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She looked up at him sadly, and he pulled her against his chest, his chin coming down on the top of her head. She wrapped her arms around him, knowing they’d get past this sadness that consumed them. Time would eventually heal them.
Skylar’s face was turned to the side and straight in front of her, across the compound, Shades stared back at her. He sat on the top of the picnic table. The pretty blonde she’d seen him with earlier sitting between his legs on the bench below him. His hand was idly running through her hair, but his eyes remained on Skylar.
Crash bent his head to her ear. “You had enough?”
She nodded against his chest, her arms tight around him.
“Okay, baby girl. We’ll leave.”
She turned her head to look up at him. “You sure?”
“I made my appearance. Talked with who I needed to talk to. Let’s get out of here.” And then he was taking her by the hand and walking her through the crowd toward his bike.
****
Later that night, Shades lie in his bed in the apartment above his auto body shop. He stared at the ceiling and smoked a cigarette, his thoughts once again consumed by Skylar. He looked over at the clock.
3am.
He lie there. Wide awake. Wondering where Skylar was. In a bed somewhere with Crash no doubt, his arms wrapped around her sweet body. Why did he let these thoughts torture him? Twisting, he angrily jabbed out his cigarette on the rough wood floor, and then dropped the butt into an old beer can.
He leaned back, his arms folded behind his head and continued to study the ceiling. Fucking the blonde earlier tonight hadn’t even worked Skylar out of his head. He knew better than to think it would. It never had before.
Skylar.
Would he ever be free of this longing?
Memories floated through his head of that summer they’d had together.
He went back in his mind to the place where it all went off track. The night he got the call-out that changed everything between them. When he’d still been a prospect, and she’d still believed in him…
Ten years ago—
Shades let off on the throttle and coasted into the darkened alley. At 2am, it was empty.
He parked next to the only other bike there and climbed off. Dismounting, he pulled his helmet off and hung it over the handlebar.
The burning tip of a cigarette flared to life from the dark shadows against the brick wall, and then went sailing into the distance. A second later, a shadowy figure separated itself from the wall and stepped out into the dim starlight.
Cole.
The man who had called him out tonight.
He’d gotten used to these middle of the night call-outs, but they still sucked, especially when he’d left Skylar in his bed, her skin all warm and soft. It made it hard for a man to get out of bed when that was what he was leaving behind.
“Cole.” Shades greeted the man, and the hairs on the back of his neck immediately went up when Cole didn’t return his greeting, but instead pulled a black glove on as he stared Shades down. “What’s up?”
“You and me got some business.”
Shades’ eyes darted down the alley, wondering just what the fuck was about to go down. “What business is that?”
Cole approached him, flexing his gloved hand, opened, closed. Shades resisted the urge to take a step back, and instead held his ground. A moment later he was blindsided by a powerful right hook to the head. He stumbled back a step, but stayed on his feet as pain exploded in his jaw. He tried to shake the stars from his vision as he wondered what new test this was. The back of his hand came up to wipe the blood that was trailing down from his split lip. “What the fuck, Cole?”
Another fist connected with his left cheek. And then Cole grabbed two fistfuls of his cut and drove him backwards until he slammed into the side of a dumpster. Shades started to shove Cole back, but one word from the man stopped him.
“Skylar!” It came out in a snarl.
Shades eyes slid closed as he slumped back against the metal he was pinned to by one angry, pissed-off biker. “Shit.”
