Chapter Nine
Addison shivered under the cool breeze. After three text messages from her sister, she decided to utilize her break and call her back.I should’ve grabbed my jacket.The days may be warmer here than back home, but the nights were a stark reminder.
“It sounds like everything went well with Cleo,” Hannah said.
Addison gave in to her smile. “It did. She’s great. We’ve hung out a few times.”
Her sister hummed.
“What?”
“I don’t know. You don’t sound like yourself.”
Addison drove her hand through her hair. “Just tired.”
It wasn’t a lie. Her brain had been working overtime for the last few days. She needed a mental shutdown.
“What’s going on, Addy?” Hannah’s tone was soft with a slight edge of concern. Her sister knew her better than anyone. While she could be the biggest pain in the ass, she was also her best friend. There wasn’t much she could get past her sister.
Addison rested against the wall outside the bar, tucking her free hand in her pocket. “I met the guys in his motorcycle club.”
This was a sore subject with her sister. Hannah had done her research on the MC, came up with very little, and naturally assumed they were an outlaw biker gang. Her curiosity had led to documentaries, which didn’t help matters.
“How’d that go?”
Crash and burn. Addison wouldn’t go into detail. Much like the club was for Cleo, her sister was overly-protective and never hesitated to let her mama bear show.
“They weren’t nearly as welcoming as Cleo.”
There was a long stretch of silence.
“Well, they don’t know you yet.” It seemed Hannah was still on her positivity campaign.
She scoffed. “They don’t want to know me, Hannah. It was like how I envision war talks going with the enemy. Them on one side of the table, me on the other.” She rested her head against the building, looking up at the stars. “I guess, it’s my fault though. I was so focused on what I wanted and what I thought Cleo wanted, I never considered how it would be for all of them.”
“Look, you’re in a unique situation. You couldn’t predict how anyone would respond to you being there.”
Her sister was giving her an out. But Addison couldn’t take it.
“But I should’vethoughtof it.”
The road in front of the bar lit up, and a rumbling engine grew louder. It could’ve been a hotrod or an old truck, but Addison had heard a similar engine plenty of times. She pushed off the wall, keeping her gaze locked on the parking lot entrance. When the single headlight pulled in, she immediately spun around and started toward the door.
It could’ve been anyone. A motorcycle enthusiast not affiliated with the Killcreek Drifters out for a late night ride.Oh, please let it be someone random.Addison kept her eyes down and muttered.
“I gotta go. I’ll call you later.”
“Wait, Addy.”
“Hannah, I gotta go. Sorry.” She ended the call, shoved the phone in her back pocket, and walked inside.
She shook her hands and rolled her neck, hoping to release some anxiety. It was silly to get worked up when she didn’t evenknow if it was someone from Killcreek. She rounded the bar, heading toward the drying rack.
“You got five more minutes,” Barry barked.
Gah, this man.He bitched and moaned about giving her a break, and now he was complaining she hadn’t taken the full fifteen?I feel bad for your wife, Barry.
“I’d rather donate my time to drying glasses.”
