surprised by my presence.
Her hair was disheveled and she didn’t quite look fully awake at first glance. Then, her mouth went slack, and she hurried into the bathroom, rather than closing the door and giving me a moment, as I might have hoped.
“Wh–?” That was all I got out before the fussing started.
“What on Earth? Anthony, what the hell?”
I hissed when she began to palpate my lower back.
“Ah– It’s nothing. I just–”
“Nothing? No— What happened to your ear?” She shot to her tiptoes and nearly took my earlobe off my head with her effort to bring me down to size.
“Ahh, take it easy, Dai–”
“That Mark Miller did this, didn’t he?”
I groaned when she instantly zeroed in on Mark. If it wasn’t Mark taking the blame for something, it was Montana with her. She hated them with equal measure. I couldn’t say I didn’t understand why. My mother once told me that was how she met my father. They went on a double date with Aunt Daisy and Montana.
She blamed herself for my mother’s death, but beyond that grief and guilt, she ultimately blamed the club.
“Mark didn’t do anything.” I tried to laugh away her concern, but she had that eagle-eyed look about her and was already tossing her head back and forth.
“No. No, you will not cover for them.” She insisted, “And I won’t stand for this. I won’t stand for the violence. The outlawry is bad enough.”
