For the next several weeks, I’d live in my own personal hell until I boarded up my shameful past. It always happened when summer arrived and school ended. My demons would rise out of the graveyard deep inside me. Fuck, it hurt something fierce, too.
I rocked in my weathered leather office chair. The muscles in my neck and shoulders were stiff as iron. Alone with my thoughts was a dangerous place.
The walls were closing in, the air growing thicker as shame and regret choked me. I needed to get on my Harley and get lost for a while. A couple of days was all I needed.
But the angel at The Bullet kept me from leaving on my annual retreat. I felt pathetic for letting a woman get to me. What the fuck was happening to me?
“Prez?” AJ appeared in my doorway. He was our newest prospect and had been babysitting our bikes at the bar. When I’d barreled out after getting the first rejection of my life, I’d given AJ orders to follow the girl in a white sundress and brown western boots.
Madeline.
That was three goddamn hours ago. My mind had conjured up different scenarios of her with other men. I imagined her flirting and dancing. Maybe even singing another song, shaking her hips on the stage, and turning all the dicks in the bar hard as stone.
Mostly, I’d spent the last few hours torturing myself over a woman who made it clear she wasn’t interested, and it burned me the fuck up.
“What ya got for me?” I rocked my chair.
“She left with her friends half an hour after you.”
“Really?” Color me surprised.
“Yeah. Nobody bothered her. I followed them to Casitas Mexican Restaurant. An hour later, she drove the older woman home. She lives in Winters—”
“Winters Township? No wonder I hadn’t seen her in Bastion before. What else?”
“I think she lives with the redhead in a single wide in Rosecrest Trailer Park. I sat around until the lights shut off. I assumed they went to bed, so I came back to report to you.”
“Does the trailer park look safe?” Why in the hell did I even care?
“Yeah. Well lit. Some yards had kids’ playsets. Others had gardens. She’s quite the looker.” AJ waggled his brows.
My jaw twitched when I felt a weird flicker in my chest. I didn’t like it. Was it jealousy? I didn’t get jealous over anyone, ever.
I narrowed my gaze. “Don’t be eye-fuckin’ her. Get me?”
“Yes, Prez.”
“Be at her place by six. I want a full report of what she did all day by seven.” Once I knew what Madeline had been up to, I could leave for the lake.
“Six in the morning?”
“That a real question, prospect?” I never had the patience to deal with stupid questions on a good day, so right now, I really didn’t have any. Madeline snubbed me. Prospect was eye-fuckin’ her. Now the question? Not a good combination.
“No.”
“Don’t let her see you. Don’t talk to her. Don’t even rake your eyes over her body. If you get a boner for her, I’ll know.” I leaned forward in my chair and picked up the switchblade I kept on my desk. I snapped it open, studied the sparkling clean blade, and shot AJ a menacing look. “You jack off to her? I’ll cut your balls off and feed them to you.”
The prospect slowly swallowed, Adam’s apple vibrating. “Yes, Prez.”
“On your way out, send Track in.”
He was gone in two shakes, and Track appeared just as fast.
“Yo. What’d you do to the prospect? Guy looked like he saw the Reaper coming for him.” Track dropped into the chair in front of my desk and crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes went wide upon seeing the blade in my hand. “Shiiit. What’d the little fucker do?”
“Nothing. Got him on a task. Made sure he understood my expectations.”
Track eyed the switchblade. If anyone could read me, it was him. “The girl.” It wasn’t a question. “I assume he’s found her, so whatcha gonna do about her?”