“Does Ains know about this?” I asked, uncertain of what his intentions were. Warrant seemed like a really good guy and he was head over heels for Ainsley, as far as I could tell, but I didn’t know him well.
“She does, but she said she didn’t want to have anything to do with this,” he clarified.
Of course that explained nothing to me. “With what?” I took the shot glass he handed me automatically.
“Drink that,” he ordered. “It’ll help relax you.”
Losing my patience, I scowled at him. “What’s going on, Warrant?”
“There she is,” he said, his grin spreading over his face. “I knew there had to be a feisty side in there somewhere. Otherwise you wouldn’t have nearly ripped that guy’s wrist off his arm last night.”
Blowing out a frustrated breath, I downed the shot. He was up to something and I was playing right into it. I promptlywheezed as the breath was knocked out of my lungs and my eyes started watering. “Whatisthat?” I rasped.
“Moonshine,” he replied. “Rotor makes the shit in his bathtub. Strong enough to take the hair off a cat.”
He wasn’t kidding. My lip curled up as I thought about the fact that I’d just drank something that a man had brewed up in the same place he washed his balls.
“Don’t worry, he sanitizes the hell out of the tub before he makes a batch.” He motioned toward the bar. “Want another?”
“God no,” I replied with a shake of my head. “My lungs have only just now started working again.”
Warrant laughed. “Yeah, this is a damn good batch.”
“Wait, where does he shower when he’s making a batch?”
“He doesn’t. It’s a trade-off.”
I shook my head in disbelief, unsure of what was happening. “What-”
“The fuck is it you need help with, Warrant?” Pyre barked as he shoved open a door on the wall opposite the bar.
This place was like a maze, there were doorways and hallways everywhere. The building was massive from the outside, so I shouldn’t be surprised.
Pyre froze as he caught sight of us. His eyes narrowed as he looked from me to his friend. “You fucking bastard.”
“Hey, Pyre,” Warrant said in a friendly voice even though Pyre looked, and sounded, like he wanted to murder him.
Unease built inside me because I had a feeling this tension between them was about me. I shouldn’t be here. It didn’t matter that I’d been invited. Or that I thought it was my friend asking me to stop by, I shouldn’t have come.
“You’ve met Rae…right?” Warrant asked, completely undisturbed by the death glare Pyre was giving him. How did Ainsley put up with this on a daily basis? He reached over and gave me a little shove in Pyre’s direction. “Ainsley got caught upwith something, but she’ll be here any minute. Then the girls are heading out for lunch.”
We were?
“Cypher just shot me a text though and needs to see me. Can you hang out with Rae until Ains shows up?” Warrant didn’t bother to wait for Pyre to answer or for me to ask any questions, he just took off down the hallway he’d appeared out of at a suspiciously fast pace.
I glanced back at Pyre once Warrant disappeared. “Hi.”
He sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly. I nibbled my lower lip wondering why he was reacting this way. It had to be me, right? He almost never spoke to me. Anytime I saw him around town he’d just nod at me then high tail it in the opposite direction.
Kinda like you do when you see him.
“Hey,” he finally said.
His deep voice made my stomach flutter. He was standing there in jeans, boots, a black t-shirt, and his cut. Nothing fancy, but he was the most handsome man I’d ever seen. And he looked resentful to have to be waiting with me.
“I can wait outside,” I told him, pointing toward the door. “You don’t have to stay here with me.”
“It’s fine.” He walked over to the bar, grabbed the shot Warrant never drank and downed it. Then he made a face. I wondered if the alcohol had burned that split in his lip. “Shit.” He looked at the glass in my hand. “Did Warrant give you Rotor’s moonshine?”
