Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 83786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
“Bas.” He stopped me in the middle of the forecourt by smacking the back of his hand against my chest. “You’re my best friend, idiot. You wanna date Harper? Then go for it. Just don’t break up the band, all right?”
“I don’t even know what that means.”
“Don’t make shit weird.”
“I’ll do my best not to?”
“That’s all I ask,” he said, grinning. “I’ll see ya later.”
I found Leo sitting at the bar in the clubhouse with Dragon and Casper, and for the first time in a long time, I was nervous to approach them. Back when we’d met, I’d been intimidated as fuck, but over the years I’d come to know them. Respect them. Count on them.
Now, all I could see was Harper’s dad and both her grandfathers. The woman was goddamn Aces royalty.
“Hey, kid,” Leo said. “Hear you finished that Dyna.”
“Finally.” I nodded. “Took a hot minute.”
“Sometimes good work means takin’ your time.”
“Killed it,” Dragon added.
“What’s up?” Casper asked, his gaze intent on my face.
“I was wonderin’ what you decided about the Toyota.”
“Line was cut,” Casper said flatly. “Must’ve been when Harp was parked in town.”
“Fuck.” I hadn’t wanted to be right about it. “Did you tell her yet?”
Leo shook her head. “No idea who did it yet. Probably nothin’ to do with her.”
“We got boys checkin’ the cameras on the block,” Dragon added. “We should know by tomorrow who it was.”
“Things have been pretty quiet lately.”
“Yeah, outside you gettin’ arrested a couple months back,” Casper replied.
“I told you that was personal.”
“Personal ain’t personal when you’re wearin’ a patch,” Dragon reminded me.
“Old foster brother and I had words,” I told them again. We’d gone over it all when it happened. “He dropped the charges.”
“He still in town?” Leo asked.
“Not that I know of.”
“Verify that,” Dragon ordered.
I nodded in agreement. “Did anyone check the other loaners today?”
Casper grinned. “Guess you didn’t check the schedule for tomorrow. That’s all you.”
“All right.”
“Figured you’d have more incentive not to miss anything.”
And there it was, the old-timers knew I was seeing Harper. I waited a minute for them to threaten me or insinuate that they knew where to hide a body.
Nothing.
“I’ll make sure not to miss anything,” I said finally, rapping my knuckles on the bar. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
“Have a good night, kid,” Dragon replied.
“See ya later,” Casper said at the same time.
Leo just gave me a nod.
I hauled ass out of the clubhouse and pulled my phone out of my pocket.
I was pissed that they weren’t planning on saying anything to Harper about the fact that the car she’d been driving was tampered with. If they didn’t say anything, I couldn’t either. There was a good chance that whatever asshole had fucked with it had done it because he recognized that the Toyota was part of our fleet. If I told Harper club business and it somehow got back to the men I’d just left, I’d be in very deep shit.
Harper would understand. She knew how things worked.
That didn’t make me feel any better about it.
“Hey cutie,” Harper answered.
“Cutie?”
“I thought I’d try it out,” she said with a sigh. “But now that I’ve actually said it, that’s not going to work.”
“What are you doin’?” I asked, grinning down at my boots.
“Waiting for you to call,” she said happily. “And reading one of my new books.”
“Is it good?”
“It’s excellent. Are you off work?”
“Just got off. Are we still on for tonight?”
“Absolutely. I’m going to drive, though.”
The thought made my guts clench with anxiety that I tried to ignore.
“I can pick you up on the bike.”
“I know, and I love riding on the back of your bike,” she replied with a laugh. “But I am wearing a dress tonight.”
“A dress, huh?”
“Yep. So, no motorcycle for me. I could meet you or pick you up?”
“I was thinkin’ I’d make you dinner,” I told her, waving to a couple of the guys as they strode toward their bikes.
“He cooks?”
“He does.”
“Excellent. That works for me! What time should I come over?”
“I gotta stop at the store. An hour?”
“Okay, I’ll see you in an hour.” I could hear the smile in her voice, and I debated for a moment whether or not I could skip the grocery store so I could see her sooner.
“Hey baby,” I said before she could hang up. “Park in my covered parking spot, yeah?”
“It’s raining, Bas,” she argued. “What about your bike?”
“I’ll worry about the bike. You remember where the spot is?”
“I remember, but—”
“I don’t want you parkin’ across the lot and walkin’ in the dark.”
Harper was quiet for a few seconds, then whispered, “I’m going to fuck you so hard tonight.”
The bark of laughter that left my mouth was completely involuntary. “Lookin’ forward to it.”
As soon as we’d hung up, I walked over toward my bike but stopped when Leo came out of the clubhouse and called my name.