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Hex shakes his head at me. “You’re one peculiar woman, Abigail Miller. The last woman I told this story to at a bar looked at me like I was loony, and the one before that swore she’d never forgive me.” He threw his hands in the air with exaggerated exasperation. “Pft! Women. I can never understand them.”
“Poor women,” I say with a breezy laugh. “I’m sure no one wants to hear bloody ghost stories on a date when they can have your cute ass up against a wall, tongue halfway down their throat.”
Hex bursts into laughter, joined by Blight, Gator, and some of the other MC members who are sitting close to us in the large main room. I’m getting more comfortable around the guys, and on evenings like these, when Pocus is busy taking care of club business or out on a ride, I come out to the main room to hang with the guys. It’s always fun to watch them banter over games and drinks. Despite their differences, anyone can see how much they care for and have each other’s backs.
“Girl, I like you,” Gator says with a loud snort. “It’s been years, and this idiot still hasn’t figured out why the ladies dump his ass like a hot potato.”
I gasp loudly in mock surprise. “Do you mean he tells these stories on every date?”
“Every damn one,” Gator replies with an unapologetic snicker at Hex, who shows him the middle finger.
“It gets worse when he’s drunk,” Blight adds. “It’s why Cassandra is his only gal.”
There’s another pearl of laughter, but Hex doesn’t join in this time. “You’re gonna get Cassie pissed, and you know what happens when she’s mad.” He turns to me with a good-natured smile. “Don’t mind her, by the way. Cassandra is only eight, and she’s a sweetheart.” He cringes at his own words and chuckles nervously. “Well…sometimes.”
“Yeah, she’s sweet cos she’s the only girl that can stand your ass,” Gator says, and the guys snicker in response.
I chuckle quietly and shake my head bemusedly. “For what it’s worth, Hex,” I say, crossing a hand over my chest. “I enjoyed every part of your story, and I’d love to hear more of them whenever.”
Hex’s face lights up, and he beams at me. “Finally… a woman after my own heart. Except Prez has already claimed you.”
Gator rolls his eyes dramatically and throws his hands in the air. “A little discretion, Hex?”
I duck my face to hide the deep blush spreading rapidly across my cheeks.
These men don’t miss anything, do they?
I hear a loud scraping sound in the distance, and I look up just in time to see the extraordinarily tall man sitting quietly on the couch by the window, stand and walk out of the room in long, tense strides.
Bones.
Why do I have a feeling that Bones has a grudge against me? We have never personally exchanged words yet because he always has an unapproachable air around him. He’s always quiet whenever I’m in the room, either nursing a drink or cleaning his gun with a stony expression.
What’s his deal, anyway?Only one way to find out….
“Excuse me,” I mutter to Hex and the rest of the men and quickly follow Bones out. I stand on the porch to study him and also to organize my thoughts. He’s sitting on one of the swings out front, kicking at the ground with the toe cap of his huge black boots. From where I stand, he looks like a petulant little child. The thought is funny because there’s nothing ‘little’ about Bones.
I walk down the porch steps to join him by the swings. I clear my throat loudly, an awkward attempt to announce my presence.
“Hey, Can I…umm…,” I trail off and gesture to the empty swing beside him with a small smile. “May I sit with you?”
He remains quiet for a few tense seconds. He’s deliberately making me wait and wants me to know that. “It’s a free world…,” he says finally and shrugs ironically. “I guess.”
Yeah, he’s definitely got a problem with me. I lower myself gingerly on the empty swing and allow the awkward silence to stretch for a few more seconds.
“I heard you helped out with moving my sister. I wanted to thank you for that.”
“It’s got nothing to do with you,” Bones grumbles. “It’s club business. My duty.”
There’s only so much of his grumpiness that I can take. I throw my hands up with an exasperated sigh. “Okay, out with it now, Bones. I know that you don’t like me, but I’d at least like to know why.”
Bone gives me an incredulous look and scoffs loudly. “Look at you acting so innocent. It’s cute.”
“Now, what the hell are you going on about,” I ask, genuinely frustrated. “I’m not out here to suck up to you or something. I can’t get everyone to like me, obviously. But I thought I’d at least say thank you for helping out with Laura. I don’t….”
“You fucking injected drugs in my system while I was fighting to save you,” Bones spits venomously. His animosity toward me was unmistakable. “You begged me to save you, and you fucking set me up. Bitch’s move, ain’t it?”
My stomach suddenly bunches up in knots, and my heart thuds heavily in my chest. I feel…guilty? I don’t even remember doing these things, but why do I feel like the lowest scum on the earth right now? Why do I feel like I deserve all that hate Bones, even now, is directing at me?
