I’d tried to google The Veil, but I found nothing that could be linked to this.
“An escape. A place you can be who you really are, and no one will ever know. Secrecy is assured. Just call the number and The Master will handle the rest.”
I couldn’t use dating apps. I’d be recognized if I used photos of myself, and even if I wasn’t, it was too risky. If I brought guysback here or met them in hotels, there was a chance of someone catching on. Of my father finding out.
I was twenty-four now. It wasn’t like my attraction to men was going away. So, I either risked causing a scandal my father would destroy me for, pretended I wasn’t attracted to men and ended up in a miserable marriage like my parents, or remained single forever.
I’d gotten by on porn, books, and toys until now. While I had no experience myself, I had a pretty good idea of what I was into. Maybe The Veil would be just what I needed.
I typed the number into my phone and hit call before I changed my mind yet again. It was just a phone call. Nothing I couldn’t come back from.
The dial tone rang three times before the line went dead.
I tried it again. The same thing happened.
Figured. I’d probably waited too long and whatever this stupid club was had ceased to exist. Whatever. I’d figure something else out.
I tended to my snakes—misted their tanks, checked their water and temperatures—going through the motions like it was any other day. Birthdays meant nothing to me anymore.
I’d seen the box cake Matthew had snuck into the pantry, and I planned to ignore it like I did every year. Maybe I’d just go for a ride and then get ready for the work week.
My phone buzzed on the table and I already predicted who it was from. Archer was busy these days, but he never forgot my birthday.
Wolf
Happy birthday, Snakey. Meet me.
Archer insisted we go by nicknames now that he’d formed the group he’d wanted. I was sure anyone who truly wanted to knowour identities wouldn’t have to try too hard to figure them out, but it wasn’t like it caused any damage to use them.
He didn’t need to say where to meet him. I already knew. I dressed in my riding gear and set off.
It surprised me to find Archer wasn’t alone. The Strays were all here: Henrik who went by Hound, Coyote, Raven, Fox, Jackal, Cupid, Reaper, Halo, Knives, even Bull, who hated any form of socialization. Only Ghost was missing, but that was for the best. That guy seriously creeped me out.
They hollered and cheered as I pulled up.
There was a fire burning on the sand where they’d gathered, a short distance away from where they parked their bikes.
“What’s all this?” I asked as I approached.
“What’s it look like, Little Snake Prince?” Coyote smiled around a cigarette. “It’s a birthday party.”
“Just Snake is fine.”
He smirked. I knew he only did it because it annoyed me when anyone called me little, and Snake Prince was just what my nickname had evolved into over the years once the others realized who I was.
“Here.” Raven tossed me a beer, and while I didn’t drink often, I’d let myself have this.
Archer bumped my arm as he came to stand next to me. “Happy birthday, brother.”
I cracked the beer and gulped it down, if only to clear the lump in my throat and distract myself from the heat building behind my eyes. It was just a word, just a bunch of people with nothing better to do than drink at the beach. It was pathetic to let myself get emotional about it.
When the fire died down, we packed up and went for a ride along the coastline, the combined roar of our exhausts loud enough to shake the trees as we zipped past them. I could haveopened the throttle and left them all behind, but it was nice to slow it down and ride for fun for a change. To let the wind, the ocean, and our engines drown out everything else for just a little while.
One by one they peeled off, their taillights disappearing as they split away down side roads, heading home, until it was just Archer and me, riding like old times. We raced. He lost. And then I was alone.
Deciding I should at least try to get a couple of hours sleep before Dad expected me in the office tomorrow, I made my way back into Harborview. This early in the morning there was barely any traffic. The roads were quiet, and the city was still, a ghost of what it became in the daylight.
That’s why I heard the bike long before I saw it.
