by Evelyn Glass
“Do you really think it’s that good?”
“Really.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. He wasn’t joking. His face was serious, his eyes sincere - if that was something that was possible at all.
I put my hands flat on the table and stared at them for a moment. I didn’t want to sound like I was fishing for compliments but I wanted to know what he thought. Precisely. “What did you like about it?”
I looked up at him after I asked the questions. He smiled at me and it was genuine, lighting up his face and going all the way to his eyes.
“The way you set up the mystery is great. Kept me hooked all the way through. And your style is easy to read. Conversational. I love books like that.”
“You read often?” It was a very educated comment.
He shrugged. “I’ve read a couple of books.”
“Only a couple?” Somehow I didn’t believe him. He talked like an avid reader, not like a biker who was next to illiterate.
He shrugged. “I love your main character. She’s feisty and strong, but unassuming. She sounds like she could be a stunning person to hang out with. A lot like you.”
I felt myself blushing and couldn’t help but smile. I’d come here expecting him to be an asshole, thinking he would probably say something offensive. I knew he was charming. I hadn’t expected to respond to it. He made me feel warm inside.
When I looked at him again he was smiling, too. He knew he’d gotten me. I wanted to get annoyed about it but I let it go. So he was charming. So it had worked. It was once. It was all right.
“What else did you think?”
He looked at the manuscript in front of me as if he could picture the pages again. Before he could answer me I asked another question.
“Did you read the entire thing?”
He nodded. That was some damn fast reading. It confirmed to me that he didn’t just read ‘now and then’ like he’d said. This man read a lot more. A sexy biker with tattoos all over his arms and the side of his neck and leather all over the place that read a lot. I could understand why he was trying to deny it.
“It wasn’t finished,” he said like that was some kind of excuse for him to have read almost two hundred pages in one sitting. “And the main character is well developed but I don’t like the male lead character. That little lawyer. She needs someone stronger and more confident.”
“Like who?”
He leaned back and flashed me a skew grin. “Like a biker.”
Of course. I rolled my eyes but smiled. “Because a biker is the best type of guy, right?”
“If your life needs some spice and you’re way too good for what you do, yes.”
I wasn’t so sure we were still talking about my main character. It felt a little like he was maybe referring to me.
“Will you let me read more when I come to the library to check out my books?” He looked at me with puppy dog eyes that should have looked stupid on a biker but that he managed to pull off.
“You still have fines to pay. You can’t check anything out until they’re paid.”
“Come on, your boss made sure they went away.”
I shook my head. “She made sure I made them go away. And it’s not like I’m just going to let this slide. It’s the principle of the thing.”
He grinned at me again, making me feel like I was going to falter.
“Why did you have such a big fine of children’s DVDs - of all things - in the first place?”
He shrugged. “Isn’t what I check out supposed to be personal?”
“Isn’t someone’s manuscript supposed to be personal?”
He nodded at me. “Touché.”
I folded my arms over my chest again.
“How about I tell you if you come out with me.”
“What?” He was trying to force me to do things all the time. “Isn’t this getting a little old?”
He shrugged. Maybe it wasn’t getting old for him. Maybe this kind of thing worked for him all the time. The problem was that it had worked even with me, but I had to get my manuscript.
“If this is how you go about getting girls I’m surprised you’re so popular. Manipulation isn’t attractive on a man.”
“Yeah, you say things like that all the time. Manipulation isn’t attractive, a man who loves himself too much isn’t attractive…do you have a list you’re working through?”
I shook my head. “Just standards.”
He made an O with his mouth and shook his head. “You’re something, you know that?”
I shrugged, fighting another blush.
“Of course, you’re the master and commander of words, so it makes sense that you can put me back in place with them so easily.”
I was blushing again, dammit. “Are you always this generous with compliments, Logan, or is it just with me because you’re pretty sure I don’t like you?”
He grinned. “What? You don’t like me?”
I couldn’t help but smile. He was really attractive, funny, and his confidence just added to it. The fact was that I did like him, but I didn’t want him to know that. I didn’t want him to think he could do all of this and think it would work to make me see him. Even though it already did.
“Come out to dinner with me. Let me take you on a real date.”
“For information, right? Because nothing here is for free.”
He grinned and nodded. “To know why I had five DVDs on my name. Children’s DVDs.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He wasn’t going to let this one go. And I didn’t want to let it go either. I really did want to know. There was something about this guy that was just completely different from what he seemed to be when I first met him. He read he had comments on writing that were quite well informed, and he had secrets like Children’s DVDs that didn’t add up. And I was a sucker for mysteries.
This was the biggest mystery I’d ever seen.
“I thought you were interested in Alicia,” I said, trying to steer the conversation away from the obvious answer I was about to give. I needed a reason not to be interested in him, and knowing he’d been with other women was enough to kill my attraction to him.
He shook his head. “Honestly? That was just because I wanted to get out of those fines. I can, so I did.”
“So you didn’t take her home with you? You two left the library together.”
“God, no.” His answer was so quick and so strong I was willing to believe him, but he carried on. “I know I’m a fast worker but there wouldn’t exactly have been time to go to my place, have at it, and get back to pick up my wallet - just after closing time.” He emphasized the last bit. I had to admit I’d been a pain in the ass there. I would do it again, too, if it came down to it.
“So, you just used her?”
He sighed. “Do you want me to say yes? Because I’ll say it. I used her shamelessly to get out of a couple of dollars for a fine. Are you happy now?”
I was happy and unhappy. Happy that he’d admitted to what he’d done, unhappy that he hadn’t taken her home so I could use it to get rid of the obvious attraction between us that was starting to build more and more. I didn’t like dating because I always ended up disappointed, learning that the man was just a man and not someone who would save me.
Not someone who would let me save him in return.
This was blowing up in my face because he was the perfect mix between badass and great and I was starting to really want to go out on a date with him.
I took a deep breath and blew it out in a loud sigh.
“Fine.”
“Every time you agree to something you make it sound like I’m forcing you.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You are.”
That wasn’t entirely true. This time, he’d left me little choice, but I didn’t have to see him to find out why he liked children’s DVDs. I could say no, walk away and never see him again. The truth was, this time, I didn’t want to walk away. I wanted to see him again. I wanted to go out
on this date with him, and if the information he was holding ransom was the way that was going to happen without him thinking I really was interested, so be it.
He shrugged. “I’ll pick you up after work.”
“I need to go home and change into something better than this.”
He looked at my clothes like he hadn’t noticed it before - which I was sure was a total act. He was a man and I’d seen him looking at my breasts earlier.
“Okay. I’ll pick you up from your place. At eight.” He gestured to the manuscript. “Can I keep that, though? Just a little longer?”
“That’s pushing it.”
“Come on, let me read it again and give you some real feedback.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. I wanted real feedback. I wanted his opinion. It shouldn’t have mattered to me but it was starting to. “Fine,” I said again but it didn’t sound nearly as sarcastic or hostile as it had before.
Chapter 6
Logan
Lunch for Selena was just an hour. She ordered a toasted sandwich when we agreed to go on another date. I ordered food, too, and finished it after she left. That waiter with the long hair kept glaring at me like I was doing something wrong just by sitting down with her. I didn’t blame him, though. Selena seemed to be unaware of how much male attention she generated. I was very aware of how many men looked at her when she walked past them.
And I understood why, too. She was a hell of a good-looking woman. I wanted her, every part of her. Not just her brilliant mind but her smoking hot body. And I didn’t want to just have it for one night, either. I wanted her to get to the point where she gave it to me and then I wanted her to do that every night.
God, I shouldn’t be thinking like this. I wasn’t interested in dating and Selena’s heart was the last thing I wanted to break. My life wasn’t the kind of life for someone like her, anyway. She was stunning and I was a scumbag. I seduced girls and used my charm to get what I wanted and I was in some bad shit before I’d decided to straighten myself out.
Why would someone like her be with someone like me?
I left the restaurant after paying the check and got onto my bike. I drove past the library, looking at the door, hoping to see her through it, but the door didn’t exactly face the road and I knew I was just acting like a teenager with a crush. Me. A crush.
I carried on driving, my bike roaring, making a statement wherever I went. I was heading to the club. It was a rundown bar on the outskirts of town where we always met up.
The Fallen Thorns was a group of men who had been on the wrong side of the law for a very long time. A lot of us were happy we were out of trouble now but we still had to be careful and when temptation came knocking it was hard not to answer.
I parked the bike in a long row of other bikes and walked into the bar. The place was dim and musty, stale smoke hanging in the air, the permanent smell du jour. The boys were scattered across the room, sitting around the tables, in booths, and at the bar. Three of them were behind the bar, handing out beers to the rest of them.
They were a sight to behold. All of them bulged with muscle, there was more inked skin than there was clean and the amount of leather was almost obscene. But these guys were my family. There wasn’t one man I wouldn’t take a bullet for and not one who wouldn’t take a bullet for me.
These were the guys who had my back. I would put my life in their hands without even thinking about it. They were tattoo artists, bouncers, bodyguards, auto repairmen, anything that was rough and needed a lot of muscle.
Chatter hung in the air and they talked and smoked and laughed. When they saw I was there the talk quieted down until the only sounds were that of the three men behind the bar pouring drinks. Saul brought me a beer and I sipped the foam.
“Thanks,” I said when I swallowed a cold sip.
Saul looked uptight. His muscles were hard, flexed. He looked uncomfortable. I looked around the pub. More of the boys seemed unsure in the dim light as if something had happened.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. I needed to know why my men were in a bad place. If anyone fucked with them they fucked with me.
“This was delivered this morning.” Saul held out an envelope that was addressed to the pub. It had our gang name on the front, as well. It was someone who knew who we were. The envelope was already torn open and I took out the note.
Your time is coming to a close.
That was it. Nothing more. I turned the note around and back again.
“You don’t know where this came from at all?”
Saul shook his head.
We’d been on the straight and narrow - as much as we could manage, at least - for a long time. We used to have wars against rival gangs and men who ended up in jail for doing bad things - we had fights that left men broken or dead. That was all over. We’d had peace with rival clubs for years. I couldn’t think of any of the other guys who would want to off us or get us out of the way as a gang.
“We’ll take care of this. We’re going to come out the other side.”
The men nodded. They still looked unsure but I knew they trusted me, and when I said I was going to make this go away, I meant it. They had a right to trust me and I was going to deliver.
“I want you boys to be careful the next couple of days. Stay in touch with each other. Make sure you’re always contacting someone; make sure we know where everyone is. If something’s up, let us know so we can help. We’re not going to let this get us down and we have nothing whoever sent this can use against us.”
There were murmurs among the men. They knew I was right. We were going to be just fine.
I turned away from the men and they carried on drinking and talking. Saul walked with me.
“If there are more threats I want you to come to me first before you tell the rest of them. And I want you to try to find out where this came from.”
“How am I going to do that?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. If this next one gets delivered, see if you can track who did it and who they’re doing it for. It will no doubt be an innocent but any kind of lead at this point will be great.”
Saul nodded again. “I’ll do what I can.”
“I want someone at the club at all times. And not alone. Not even you - make sure that when someone’s here there are two or three people here with them.”
Saul nodded. They all had jobs but I was sure they could organize something. Some of them worked nighttime and had days off. We would be fine.
I had no idea how something like could have happened. I wasn’t sure why someone would want to threaten us at all. This was out of the blue and with nothing behind it. We hadn’t done anything worth threatening for years.
God, and now I was thinking of bringing Selena into a life like this. She was right not wanting to get involved with me, even if her reasons were different than mine. My life wasn’t safe, even when I wanted it to be.
I was going to see her again tonight but I was going to make sure nothing happened to her. She wasn’t going to get involved with this, no matter how involved she was with me.
I hoped she would be more involved than she was now, but I would keep her safe. I already had almost fifty lives in my care. Another one would just be part of the job.
I looked at the men from where I was standing. They were all good people. They had bad pasts, yes, but they were good people who made an honest living now. Some of them had families now, too. A wife, children, girlfriends. They had people who cared about them, people they cared about. I couldn’t let anything happen to them. I wouldn’t.
I pulled out my phone and looked at the screen. Nothing from Selena. I’d half-hoped there would be. A thank you for lunch? Of course, I was seeing her tonight so there was no reason for her to contact me now. She’d already given me her address before leaving so I knew where to pick her up.
Really, there was no reason for her to send me any kind of message. Still, I couldn’t get her off my mind and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. It
was nice thinking about her. It had been nice seeing her. I was looking forward to seeing her again.
I turned and walked to the office. We’d been using the club for so long we’d moved everything here so it was all in one place. The office really more belonged to Saul than to me but as long as I was in the building I had first dibs. It was a perk of being the leader, but, to be honest, the office really belonged to Saul more than anyone else. He knew every single piece of paper on the desk and the shelf to the side no matter the chaos. If I was the leader he was like the manager - someone with every single member’s number on his call list, someone with all the extra numbers we needed, like next of kin.
I pushed the door open and nearly had a heart attack. May was draped over the desk - on top of all the papers - like it was the start of a porn shoot. She wore a dress that was tight enough to push all her assets together until it was obscene and so short it really left nothing to the imagination.
I closed the door. Heaven forbid one of the others would see May here. I’d already done us a bad reputation because of this crazy bitch. I didn’t need them to doubt me now, not at a time like this.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
She sat up, arching her back, pushing her breasts out. She wasn’t wearing a bra if her nipple stand was anything to go by. Maybe once upon a time that would have turned me on but I was honestly not impressed.
“Is that way to greet a long lost lover?”
I snorted. “Lost is the only word we want to focus on here. That, and get. As in Get Lost.”
She frowned. “Your jokes haven’t gotten any funnier.”
“And I’m not any happier to see you than the last time I told you to get the fuck out of my life.”
She hopped off the table and walked toward me on heels that were so high it was impossible to balance on them. How she did it was beyond me. It made her hips swing when she walked toward me and her whole body was on display. It was the way she liked it. Once upon a time it was the way I liked it, too. Thank God I’d done up some standards in the meantime. Someone like Selena was so much classier than this bitch.
