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“Something else on your mind?” he asked. We’d known each other since we were in diapers. I didn’t miss the accusation in his tone.
“No.”
“You sure? Something with a nice juicy ass and firm-”
I slammed my beer down on the table, making the sweet butts behind the bar jump. “Knock it off, asshole.”
Drew hid his grin behind the rim of the bottle as he finished the beer off. “We’re twenty-eight, Bro. Single for the first time in years. We should be fucking our way across these states while we track down Eric.”
The thought had crossed my mind, but this wasn’t a road trip. This was business. Vengeful business. Eric needed to die. The shit he pulled back in Austin, one of my brothers getting shot, a dozen others arrested, not to mention everything else he and his brother had done, had earned him a one-way ticket to hell. Granted, we had unfucked the situation, but Eric had nearly destroyed the whole chapter. Before I could really think about a girl I had to take this fucker down.
“Are you interested in this one?” Drew asked, snapping me back to the here and now.
“Of course. Did you see her?” We both grinned at that.
“Well, that’s something anyway. You,” he said, pointing his empty beer bottle at me, “are not allowed to fall in love with her. This is simply about getting your dick wet before it rusts and falls off.”
“What else would it be about?” I asked, tapping my bottle against his. Marina's eyes flashed through my mind. I knew what it was really about. I wasn’t about to tell Drew a fucking thing, though.
“Need me to take you over to get a new bike?”
“Fuck.” I hung my head, saying a proper goodbye to my best girl. “Yeah. Goddamn it.”
My new motorcycle idled between my thighs and it felt like I was home. That was all it took for my world to be set right. Ellie may not be Lucy, but she was a beauty. I’d just spent far more than I cared to on my new ride, clothes, and new cell phone since everything had been lost to the ocean. I didn’t give a shit about money. Its only purpose was gas for the bike and beer for me. Pesky shit had a way of piling up.
Drew was the only one who knew I was a rich kid. Not so much a kid anymore, as my father liked to point out every time I talked to him. He thought a pep talk consisted of dragging me down. He loved telling me I was never going to amount to anything if I didn’t apply myself. He’d wanted me to become a lawyer like him, like Grandpa had been.
Fuck that. I might be a killer, but I’m not evil.
Luckily, I didn’t need my father’s approval. My grandfather had left me the majority of his inheritance. As his only grandchild he’d set me up for life. That didn’t mean I didn’t work when I was settled down in one place. I got into far too much trouble if I wasn’t busy, so I made sure to stay that way. Plus, it was the best way to network, especially as a Nomad. Get your hands dirty in a new chapter and you instantly had the respect and trust of your new brothers.
Having a grease monkey for a son had pissed my father off to no end, but I loved working on bikes. I left that as my hobby whenever possible, though. When I was in Austin I’d bartended for our club’s bar. Out here on the road though, a good mechanic was always needed. I pulled into an apartment complex and shut off the engine.
I was in my usual jeans, t-shirt, cut, and boots and I was fully aware of the fact that I didn’t belong as people watched me walk past. There were families walking their dogs in the little sectioned off play area. A huge expanse of grass surrounded the apartments. It was a nice place and exactly where I’d picture someone as sweet as Marina living.
The rap of my knuckles on her door had a neighbor poking her head over the balcony and staring at me suspiciously. The door opened, drawing my attention away from the nosey neighbor.
The blonde girl standing in front of me in shorts and rainbow socks pulled up to her knees was cute. But she wasn’t my blonde girl. That gave me pause. I’d known Marina for a grand total of nine hours and I was already thinking of her as mine? Not good. I tried to remember my promise to Drew as I smiled at Marina’s roommate.
“Hey, I’m Trip.”
“Tall, tatted, and hunky. I know who you are. Come in.”
I couldn’t help the satisfied smirk that lifted my lips. So Marina had already told her friend about me? “Is that your description of me or hers?”
She paused and tossed me a wink over her shoulder. “Mixture of both of ours. She can use it, though.” Her eyes trailed over me. “It fits. I’m Kat.”
“Nice to meet you.” I kept my hands lodged in my pockets. I wasn’t a fan of handshakes. Too many years of my father barking at me when I was younger. Him telling me that if I shook hands wrong the world would know how weak and worthless I was.
I was a man and had left my father’s bullshit behind long ago. I didn’t need his approval to know who I was, to like who I was, but there were a few things that still lingered from the time I was forced to exist around him. Shaking hands was one of them. Most everyone who knew me knew I’d go for a fist bump over anything else.
“If you hurt her-”
“You’ll kick my ass?” I asked with a raised brow. I wasn’t offended at Kat’s abrupt nature. It pleased me that Marina had someone so fierce watching out for her.
“Snip off your balls,” Kat told me. She pointed two fingers at her eyes then directed them toward me. “I have my eyes on you.”
“Dirty. That’s alright, you can watch.”
