AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Nothing much to tell. Just me getting my ass dead drunk while my wife, Dolly, was away with my kid. Little sister here calls for help because she’s stranded in a rest area with a flat tire and a grizzly foraging in a damn trashcan, and I’m too wasted to take the call. So, my man, Prosper, helped out with a ride.”
“Yeah, he’s a real gentleman that way.” Derringer winked at Pinky, and she blushed so hard even those little pointed ears of hers turned red.
“I guess we can all see how you got the name. Can’t say I ever saw a woman blush like that before,” Derringer said with obvious admiration. “Next time you need a ride home, pretty lady, I’m your man.”
“Next time she needs a ride home,I’mher man,” Prosper shot out so quickly he even surprised himself.
Derringer gave him a long, cool look, then leaned back with a lazy smile on his face. “With all due respect, brother, I’d say that’s up to the lady.”
“What time do you get out?” Prosper swung his head around and laser-focused on Pinky.
“One, at the earliest. A little later depending how much clean up we have to do. But I … uh … I … have a ride,” Pinky stammered out.
“You bet your ass, you do. I’ll be out in the parking lot at twelve thirty. Take all the time you fucking need,” he told her in no uncertain terms. Prosper was talking to Pinky, but he was looking right at Derringer when he finished by saying, “I’ll be waiting.”
Derringer put his hands up in surrender.
Jack gave them both a disgusted look. “You two boys done with your pissin’ contest because I’m starving. Darlin’, you ready to take my order?”
“Sure thing.” To Pinky’s credit, she whipped out her order book and rattled off the specials like a boss.
Fucking Derringer, Prosper thought to himself as he stabbed at his steak.
But really, who could blame the guy? Not like Prosper had any sort of claim to her, or even wanted to.
Had he thought about Pinky? If he was truthful about it, he’d have to say not much. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t had a great time with her, it was just that he didn’t have a whole lot of room leftover in his brain to think about pleasurable shit.
If things were different, Prosper forced the thought out of his mind quickly. He knew that aside from some really good sex, he had nothing to offer Pinky.
Because … Maggie.
“Iset some shit in motion before I left, so if you give me the go ahead to wrap up negotiations, we can have this up and running on our end in about a week.” Derringer and Prosper were finalizing plans outside the restaurant. “You good with scouting out some property? Beast is doing his thing in Miami, but I touched base just in case, and he’s fine to come on up and help out.”
“Send Beast.” Prosper nodded.
Derringer took a long look at his friend and felt a surge of sympathy, because no matter what, this was going to end badly. “You know, brother, you look exhausted. You ain’t gonna do anybody any good if you don’t get in some regular sleep.”
Prosper laid a hard hand on Derringer’s shoulder. “Thanks, brother. I know this is a lot to put on you. More than you signed up for.”
Derringer snorted. “Are you kidding? I live for this shit. I’ll be talking to you soon.”
After Derringer sped off, Prosper returned to where Jack was waiting with the bikes.
“Aw, man. It’s Raine’s birthday tomorrow.” Jack’s shoulders slumped.
“What? I thought it was Saturday?” Prosper looked at him in alarm.
“Nah, Saturday is the party with her little friends. Maggie used to belong to a small group of school moms, so one of them offered to bring the kids to the movies and out for ice cream, you know, to make it easier on us. But Maggie wanted to do a cake and stuff at our house for Raine with the family. I totally fucking forgot. I just can’t wrap my head around that kind of shit anymore. And now I have no way to bring anything home.” Jack waved at his Harley.
“Get your ass home, Jack. I can pick some stuff up. I got plenty of room in the saddle bags, and I can tie up the cake to the seat if I have to,” Prosper told him.
Jack sighed in relief. “So, you got this?”
Prosper nodded. “I got this.”
He took a look at his watch and for a minute he regretted letting Derringer rile him up enough to offer Pinky that ride. But in the next breath, Derringer was nothing if not an opportunist and he had been ready to jump right in. The thought of Pinky and Derringer together brought out a visceral reaction in him.
He didn’t fucking like it.
