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“Oh yeah.”
“I don’t think I’m stubborn.”
I grinned. “Is being stubborn about it your way of proving you’re not stubborn?”
She squared her shoulders. “I’m defending myself.” When I only continued to stare at her, she pointed at me. “You’re stubborn.”
“Yeah, I am,” I admitted. “I’m also hotheaded and too impulsive.”
She studied me for a moment. It almost seemed she was surprised I so easily admitted my faults or strengths depending on the situation. “You don’t seem very impulsive.”
I looked down at the bottle of orange juice and lifted it to my lips but not before I answered her. “I’m learning to control it.”
“How?”
Swallowing, I set the bottle on the counter, trying to figure out how much I wanted to share. I hadn’t told many about my life before I moved to New Hope. Truthfully, I kept it to myself because I wasn’t proud of it or of the fact that I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t live that life again if the possibility of prison was off the table.
I didn’t want to talk about it, but I was also pretty fucking tired of running from it. “I just remind myself of the consequences.”
“What consequences?” She twisted her stool until she faced me completely and our knees brushed.
I dropped my head and stared at our knees for a long moment. I was about to admit something not a lot of people knew, and I was going to tell the woman I’d been keeping out of my life because she’d become too important to me too quickly. She was dangerous for me. Her wildness and impulsiveness would fuel the fire I’d kept buried, and I was afraid of becoming the man I was keeping a tight leash on, but I needed her in my life. I couldn’t seem to keep my distance, no matter how many hours I worked or how many times I reminded myself that we could destroy each other.
Making a decision I hoped I wouldn’t regret, I lifted my head and stared into her dark eyes. “Prison.”
Her eyes widened slightly. “You’ve been to prison?”
“Yeah.”
“For how long?”
“I was sentenced to five years but only did three. Got out early on good behavior, or at least that’s what they said, but it was because the prison was overcrowded. Met with the judge and he agreed to let me leave town before my probation was done.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew as well as I did that if I stayed in that city, trouble would find me, and I’d end up right back in the prison I was leaving.”
“How would he know that?”
Staring into her eyes, I decided to give it all to her or as much as I was willing to talk about tonight. I liked talking to Becs. I’d loved talking to her when I first joined the club, but it didn’t take long for me to back off. I thought I could control my feelings for her, but I learned quickly that the more time I spent with her, the more time I wanted to spend with her, which could be dangerous for us both.
That was when I started to avoid her. She was aware of it, but she had no idea why. I hadn’t planned to tell her, but things were changing.
And she deserved to know who I was.
“Because my dad had been in front of him more times than I had for the same shit.”
She rested her elbow on the table, and her fingers dangled from the edge. “What shit?”
My stomach roiled at the idea of sharing, but I was so damn tired of hiding and pretending. Especially with her.
“Spent most of my teenage years stealing cars. Strippin’ them for parts, which I’d use for my own builds, and sellin’ what I didn’t need.”
“Your dad knew about it?”
I snorted. “Who do you think taught me?” When her eyes widened slightly, I continued. “He’d been doin’ it his whole life. He wasn’t a great father, but he did his best and knew the business, so he made a hell of a lot of money doin’ it.” Mirroring her position, I also propped my elbow on the counter. “Then he figured out I had a knack for finding ways into the most elite neighborhoods and stealing cars we’d never touched before. Lambos, Porsches, you name it, I found it and stole it. I treated it as a challenge to break through locks and security systems, and the more I did it, the bigger challenge I craved.” I drummed my fingers against the counter. “Suddenly, we were bringing in more money than ever.”
“What changed?”
