“Why’d I even do this? How awful, coming to someone’s birthday I don’t even know and that happening, and my car . . . I should’ve just mailed it or something. This is what I get for wanting to see you.” I couldn’t help but smile at her grumbling, and Nicole peeked at me through slender fingers. “You were right. You come up to Provo from now on.”
“Yeah. You wanna try to eat somethin’? Or another drink?” Indecision warred on her face, and I squeezed Nicole’s hand reassuringly. “You can’t leave in that car anyway. Chances are that dirt bike fucked your chassis up. Spyder’s gonna tow it back to his shop and fix it up for you, and I’ll drive you back home and stay with you a few days until it’s ready. Sound good?”
“If you’ve got something stronger . . .” Nicole wagged her empty can, distaste washing her expression. “I don’t like sweet stuff.”
Chapter Nineteen
Nicole
“Thank you.” Taking the crisp beer Bruiser offered me. I offered a shaky smile as he sat next to me again. The backyard was large, but there were no children anywhere, and the cold from the bottle slithered up my arms. Taking a swig, I closed my eyes to savor the tingling sensation at the back of my throat.
Bruiser fighting flashed behind my eyes, and my heart ached as my ribs crowded around it. He’d obviously been in scraps a lot, and I licked my lips heavily before opening my eyes to glance at his hands. Noticing me staring, he held out his free palm to flex his fingers as an almost resigned sigh escaped him.
“They come every year and make a ruckus. This is the first time anyone’s gotten hurt badly from it, though. Saint George Hellraisers . . . they really live up the to the name, and not in a good way.” Disgust thickened in his tone, and I sunk into my chair as Bruiser clenched his hand into a fist. “Spyder’s gonna fix up your car like it never happened.”
“The cops really aren’t gonna get involved?” Bruiser shook his head mutely at my probing, and relief slumped my shoulders as I raked my hand through my hair. “Okay . . . you didn’t have to go after them like that.”
“They fucked with you. I don’t appreciate people that fuck with my stuff.” Grumbling huskily, Bruiser’s eyes blazed with fury as he stared into his beer bottle, turning it over and over in his palm. “Things have been getting hotter with them, anyway, but involving people like you is . . . there’s no reason for it. They terrorize everyone in this neighborhood, and yeah, that means they can do whatever they want, but . . .”
“But the flipside is no one’s gonna help them . . . like the police? Why didn’t they call an ambulance for that guy?” My throat tightened just mentioning that man I’d run over ‘accidentally’. Bruiser nodded firmly. “He’s gonna be okay, right?”
“Depends. He landed under that dirt bike and then made the stupid decision to try to pull himself out. Everyone knows you shouldn’t do that. If he’s not alright, it’s his own damned fault.” Bruiser bristled as he took a deep swig of his beer, and I arched a brow in dark curiosity when he scratched his jaw and neck roughly. “It’s like when you get stabbed. You’re not supposed to pull the knife out because you’ll bleed out. The way I saw it, I wouldn’t be surprised if the guy’s arteries were shredded, but who really knows? For that matter, who gives a fuck? Not me. You shouldn’t, either. They’ll blame us, not you. The good thing about having an archenemy is no other enemies exist, and everything bad that happens to you can be placed somehow on our shoulders.”
“It’s a good thing you got really broad, strong shoulders, I guess.” He snorted lightly, the dense atmosphere breaking up as I smiled dully. I inhaled a deep, cleansing breath and held it. I sighed leisurely as my ribs finally unfurled from around my lungs. “Does stuff like this happen a lot?”
Stupid my question seemed, I had to ask, and Bruiser frowned under tightly knit brows as he mulled over his answer. Gradually, he shook his head, but I could tell his life wasn’t so simple that things like this didn’t happen at all. He drained his beer, setting it on the ground under his chair to lean back and spread his legs.
“I don’t blame you for walking away, Nicole . . . if that’s what you want to do. I won’t stop you. But I would appreciate it if you told me to my face.” My lips parted in surprise, but Bruiser stood up before I could make a sound to saunter over to Spyder’s mom. My cheek twitched at the tightness in his back, clearly visible beyond his cut, and I squeezed my beer bottle between my palms.
Should I walk away? If Bruiser came to Provo, it’d solve the problem. That’s what he suggested in the first place! But no-o. I wanted to meet him on his turf, where he was most comfortable. I thought, maybe, I’d see another side of him, and boy did I. Regret clawed at the back of my throat, but this was a good thing, right? Now, I knew about his ‘salacious’ business or the tip of the iceberg, at least.
“Hey.” Blinking hard, I glanced up at a gorgeous brunette, and she smiled blindingly bright as she took up the chair Bruiser had abandoned. “You okay?”
“Um, depends on your definition. Thank you for earlier.” Her smile was infectious, and she held out a well-manicured hand for a shake. “Oh, I’m Nicole.”
“Hailey. I gotta say, you got the worst luck. What’s the craziest thing to ever happen to you
