Hanna brushed up beside me. “Got a problem.”
My shoulders slumped forward. Those were not the words I wanted from her. “What’s up?”
“Back booth has ripped upholstery. The leather looked like someone took a fucking chainsaw to it. I’ll need to replace it, but the manufacturer I contacted today said they don’t have it in stock anymore. I could always order another one, but then that back booth would look like a white kid at a basketball game.”
I snorted at her analogy and threw my glance towards the back booth in question. My eyes widened when I saw it. The red leather was sliced open, the white stuffing falling out as if it was vomiting out the puffs. No one would be able to sit there, posing a big problem for a small dive bar like Neptune’s.
“We could always reupholster all the booths with a new look,” I suggested as I brought a bottle of beer to my lips.
“No, that would cost more money and we don’t have the downtime for the installation.”
“The bar top on that side has some wear and tear. That could use a facelift, too. Maybe you could coordinate the colors to match, wouldn’t that be nice?”
Hanna leaned heavily against the bar and pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Yeah, I noticed that. But again, no time and money for renovations.”
“Oh, come on. That’s bullshit, Hanna, and you know it. Neptune’s climbin’ it. If you don’t invest in some quality pieces that people will notice, you might as well just be another dive bar. Neptune’s gets the biggest and badass motherfuckers on a daily basis. Make the place match its patrons!” I realized by the end that I was shouting, but I was only trying to encourage her.
“Girl, you are too crazy for your own good,” Hanna said with a smirk. “I want it. But I can’t afford it.”
She was worrying too much. It would cost some money, sure, but what didn’t? This would be a breeze. I’d call the manufacturers, order the new upholstery and bar top. Maybe even some new light figures for when the power came back. This place would be teeming with new people in no time!
I shot a look at Hanna that said
Go for it, girl
but she still wasn’t convinced. How did she expect to create some buzz around here if she didn’t even want to try? Sighing dramatically, I picked up the rag I was using earlier to clean the bar. “Remember you only live once.”
“Yeah, and I’d like not to be broke while living it either!”
“Fine,” I said, realizing all she needed was a little assistance. “You just do your thing and I’ll handle it all.” I was already picking up the phone, hoping that the lines were up. I smiled triumphantly when I realized they were.
Hanna kept her contacts readily available for emergencies such as these so within minutes, I was speaking with the manufacturer she had mentioned earlier and started making orders. I did all this with a sense of auto drive, my mouth jabbering along with insane speed until I had managed to finish scheduling it all. Now all that was left was following up with Hanna and tell her the good news. But in my mad rush with the orders, I had neglected my bartender duties.
A glance over at the bar told me that there were a few angry waiting customers, wondering why they hadn’t been served yet. I automatically slid into sexy mode and poured on the charm. Two gnarly looking men who looked like they were willing to start a fight if they didn’t get service right this second were up first. “Hello, boys. What can I get you?”
Mr. Mustache grunted while Sunglass Dude rumbled out, “Two vodka rocks.”
“Coming right up.”
Within minutes, their drinks were placed before them. I moved on to the next person and did this until everyone had their pick of poison before them, again operating on auto drive.
There was one guy I recognized as a regular. Tonight he was sporting another plaid shirt. Geez. How many of these did he own? Every time he was here he had a different color. I remembered him because he liked to flirt and I was always game since he gave nice tips at the end of the night. But he seemed unusually chatty and touchy. His loud yelling proved why: he was drunk.
“Indy!” he called out as I helped the waitresses collect the empties. “There’s my girl. Why don’t you give me another shot?” His eyes were glassy but they still twinkled with charm.
“I think that’s enough for you tonight, Cosmo.”
Cosmo waved me off. “Come on, babe. I’m just getting started here!”
“Are you?” I said with a genuine smile. I knew how to handle drunks. Treat them with a smile and you never had a problem.
He grinned back, probably hoping to squeeze another drink out of me. “Unless . . .” he paused meaningfully and gave me a look that had lust all over it. “Unless you’d like to leave with me tonight, I could be sober for that.”
My laughter echoed through the dive. Cosmo was so smooth. He’d gotten his name because he always told these stories about his time as an astronaut. As interesting as they were, nobody knew if they were true. I couldn’t picture the guy shooting off into space let alone be able to find his way home alone in this state. Either way, drunk or not, Cosmo was no threat. I shook my head, walking out from behind the bar again to pick up another empty. “Sorry, handsome. But I don’t think I could handle you.”
Cosmo twirled in his stool, his gaze never leaving me. “Aw, come on. I could show you a good time.” He tugged me towards him, plastering me against his body. His breath stank of the sixteen shots of whiskey he had. “Don’t tell me you don’t want this! I’ve seen the way you look at me.”
“And how exactly do I look at you?”
“Like you wanna eat me up and—”
CRACK!
Cosmo was suddenly ripped away from me and the next thing I knew he was crumpled on the hard floor, moaning. “Oh my God!” I watched on in horror as blood started trickling out of his nose.
My gaze drew up to the man who had knocked him down. Hastie shook with fury as he stood over him, his fists clenched at his sides. Spots of blood coated his knuckles, the signs of swelling already visible.
A crowd immediately formed around us but Hanna managed to push her way through the mass of people. “What the fuck is going on here?” she exclaimed when she took in the scene before her. Her eyes shot to me, but I paid her no mind. My attention—and fury—was focused on Hastie alone.
“Why the hell did you hit him?”
His intense green eyes cut to mine. In answer, he simply said, “You’re coming with me.” Grabbing my arm with a roughness that was unlike him, Hastie dragged me outside.
“The hell I am!” I dug in my heels, fighting him every step of the way. “What the hell is wrong with you? Let me go!”
Hastie jerked my arm hard and I cried out, struggling harder. Once we were in the parking lot, he released me.
Hastie always wore his mood clearly on his face. There was never any bullshit with him. If he was pissed, you knew he was pissed. If he was happy, you knew he was happy. Whether he was mad, sad, amused, confused, or simply horny, you knew it as clearly as if his body was a thermostat and he controlled the temperature of the room.
And right now, I knew Hastie was pissed off beyond reason.
Hastie
With fury burning hotly in her eyes, Indy stomped towards me and yelled, “What the fuck is wrong with you?” She still had one of the empty bottles in her hand.
“What’s wrong with
me?
Why is it that every single time I come here you’re always all smiley and pressed up against some dumb fuck?”
“Bad timing?”
Goddammit, she knew just what to say to rile me up even more. “Indy—”
Her palms met my chest and pushed. Hard. “Don’t touch me! You should be glad I’m even here talking to you.”
“No time to talk. We gotta go.” I walked over to my Harley and swung a leg over. “Get on.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at me defiantly. “No way. You’re crazy if you think I’m going anywhere with you.”
My own temper was barely in check. I could feel my hands tightening on the handlebars, wishing it was Cosmo’s neck. “Indy. Get. On. The. Bike.”
“Fuck you,” she spat. “I said, no.”
“You said you’d be there.” Lucky would be expecting her to be there for his hog roast.
“Tell him I changed my mind.”
“Tell him yourself.” In quick movements, I shoved the stand down with a booted foot, swung my leg back over and cleared the distance between us. Indy tried to stomp away, but I caught her hand before she could get away from me.
There was no warning for the explosion that happened right before my eyes. I knew she was pissed but blinded by my own rage, I didn’t realize how much until now. Indy whipped around so fast I had no time to duck the first blow that caught my chin. “Christ, Indy. What the fuck is your problem?” She hadn’t drawn blood, but pain radiated from the site.
“What’s
my
problem? Hastie, you just stormed into my place of work and went all caveman.”
I drew a hand over my face, frustrated and at a loss for words. “Will you just get on the damn bike?”
The next swing I was ready for so when it came hurtling towards my face, I caught it and grabbed the bottle from her, tossing it to the ground where it shattered.
“You bastard!” she exclaimed. “Whatever, it wasn’t doing nearly as much damage as I wanted anyway.” She turned to storm back into Neptune’s before spinning back around and yelling, “And don’t bother following me in! There are knives in there that are harder to duck, you dickbag!”
“Indy, come on. Can we please talk about this?”
“Go to hell, Hastie.”
“Look, I saw you and I lost it,” I admitted.
“Yeah, no shit, Sherlock. I work there. How am I supposed to go back in there and explain myself?”
“Okay, let’s just be reasonable for a minute.”
“Reasonable? You might want to look that word up because your little shit fit in there would definitely not be considered reasonable!” She started walking away further towards the parking lot. “I can’t believe you did that,” she whispered, more to herself than to me.
This was quickly getting out of hand. One of us had to start talking. “I walked in there, excited to see my girl, and found her flirting with a motherfucker who had a growth problem and yellowing teeth. I saw red. I acted. I’m still not sorry.”
Her glare could’ve cut right through me, it was that potent. “You’re such an asshole, Hastie. I’m not yours to command.”
“But you are, Indy.” I pulled her in close and ignored her struggles to get away from me. “You’re mine and I don’t like anyone touching what’s mine, understand?” Looking down at her, her eyes burned hotly with fury. She was nowhere near being finished with me yet. “Glare at me all you want. But you told Lucky you’d be there and Seven is probably waiting for us. You wanna leave her alone with a bunch of bikers, that’s fine with me. But I can sure as hell bet she’ll be pissed as fuck that you left her there.”
“Don’t guilt me into coming with you! I did nothing wrong! You’re the one who needs to control your he-man tendencies!”
I released her and moved to straddle the bike once more. “Get on the bike.”
“I told you I’m not going with you anymore.”
“Stop wasting time and get your ass on the bike.”
She jerked her thumb towards Neptune’s. “I have to go back in there and explain everything to Hanna.”
“Hanna knows the deal with Glory MC. Matter of fact, Knuckle is on his way here to pick her up himself. She’s been in the game longer than you have. She knows the drill. She knows that anyone who touches a woman belonging to Glory MC deserves what’s coming for him. That dick in there was dancing on a landmine.”
“God, you are such a jackass.”
“Happy to be one as long as
my girl gets on the back of my bike
!” The last strands of words were yelled as my temper snapped.
Despite the dirty look she sent me, Indy came forward and swung her leg over the bike. Immediately, some of the fight left me.
I had to admit, what I did in there was out of character, even for me. I had never lost it over a woman. Never cared enough if she was hanging off another man the next morning after spending the night with me. The moment I caught sight of Indy with Cosmo though, jealously had consumed me.
Kicking up the stand, I walked us back out of the parking spot and revved the engine. Indy’s arms tightened around me. “Hang on,” I called over my shoulder as I gunned it.
I had no idea if she caught my meaning. Even as we rode together in silence, just the roaring of the wind and the engine our only companion, I hoped she knew that the road ahead of us was a long and rough one. But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t fight for a chance to be by her side along the way.
Pushing that thought to the back of my mind, I focused on what lay ahead. Tonight, Indy would get one hell of an eye-opener. She’d see with her own eyes what my world looked like.
I just hoped to hell she didn’t run in the other direction.
TEN
Revelry
Indy
W
here we were headed, only the sun-drenched desert lay around us. Dead shrubs poked up out from beneath the sand. The landscape soon turned rough as high rocks emerged from the ground like small towers. Because of the raging storm from the other night, the roads were a little muddy, making it difficult to ride in.
My mind registered the sounds first. There was laughter, shouting, the thumping bass of music and a few people hollering at the top of their lungs. The closer we got, not even the rumble of the engine could block out the noise.
A mass of people gathered in an open area, surrounded by large trailers, which I later learned was to prevent others from peeking into the festivities. When we came to a stop, Hastie held my hand as I swung my leg over the Harley.
The sight before me was enough to make me swallow my anger. This felt different now. I wasn’t in Neptune’s where Glory MC came and went. No, this was their territory now, and I suddenly felt like a shivering rabbit amongst a pack of wolves.
Hastie’s grip on my hand was the only thing that anchored me in place. As I followed behind him, he nodded and said a few passing words to the other members of his club. Trailing behind, I dared to look at a few of them and only saw hard faces and dirty looks.