Page 119 of Tattooed Love

Chapter 33

“Hey.” I slipped onto the stool next to Tyler. He was looking at me like he was seeing a ghost. “So, is the deal still on?” I asked.

Tyler gulped his drink, coughing and patting his chest, splattering beer everywhere “You mean to say you are still in?”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t.”

“We assumed you were out.” Jackson piped in, pulling a stool up next to me, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood. This was awkward.

“Well I’m not.” I stated, and chewed my bottom lip. Did Jax know that I now knew? I wonder if Cole told Jax that he had told me.

“If you’re in then, we’d better leave. We’re running late,” Jax gulped down the liquid in a small shot glass.

“Troy, Cole, Adam, we’re leaving,” Jax shot over his shoulder, and when he turned back, I finally got a look at him.

Dark shadows were under his eyes, and his face was white. If I knew Jax, he was actually broken up about breaking up with me, or something was playing heavily on his mind, keeping sleep at bay for sure.

“Did you want to ride with me Amber? Your car has been impounded,” Jax said as he pulled his leather vest on; he wouldn’t meet my eye.

The boys politely walked out of the quiet bar, although Adam shot me a small smile. Troy, however, wouldn’t look in my direction; neither would Cole. Most likely they were embarrassed that their little sister had helped them out by taking the fall. That, and they got told off by dad.

Looking back at Jax, I saw he was staring at the ground, pretending like he wasn’t waiting for my answer.

“I’ll get on with one of my brothers. I don’t want to cause you any more trouble.”

“Amber, look…” Jax gripped my upper arm, and leaned in.

“We should just focus on this deal Jax, and get it done,” I said as I glanced at his hand, and then looked him in the eye. I was strong-willed and I knew I couldn’t just go back to him after he dumped me. Not just yet. He had to work for it.

“You’re right,” he said. He let go of my arm. “Let’s go.” He walked past me, his arm brushing against mine.

I slowly exhaled, and then turned to follow him out.

I had a feeling this was going to be more difficult than I thought.

Jax

The deal went smoothly; Amber seemed to have everything under control. Watching her take control like that… I had never seen her so mature and switched on. She knew how to handle them. It was perhaps the only deal that I had ever attended that guns weren’t drawn and arguments didn’t break out.

No. They seemed to have an understanding and respect for Amber, and it worked in our favor. The deal took not even an hour, and we were back on our bikes with bags of cash. I glanced in my side mirror; Amber was still clinging to Troy.

She wouldn’t ride with me. I thought that maybe she would ride back home with me, but she wouldn’t; stubborn woman that she was.

Slowing down, we rolled through town. There were familiar looks and glances in our direction. The deal was done, and now we had a few good weeks off. Only local businesses, until the next shipment came in.

I signaled the boys to follow me to the clubhouse. We were all running on nothing, and falling into bed was second on the list, after I dished out the cash.

The big iron gates were open; club members were hovering around. Troy backed his bike in next to mine. Amber wouldn’t look at me, her head turned to face the other way.

“I need sleep,” Troy said as he switched off his bike, and helped Amber off.

“Yeah.” I muttered, still looking at Amber. What the heck would I have to do to get her back?

I unzipped my leather jacket, and placed my helmet on the handle bar.

“I’m going to head home,” Amber said, her hands stuffed in her jacket, staring at the ground.

“I’ll take ya,” I chimed in. “Boys, get the bags inside, start splitting the cash.”

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