“You don’t want my arm around you?” His voice was low and smooth.
“If I did, I wouldn’t have pushed it away.”
Nodding, he pressed his lips together, then blew out a long breath. “That’s fair.”
As she finished her drink, the group of guys he’d been sitting with came over to the table. “I can see why you ditched us, bro,” one said. Raven recognized him as one of the other men who worked at the pool hall. “How’s your pool game been?” he asked her.
Lifting her chin, she held his gaze. “Great.”
Smiling, he gripped Muerto’s shoulder and squeezed it. “Is my brother treating you right?” He winked at her.
Biting her inner cheek, she quirked her lips. Several of the other bikers fixed their eyes on her chest while a few laughed and patted Muerto on the back.
Are we in grade school? What a bunch of jerks.
“Excuse me,” the waitress said as she pushed through the guys and set thesopapillasin front of Raven and Muerto. A few of the men whistled when the woman started to leave. She looked behind her and smiled. “Thanks, guys. You made my night.” She winked and hurried away. The guys laughed and spoke in hushed voices about her.
A tall, good-looking man with shoulder-length black hair came up behind the men. “Let’s get going.” He jerked his head at Muerto. “See you tomorrow.” Raven noticed his vest had a patch that read “President,” with “Steel” underneath it. She watched him leave and go to a wicked-looking Harley.
“We’ll see you back at the clubhouse. Ruby will be waiting for ya,” a blond, muscular man said as he walked away from the table.
Who the hell is Ruby?As she picked up hersopapilla, she watched the men leave the restaurant. A few seconds later, the window shook slightly from the rumble of the bikes as they exited the parking lot. “Wasn’t one of those guys from the pool hall? I recognized him.”
“Yeah. That was Crow.” He took a big bite out of his dessert.
“Do you two own it?”
Wiping the sugar off his lips, he shook his head. “The club does. We just run it.” He poured some honey on his plate. Dunking a piece of his deep-fried pastry in it, he popped it in his mouth. “So, how’d you get to be so good at shooting pool?”
“My dad taught me.” She laughed when his eyebrows shot up. “Yeah, that’s the look most people give me when I tell them that, but it’s true. My dad was a pool shark. It’s the way he earned his living.”
“That can be a risky way to live. Was your mom cool with it?”
“My mom died when I was real young. I don’t have any memories of her. It’s been me and my dad for as long as I can remember. Now don’t go thinking that my dad was like Minnesota Fats because he wasn’t, but he could hold his own. We drove around the country while he plied his craft. When things got too dangerous, we’d be out of the county in a flash.”
“Did you like traveling that much?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t know any other life. I sometimes wished I had a best friend or even a boyfriend, but anyone I met was short-term. I learned not to lay down any roots. I ended up dropping out of high school when I was fifteen, got my GED a couple of years later. I’d spend hours sketching when we’d be driving through expanses of corn and wheat fields, or when I’d spend hours alone in a hotel room. My art became my best friend. Some people keep diaries. I sketched, and the drawings were my journal.”
“How’d you end up in Alina making jewelry?”
“My dad was getting older and tired. His health was crap from too much smoking and greasy food. We ended up going to Vegas for a little recreation. Sometimes he hustled away from Vegas, but nothing too big. Then he met Wanda and she had some bucks her old man left her when he died. They seemed to hit it off, so he became a kept man.” She laughed. “Just saying that makes me crack up. But they do really care about each other. I worked and went to the community college where I got my Associate’s in Fine Art. I discovered and fell in love with acrylic painting. The jewelry making is fun and pays the bills. I ended up in Alina because the man I fell in love with was from here, so I came with him.”
A dark look crossed Muerto’s face. “You got a man?”
“Correction—hada man. I dumped his ass when his wife showed up with their three kids on our doorstep. Never saw that coming.” She grabbed her napkin and twisted it in her hands. “Enough about me. What about you? How’d you get mixed up with the Night Rebels?”
He laughed. “I didn’t get ‘mixed up’ with them. Ijoinedthem, and it was the best fuckin’ decision I’ve ever made. Not much else to tell. I got two sisters. Laura’s a couple of years older than me, and Rosa is a few years younger. Rosa’s an accountant and works for a big Denver firm. I’m pretty fuckin’ proud of her. She’s the first one in our family to go to college.”
Raven’s heart melted a bit when she saw the pride in his eyes. “That’s awesome. Are you close to your mom and dad?”
“My mom? Hell yeah. My dad? Hell no. He cut out on us a year after Rosa was born. We’d hear from him occasionally, but he never paid a fuckin’ penny in child support. The selfish bastard always made sure to find jobs that paid him under the table. My mom worked her ass off to give us a good, safe life. I admire the hell outta her.”
“That must’ve been real hard on her. I don’t know how women can do that.”
“When they love their children more than life, they find the strength. My dad eventually moved to Texas, and we haven’t heard from him in a long time. And I’m totally cool with that because if I ever see him, I’ll probably do something that’ll land me in the state pen.”
She laughed, but she didn’t doubt for a moment that he was serious. “Does your mom live with your sister?”
