“Nah, I’ll be up there one of these days,” he said.
We shook hands with the half embrace shit, then I did the same with Axel and Throttle, and I was excused.
Suddenly nervous, I battled the thoughts that swirled in my head as I went back to the room I’d been staying in at their clubhouse. Since I’d ridden down, I didn’t have a lot to pack.
I pulled out a clean pair of jeans, a thermal, socks, and underwear and laid them neatly on the dresser top for tomorrow.
I was going home.
“You finally got patched, huh?” I asked Sabre as we stopped for gas. Honestly, I was surprised Venom hadn’t voted to patch him early after he’d been stabbed in the parking lot the day he was a driver for Loralei.
“It’s pretty unreal,” he said as his silver eyes flashed my direction as he filled his tank.
“Well, congrats,” I told him, and I meant every word. The Bastards were my family—well, the only family that counted. I appreciated any man who was welcomed into the fold as a member, because we were particular and only brought in the best of the best.
“Thanks,” he said before finishing with the nozzle and replacing it on the pump. He looked a little uneasy, and I couldn’t figure out why. Come to think of it, everyone had acted a little off, and I hadn’t done a fucking thing.
Well… not lately.
“Let’s get this show on the fucking road,” Raptor called out. “Any of you girls need a potty break?”
We all flipped him off. He chuckled and mounted up.
The rest of us got on our bikes and hit the road. I left the mountains of Arizona in my rearview mirror and pointed my bike home.
The good and bad thing about riding is you have a lot of time to do one of two things. Clear your head—and think. I tried to clear my head, but all I could fucking do was think.
Each mile that rolled under my wheels brought me closer to the one woman I should’ve stayed away from. She was my kryptonite. An addiction that was likely to kill me, yet one I couldn’t stay away from.