Page 23 of Two Tricks

“Fucking Harper and her Urban Dictionary addiction. Why does she teach me all those stupid phrases?” I said, going limp against Eagle and looking back up at him. “My bad. Didn’t mean to get your hopes up that was ever gonna happen again.”

Wait, why was I apologizing to him? What the fuck did I care? I should have welcomed the chance to puke all over him if he tried to shove his dick down my throat.

“Oh, is that right? Never going to happen again? I highly doubt that, little hellcat. In the meantime, we’ll just have to make sure you’re not left to your own devices for that long. That was a two-hundred-dollar bottle of brandy. If you keep drinking like that, you’ll be a very expensive houseguest.” Eagle let me go and pushed me towards the other guys. “Sit down and I’ll make you my hangover special.”

Snagging my coffee, I cautiously made my way over to the other three. When they didn’t scatter even though they were clearly finished with all their food, I took the seat they pulled out for me between Void and Picasso. I couldn’t place why I was so wary of them all this morning. They hadn’t done anything aggressive to me, but that was exactly what was wrong.

They were no longer acting like I was a prisoner they didn’t trust or want in their house. Yesterday I’d been left with just one of them or on my own to keep myself entertained. Now they all seemed more intent on being around me.

Did they find out information that I don’t know about? Did Wes make contact, trying to get me back by pretending to be Two Tricks? It wouldn’t be the first time he’d done that.

I still couldn’t figure it out, and it was driving me crazy. I needed to scout out who would be the easiest to break and try and get them alone to pump them for information.

“All of us have work we need to get done, but I’ll have one of the guys around all day,” Eagle said as he moved around the kitchen. “I also thought it might be good for you to meet some of the old ladies in the club. Figured it might be better for one of them to go shopping for the things you need.”

“Any chance I can go with them?” I dared to ask. Eagle’s furrowed brow gave me my answer. “Was worth a shot,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

“Just in case you forgot, each of us have an app on our phones that lets us control the ankle monitor you have on. So if you get too far from one of us or try and take them out, the other four of us can zap your ass just as easily from wherever we are,” Eagle reminded me with a wink as he set a plate of food down in front of me. “Just making sure things are clear between us all.”

Looking down at what he made me, my stomach growled, excited to taste this magical combination of food. Scrambled eggs, bacon, and cheese between two toasted waffles covered in syrup. Half of me wanted to grab it and shove it into my mouth, but I decided that would be an insult to this creation. Picking up the knife and fork, I dove into the meal, humming happily and bouncing in my seat. Each bite was bliss.

“Picasso was right, food definitely puts you in a good mood.” Eagle chuckled as he started working on his own waffle sandwich without the syrup.

Mouth full of the delightful meal, I ignored his comment. I paused my chewing when Sprocket joined us in the kitchen, making himself a cup of hot tea. For some reason, this piqued my interest. Not that there was anything wrong with not liking coffee, I just didn’t picture him as that guy.

“You’ll spend the morning with Sprocket; the rest of us have things to do off the compound,” Eagle said, pulling my attention back to him. “One of us should be back later this afternoon to relieve him of your company.”

Resting my chin on my hand, I batted my lashes. “Don’t hurry home on my account. I’m sure I can find some way to amuse myself.”

“That’s what we’re worried about,” Picasso grumbled.

Shoving the last part of his breakfast into his mouth, Eagle rinsed off his plate and loaded it into the dishwasher. I wonder how much it would bother him if I left my dishes in the sink? I chuckled, picturing his eye twitching and him trying to hold back from strangling me.

Lost in my own imagination, I startled when hands grabbed my hips and spun me around on the stool. Eagle looked down at me, his eyes full of possessiveness. He grabbed my chin in one large hand, tilting my head back as he gave me a brutal kiss. Shocked, I didn’t respond right away, but as he nipped at my lips, I couldn’t help but rise to the challenge and open up to him.

When he pulled back, there was a satisfied grin on his lips, which were red from our kiss. “See you soon, little hellcat.”

He signaled to the rest of the guys, and all but Sprocket followed after him, totally unfazed by the makeout session we had right in front of them. It didn’t bother me—I wasn’t shy—but that kiss seemed to mean something to the others.

I could see the wheels turning in Dax’s brain, taking in everything that had just happened.

We all knew what Eagle had done. Now the gloves were off, and she was fair game. Knowing that I had the whole morning alone with her made me smile. I was going to take her apart piece by piece until I could figure her out, see what made her tick.

Being the quiet guy allowed me to observe people, watch them when they didn’t notice I was in the room. It gave me an advantage as an adult, but it was born from years of abuse and self-preservation. From the little time I’d spent watching Dax, I could tell she had a kindred spirit. She’d been through her own version of hell and fought to land on top. My fingers itched to peel back the layers of sass and bravado to see what was really hidden at her core.

“You can take a picture if you want, that way you can stare at it whenever you like,” Dax said, glancing at me from the corner of her eye.

I shook my head slowly. “Pictures never do the real thing justice.”

Dax snorted as she turned to give me her full attention. Her silver-blue eyes wandered over me, searching for anything she could use to figure me out. I knew what happened between us this morning had caught her off guard and she still couldn’t decide what to make of it. Grinning, I gulped down the last of my tea before grabbing her plate and putting it in the dishwasher.

“Well, babysitter, what’s on the agenda?” Dax asked, trying to get a rise out of me.

“I have work to do in the shop. Parts came in yesterday so I can finish up a few bikes,” I answered, walking to the pool table and grabbing the pair of black lace-up combat boots off them. “Here—you’re going to need these. Can’t let you hang around wearing flip-flops.”

She took them from me and looked at the size, her eyes widening. “How did you know my size?”

“It’s a talent, I guess you could say. I’ve always been good at matching up parts,” I said, giving her a wink. I liked seeing her off balance; she was far too used to being in control, and I wasn’t going to make it that easy. “Come on, we’re burning daylight.”