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I took a seat on the tailgate of Stryker’s new truck. The night had started exciting, just like every other night at The Strip, but seeing Tori had changed my attitude and way of thinking. Instead of spending the night partying with my boys, I wanted to go home and hide.
“Bitch,” Joker muttered at my side, and I turned to see who he was referring to.
I followed his line of vision until my eyes landed on Trader Joe, a sick fuck who rode with our rival gang, The Border Lords. Joe was known to ride the lines of both crews. Basically, he went where he could get the freest shit.
Fucking loser.
He limped around The Strip, still nursing a nasty stab wound my boy Skull had given him a few weeks before. That was what happened when you entered the house of Sons with no loyalty or when you messed with Skull’s girl.
I sighed in relief seeing Trader Joe. I wasn’t sure I wanted Joker to know Tori was around. He hadn’t seen her yet, or if he had, he didn’t realize who she was. Knowing Joker, he would have said something right away. There would have been drama, and getting stuck between my best friend and Tori wasn’t something I wanted to do again.
It wasn’t that he hated Tori. Hell, he didn’t know her. He despised what she represented in our lives, which was a time when we were both young and stupid—a time when I was weak and unsure. He hated the anger she drew out of me and the insecurities that reared their heads at just the mention of her name.
Over the years, I learned never to speak of the past around Joker. Not that I was eager to relive the bullshit. Not mentioning the past was our way of coping. We moved ahead and left all the shit in the back, consumed by the black.
“What’s he doing here?” I asked.
Joker shrugged. “Probably just bullshitting. We’ll keep our eyes on him. If he pulls any shit, we’ll beat the fuck out of him.”
Just as he finished his sentence, Crow showed up at our side. He had just finished a race, and his cheeks were red with excitement.
“Heads-up. The Lords are here,” he said, tilting his head toward Trader Joe.
Crow was a big motherfucker. Because of this, people rarely fucked with him. He towered over everyone at six feet five inches or more, leaving shadows where he stood. Despite his size, he was fast, making him even more dangerous.
He spent hours lifting weights in the garage, even trying to get all of us to join him. He had somber brown eyes and dark brown hair that he kept shaved short on the sides to keep the crow tribal tattoo on his head visible. He rarely spoke, and his smiles rarely went to his eyes. We knew his life had been hard, but like us, he never talked about it.
“Fucking Trader Joe,” he muttered, taking the joint when I passed it his way and hitting it hard.
The night continued like any other, except for the beacon of black blazing across the way from me.
Tori.
I hoped she didn’t make coming to The Strip a regular thing. It was my home away from home and where I found peace and freedom. Having her there meant stripping all those things away.
When the guys said they were ready to leave, I was relieved. I wanted to escape the thickness of the air around me and the memories she brought forth. I drove my bike the long way home, my pink neons lighting the backroads. The after-party was in full swing when I finally got to the house. Cars littered the yard and the street, and music pounded, shaking the windows of the cars I passed.
I parked my bike in the garage, but instead of partying with the crew, I skipped the crowd. Cutting through the house without speaking to anyone, I went straight to my room. I had never missed a party before, but I didn’t feel like being social. My tongue was heavy with bitterness, and my heart beat through a mass of sad memories. I only wanted to be alone.
Once inside my room, I closed the door, shutting out the loud music and laughter. I wasn’t feeling it. Things were too gloomy. My soul felt hefty, and I knew no matter how hard I tried, my smile wouldn’t come. I didn’t have it in me to fake my way through the night. I just wanted to dwell in the past and let the shadowy rain clouds soak me in sorrow. Tomorrow would be a new day, and I could forget again, but tonight, I wanted the angry burn of my past. I wanted to feel the pain and remorse. And when I closed my eyes, I knew the nightmares would invade in a way they hadn’t in many years.
4
Tori
Ihadbeenwrong.The night was still going strong. The bike battles continued into the night, and the motorcycle exhaust hovered over the crowd like toxic clouds. At first, I was annoyed. The screaming of the engines made my temples ache, and the scent of burnt rubber stung my nose. But the longer we stayed and watched the races, the more I became accustomed to the sounds and smells. As much as I hated to admit it, I began to have an okay time, even if the lying piece of shit across the way continued to stare back at me.
I kept my eyes on the bikes, excited by the races and enjoying their maneuvers and tricks. The things the guys could do on a motorcycle were incredible. An underlying sense of danger fueled my adrenaline in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time. It was almost enough to make me forget Koah Saint was in my presence.
Almost.
His eyes were all over me, touching me and making me feel abused and dirty. I ignored him and concentrated on the bikes and the riders. The colors. The neons. The sounds. The smells. My senses were on overdrive, and I let them roar through me as long as it meant keeping my eyes and attention away from Koah.
It was next to impossible, and every so often, I would slip, allowing myself to look over at him and wonder if he was the same person he was ten years ago. Not like it mattered; he could change into another species, and I would still hate him with the fire of a thousand suns for what he did to my father—to Gracie and me. We had lost our comfortable life and all that it entailed. We had lost our support and sense of security, and it was all because of him and the lies he spat.
After two hours of feeling his presence, I looked over to find he was gone. The crew he was hanging with was gone, as well.
Good.
