by Zoey Parker
“Hey,” he looked up at her giving her his easygoing grin, the one he used to wear as a kid. It looked strange to see it on his adult face, but also comforting.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” he explained, his eyes dropping back to the game. “I’m just tired and have got a lot going on at work, but I can’t go taking that shit out on you.”
“So you want to play now?” Brittany wondered, intrigued as she sat down beside him. She felt a thrill of excitement run down her spine. She’d missed this version of her brother – the kind, fun Zack.
“If you can handle me beating your ass,” Zack joked.
“You know the rule,” Brittany reminded him with a warm smile, “best out of three.”
“You’re on.”
Chapter Fifty
Max turned up his collar as he walked down the street. He didn’t really know where he was going, just that he wanted out of that damn motel room. It was quiet at such an early hour. A few cars meandered down the road, but most shops were still closed. The sky overhead was a light shade of gray, promising a day of cloud cover but no rain. Max quickened his pace. He liked Colridge. It was a small town, but it was clean and well maintained. He approached a shop door and noticed a large clothed bundle wedged up against the wall on the top step.
He swallowed against the lump which had gathered in his throat. He knew from experience that within that bundle a homeless person was sleeping. Even the nicest of towns had homeless, it was an inevitable fact of life. Max could still remember the constant pinch from the cold and the never-ending gnawing in his stomach that came from being perpetually hungry. There was a time when that would have been him curled up in a ball, trying to fend off the elements as best he could.
Max fished a five-dollar bill out of his pocket and reached towards the bundle, carefully placing it on the step beside them. The bundle didn’t move. Sadly, Max stepped back and carried on. Whoever was nestled up inside had probably learned to stay perfectly still when strangers approached. When he was living on the street, Max would be harassed on a daily basis. It didn’t help that he was young and handsome. People with dark fantasies would mistake his living rough for being their property. Men in designer suits would offer him crisp dollar bills in exchange for sexual favors. But no matter how empty his stomach felt that was something he would never do. He’d seen others disappear down dark alleys with such men and never return.
Walking faster, Max did his best to put some distance between himself and his demons. He rubbed his hands together as if trying to stave off the cold, though the morning was relatively mild. Twice he’d almost lost his fingers to frost bite. So many times he’d teetered between the edge of life and death that he no longer feared it. Sometimes he wondered if his uncle was taking advantage of that when he introduced him to the Kings.
Chapter Fifty-One
As Nancy began opening her tattoo parlor, the conversation with Zack was still resonating in the forefront of her mind. She’d deliberated all night about whether or not she should have called him. The guys who came in might not even run with a motorcycle gang, they might just be assholes. But on the wrist of the one she was sure she’d spied the dark silhouette of a scythe. And he’d been careful to try and conceal it from her, which only roused her suspicions more. If it meant nothing, there’d be no harm in it being in plain sight.
Her stomach turned when she imagined the blonde guy returning for his sleeve to be worked on. As much as she wanted to heed Zack’s warnings, she couldn’t very well turn him away. What if she was wrong? What if they weren’t gang members? She couldn’t afford to turn down work, especially when they tipped as well as those guys did.
Nancy reasoned that she could finish the sleeve herself, but would that look suspicious? She was chewing on these thoughts when the door tinkled and the first guy Brittany had tattooed strolled in. Nancy caught her breath. He was so handsome in his leather jacket and heavy boots. His hair had been tousled by the wind so that it had playfully landed over his eyes.
“Morning,” he greeted her, his voice as deep and sensuous as the richest velvet.
“We’re um…not open yet,” Nancy was batting her eyelashes at him.
“Oh,” he gave her a shy smile. “Sorry. I was just walking by and wanted to drop in and say hi to Brittany. I guess I was operating on auto-pilot or something.” He nervously shoved his hands into the pocket of his jeans.
The corners of Nancy’s mouth lifted in an intrigued smile.
“You were looking for Brittany?”
“Yeah,” the guy started to blush. Nancy nodded knowingly to herself. So, this was the reason for Brittany’s happiness. And who could blame her? The guy was impossibly handsome and sexy with just the right amount of bad boy edge.
“She’s not in today,” Nancy explained. “She’s visiting her brother,” she felt compelled to say more, to keep the handsome guy within her sight for as long as she could.
“Oh, yeah, of course,” he gave a nervous little laugh. “No problem. Thanks again.”
The door chimed as he left. Nancy watched his perfect ass in his jeans depart from the store. Her pulse was racing by the time he’d left.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Zack ached both from lack of sleep and from the worries that gnawed at his every conscious thought. Brittany was blissfully unaware of his inner anguish as she stood by the front door, waiting for her cab to arrive.
“I’ve had so much fun,” she smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. Zack had to admit that for a while he’d had fun too. But as soon as he’d seen Max’ picture all his enjoyment had been overshadowed by worry.
“It was good seeing you,” Zack reached for his sister and gave her a tight hug. It felt good to hold her close, but also strange. Brittany was so much taller than the girl he’d had to look out for all those years ago. She was a woman now. But Zack still felt the need to protect her, especially from someone as dangerous as a Skeleton Kings member.
A part of him wanted to just yell at her, to scream until he lost his voice about how she needed to stay away from Max. But he knew that if he did that he’d just be effectively pushing her into her lover’s arms. No, he needed to be subtle about his dislike for Max and hope that it would be enough to make his sister see sense.
“Feels like only yesterday I was living here,” Brittany sighed as they parted from their embrace.
“It pretty much was,” Zack agreed. “You’ve barely been away. You don’t want to go rushing into anything.” He chose his words carefully and registered Brittany’s response. He saw her bristle beneath the turquoise blouse she was wearing. A hand drifted up to her neck and began to massage the back of it.
“I’m not rushing into anything,” she insisted plaintively.
“You seem pretty in love to me,” Zack folded his arms across his chest. “I just hope he’s on the same page.”
“Of course he is!”
“So you guys have talked about the future?” Zack queried. He didn’t like what he was doing. Every word he spoke felt like bile in his mouth. But if Brittany started asking Max about their future and where their relationship was going it would be the ultimate deterrent, especially to a Kings member. Those guys were notoriously nomadic with relationships, adopting a “wherever they leave their hat” policy.
“Sure, we’ve talked about the future,” Brittany nodded but her bleak expression revealed the truth.
“Good,” Zack rested a hand on his sister’s shoulder. “Because he’d be a fool not to want to marry you.”
“I didn’t say we’ve discussed marriage,” Brittany frowned, shrugging him off.
“Why not?” Zack persisted. “That’s where the relationship is headed, isn’t it?”
“Won’t I seem like a bit of a bunny boiler to be asking about marriage already?”
“Not if you’re serious about him.”
Pouting thoughtfully, Brittany turned back to look through the window. The street outside remained empty; her cab yet to arrive.
>
“I am serious about him,” she eventually concluded.
“Then you probably should be discussing marriage.”
“Zack,” Brittany sighed his name as she spun around to look at him. “Are you saying this because you genuinely care about my future or because you’re hoping I’ll look like some sort of crazy person and scare Max off?”
Zack was stunned into silence. Brittany was more perceptive than he’d given her credit for.
“I didn’t expect you to be overly keen on me being in a relationship,” she frowned at him. “But I’d hoped for at least your support.”
Lowering his head Zack could feel the tips of his ears burning with shame. She was right, of course she was right and under any other circumstance he would have been supportive. But Max wasn’t just a regular guy, he rode with the Skeleton Kings and that made him unpredictable and dangerous.
“I genuinely care about your future,” Zack promised. And he truly did. The only reason he wanted her to break things off with Max was because he cared about her future. He didn’t want her getting embroiled in any pack problems. And there were definitely problems brewing. The very fact that Max, and some of his cronies, had taken up residence in Colridge was extremely troubling. The Kings were planning a strike, the question was when would it happen?
“Oh, cab’s here,” Brittany saw the yellow car as it slid up to the curb and stopped. She shouldered her bag and gave her brother a sad smile.
“Will you at least meet him?” she asked, cocking her head to the side the way she used to do when she was a little girl, whenever she was trying to get her way.
Zack knew it would be a terrible idea for him to meet Max. What if Max recognized him? Or worse, what if Max was only even dating Brittany to get to him? Zack shuddered at the thought, but he wouldn’t put such behavior past the Skeleton Kings. Jameson’s scars were a painful reminder of just how far they’d go to protect their turf and the kind of depths they were willing to sink to.
The cab driver was now honking his horn, the sound cutting through the peaceful stillness of the street. But Brittany didn’t move, she stood staring at her brother, her eyes wide and expectant.
“Brittany…” Zack fumbled for an excuse.
“You’re meeting him,” Brittany concluded for him, swinging open the front door with unnecessary force. “You can’t possibly dislike someone you’ve never met,” she continued as she stepped out into the late afternoon sunshine.
“Meet him first. And if you still don’t like him, then fine.”
“I never said I didn’t like him,” Zack protested as she strode down the driveway towards the waiting cab. He tightened his fists as he noticed the cab driver cast an appreciative sweep of a glance up his sister’s bare legs.
“You didn’t have to,” Brittany shot back over her shoulder before bundling herself into the cab. Zack groaned and cracked his knuckles as she watched her drive away. He sensed that removing Max from her life was going to prove tougher than he’d originally hoped.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Brittany threw herself against her bed, savoring its familiar scent. It felt really good to be back in her apartment. As nice as it was to go back home, this space truly felt like hers; a space she didn’t have to share with anyone. She bunched the sheets in her hands and wriggled against the bed, wishing it could somehow swallow her whole and trap her inside.
The whole trip back to Colridge she’d been thinking about Zack and how he didn’t seem to like Max. But he was never going to like anyone she dated. In that regard, he was behaving like the over-protective parent. But Brittany didn’t want him to act like that anymore. She wanted him to be her brother, her friend.
With a sigh, Brittany sat up and looked around the room. Everything was just as she’d left it, as if frozen and awaiting her return. Chewing her lip, she fumbled for her cell phone in her tracksuit pocket. She swiftly scrolled down to find Max’ number. Her body ached with desire as she looked at the now, familiar pattern of digits. She’d missed him terribly. Being on her bed only made her miss him more wishing he was there with her, his limbs tangling up with hers.
Not wasting another moment to deliberation, she called Max. After three rings he answered.
“Hey, babe,” his voice was so warm and delicious it sent shivers down her spine. She heard the click of a door closing and wondered where he was.
“Hey,” Brittany bounced excitedly on the bed. “I’m back in Colridge now. What are you up to?”
“Coming over to see you,” Max replied flirtatiously. Brittany giggled with delight. She wanted to rest her head against his strong chest and feel his powerful arms wrapped around her.
“I’ve missed you,” she told him shyly.
“I’ve missed you too.”
Brittany was smiling. She’d been gone just one night and he’d missed her. He clearly cared about her deeply, just as she did with him. Was marriage in their future? She didn’t dare ask, but she’d certainly fantasized about it. She loved Max. Every fiber in her body told her so. She thought of her brother, and how she sensed he was trying to get her to behave in a way which would push Max away. Biting her tongue, she held in any talk of marriage and a future together. Instead, she opted to live in the moment.
“I’m taking off my clothes,” she told him seductively as she fumbled for the zipper to her tracksuit. “You’ve got ten minutes to get here before I start playing with myself.”
“I’ll be there in five.” Max hung up and Brittany dropped back down on the bed, giggling with excited delight before quickly shedding her clothes.
Chapter Fifty-Four
“Wait, what?” Jameson placed his bottle of beer down on the table and frowned at his friend.
“Brittany’s dating a member of the Skeleton Kings,” Zack repeated sourly. He couldn’t keep the secret to himself any longer. By his second beer, he’d been bursting to tell Jameson all about Max, and now he was on his fourth, which meant the truth came tumbling out with no hesitation.
“Seriously?” Jameson looked truly astonished. “Your sweet, innocent little sister?”
“Yep.”
“Well,” Jameson rolled his eyes and gently shook his head. “She won’t be sweet and innocent much longer.”
“Hey,” Zack growled, kicking at his friend beneath the table. “That’s my sister you’re talking about.”
“And she’s busy being railroaded by a member of the Skeleton Kings. You know as well as I do how they treat women. They’ll be passing her around like some sort of joint.”
Zack could feel his heart hammering angrily in his chest, could hear its echo in his ears. He wanted to think that Jameson was wrong, but he knew the truth. To the Kings, women were objects. Maybe it hadn’t happened yet but Max would ruin Brittany. He’d take what made her special – her innocence, her sweetness, and destroy that.
“You think he’s with her to get to you?” Jameson wondered anxiously.
“The thought had crossed my mind,” Zack admitted sourly, gazing sadly at his half empty bottle of beer, the contents no longer cold but lukewarm.
“Mmm,” Jameson finished off his own beer and raised his hand to order them another round. “No wonder you were so fired up over this guy this morning.”
“Yeah,” Zack agreed, recalling how he’d felt when he saw Max’ picture.
“Did you tell her he rides with the Reapers?”
Zack shook his head. “Brittany doesn’t even know that I’m with the Red Riders. If I tell her about her boyfriend being with the Skeleton Kings, it opens up a whole can of worms that I don’t really want to get into.”
“But if you told her she’d end it with him, right? It’s too dangerous to let them carry on being together.”
“I know, I know.” But if Brittany knew the truth about Max, she’d also be learning the truth about Zack. She’d find out all the things he’d done for the Riders, all the blood that was on his hands. He risked not only Max losing her, but also himself. He wasn’t e
ven fully convinced that it would scare her off of Max, but it was sure to hit a sore spot with his relationship with his sister.
“So, say you withhold the truth,” Jameson leaned forward, lowering his voice. He loved a good conspiracy.
“You don’t tell Brittany he’s with the Kings. You’ve still got the break them up.”
“Yeah,” Zack agreed, draining the last of his warm beer.
“You can’t let her stay with him.”
“I know,” Zack’s voice became strained as two fresh bottles of beer arrived at their table, courtesy of a buxom waitress. Jameson leaned back in his chair to thank her and give her a suggestive wink. She giggled coyly, batting her eyelashes and then walking off with an extra swing in her step.
