“Nice to meet you,” she tells me, and I smile.
She opens a cupboard and rifles around before coming up with a box of cereal. “You want breakfast?”
I shake my head. “Already ate.” I study her, noticing a similar set to her grin that matches Kevlar’s. A family of convincing smiles and strong attitudes, I guess.
Kevlar leans his hip against the counter. “Sorry about this morning. Didn’t mean for you to get caught up in my sister’s soap opera.”
“I’m glad you came keeps me from catching a murder charge,” Candyce says, tossing a handful of cereal into her mouth. “I don’t look good in orange, so don’t worry, girl.” She looks me over with a little more intensity, as if she’s searching for something. “What brings you by, anyway? Not that I’m not happy to meet you.”
“Thought you might have a jacket she can borrow.”
“I bet we’re the same size or close enough. Follow me.”
I follow her out of the kitchen and into a hallway that has a few laundry baskets sitting in front of a washer and dryer set next to the bathroom.
“I’ve got more clothes than I know what to do with.”
We enter her bedroom. It’s not what I was expecting. Everything is pink and floral. Totally girly and not punk to match her hard biker bitch appearance. “Now let’s see.” She slides hangers across the rack, muttering under her breath. “Ah ha.” She pulls out a lightweight black leather jacket. “Take this.” She looks down at my black sneakers. “And you’ll want these.” She dips down and comes back up with a pair of black boots.
“Thank you.”
“No problem. I don’t need those back. So keep them.”
“I appreciate it, truly.”
“My closet needs a clean-out. I’ll drop some stuff off with Kev later. That is where you’re staying, right?”
“For now. I think.”
“Don’t worry. My brother is nothing like Graves. Fucking dickhead. I’m going to kill him.” She flips off a picture of the two of them that sits on her dresser like he can see her before she flips it face down.
“Not if I do it first,” Kevlar states from the doorway.
“See. My brother will have your back. Nothing to worry about with him.”
Kevlar says something under his breath that doesn’t register with my ears.
“If you need anything at all, have Kev call me.” She launches into a hug, wrapping her arms around me, squeezing me tight. She smells sweet, like bubblegum.
“Stay away from Graves for a bit, yeah?”
“Pfft. Whatever.”
“I mean it. All you two do is fuck and fight. It’s toxic.”
“Oh. I am so done with his ass. Can you believe him? Had his naked ass laid up in my bed getting texts from that skank-ass ho. Like I’d want his dick in me knowing it had been her. As if.”
“Okay, that’s more information than I need to hear as your brother.”
I smile to myself. “I’ll meet you outside. I’m going to swap out my shoes.” I leave them to say their goodbyes or plot Graves’ murder in private.
He comes out moments later, and we get back on his bike after shoving my other shoes and the jacket she gave me into his saddlebags. After a few blocks the road peels wide open. The sand dunes and palm trees have a familiarity to them, but no recollection comes into focus. There’s just a dull ache where I hit my head. The sensation of being watched pours over me, unsettling me. Giving me this uneasiness in the pit of my stomach. We don’t go to the clubhouse or back to his apartment. We detour past a marina that hugs the water. Boats bob gently on the water, and the sensation of water bubbling in my throat pulls at me as Kevlar pulls off on the side of the road.
I climb off the bike on shaky legs.
“You okay?” he asks, undoing the helmet latch under my chin, careful not to hit my wound as he pulls it off my head.
“Yeah. I don’t know. I had this creepy feeling. Like someone was watching us or something. And seeing the boats made me uneasy.”
