Page 21 of Property of Kevlar

The magical scent of coffee filled her apartment as the pot gurgled and brewed the sacred bean water. Entering the kitchen, she found her friend with her head in the refrigerator.

“As you are aware, Mike and Pete are new in town.”

Kelsey nodded as she opened the cupboard and collected coffee mugs.

“And you know they’re part of a riding club, right?”

“They’re bikers,” Kelsey corrected. “Like in a gang.”

Carrie stood straight, holding the milk in her hand. “Don’t call them that. They are a club. Not a gang. They hate being called that.”

Kelsey rolled her eyes. She didn’t give a flying fuck what they preferred. That wasn’t her damn business. As far as she was concerned, she planned to stay far away from those assholes.

“Anyway.” Carrie opened the milk and sniffed. Wrinkling her nose, she peered at Kelsey. “Is this still good?”

“It’s fine. I got it last week.”

Carried eyed the carton warily. “So, Mike told me their club was looking to expand into Oklahoma City.”

Kelsey pursed her lips. She had gathered that last night during the conversation between Kev and Pete.

“Apparently, they aren’t the only ones.”

Kelsey stood at the other end of the kitchen, her hips against the counter, waiting for her friend to make a point and the coffee to brew.

“You can guess what that means, right?”

Kelsey shrugged. “Not a clue.”

Her friend sighed heavily, shook her head, and dumped the milk into the sink.

“Hey!” Kelsey closed the distance between them and reached for the carton.

“It’s spoiled. If you drink that, you’re going to get sick,” Carrie protested as the last drops went down the drain.

Kelsey frowned.

“Anyway. Back to the point. Don’t you watch TV or movies or anything?” Carrie asked, clearly exasperated.

“Sure, but I’m more into sitcoms and rom-coms, so I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

Carrie ran her fingers through her hair. “There’s going to be a turf war.”

While Kelsey wasn’t particularly well read on bikers, she wasn’t exactly a stranger to them. A club was in the area not that long ago. They were a bunch of drug-addicted dirty dickheads. She avoided them at all costs.

“We need to align ourselves with the right side,” Carrie warned.

Kelsey furrowed her brow. “This has nothing to do with us.”

As far as she knew, women weren’t members of these sorts of things. So, whatever was going on with Mike, Pete, and anyone else wasn’t any of their business.

“You’re dating Pete.” Carrie thrust a hand in her direction.

“No, I am not,” Kelsey protested. A few shared beers did not a relationship make.

“Well, I’m with Mike.”

Kelsey frowned. She wasn’t surprised, but that wasn’t what she wanted to hear. “You might want to rethink that.”