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I attempt to wake myself up in the shower before I leave my cabin, but I still feel spaced when I step out onto my front porch. Tac’s waiting on his bike, staring at me like he’s expecting some kinda explanation out of me.
“Mornin’,” he tips his chin at me, looking pissed as fuck.
“Mornin’ yourself,” I reply, fixing my bag in place before throwing my leg over my saddle.
“Ya thinkin’ of showing your face at the studio anytime soon?” Tac asks before I get a chance to start my engine.
“Been busy,” I tell him, hoping he ain’t gonna press me on it. I haven’t come up with an excuse to give the brothers yet, and even if I had one, I don’t want to bullshit Tac.
“You’ve been busy,” he scoffs a laugh, knowing damn well how much I like being at the studio.
“Nyx, there ain’t been a single day in four years that you haven’t come by the shop, the last two days I haven’t seen a trace of ya. What's up?”
“He’s been keepin' eyes out for Prez,” a voice cuts in from behind me, “Prez has let Tommy going AWOL lie for too long. We got Nyx here chasing up some leads.” Jessie’s hand lands on my shoulder, and Tac nods acceptingly at Jessie’s explanation.
“I almost feel sorry for the little bastard,” Tac snarls.
He has a point, Tommy’s in some deep shit, but hell if I feel sorry for him. The kid’s always been an asshole in my opinion.
Tommy’s Pa, Chop, had been VP before he turned on the club and killed Skid’s wife. The Dirty Souls would never judge a man by another man’s actions, but the fact that Tommy skipped town straight after didn’t scream innocence. Since then, Jessie’s pieced some shit together that indicates Tommy was in on the whole thing. So Tac’s right, things ain’t looking good for him.
“I got to get to the shop.” Tac looks over at me. “Don’t worry I got shit covered, you just focus on finding Tommy so we can get Skid some fuckin’ answers.” He starts up his engine, saluting us both before he rides off.
Jessie waits till he’s gone, then checks around the yard for any more bodies before he speaks.
“You need any help covering up your absence around here, let me know,” he slaps my back before hopping on his own bike and heading in the direction of the clubhouse.
I’m grateful for Jessie’s help, but it doesn’t stop me feelin' guilty for leaving Tac to cope at the studio. Soul Inc is the only place for miles where you can get inked. Likely due to the fact no one local is ballsy enough to set up a rival studio.
We’re always busy, and I hate that after all Tac has done for me I’m having to let him down.
I have to focus on why I’m doing all this. I want the respect of a fully patched member. And when all this shit is over with, I’ll make it up to Tac by putting all my efforts into becoming a kick-ass tattooist and freeing up some time for him.
I arrive at school just in time to see Ella get out of her car. She’s wearing a massive smile on her face as she walks inside with her friend. And it almost forces my own lips to lift. I follow them inside, trying not to stare too hard when I pass her at her locker. That smile that looks fucking incredible on her quickly fades the second she hears Luke and his fuckwit followers walking towards her from the other end of the corridor.
It’s only taken me a short time to realize that Ella’s scared of him, and I hate him just for having that kinda power over her.
Luke Robinson is that jock asshole that every high school has. To me, he’s a joke, but to anyone who gives a shit about what people think of them, he’s venom. Everyone wants to be friends with the captain of the football team, and the whole school practically suck the kid's dick.
The way he glares at Ella with such spite gets me fucking twitchy, and I hope the reason he hates her so much is that, unlike most of the girls around here, she hasn’t sucked on his fuckin’ dick.
When I get to class, I purposely sit at Luke’s desk at the back. Ella arrives a few minutes later, offering me the awkward little look that never fails to get a reaction out of my cock, before she sits herself down three desks in front of me.
She always seems so focused during class, I, on the other hand, have no clue what the fuck is going on. Not that it matters, I’m not here to learn about Scott what’s ’is name and his long assed book.
The only subject I have to take in is her, and so far I’m excelling at that.
Luke struts inside the room like he owns it. Narrowing his eyes at me when he sees me sitting at his desk. I respond with a sarcastic smile, refusing to back down from his intense glare. He proves that he knows exactly how to rile me, when he slips his hand over Ella’s head, taking one of her glossy brown curls and yanking it as he passes her.
My hands grip tight to the edge of the desk, trying to hold back a reaction. Luke touching her pisses me off more than it should. But the fact he might have hurt her in the process makes me want to stomp on his face. If the motherfucker has caused her any pain, Ella doesn’t let it show, and for that, I'm proud of her.
Luke continues to wind me up all period, either by throwing scrunched up paper at her or whispering a snide remark under his breath every time she speaks up in class. I make sure he notices the silent warning I glare at him because my tolerance is rapidly upping and fucking off.
When the bell rings, I don’t wait to be excused, grabbing up my shit and making sure I’m the first one out the door. My fist slams hard into the first locker I come too, driven out of pure frustration.
What the fuck am I doing? Why am I getting so defensive of her? My job is simple. Get enough information to assure the Prez she’s happy.Ella isn’t my problem. I’m not supposed to care about her, and I’m complicating the shit out of things.
What I should be doing is telling Prez about Luke Robinson.Guarantee that slimy prick a fucked up, Jessie style warning to back off. But it doesn’t seem like justice.
