Chapter Nine
Addison shivered under the cool breeze. After three text messages from her sister, she decided to utilize her break and call her back. I should’ve grabbed my jacket. The days may be warmer here than back home, but the nights were a stark reminder.
“It sounds like everything went well with Cleo,” Hannah said.
Addison gave in to her smile. “It did. She’s great. We’ve hung out a few times.”
Her sister hummed.
“What?”
“I don’t know. You don’t sound like yourself.”
Addison drove her hand through her hair. “Just tired.”
It wasn’t a lie. Her brain had been working overtime for the last few days. She needed a mental shutdown.
“What’s going on, Addy?” Hannah’s tone was soft with a slight edge of concern. Her sister knew her better than anyone. While she could be the biggest pain in the ass, she was also her best friend. There wasn’t much she could get past her sister.
Addison rested against the wall outside the bar, tucking her free hand in her pocket. “I met the guys in his motorcycle club.”
This was a sore subject with her sister. Hannah had done her research on the MC, came up with very little, and naturally assumed they were an outlaw biker gang. Her curiosity had led to documentaries, which didn’t help matters.
“How’d that go?”
Crash and burn. Addison wouldn’t go into detail. Much like the club was for Cleo, her sister was overly-protective and never hesitated to let her mama bear show.
“They weren’t nearly as welcoming as Cleo.”
There was a long stretch of silence.
“Well, they don’t know you yet.” It seemed Hannah was still on her positivity campaign.
She scoffed. “They don’t want to know me, Hannah.
It was like how I envision war talks going with the enemy.
Them on one side of the table, me on the other.
” She rested her head against the building, looking up at the stars.
“I guess, it’s my fault though. I was so focused on what I wanted and what I thought Cleo wanted, I never considered how it would be for all of them. ”
“Look, you’re in a unique situation. You couldn’t predict how anyone would respond to you being there.”
Her sister was giving her an out. But Addison couldn’t take it.
“But I should’ve thought of it.”
The road in front of the bar lit up, and a rumbling engine grew louder.
It could’ve been a hotrod or an old truck, but Addison had heard a similar engine plenty of times.
She pushed off the wall, keeping her gaze locked on the parking lot entrance.
When the single headlight pulled in, she immediately spun around and started toward the door.
It could’ve been anyone. A motorcycle enthusiast not affiliated with the Killcreek Drifters out for a late night ride. Oh, please let it be someone random. Addison kept her eyes down and muttered.
“I gotta go. I’ll call you later.”
“Wait, Addy.”
“Hannah, I gotta go. Sorry.” She ended the call, shoved the phone in her back pocket, and walked inside.
She shook her hands and rolled her neck, hoping to release some anxiety. It was silly to get worked up when she didn’t even know if it was someone from Killcreek. She rounded the bar, heading toward the drying rack.
“You got five more minutes,” Barry barked.
Gah, this man. He bitched and moaned about giving her a break, and now he was complaining she hadn’t taken the full fifteen? I feel bad for your wife, Barry.
“I’d rather donate my time to drying glasses.”
“That’s a good work ethic.” The old man at the bar lifted his glass. “Good for you, honey.”
She grabbed a towel and a glass, keeping her back to the door. When she heard it creak, she silently prayed. Anybody but Cross.
“How’s it going, Cross?” Barry asked.
Fuck me!
Addison was honest with Cleo when she said she understood the club’s icy reception. And she did. More so now after she was able to process everything. But Cross had been especially cruel, where the others had been indifferent. It had cut deep and still stung, even if it was the truth.
She drew in a breath, placing the glass on the shelf and reaching for another.
She peeked up, slyly watching him walk across the room.
Go to the strip club. Unfortunately, he didn’t.
Cross sat down at a table in the corner.
But it was the next best thing. At least she wouldn’t have to serve him. Or so she thought.
Barry sidled up next to her, resting his hand on the bar near the glasses. “I know you’re new here, and we haven’t had a lot of traffic today, so I don’t know if you realize this.” He scowled and pointed across the room in Cross’s direction. “That’s a fucking customer.”
Oh, hell no.
“You hired me to be the bartender, not a waitress.”
His face flushed. “Well, today you’re serving double duty. Go take his order.”
She gestured to the dryer rack. “I haven’t finished the glasses yet.”
“Now!” he snapped.
Dick!
She tossed the rag on the bar and rounded the counter. Addison slowed her steps as she got closer to his table tucked in the corner. She kept a good distance of three feet.
“What can I get you?”
Cross didn’t even look up. He tapped his chest then pulled out a box of cigarettes and a lighter.
The lighter caught her attention. It was black with the Killcreek insignia engraved on the metal.
He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Once he took a drag, she expected him to blow the smoke in her direction.
It would be the rude thing to do. Surprisingly, he didn’t.
Cross turned his head in the opposite direction and exhaled.
“Beer.”
One word. No pleasantries. Got it.
Barry had it waiting on the bar when she went to retrieve his order. She grabbed the beer, walked back to the table and placed the glass in front of him.
“Sit down.” His rough graveled voice sent a shiver down her spine.
She stilled, watching Cross grab his beer and take a sip.
There was no way she was sitting at a table with this man and having a conversation.
Addison was all about resolution, but that was a moot point with Cross.
He’d made it clear what he thought. I can’t argue against something I know to be true.
She hooked her thumb over her shoulder. “I’m working.”
“You’re on break.”
I’m not doing this.
She ground her teeth. “I already took my break.”
“Well, lucky fucking you, you’re getting another.” Cross glanced over at Barry standing behind the bar. “She’s on break.”
Barry nodded, and her shoulders sagged. She was learning quickly. Barry might be the owner, but the members of the club truly ran everything. She inched closer to the table. She had three options and chose the chair across from him. It would put the most distance between them.
As she settled into her seat, goosebumps spread across her skin. He was staring at her. Oh, the irony. The first time they’d met, she got off on his eyes on her. Of course, they’d been heated for the opposite reason that night.
She clasped her hands over her stomach and raised her brows.
“Cleo thinks we’re missing something with you.”
What?
“Missing something?”
“Yeah, she thinks you’re good people.”
She tightened her lips, not giving in to a smile. Clearly, there had been a discussion about her, and Cleo had her back.
“Maybe I am.”
His jaw squared. “Maybe you’re not.”
Addison snorted. “So you don’t believe her?”
“She doesn’t have a great track record at reading people.”
“Well then, I guess there’s nothing more to say.” She grabbed the arms of her chair and lifted a few inches. “We done?”
“Sit. Down.”
She lowered onto her chair and drew in a breath. This man was too intense.
“Like I said, Cleo likes you. I think it has more to do with what you’ve got than who you are, but I’m willing to let you prove me wrong.”
Oh, you smug son of a bitch!
“I don’t have to prove anything to you.”
His gaze softened. “But you want to.”
Addison scoffed. She’d met a lot of men in her life. More male doctors than she could count. Many were down to earth but not all. The God complex was real, and the arrogance ran high. But Cross was on another level.
“Is that what you think?”
“It’s what I know.”
Addison shifted in her chair. He wasn’t completely wrong. There was a part of her that wanted him to like her. She wanted the whole club to welcome her. They were Knox’s family. And in a sense, she did have something to prove to all of them.
“Fine. How do I prove it?”
“Why come for a month?”
Cleo must’ve shared. Dammit! Obviously it wasn’t a secret, but she hadn’t planned on sharing her reasoning. Telling Cross that she wanted the opportunity to be in the space Knox loved so much wouldn’t go over well with him.
“I wanted to meet Cleo.” She shrugged. “We’d been exchanging letters for so long, I wanted to meet her in person. And since I’ve never been to the state, figured I would make a mini-vacation out of the trip.”
It was a plausible explanation.
He took a drag from his cigarette. “You always get a job on vacation?”
“That fell into my lap. Right place, right time. I’m a bartender back home. Barry needed someone, and I’m here, so I thought, why not?”
It was a basic answer. And the truth. Good job!
“You knew I was with the club that first night.”
What? The accusation was clear and completely false.
“No, I didn’t!” She waved her hand to his chest. “You weren’t wearing your vest. I saw you talking to the others, but I had no idea you were a member.”
“You were staring at us.”
“I was staring at you.” The second the words left her mouth, she instantly regretted it.
“You were eye-fucking me.”
Her cheeks immediately heated.
Asshole.
Addison cocked her head, smirking. “I believe that was a mutual exchange.”
His lips twitched slightly. “Don’t think your man would appreciate that.”
“I don’t have a man.”
“Why not?”
She wasn’t about to answer that. If he was going to spend this time taunting her, I’m done.
She straightened in her seat, glancing up at the clock over the bar. The perfect getaway.