by Ivy Black
About halfway through dismantling my bike, Nick swapped from working on Tess’ bike to helping me with mine, taking apart the pieces so that we could take out the old engine and replace the new one.
“So. You and Val knew each other from high school?” Nick asked.
“Yeah,” I replied. “I wouldn’t say we were best friends or anything, but we were close.”
Nick nodded. “Well, I’m thinking she must have liked you. Tess always kept the guys she liked a secret from Taylor and me. For good reason. If Taylor found out, he’d flip.” We worked together to slowly lift the top framing off the bike and set it to the side. Then we started working on undoing the mechanics so that we could disconnect the bad engine. “I see the way she looks at you. I see the way you look at her. I’m guessing I interrupted something earlier.”
I stopped short and looked up at Nick, my heart pounding a little quicker. Suddenly, I was a nine-year-old boy again as Nick came stomping out of his house with a rifle in his hands. I wished I could run and jump in a trash can like I did then. Most people didn’t frighten me, but something about the totally calm way that Nick approached subjects that would normally enrage someone else reminded me of how I liked to carry myself. I finally understood why it was so terrifying.
Nick laughed. “Don’t shit your pants there, son. I know that Tess is a beautiful girl. Takes after her mother. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her look at someone like that, though. You’ll have to forgive my eagerness. All a dad wants is for his kids to find someone great for them. It’s been so long. I didn’t think Tess would ever date again. Maybe I’m being dumb by acting on my gut, but it’s never steered me wrong before. I have a good feeling about you. I think you’ll be good for her. You’ll be good for each other.”
It was completely unexpected. I knew that I was probably worse at holding it together than I was hoping for. Every time I laid my eyes on Tess, my heart rate went up. It was only natural that it would show on my face, even if I was trying to remain stoic.
“I do like her,” I admitted. I couldn’t rightfully explain that, though I had feelings for Tess, strong ones, I’d never be able to act on them. “She’s very important to me.”
“That’s good,” Nick said. “Of course, I wouldn’t be a good dad if I didn’t say…” He stopped what he was doing with the bike, reached over, and opened up one of the toolboxes he’d brought. There were no tools or parts inside, just a single sparkling, silver pistol. He looked right into my eyes. “If you hurt my daughter, I’ll put you in the ground.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I replied faster than I intended, especially considering it was a promise that I couldn’t keep.
Nick slammed the top of the toolbox down again. “Good. Then we have no problems.”
He leaned away from the bike and stretched his body out. He looked down at my bike and tapped it. “Well, what do you think we call it for today? We can get the engine in there, but it’s gonna need more than that to get up and running again. It’s not like we can do much without all the parts we need.”
“I’m fine with that.”
“Cool. I’ll leave everything here. As soon as the parts come in, we can keep working.”
We spent the next thirty minutes or so putting the bikes in a position where they’d be fine until we could resume work on them, and then I followed Nick up the pathway and through the front door, with Lockjaw right at my heels.
“I’m going, angel!” Nick called in.
“Already?” Tess came down the hallway, likely having been in her room up to that point. “I expected you two to be at it all day.” She gave Nick a kiss on the cheek before reaching down to pet Lockjaw.
“Yeah,” Nick responded. “Worse damage than we thought. I’m gonna need to order some more parts, and then we’ll keep going.” Nick slammed a hand on my shoulder, and it had some force behind it, not so subtly following up his earlier threat. “All right, I’m gonna get outta here. You kids be good.”
He reached down to rustle Lockjaw’s head and then was back out the door. A few minutes later, we heard his bike start, and neither of us said anything until the rumble was barely audible as he drove off down the street.
I shut the door behind me and walked all the way in, moving over to sit down at one of the barstools to think about what the past couple of hours had meant.
Tess crossed her arms. “How was that?”
I snickered. “Terrifying.”
She laughed. “Nicholas Nicholas is nothing if not a horrifying man.”
I smiled, remembering the love he had in his eyes when he talked about Tess. It actually made me a little jealous. “He’s a good dad. He loves you.”
“Yeah. He’s a great dad.” She stepped a little closer to me. “Don’t tell me you have a crush on him now?”
A laugh caught in my throat. “He’s not my type.”
Tess closed in on me, and my arms moved up on impulse to wrap around her waist and pull her the rest of the distance to me. The taste of her lips was one I was quickly growing addicted to, and all of my fears of resistance were coming true. It was one thing to hold myself back when I hadn’t given in yet, but now that I’d gotten my hands on her, I never wanted to take them off.
Tess smiled. “Get that shirt off. No more fighting like you did last time.”
I grabbed the base of my shirt and prepared to pull it up over my stomach. Unfortunately—or fortunately, depending on the perspective—the shirt caught on some of my bandages. I froze, remembering the horrible scarring and discoloration that covered my entire left arm and some of my left pec and my stomach. I’d looked at it a couple of times in the mirror when I replaced the bandages over the worst part after my shower.
I didn’t want Tess to see. I stopped short and put my shirt back down.
“What’s wrong?” Tess asked.
My heart started to pound, and my throat tightened up. It’d been a couple of days since I truly thought about my scars. Tess was a nice distraction. But now my whole body was heating up as if I was lying amongst the flames again. I shook my head, trying to free myself from the thoughts, but it wasn’t working.
“Colin?”
I looked up into Tess’ concerned, gray eyes. All of my senses snapped back into place, along with remembering the reason why I couldn’t. Nothing good happened on the other side of letting myself get attached to Tess. Only pain for us both.
“I don’t think we should,” I forced myself to say. “I won’t be here long.”
Instead of the look of annoyance Tess had gotten when I turned her down before, now she just looked heartbroken. “Maybe it doesn’t have to be that way. We can figure it out.”
“No.” I stood up and pushed past her, putting distance between us. “I can’t stay here. This isn’t a good idea.”
She stared at me for a minute, and then her expression went back to knitted eyebrows and pursed lips. “It’s my dad. He got to you today. Did he tell you to stay away from me? Did he bring up Taylor?”
I thought of Nick’s desire for me to be the one who saved Tess from his feared path of loneliness for her. “It’s not that.”
She scoffed. “You already lied to me once. Why should I believe you?”
I shook my head. “You shouldn’t.”
She glared at me for a long time before storming past me down the hallway, and a few moments later, I heard her door slam. I was hopeful that I’d effectively hammered a nail in that coffin. I could see myself falling into Tess again, and there were millions of reasons why that was the absolute last thing that either of us needed.
Chapter Eight
Tess
Colin and I didn’t say much to each other over the next week. It wasn’t that I was angry, more that I was confused. He continued to work on his bike, sometimes with my dad, sometimes alone, and while they seemed to be bonding, the wedge between Colin and me only seemed to be getting larger.
I didn’t understand.
Before my dad showed up,
Colin was gung-ho. If my dad hadn’t shown up when he did, we probably would have ended up going all the way. It made sense to think that my dad had something to do with his sudden reluctance, but the looks didn’t stop, the heat between us didn’t stop, and he only seemed to be trying harder to resist it.
Had my dad developed Taylor’s same penchant for scaring off men who I was involved with?
After a shower, I walked out of my bedroom, past the empty guest room, and into the living room, where I expected to see Colin, but he wasn’t there. There was, however, a plate of eggs, fried potatoes, and fried ham sitting on the kitchen island. It was still steaming, along with the cup of coffee that sat next to it. I walked over and opened the front door, grabbed the plate and coffee, and walked outside toward the garage.
Colin was lying on the floor, working on his bike, and Lockjaw was curled up in the corner. When the pit bull noticed me, he hopped up and ran over, reinstating some of my confidence that I was still his number one, and I sat on the ground to eat my breakfast and watch Colin as he worked. If he noticed me come out, he didn’t react, only continued twisting and turning his tools.
I was nearly done with my breakfast when Colin pulled away from his bike and finally looked over at me. “Good morning.”
I smiled. “Morning. How’s it going?”
Colin nodded, putting some of his tools away and grabbing others with an intention that I didn’t understand. “Pretty good. It’s functioning again. It’s just cosmetic stuff now.”
“That’s good.” I held up my plate. “Thanks for the breakfast. It’s delicious.”
“You’re welcome. I’ve been waiting for the opportunity, but you always wake up before me.”
“Did you used to cook for Caid?”
“I had to. Our mom didn’t cook, and then when I finally got us out of her house, it was totally up to me.” He used a cloth to wipe his head free of sweat. “Although, on Caid’s healthy days, he made me let him cook. He preferred baking. Making fresh scones or cinnamon rolls. They were amazing, too.”
“They sound good.” I smiled, imagining a domestic Colin in a frilly pink apron, baking with his brother. I’d pay to see the sight. “Have you heard from him yet?”
Colin shook his head. “Not yet. I did get an admittance report from the hospital, though, so he’s there. I just don’t have any additional information.”
“Can’t you call?” I asked.
Colin went quiet for a minute as he considered the question. “I’m afraid that if someone’s tracking me…”
“Right.” I couldn’t imagine the stress that the situation was putting him under. Maybe that was why he was so resistant to me. “Well, hopefully, he’ll reach out soon.”
“Hopefully.”
As if intending to add tension to the situation, a phone did ring, but it was mine. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw that it was my dad. I answered it, handing what was left of my breakfast to Lockjaw. “Hey, Squared.”
“Hey. Sorry to bug ya so early, but some of the guys are up to stuff this evening, so we have to move up our MiD meeting. Can you meet here in about fifteen minutes?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks, pumpkin. I’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon. Bye.” I hung up my phone and looked up at Colin. “A meeting got moved up, so I gotta go. Are you planning to just work on your bike?”
“That’s all that’s on my agenda,” Colin responded, and even though it sounded like a joke, he was stone-faced as he set it.
“Good. Can I leave this guy with you?” I patted Lockjaw on his head, and Lockjaw slowly rolled over to his side, bearing his stomach for belly scratches, which I gave.
Colin smiled. “Sure.”
“Thanks.”
I gave Lockjaw a few more pets and then stood up, taking the plate and cup with me, and walked back into the house. Since I was free of a dog and a passenger, and since my dad had managed to fix the damages that Taylor caused to my bike within the week, I would finally get to ride my bike. I grabbed the keys and walked back outside, giving Colin another quick smile before climbing on my bike, starting it up, and roaring down the street.
I took the backstreets to Hoppa’s Taphouse so that I could enjoy the long ride and the fresh air on my face. It’d been a while since I used my car for more than transporting groceries once every couple of weeks, and I’d forgotten how empty I felt when I couldn’t ride my bike every day. It helped me clear my mind a little bit. I liked Colin. In truth, my feelings were probably a bit stronger than that. I wasn’t ready to make any declarations, but my feelings had never really abated from when we knew each other as kids. I was crazy about him then, and I was crazy about him now. His rejections aside, I couldn’t bring myself to stop wishing that things would eventually move forward with us. Perhaps I was going about it all wrong, trying to lead with sex. Did it make more sense to back off altogether, or was it hopeless regardless?
I pulled into the parking lot of Hoppa’s, and Taylor was pulling in at the same time. He climbed off his bike and looked over at mine with a vile smile on his face. “Looks like Dad got you put back together.”
“And I’d like to keep it that way.” I rolled my eyes at him. “Please refrain from letting that temper of yours result in damages at my house.”
Taylor shrugged. “Maybe.” He looked around a little and then back at me. “Where’s your friend?”
“Damned if I know.” My dad and I were keeping it on the low that Colin was staying at my house. If Taylor knew, he’d be back with his bat, and he’d probably cause much more damage than busting up a coffee table and a pair of motorcycles. “Only officers are meeting today, right? It’s a MiD meeting.”
Taylor scoffed at me. The biggest problem with my brother’s evil nature was that he was also incredibly smart. Between my parents, who were both intelligent, both Taylor and I had taken in their brains.
“I just thought dad might have invited him since he’s clearly willing to bend the rules for him,” Taylor hissed.
Taylor was observant and quick, which made hiding things from him next to impossible. He was probably fully aware that Colin was staying with me, but unless my dad or I could confirm it, he couldn’t justify acting on it. It was the main reason why I kept Colin’s bike holed up in the garage overnight. Originally, it was my hope that we could hide Colin until he left, but now I didn’t want Colin to leave. I’d have to figure something else out.
“Last I checked, Dad hasn’t bent any rules. He just didn’t do things exactly as you would have him do it.” I looked Taylor right in the eyes, letting him know I wouldn’t be bullied by him. “Good thing he’s the president and not you.”
Taylor’s jaw clenched as he leered at me. “I guess so.”
A flurry of bikes approaching made it too loud for us to continue our conversation, not that I was at all interested in continuing it. The remaining three officers, Bullseye, Bucky, and Bullet, rode their bikes into the lot, parked them, and climbed off.
“Hey, Taylor,” Bullseye greeted. “Val.” The way he hissed my name was seething compared to the way he greeted Taylor.
“Hey,” Taylor responded.
I didn’t waste my breath. It was pointless to wait for any sort of pleasantries from Bucky or Bullet. Bullseye was typically the only one even willing to greet me, if even nastily, but neither Bucky nor Bullet was known for giving me the time of day.
I made my way into the Taphouse and straight back into the warehouse. My dad was already sitting at the table with a game of solitaire laid out in front of him. My dad had an affinity for card games, and we knew better than to interrupt him when he played. One by one, we all took our seats around the table and waited in silence while my dad finished up his game. It took about twenty minutes, but eventually, he was able to lay out what was left of his cards before swooping them all up back into a deck, and then he tucked the deck neatly back in his drawer under the table. He pulled out a couple of manilla folders at the same time as puttin
g the cards away and set them up on top of the table.
“Okay. Thank you all for meeting early. Call me a softie, but I thought making sure that Bullet has an uninterrupted date this evening was actually worth it, given his general abhorrence to women.”
Everyone’s eyes shot over to Bullet. He rebalanced his glasses on his nose. “Please tell them the full story so that I don’t sound like a fool.”
My dad let out a laugh. “Fine, fine. Bullet and I were playing a little pool last night, and this woman slides up to him.” My dad did a dramatic reenactment of the slide from his seat. “She was a stunner, too. A coke bottle frame. Real pretty face. Says she’s been eyeing him for a few weeks now.”
Taylor looked over at Bullet with his upper lip hiked slightly up. “Really?”
Taylor and I did not share the same feelings on Bullet’s looks. He wore prescription glasses, but they were always thin-framed and gave him a sexy, studious look. He was a bookkeeper, but he was a bookkeeper in a motorcycle club, after all. His brown hair was around shoulder length, and what didn’t fall in his face, he slicked back into a waterfall down his neck, which curled up slightly at the bottom because of how frequently he wore his helmet. His style was always understated, but though he tried to act aloof, he cared a lot about how he looked. His clothing was always coordinated from his shirt down to his boots, even if it was just making sure everything was the same precise shade of black. He boasted an impressive set of arms, and on one occasion, I’d seen his bare back, which was ripped, forever changing my perspective of the man. If it wasn’t for the fact that he hated women and, by extension, me, I might have been tempted to take a run at him.
“So, I make him a bet. You lose this game of pool, you gotta ask her out.” My dad held up his hands. “And I don’t lose at pool.”
