Chapter 8 #2
Thankfully, Josh is immune and shouts over the roaring engines, “My money’s on the Z.”
“Yeah?” I say and he waggles his brows.
Smiling, I shake my head only to fight back a kernel of unease when his hand flexes against my back.
My stomach drops though when he looks away after I slowly step to the side and with a frown I say, “I’m s–”
“No worries,” he says although I see the furrow between his brows.
Mentally groaning, I turn back to the race, but I can’t concentrate on anything but the dull ache in my chest. This is why I avoid opening that door because grief is insidious and doesn’t care where I am.
It’s only once I notice that the sound has died down that I look up and find Josh watching me with a peculiar expression.
As soon as our eyes meet, he says, “C’mon.”
I follow behind him slowly as I raise my gaze to the sky. Despite the lights from the cars and a few fires spread out to keep everyone warm, they shine brilliantly.
As soon as I’m back by the fire, Josh maneuvers between a couple making out to grab two beers from a cooler by their feet.
When he turns to me with a grimace, I chuckle before pointing at the circle of people dancing beyond the fire, searching for something to say.
“You dance?” I ask.
“Uh no,” he says, following my fingers.
Tired of my thoughts and hoping to salvage the evening, I shake away the tingle in my chest and say with a fake pout, “Too bad.”
His cheeky grin lights up his face as he grabs my shoulder, and says, “I’ll dance with you on our first real date?”
Although I’m charmed, I know I can’t take this further and I pat his fingers, only to freeze when the deep, smooth voice of none other than Maddox says behind us, “First? Real? Dude, you ain’t doing it right if you’re still speaking in future tense.”
A shiver rolls down my spine when Josh turns to Maddox with a wide grin that doesn’t reach his eyes, and I mentally wince as he says, “I need another drink.”
It would seem that despite being related, these two aren’t close. Although I’m grateful for the interference because I don’t have to let Josh down, I’m uneasy as I turn back to Maddox.
Eyeing the tic in his jaw, I’m reminded of the night he kicked me out of the party. Gone is the silly smirk and when those granite eyes drop to mine, I stifle a gasp.
There’s a peculiar glint shining back at me that I can’t define but it sends another shiver down my spine.
Just as quickly as it came, it’s gone though and his brows flicker before he touches my chin and says, “He do that?”
“What?” I ask, flapping my hands.
Strangely, I feel as though I’m getting a glimpse of the real Maddox, and the notion does weird things to my insides.
When his fingers brush the furrow between my brows, I freeze, my skin warm under the gentle caress. All of which fades as he steps back, summoning a pretty smirk to say, “Trust me, princess. I’m doing you a favor. You want dick, Joshy ain’t it.”
Wait. What?!
Any curiosity at his flip in behavior falls away and slamming my hand on my hip, I say, “What is your problem?”
His eyes ice over, and he glances away while I eye that damn tic in his jaw again.
What’s going on?
I sense something dark rolling around within him, but I don’t really know him and this isn't my business.
Still, my stomach churns and I can’t help myself which is why I touch his arm and ask, “Are you okay?”
Those icy eyes drop to my hand before he steps back and says, “This ain’t a game, princess. Pretty little cheerleaders like you don’t belong. Feel me?”
I’m sure my jaw drops but he walks away before I can comment, and I stare after his broody ass with a frown.
What was that about?
Whatever. I’m dizzy from the whiplash.
It would seem that there are layers to Maddox that I don’t understand and despite the urge to reveal them one by one, I turn away. If Maddox wanted to share, he would have and that’s fucking that.
With a last look at Maddox before he disappears into the crowd, I approach Josh.
Judging by his stiff shoulders, he’s upset, and I feel bad for what Maddox said, not that it’s my fault but why was Maddox such a dick?
“Hey,” I say, touching Josh’s arm but he slides away, avoiding my gaze.
“Don’t worry about it, Delaney.”
Eyeing his heaving shoulders, I’m at a loss and finally say, “Okay.”
“Just don’t do anything stupid,” he sneers, and I step back. “Maddox only wants easy pussy.”
I know his feelings are hurt but I’m tired of listening to someone else bulldoze over my feelings and his implications aren’t very complimentary at that.
I’m not easy.
“Seriously?” I snap before pushing back through the crowd.
Josh knew from the start how I felt, and I’m not interested in another asshole which is why I flash my middle finger in the air when he shouts, “Delaney!”
Maddox
Delaney’s wide-eyed stare follows me back to my bike where I slide into the seat before starting it up.
I knew I should have left shit alone but when I found her cozying up with Josh, I couldn’t ignore the icy cold feeling clenching my chest. He may be my cousin, but I know he’s also a little weasel who pushes shit too far.
Revving the engine, I take off with a spray of dirt, ignoring the couple making out in the darkness under a tree.
Delaney doesn’t understand our world and maybe she’s curious but dabbling in the waters without expecting to get wet is incredibly naive. If she doesn’t back off, she’s gonna meet someone who won’t tell her off for her own good, thoughts of which send a shiver down my spine.
Beyond that, she’s dangerous. Maybe she doesn’t know it and maybe she wouldn’t do anything on purpose but there’s a reason why we don’t mix.
Her people don’t like our kind, and they aren’t shy about showing it, a lesson I learned when I was a sixteen-year-old, horny jackass with a painful, never-ending boner.
While all the little peckers were studying for tests and their bitch ass peers were playing football, I fucked my way through half the school.
Shit, there was so much honey, I never ran dry.
By the time I met Holly, I was knee deep in pussy and loving life. With her big tits, fine ass, and perpetually pouty lips, she sucked me in easily.
We fucked like bunnies for a year before she decided to move up in her world and bagged the captain of the football team.
While I missed the kinky shit she was down for, I found a few new recruits and even fucked the douche football player’s ex, in the locker room.
When Holly came crawling back on her knees—literally, I ate that shit up. Not so much her asshole boyfriend, who found us fucking in the locker room after one of his games.
I guess he didn’t like the fact that she was shaking her pom poms in my face.
That was when I learned a painful fucking lesson. Never trust a chick with a sweet smile or a daddy for a cop.
She may have been kinky as all get out, but she was also a vicious little twat.
I spent a night in jail for that one but even her pig dad couldn’t pin one on me when she finally admitted she jumped on my dick like an eager whore.
After that though my hatred for the pigs magnified and I avoid women like Holly because I don’t need the shit that comes with them.
These are the thoughts that roll through my head as I park beyond the gate at the clubhouse and find Officer Ben Dickhead Montrose standing by the entrance with a scowl.
Wolf with his customary mask of boredom faces them and I smirk because whatever the pig wants, he ain’t getting it from us.
Unfortunately, Wolf has run-ins with this dick too often, especially now that Rose, Wolf’s half-sister, and the pig’s daughter refuses to speak to her parents.
Things only got worse when someone took it upon themselves to shoot the sheriff, Ben’s father, while he was lazing in front of his television on a random Sunday.
Ben studies Wolf with a curl to his lip before his eyes slide to mine. Neither of us has forgotten that day eight years ago when they booked me into the Bay River jail as a minor and I earned myself a new set of charges after punching him in the face.
This was after he made a snide comment about my mom, and I lost my shit. That got me community service and a record that went away when I turned eighteen, worth it because this fucker now knows he’d be a fool to mess with me.
I’ll never forget what he said though. Bitches like your mama deserve what they get.
So yeah, I’ve hated Ben Montrose for fucking years. One of these days he’s gonna get what’s coming to him but I can be patient. I’ve got time.
“What do you want, pig?” Wolf grunts, pulling me from my thoughts.
When Ben stiffens, I shake my head and say, “Careful, you get any stiffer and the giant stick up your ass is gonna break.”
Ben doesn’t comment, which is just as well. He wouldn’t appreciate my snark anyway.
Instead, he says, “I’m here about Marguerite Stephens.”
It was only a matter of time before the pigs linked her back to the Saints, although we were hoping to have more of it before they started sniffing around in our business.
“So?” Wolf says, crossing his arm.
There’s no love lost between these two and it shows when Ben’s brows slam over his eyes and he barks, “The woman’s dead. Don’t you fucking care?”
“Whatever. We done now?” Wolf says and eyeing the tic in his jaw, I intervene before this gets out of control.
As much as I’d like to see the pig get fucked up, it’s not the time or the place.
Besides, Lilli don’t need to worry about Wolf being locked up. At least not today…
“We got nothing for you, pig,” I say.
Even if we did, we don’t trust the pigs to do this right. Margie was a sweet butt.
In Ben’s eyes, she’s just more MC trash, since she hung around the club and made herself available. He ain’t here about Margie beyond pinning this shit on the MC if he can.
Ben’s eyes move my way, and I grin with all my teeth as my fucking sister sneers over my shoulder, “You’re blocking my fucking ride, cop.”
This time, I’m the one who stiffens because if this fucker looks at my sister sideways, I’ma be the one locked up tonight with zero fucks given.
You don’t mess with my blood, even if they’re a pain in my ass on any given day.
Besides, I don’t trust this cop alone with my sister. I don’t trust him alone with any-fucking-body.
Curling my fingers into fists, I prepare for the blow and I’m almost disappointed when the pig nods and says, “I’ll be around.”
No one bothers to respond and as soon as he’s gone, Draven stalks past me while I turn to Wolf and ask, “You think that was about Margie?”
“Nope,” Wolf says, and I shake my head.
That’s what I thought. So, was the pig searching for information in relation to the dead ass sheriff, or something else?