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His ability to repress all emotion was remarkable. I sometimes found myself jealous of that and wished I, too, couldn’t feel anything. Joker moved through the world without worry or care, forgetting the awful shit that had been done to him so quickly. Seeing him deflect his bad shit somehow helped me get through my past—helped me push down the memories of my mother, my father, and Lorne Walsh’s disgusting touches.
Joker’s ability to laugh maniacally at things that weren’t even remotely funny helped me see that not everything required a severe response. So I strived to be more like him regarding feelings and memories.
Don’t think about it.
Don’t talk about it.
Smile in the face of your haters.
And it had worked until Tori showed up at The Strip.
“Are you ready for tomorrow?” he asked, referring to our resupply ride.
We made a supply run every time we got close to selling out. Our supplier had the purest coke and the most potent smoke. We were known to have the best shit, which meant our buyers would expect just that. It was dangerous work, but it paid so fucking well it was worth it.
“Always. Ready to get that money,” I said, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a joint I had rolled before leaving for The Strip.
I caught it between my lips and lit it before taking a deep drag. The smoke tickled my lungs and sent a calm rush through my veins.
“And if shit goes south?” he asked.
“If shit goes south, heads will roll,” I answered, taking another deep pull from my joint.
I passed it his way, and he took it with tattooed fingers. The word loyalty was inked up his forearm like a blazing reminder. There were times growing up when I would get lost in my head, unable to think of ways to get food or shelter, but he always came through. No matter what it took.
We fought for survival before we became drug kings and biker gods. We took on the streets together and fought to get to the top. Yet Joker managed to get through every fight unscathed. I was in awe of that.
It wasn’t that he was overly muscular or strong. Hell, trying to get Joker to work out with us was an ongoing joke in our house, but he made up for what he lacked in size and weight in speed. He was fast as fuck with the attitude of a rabid dog with fried nerve endings. Joker didn’t feel—mentally or physically—and when he fought, he did so with murder on his mind. He was dangerous to everyone but us.
“Do you think Skull will run with us tomorrow?” he asked, exhaling a cloud of smoke above him.
I shook my head. “Hell no. Skull’s a tame animal.”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “No way in hell could I ever be tamed.”
I laughed along with him. The thought of anyone in the world being special enough to calm the beast within him was hilarious.
“No woman in the world is brave enough to take you on.”
I was positive about that.
“Everly’s cool, though,” he said, referring to Skull’s new fiancée.
And she was. Everly had somehow managed to become a part of our little badass family, and we had grown to love her in our own way. She was like the little sister we never had, which meant the protection of the Sons of Sinister was extreme when keeping her safe and secure. We had her back the same way we had Skull’s … maybe more, which we knew was how Skull would want it.
I missed Skull. He was our boy, and not having him by our side was depressing, but I understood he had found something rare. I wasn’t about to make him feel bad for walking a straight line for his lady.
Our original group of four was now a trio, thanks to Everly and her magic pussy and pure heart, but Joker, Crow, and I all agreed she was way too damn good for him. He knew it also, which meant he rarely came to The Strip anymore, even if he was one of the best damn racers to roll his front tire over the start line.
Instead of brawling and bullshit, he spent his nights cuddling with his sexy fiancée in his apartment. He worked a legit job at a local garage and would soon open his bike shop, Cycles and Sons. He was hell-bent on getting us to work for him, so much so he had named his business after our crew.
We were proud of him, but going legit wasn’t for us. Still, he was missed in our corner even though we knew all it would take was a simple phone call for him to be there for us. The same went for him. If he called, we ran. It was the way of the Sons. We were brothers.
“Everly’s the exception,” I agreed.
My eyes moved across The Strip, landing on Tori. She wasn’t paying me attention, but her shoulders went tense as if she could feel my eyes crawling all over her. I was still shocked that she was here. I could hardly believe we were in the same area.
After ten years, I thought I had successfully escaped my demons, but that seemed impossible. I ran from the past, but I always knew I would see her again. I was just unaware of how badly she would affect me.
