“What, you’re not gonna invite me?” Standing up, I ignored Parker’s questions because honestly, I’d had enough of them hurled at me, and he’d only been in the room for less than ten minutes. Grabbing my helmet off the coffee table, I headed out of our shared apartment and stood in the hallway, staring down at my boots for a long, still moment.
Chapter Two
Bruiser
“The last gas station is about six miles up the road. We’re gonna have to fill up the canister if we want to get to the border.” Speaking through the headset in my helmet, I glanced back at Parker cruising behind me. He nodded leisurely, quiet for the first time ever, and I wasn’t regretting bringing him so much anymore. We had about three hundred miles to go to get to Canada, but the entirety of it would be deep in the woods.
There was a stretch, if memory served, that didn’t even have paved roads, but it was short and relatively well-maintained by the resort it cut through. I hadn’t gone this route in years, and I flexed my hands around the grips. My motorcycle rumbled like thunder underneath me, the vibrations from the engine lulling me like a siren song.
Every once and a while, it was good to put away my speedster and just sit back and relax in the saddle. These long rides up north were good for that. It’s nice to see something other than dried up husks and dirt for miles, too.
I inhaled as deeply as I could and held my breath, relishing the fresh, crisp mountain air. Not that I’d trade my dual citizenship. That bitch did one thing right, at the very least. She knew my dad, who wasn’t much better than her, but he was American born.
Fucking Canada, I wouldn’t go back full time for all the money in the world. Not for the best pussy or a gold-plated bike. I hated the cold. The cold just ruined everything great about Canada for me.
“I think, when we get back, I’m gonna go clubbing in Saint George on Friday. I saw this artist that’s gonna be playing, so I’m hopin’ it won’t be a dead party.” Parker’s voice filtered through my headset, and I grunted lowly in acknowledgment. “Wanna come?”
“Can’t. I’m doing inventory on Friday. This haul is mostly K and coke, but Cole and Spyder are manning the auto shop that night.” Coming up with an excuse on the spot, I was just glad it happened to be true. Parker grumbled unhappily to himself, but I ignored him. He was damn near thirty and partying, fucking chicks whose names he didn’t know wasn’t cool anymore. Getting drunk Friday to Monday was just sad, now.
But I wasn’t the one that was gonna suffer when this shit caught up to him.
“I’m not saying you’re a wet blanket, Bruiser, but you never wanna do anything fun. You don’t even have a job to occupy your time. What do you even do but ride, sleep, and stare at the ceiling?” Fuck, I do regret bringing him. I needed another mule for the load, though, and Cole was busy with Davey doing some secret shit I couldn’t be bothered to pry into. “For real. I wanna know.”
“So, get this, Parker. It’s a crazy concept, and kinda a secret . . .” Trailing off, I reached to rub my neck as expectation dribbled from the seams of my helmet. “I literally couldn’t give a fuck what you think of me.”
“No need to be a dick about it.” I ground my molars at Parker’s grumble; he was the only one that annoyed the absolute fuck out of me, constantly asking questions. His curiosity was going to get him into trouble one day. My phone pinged shrilly, cutting through my skull, and I eased the clutch before pulling up my vizor.
Muting the app connecting Parker and my headset, I answered the call from my uncle as dread gnawed at my gut. “What’s up, Uncle Minter? We’re about three hundred miles away. About to hit the last gas station.”
“Listen, Bruiser, I need you to take my son for a bit down south.” My uncle’s demand wasn’t a request, and my cheek twitched in agitation. Frustration warmed my palms, but he didn’t give me a chance to even think up a reply. “I know it’s not ideal, and I kinda had to spring it on you, but ask your guild leader, club leader, asshole guy and make sure he doesn’t have a problem with it. I’ll see you when you get here.”
Uncle Minter was smart, even if infuriating, and he hung up on me before I could tell him to fuck off. Growling low in my throat, I tapped Spyder’s contact before hesitating. Briefly, the thought occurred to me that he’d simply tell me to call him back, and I flexed my fingers before navigating back to the app to resume my call with Parker.
Unfortunately, he was the only other one with a ten-gallon tank that could make the stretch from this gas station to the border. If I thought my uncle was gonna shove something at me, I would’ve insisted Spyder come.
“There’s the gas station, it looks insanely busy for an outpost kinda thing.” Snapping out of my thoughts at Parker’s voice, I groaned at the long, long line of cars slicing through the gas station. Pursing my lips thinly, apprehension crowded my heart as it beat harder. We had to stop here, there wasn’t another gas station for a hundred miles, and we wouldn’t last that long.
“I guess we got no choice. Let’s just hang out while they pass through. I’m gonna smoke a cigarette, and I gotta call Spyder.” Muttering to myself, my lip curled in a scowl as we came upon the two rows of cars neatly, politely waiting. Clearly, they were all part of the same convoy; the closer we came, the more people we spotted hanging out
