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“Joey,” I mumble, forcing my eyes to meet hers. Disdain flashes in her dark blue eyes, and I fight the urge to wince. I won’t give her the satisfaction.
She sighs, waving her blood-red nails in my face. They match her navel piercing and her lips.
“Aren’t you tired of your little game yet?” She crosses her arms over her chest, tucking them under her breasts so they plump up. I toy with the hem of my oversized T-shirt, shuffling my feet, my tennis shoes scuffing the sidewalk.
“What little game?” It comes out more defensively than I would like, but talking to Joey has always got my back up. It’s never a pleasant way to spend time. At least, it’s not for me. I always come off worse.
She waves her hand dismissively at me again. “This game. Hanging out at the clubhouse dressed like a depressed teenage slob. Staying with Viper.”
I shuffle again, my fingers clenching at the bottom of my shirt. “I don’t have anywhere else to go.”
“You could go anywhere. Don’t you have that fancy college degree? Surely you’ve saved some money from being a brat-sitter? You’re clearly not spending it on clothes.”
“I like my job. I like where I live.”
Joey scoffs, rolling her eyes. “I doubt you like looking after snot-nosed little brats, but I don’t doubt you like where you live. You’ve certainly landed on your feet.”
“I was lucky Viper had a spare bedroom,” I hedge, my eyes darting around. But, as luck would have it, the road is silent and still. Not a motorbike roaring in the distance. Nothing to distract Joey so I can duck around her and get away.
“Sure. Lucky. You need to fuck off. You’re messing with my plans.”
My eyes snap back to hers, a line appearing between my brows as I frown. “What plans?”
Joey rolls her eyes again, looking at me like I’m an idiot. “My plans for Viper, stupid.”
My gut churns, my eyes dipping to take in Joey’s form again. It’s like she was specially molded to be tempting to men. Even the colorful tattoos down her arms, spilling over her hands and fingers, and rising up her neck are like a spider's web, temptingly drawing them in.
“I’ve had my eye on him for a while. You have no right to muscle in on my turf.” Joey’s voice is rising, getting more annoyed and sharper with each sentence, vitriol dripping off her tone like flecked barbs looking for any available piece of my skin to pierce.
“The Wild Hawks aremything. You should fuck off and find your own. Viper and I had a good thing going before you decided to blow back in town to try to claim Mama’s money.”
Oh my god. How often do I have to tell her that I was Mama’s carer for years? I open my mouth, but the words stick in my throat. What good thing with Viper?”
“H-he said you two had never… that you’d never…been together,” I finish lamely as Joey raises one perfectly sculpted, thick black brow, a pitying smile settling on her plump, red lips.
“Oh, poor little stupid Naomi. Did you really believe what the big, bad biker told you to get you to spread your legs?” Joey snorts, raising a hand and dismissively checking her manicure. “I'll never know how you didn’t end up married and pregnant to the first guy who plowed between your fat thighs. Of course Viper said he never touched me. Guys will say anything for a fuck. You’re there in his house. You’re convenient. He doesn’t need to leave his living room to get his dick serviced. He’s not going to say anything to mess up sex on tap. You poor, innocent little idiot.”
My heart twists in my chest as my stomach churns and my throat closes. Doubt bubbles to the surface. Oh god. Did Viper only say that to get me to let him fuck me without a condom?
I swallow down bile, the hot air cold in my nostrils. I won’t be sick in front of Joey. I refuse to let her see me hurl. Joey shrugs, looking smug.
“Just give it up now. Leave town. Find a better life somewhere. Leave the Hawks tome.”
Flashing a smile, Joey pivots on her heels, walking to her little two-door hatchback and sliding in. She flips me off as she pulls away from the curb. I stare after her, sucking in lungfuls of hot, dry air, trying to calm my heaving stomach and mind.
The sun is beating down on my face, and my phone buzzes in my pocket. I snap out of my daze, staring down at it. Shelley. Shit. Swiping to answer, I start moving toward the clubhouse, my feet slapping the pavement again.
“Sorry! Got waylaid. I’m on my way.”
“Sure. You okay?”
“Absolutely. I’ll see you soon!” I try to inject some cheeriness into my tone, hanging up and hurrying back to work. I don’t think she bought it, but it’s the best I’ve got right now. Maybe Joey is right. Perhaps I should leave town. Start fresh somewhere without Mama close by. Without Viper… my heart aches at the thought. I don’t know if I have the strength to walk away.
VIPER
I lean against the kitchen archway, my eyes narrowed as they follow Naomi around the small space. She doesn’t look at me, her shoulders tense, her eyes sliding everywhere but me. Something’s up with her.
She’s been off since I picked her up from the clubhouse creche, and I don’t like it. I finally catch her gaze, but Naomi quickly looks away, snapping something in me.
