Peace until shit ignites.
“You know, Spyder, I trust you with my life. You and me have been through some crazy shit together. I defied Minter for you. You ain’t gonna lose me for nothin’, but that doesn’t mean I’ll stand for your shit. You have to do something about Hellraisers, and whatever that is, I’ll back you up. Whatever you decide, I’ll implement. Let me know when you do.” Turning to walk out of the garage, I reached to wave and tap the bay door on my way out. The sun was harsh, and I inhaled a deep, calming, hot breath and held it. I shook my head viciously to clear my thoughts. Fishing my phone out of my pocket, I navigated to Nicole’s contact to frown on the way to my bike.
I hadn’t expected her to contact me, but damn, it hurt that she hadn’t.
“I’ll see her tomorrow when I drop off her car.” Mumbling to myself, I scrunched up my nose as I locked my phone. “I need a ride to clear my head.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Nicole
Pausing mid-step when I saw a hulking, brooding figure at the bar, my mouth dried as goosebumps blanketed my skin. Bruiser sipped his draft leisurely, no helmet anywhere near him, and I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth nervously. I gulped down the sudden lump in my throat before forcing my knees to bend. Seeing him after the past week sent uncomfortable shocks across the bridge of my nose, and they only intensified as I closed the distance between us.
“Hey. What’re you doin’ here?” Bruiser whipped around, the tension in his face easing as he smiled in relief. My chest tightened, and I pulled my apron from around my waist to fold it sloppily. Sliding onto the stool next to him, I smoothed my apron in my lap as my palms tingled wildly.
“You look like less of an anxious mess than I expected, Nicole.” Surprise rose my brows, and flames licked up my neck as earnestness glimmered in Bruiser’s eyes. “How have you been, baby?”
“I’m . . . I’m okay. My sister said the same thing.” I nodded more to myself than Bruiser as he scanned me skeptically. His concern was touching, and I reached to put my hand on his arm. He was so hard, his muscles bulging and writhing against my palm as I smoothed his bristly hairs. “Really, Bruiser.”
“I believe you.” Satisfaction flooded my system, and Bruiser took a sip of his beer before putting his hand over mine. Pleasure rippled up my arm and crowded my chest, and I smiled wider before he cleared his throat. “How’d it go with your sister? She seemed like a hardass when she picked you up.”
“She is, yeah, but not in a bad way. We talked . . .” Guilt flushed my cheeks as memories flashed behind my eyelids, and I tore my eyes off Bruiser. Licking my lips heavily, I carefully chose my next words. “She doesn’t like you, but that’s okay. She’s not dating you.”
“She’s not wrong. That shit at the party was unacceptable.” I was taken off guard by that, and Bruiser propped his elbow on the table to grunt down into his glass. “I’m not gonna lie to you, Nicole. I’m in a bad way. Those thugs are gonna rally and make life difficult for a while. But we got options, you and me. We can hold off until I deal with this. I don’t blame you if you wanna skip out completely. I sure as shit don’t expect you to put up with this bullshit. This past week really fucking sucked.”
His admission rolled thickly off his tongue, and Bruiser took a large gulp of his beer. The silence stretched as I stared at him, struggling to find words of my own. Slowly, my smile drooped, and my heart ached for him as his tension buzzed against my palm.
“It did suck.” Stiffening at my admission, Bruiser’s crystal blue eyes met mine to narrow into slits. Holding my cheek on my fist, I chuckled a little, humorless laugh as my gaze trailed down to the swirling of his tattoos. “I wasn’t sure how to approach you. I’m the kinda person that has to remove myself from the situation and think about it for a while before I decide how I feel about it. I appreciate that you respected that, Bruiser.”
“You’re very welcome, baby. Those guys won’t come after you here, and they don’t come to Margot. That’s our turf. Oh . . .” Glancing behind him over his shoulder, Bruiser leaned in close to me, and electricity skittered down my neck. “That guy’s not dead, by the way. He shredded his leg, though, so that’s gone. I wanted you to know. They’re gonna blame us, so no one’s gonna show up at your door or anything, but I figured it was weighing on you not knowing.”
“He’s not? That’s great. Um, to be honest, I didn’t think about it that much. I tried not to think about it, and it wasn’t that hard, I mean.” My confession earned me a curious look, and Bruiser’s jaw ticked as I played with the thick hairs bristling on his forearm. I gulped down the tightness in my throat, and a faltering smile sat uncomfortably on my face. “I don’t know how to explain it. I just . . . why stress myself out so much over something that’s not my fault, and I can’t control? Tom still messages me, you know, and I’m tired of being dragged around by everyone.”
“He does? Do you respond?” Shaking my head, I leaned back to run my hand through my hair and pull out my ponytail.
“Yeah. The point is that I don’t wanna be that person that lets stuff hang over me anymore. It was him, mostly, but also you, too .
