Okay. Angry. Dex wasangry.
Which was bad but also good, because the bitterness in his voice was also very real.
“We are on break. I would have no right to be upset with you if you did… something,” Hammer said, though the very possibility of it happening upset him more than he could put into words. “But you shouldn’t fuck people who don’t respect you. Those guys won’t make you one of them if they can treat you like some hangaround.”
Dex’s jaw tightened. “What is this lecture? You’re turning into my uncle?”
Hammer scowled. “I’m looking out for you.”
“You’re a dog in the manger, that’s what you are. We’re done here, I’ve got work to do. Foryourbirthday party.” Dex got up and wouldn’t even look at him on his way out.
Hammer blinked and grabbed his forearm. “What?”
“I said what I said! You know exactly what I mean!”
Hammer pressed his lips together, once again trapped in a situation that couldn’t have a good outcome. “Why are you angry?”
Dex’s face was getting even redder. “I’m not angry! You do whatever you need to do, and since you don’t care whatIdo, I’ll just weigh my options and see!”
“Well,I’mnot doing anyone!” Hammer barked as a rock in his throat grew.
The door to the storeroom opened and Wasp stepped in. “Everything okay in here?”
Dex ripped his arm out of Hammer’s grip. “It’s fine. Daddy Hammer was just giving me life advice.” He laughed and stuck his tongue out at Hammer, but his eyes held no humor as he left.
The older biker’s mouth stretched into a smile, but before he could have said anything, Hammer pushed past him. “Not now.” With that, he hurried down the corridor, toward the doors that still swung from the push Dex had given them.
He needed to fucking break something and hated how visceral the need was. He’d grown out of being a hot head and had caged his violent impulses back in his twenties, yet the mixed signals from Dex were like electroshocks coming out of nowhere every time he replayed the conversation in his head.
When Hammer entered the main room, Dex had already picked up some nails and was hammering them into the side of the bar alongside Finn. And he seemed set on pretending Hammer wasn’t there.
That would not do.
“Do you need any help?” Hammer asked, flinching as loud music barked out of the large speaker installed on the wall above him.
Dex took a deep breath, but wouldn’t look at him, glancing past Hammer, to Torcher who left the corridor with the door to the office and restrooms. “You can measure the shelves at the back, since you’re so meticulous.”
Finn chuckled. “I mean, he’s good with thehammertoo.”
“You two are already covering that,” Hammer said begrudgingly and picked up the tape measure left on the new counter made from raw wood. He was about to approach the wall when Lion stepped out of his office and settled his gaze on Hammer.
“Can we talk?”
Damn it. Then again, it wasn’t like Hammer and Dex could have a serious conversation with others around, so he left the tape measure and followed Lion past the door. His heart skipped a beat when he spotted Dex glancing his way, but the boy averted his gaze as soon as he realized he’d been caught.
Lion closed the door as they entered the dingy office filled with cabinets from the floor to the ceiling. “Is it just me, or are you acting a bit strange around Grinder?”
Not this. Did everyone really have to be knuckle-deep in his business? He looked the prez straight in the eye, because whatever this was about, he would not budge.
“Define ‘strange’?” Hammer asked, settling in the office chair in front of the desk. Its seat felt like a limp tire in dire need of air, but Hammer never spent enough time on the ancient piece of furniture to question why it hadn’t been replaced or reupholstered.
Lion sighed and rubbed his bald head, sitting down too. “Let’s say… jealous? Maybe? Someone told me it seems to come off that way. Is there something I should know about?”
Torcher. Fucking Torcher. He must have planted that idea in Lion’s head, and he must have been leaving the office when Hammer spotted him earlier.
“Was that anonymous someone the red mop?” Hammer asked, swaying in the chair left and right as fury rose deep inside. “Has he also mentioned he was trying to get a BJ out of our prospect?”
Lion’s frown looked as if his face was about to fold in on itself. “What? What is with these guys? Grinder’s been around for a week, and I’ve already had Finn ask me, ‘hypothetically’, if I thought it was gay to share a cigarette with a gay guy. Maybe I should get male strippers for your party if everyone’s gotten so curious all of a sudden!”