Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 132892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 532(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 532(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Holding out a hand, I realized she was right. The fingers were trembling like I’d just . . . well, like I’d just been randomly attacked in a bar.
“I want to go home,” I said, my face burning. It was like the grocery store all over again—why did things like this keep happening to me? I was a nice person. I baked things and paid my taxes. My credit score was excellent, and yet here we were again. Publicly humiliated.
“You need a ride?” Daisy asked.
“I should probably find Gage,” I said, trying to clear my thoughts. From outside I heard Talia screaming at him, and shuddered at the thought of going out there. “No, I changed my mind—I’ll have to talk to him later because this is more than I can deal with right now. Can you give me a ride? I don’t have a car here, and I’m not really sober enough to drive anyway.”
“Sure,” Daisy said, smiling reassuringly. “Want me to ask Jack if we can go out through the kitchen? I’m parked back there.”
Talia screamed outside, and I heard Gage shouting back at her, like something on a bad reality show.
“That would be great,” I said, digging through my bag for some cash. Pulling out three twenties, I set them in the center of the table, then sent Gage a quick text.
ME: Sorry. This is too crazy so I caught a ride home. Let’s talk another time, okay? I had a good time but I don’t want to be around her. Give me some space and then we can talk
Nice. Very civilized . . . I really liked Gage, but this side of his life didn’t work for me. Not even a little bit. I needed some time to think things over.
“Okay, let’s go,” I said to Daisy. Eyes followed me as we walked toward the kitchen, weighing on me in silent judgment. My phone buzzed, and I glanced down to find a text from Carrie.
CARRIE: WTF?????? You had a fight with Talia at Jacks????
Ugh. Story of my entire childhood—every wall had eyes. Gage was plenty good in the sack, but drama seemed to follow him everywhere. My life was supposed to be a drama-free zone, and his stupid ex-girlfriend was in so much violation it hurt.
Daisy’s little car was parked behind the bar in a space marked “Reserved for Jack,” and I gave her a quick look. She blushed and shrugged, looking so cute it was almost enough to distract me from the shrieking in the distance.
Almost.
But not quite.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
GAGE
“You fucking asshole!” Talia screeched, and it took all my self-control not to toss her ass into the bushes. Not a good idea, though—not with people watching us. Fucking cunt. I set her down gently enough that she didn’t fall, but it wasn’t a smooth landing, either.
“Shut the fuck up,” I growled at her. “You don’t talk to me, you don’t talk to Tinker. I’m gonna give you one chance to get your ass out of town, understand?”
Her nostrils flared.
“Nobody uses Talia Jackson,” she hissed. “I talked to Marsh. I know what happened, and I swear to God, you’ll pay for what you did. All of you will pay!”
“Whatever,” I said, turning back toward the bar. With a screech she jumped me from behind, wrapping both arms around my neck, squeezing tight enough that my vision started to blacken. Fucking cunt. I elbowed her and she dropped as I spun to face her.
“Jesus!” someone shouted. “Call the cops!”
Great, exactly what I needed.
“Talia, don’t be an idiot,” I told her, thankful that I had more than my fair share of experience dealing with female drama from the strip club. “You can’t fight me and you have no place here.”
“This is my town. Mine. When Marsh gets back—”
“Marsh isn’t coming back,” I said bluntly, reaching for my wallet. Keeping a close eye on her, I opened it and pulled out five hundred-dollar bills, holding them out to her. “Take the money and leave. You’re young—there’s no reason this needs to be your life.”
She snatched the money out of my hand, baring her teeth. “I’m not some fucking whore you can pay off. I’ll make you pay. I’ll make both of you pay! That cunt of yours is nothing, you hear me? Nothing. She can’t do what I do. She’s got a stick up her ass so high that—”
A siren blipped, and we both looked up to see a cop car pulling up to the curb. Talia’s eyes widened, and then she took off running. I stared after her, sighing heavily.
Tinker doesn’t deserve this.
Fuck.
The same cop I’d seen the night before at Tinker’s place got out of the car, looking after Talia as she ran. Then he glanced at me and I shrugged.
“We have a problem here?” he asked, looking over my MC colors nervously. We knew the local police were in bed with the Nighthawks, but I wasn’t a hundred percent sure that they knew about the shift of power. I shook my head.