Page 11 of Burn Me Down

“Is that supposed to be a pick-up line?”

His face flamed a vibrant red. “I don’t know. Will it keep you from burning me in my sleep if I say yes?”

I slowly shook my head, and his eyes grew wide as he stepped back into the guard house and seemed to disappear behind the dark glass. It was kind of fun fucking with people.

Laughter, music, and the smell of cigarette smoke assaulted my senses as I yanked open the door. I loved and hated it all. It reminded me that I would never be part of anything like this. I was a lone wolf, a creature all on my own, and as much as I loved to be feared, I hated it at the same time—such a delicate tightrope to walk.

I tucked myself deeper into the hoodie, shading my face as I took the final step into the heart of the clubhouse. No one noticed me at first. Girls danced around in short shorts and crop tops. Some of them sitting on guy’s laps, kissing them like they were putting on a show. Others played cards, drank at the bar, or stood around talking.

I stayed perfectly still, watching them as they ignored me. If I’d been here to blow up the building, they would all be screaming as the flames licked the skin from their bones. One guy at the bar finally looked my way, and I recognized him from the beach house I burned down a while back.

He put his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. The room slowly fell silent as, one by one, heads turned in my direction. I could feel the tension of the room rising like the evening tide. The soft creak of leather and scrape of a table leg could be heard while hands sat on guns and knives, ready for whatever danger I brought.

Luckily for them, I wasn’t here to hurt anyone. At least not yet.

“You better speak up and say why you’re here and how you got past the gate, friend,” the guy at the bar said. He turned and sat his drink down, and I caught the name Roach on his cut. Who the fuck wanted to be called an annoying insect?

I opened my mouth to answer but stopped when I saw a flash of blonde hair running at me from the corner of my eye. Oh shit.

“The Dragon,” Ava squealed. She took me by surprise, jumping on me like she was giving me a monkey hug. The momentum almost knocked me back out the door and down the stairs. What the hell was she doing here?

Her arms wrapped around my neck so hard that she was cutting off my air supply.

“Why are you here, Dragon? Are we going to roast some marshmallows? I love marshmallows, but I love cookies more.”

“If you had both you could make a smore,” I wheezed through her tight hold and she sucked in a deep breath, eyes wide like I’d said something magical.

“Cookie sandwich, you’re so smart.” She kissed my cheek and I realized I’d never understand her and yet accepted that it was okay not to.

The faces around the room were frozen as they watched. I didn’t know what was freaking them out more…knowing who I was or that Ava was clinging to me.

“Who the fuck is this guy?” A younger guy stood up, looking like he wanted to fight me. I wanted to laugh. For the first time in my life, a guy was jealous because of me.

Ava hopped down and pointed at him. “Tanner, don’t you dare be mean to the Dragon.”

“Now you remember my name?” He held his arms out, his tone annoyed.

Ava linked her arm with mine, and even though it was an asshole move, I smiled at Tanner and laid my hand purposely on Ava’s. He looked like he was going to lose his mind, but Chase yelled from the far side of the room.

“Hey, DW, welcome.”

“You invited this guy,” Tanner asked, pointing at me. He reminded me of a kid pouting that someone else was playing with his toy.

“Dragon is my boom boom,” Ava said, and even though I knew she meant fire or bombs or something along those lines, the red that flamed on Tanner’s face made me snicker. Obviously, his version of boom boom was a little different.

“He’s your what?” Tanner stepped around a table and marched toward us. He was looking for a fight, and I would happily give him one.

Ava stepped away and poked Tanner in the chest. “He burns the bad bushes.” She whipped a spatula out from under her shirt like it was a gun and smacked Tanner across the face. The crack was loud and echoed, making everyone snicker. One guy spit out his drink. “You be nice.”

“Ow!” Tanner yelled and backed up as Ava advanced on him, spouting off insults that didn’t make an ounce of sense. At least she confused the fuck out of everyone and not just me.

“Hey Ava, I have cookies,” another guy I recognized from the same job said, holding up a bag of cookies. He hadn’t moved from the bar so I had no clue where he pulled them from. The guy slowly waved it back and forth and she watched the colorful package like the T-rex with the flare in Jurassic Park. He threw the package and she squealed with excitement.

“Cookie man!” She sang and caught the package out of the air.

The way Ava said that made me think of Beck, and I couldn’t help but stare as she took off with her prize like a child. I was afraid of that happening to me. That one day, my mind would finally snap. Lucid one minute, reverting to whatever that was the next. I didn’t think my version would be so unusually cute.

“Everyone, this is DW, and for those of you who need a reference….” Chase glanced at Tanner. “He handled pest control of the Reapers.”