AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Laughter greets me before I can step into the kitchen. I give the guys at the table a quick nod before heading to the coffee pot. I need something to do with my hands, but the caffeine, after seeing that text, isn’t necessary. I’m wide awake and in defense mode already.
“Hope we didn’t wake you up last night,” Stormy says, his smile wide.
“You didn’t,” I assure him, thinking it would probably be best to escape while I can, considering Ugly isn’t in the kitchen.
I look around the table, noticing each of the guys are bright-eyed. Not exactly what I’d expect after their first night in town.
“You all look less hungover than I’d expect.”
A round of chuckles circles the table.
“I don’t imagine Ugly will be able to say the same thing,” Stormy says, his grin never faltering.
“We had to carry his ass in last night,” Bishop mutters, less impressed than the others.
“Does he always act that way?” Legacy asks in a whisper.
“No,” I assure him. “He was probably just excited to have a group of guys who are willing to go out and drink with him.”
“It was incredibly immature. Like a housewife who doesn’t get out very often and ends up showing her ass by the end of the night because she doesn’t know when to cut it off,” Bishop grumbles.
“He left the bar with a woman, and we thought he wasn’t going to come back. But he was in the parking lot, leaning against the SUV, after last call,” Stormy explains.
“Looking like he got the shit beat out of him,” Bishop adds.
“I told you I tripped,” Ugly says, coming into the kitchen.
“And that’s how you got the busted lip?” I ask, noticing the swelling on his lower lip.
“My hands didn’t exactly work like they were supposed to,” he mutters as he crosses the room, his hair still damp from a shower.
We all watch his back as he makes a cup of coffee.
Stormy and Legacy are grinning. Bishop looks as annoyed now as he did talking about it a few minutes ago. I’m holding my breath, waiting for Ugly to mention seeing Drake’s truck leave the parking lot.
“I don’t think I’ll be going out with you much if you’re going to get so drunk you can’t walk inside when we get home,” Bishop says, not even hiding his irritation.
“How much did you have to drink after you left the bar?” Stormy asks.
“Nothing,” Ugly says, earning a scoff from Bishop.
“You weren’t stumbling drunk when you left.”
“It won’t happen again,” Ugly says as he takes a seat at the table, sounding like a child being chastised by a parent.
I lift my coffee cup to my lips, my need to escape fading because it seems like Ugly wasn’t even awake when they returned to the clubhouse last night.
Ugly stares down at his coffee cup, looking confused and disoriented. I’ve been out with the guy before, and he never got so drunk that he had a hard time walking. Maybe he got excited, like I said, by the guys being there with him. I’m not exactly a party animal, and because I don’t drink, those around me don’t seem to have the urge to drink as much.
“Are you guys going to help with the remodel today?” I ask, hoping to get more help.
“We have a meeting in the conference room,” Legacy says with a frown.
“It’s all the HR shit,” Ugly grumbles.
I cringe. “I remember.”
“I’d rather be building something,” Stormy mutters.
The front door of the clubhouse opens, and less than a minute later, Jinx and Rocker walk in.
“Nice,” Jinx says as he heads toward the coffee pot.
“Are you guys helping today?” Rocker asks.
“It’s HR day for them,” I say, noticing Bishop’s eyes on me.
“Gross,” Rocker and Jinx say at the same time.
Bishop continues to look at me as if he has something to say, as if he knows something, but he doesn’t open his mouth.
“You look like shit warmed over,” Jinx says, clapping Ugly on the back as he drops into the chair beside him.
“Got trashed last night,” Bishop helpfully supplies.
I’m starting to get the feeling that this guy may be the first to cause problems in Cerberus.
“Really?” Jinx asks, his brow drawing together. “That doesn’t normally happen.”
“Weird fucking night,” Ugly mutters, his eyes still locked on his cup of coffee.
“I guess you’re going to head back to bed?” Rocker asks.
“I’ll rally,” Ugly mutters.
I head out to the construction area, already finding several of the guys working. We don’t have a set schedule, and all help is appreciated, not expected, but it seems some are more eager to get it done than others.
“Been working long?” I ask Thumper.
“Not very long. Gonna be over a hundred today. Figured it would be best to get in what we can before we risk heat stroke this afternoon.”
I work side by side with the other guys, not surprised that Ugly doesn’t make it outside once. My phone buzzes in my pocket twice, but I don’t pull it out to check the messages.
