Page 149 of Timeless

“Sure, Jax has the keys.” Amber glanced between Tyler and me. “Tyler’s record is actually cleaner than mine, so I’m happy for him to drive. Is that okay with you, Jax?”

Again, Amber was giving control to me.

I realized I had to fucking snap out of staring at her. And I nodded, giving them an answer, pulling the keys out and throwing them at Tyler.

“Let’s face it, all our driving records are cleaner than yours.” Adam nudged her, walking past her. “So, Jack, little man, what are we getting?” He headed for Jack. I could hear Jack rattling off what he wanted.

“What do you want, Amber?” Cole stopped in front of her. “Guessing you can’t eat pizza?”

What did Cole mean she couldn’t eat pizza? I wanted to hear her response. But Troy stepped in front of me.

“We can talk later about this, right?” Troy wasn’t letting the issue drop. And while he was speaking, I had missed what Amber had said to Cole.

I sighed and looked at Troy. Our problem was respect. And the blurry line between what was acceptable and what wasn’t. Amber had given them a wakeup call. And now I guess I had to deal with the problem but at the same time the problem had been solved.

“We’ll talk,” I finally said. Wasn’t sure how the fuck that was going to go. I knew I wasn’t going to sit them down and tell them off. Thanks to Amber, they knew their place and at the end of the day, that was the problem. They didn’t know their place. Now they did. I guess our problem had been solved.

Troy nodded. “How long you need us gone for?” The rest of the boys had disappeared with Jack. I could tell by his expression he was waiting to take an order from me. He was actually asking me how long to leave the house, thinking I wanted him out because I’m going to fuck his sister. He was even taking my son out, so Jack didn’t notice his parents disappearing.

I couldn’t be that cruel to the boys. “Just get the pizza and come back. Amber’s literally just having a shower.” I cut the tension between us. I wanted him to respect me. Didn’t want him to be a fucking slave.

He looked a bit unsure at me.

“Come on, brother, you’ve let your sister scare the shit out of you.” I pushed him on the shoulder, wanting him to snap out of this slave mode.

Troy nodded, still uneasy. “Still, she shouldn’t have had to. I should have been the one pulling the boys in line.” He took responsibility for all the boys’ behavior. “And I haven’t exactly been pleasant.” He actually cracked a grin at me. “We can talk later, yeah?” He glanced behind him, stepping closer to me. “Maybe when my sister isn’t around to tell me how much I’m fucking up my job?”

I laughed. “Yeah, brother, all good.”

“Oh, Troy, can you get smokes?” Amber called for his attention while getting her purse off the counter.

I grabbed Troy by the arm. “Hey, did you know my cards had all expired?” Surely, I hadn’t been that dumb.

He laughed at me, nodding his head. “After my second stint, I learned to get the cards sorted. But fuck, first time I couldn’t even get cash out for a fucking taxi.” He whacked me on the shoulder. “Guessing my sister is sticking to her rules about not letting anyone pay her way.” His grin got wider because now he knew that Amber was still being Amber.

“Yeah, and it’s going to be fucking changing. Come tomorrow and I can get to a bank.” I would get the money out in cash if Amber wouldn’t give me her bank details.

“Does she even know how much you are worth?” Troy knew better than me what my bank balance was hovering at. Troy’s eyes snapped to Amber, who was poking him with her card.

“Cigarettes, food, etc.” She stopped poking him with the card. “Oh, and make sure not to drive up the main road because if Jack sees that sign for the ice cream parlor, you won’t be coming home anytime tonight.”

“Surprised that’s not what you want,” he muttered at her, taking her card and giving me a wink.

“Oh, trust me, when I really want you gone, you will be.” Amber whacked him as he walked past. “And, Troy?”

He turned, looking back at her, waiting for her to most likely to give him another smart-ass comment.

“Chelsea is actually coming here tonight.” Amber smirked. “Want some sisterly advice?”

Troy rolled his eyes but for some reason was still standing here taking shit from Amber. Had I missed something with this Chelsea chick? Amber was acting like Troy had a thing for her? She was here yesterday, and he didn’t say one word to her.

“I’m still standing here, aren’t I!” he snapped at Amber when she didn’t immediately share her advice with him.

“Wear your vest around her. She would rather a man who stands for something, than a man who would fall for anything. Also stop the silent treatment. You like her, speak.” Amber crossed her arms. “She was convinced yesterday you wanted her out of the house. Which was why she suddenly disappeared. I told her, repeatedly, everything was fine. So, at the very least try and be friendly.” She uncrossed her arms, pointing a finger at him. “If you turn into that serial killer quietness again, which you pulled yesterday, I will be kicking you out. Understand?”

Troy nodded, turned around, and then paused. “Did you notice I wasn’t wearing my vest yesterday or her?”

Amber arched her eyebrows at him. “Let me put it this way. I had a long conversation with her, reassuring her you hadn’t been kicked out of the club because of what you did to Mason.”

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