Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 79263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“It’s not a half-bad idea,” Faith chimes in.
Me, Piston and Zero break away towards the bar as Eagle-eye tells Faith that if it’s such a great idea, maybe she should get one instead. Ripper presses a kiss to the top of Faith’s head, and Charlotte stands on the couch, holding her arms up so he can pick her up.
I give Piston a nudge with my elbow. “I see why you wanna get back to the shelter. You just want an excuse to check on the mutt.”
“Yeah, it’s definitely the dog he’s interested in and not the girl,” Zero says with a snort.
"Fuck off." Piston laughs.
Quickshot follows us to the bar. Usually either Chef or his old lady Jewel can be found manning the drinks, but it’s still early and we’re stuck with self-serve. I grab four beers out of the fridge and hand them around. That Quickshot, Badass and Animal are protective of Natalie and their little boy is no secret.
He looks like he wants to say something, but takes a swig from the bottle instead.
“Spit it out,” I say. “You know we were hanging with Sandra.”
“We didn’t know who she was,” Zero adds.
Quickshot sighs. “Natalie would prefer I tell you all to fuck off and leave her sister in peace, but she’s older than Nat was when we hooked up, so who the fuck are we to judge? Still, you’d be doing me a solid if you didn’t open that particular door.”
“Why? What’s the big deal?” Piston asks.
Sandra’s a tough, sexy woman and I think we all took notice, but he’s the one that’s spent the most time with her, and I’ve got the feeling he wouldn’t mind spending more.
“Her story is her own. If you want it, you get it from her,” Quickshot says seriously. “But the short version is that Sandra was fourteen when their parents died. Nat got custody and did her best, but they’ve been through more than their share of shit, and right now things are pretty good. We’d like to keep it that way.”
“And you think we’d fuck that up?” Piston looks insulted. “I’ve only known her for a couple days but it’s pretty obvious she’s not some delicate fucking flower, and you know us. We’ve ridden together, fought together, and partied together. We know how to treat a woman.”
Quickshot rolls the bottom of his bottle in circles on the counter. “Relax, I know. At the end of the day Sandra can take care of herself. It’s my old lady I’m looking out for. I’m asking you, man to man, to leave well enough alone if you just want to get your dicks wet. Last I heard she’ll be going back to college in the fall anyway.”
Zero nods. “Message received.”
Kissass. I take a sip of beer to hide my laugh.
“There’s nothing to worry about,” Piston assures him. “We didn’t know who she was when we met her, and it was just some harmless flirting. I even asked her if she wanted to come party at the club and she turned me down. But I’m not a fucking child. If we run into her again and she’s changed her mind, well…” He shrugs.
“Wait, am I talking to you, Piston? Or all three of you?” Quickshot asks.
Piston looks our way. He doesn’t look jealous, just curious.
It’s amusing that Quickshot even has to ask, but not sharing your girl is starting to be the exception rather than the norm around here. Somehow it seems to work, though. Sharing isn’t something I’ve done before outside of a casual fuck, and I don’t even know if Sandra’s interested, but I’m not against the idea. I shrug, but give a small nod. Zero does the same.
I turn to Quickshot. “We’ve all heard you. Tread carefully. Got it.”
“I’m starting to understand how Eagle-eye feels,” he grumbles. “Good, remember that. She’s family. We keep her safe, clear?”
“Clear.”
8
SANDRA
“You’ll be fine. You’re going to love this. You’re going to kick ass,” Jerry chants quietly beside me.
“Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?” I ask.
“Yes. Darren is going to owe me big time for having to work late today.”
The gym is loud and way more packed than it was when we came in during the day. Taking that first step through the massive open garage door feels like throwing myself into a terrifying abyss. I draw a deep breath in through my nose and let it out slowly. I’m not generally a nervous person, which is probably what gets me in trouble half the time, but this is a bit out of my wheelhouse. If it wasn’t for Jerry, I probably would’ve chickened out.
I put my hand on his arm. “You know, it really is a shame he couldn’t make it. Maybe we should just come back another night when—”
“Oh hey!” Brick steps outside with a huge smile on his face. “You guys made it! That’s awesome!” He sounds like I’m an old friend he hasn’t seen in ages, not someone who wandered in and filled out a clipboard by accident.