Page 176 of Timeless

“I want it to be.”

Jack’s face lit up. “Tyler and I want the new Xbox console but I had to ask Mom for it. Can you get it?”

“Tyler and you want it, hey?” I glanced up at Tyler, who was openly admitting these days to be Amber’s personal leech. I looked back at Jack. “Sure, but it doesn’t count as one of your present, unless it’s just for you.”

“You should have said we were me shopping, Dad. I love me shopping.” Jack then started rattling off all the reasons he loved ‘me’ shopping. And he was heading into the jewelry store on his own.

I got up. I think this whole Dad thing was going to take time.

“Geez, man, sucking up to my sister by replacing all her jewelry.” Tyler still had a smug look on his face.

“Well, at least I’m not being a leech to my sister.” Seriously, getting Jack to ask for a console from Amber, when Tyler wasn’t that short on money. After all, it was my club that paid for his habit of being lazy.

Tyler grinned. “Haven’t you heard? She’s marrying a billionaire.”

“Oh, yeah, do I know him?”

That caused him to laugh. “Nah, he isn’t anyone you would know. He is a sucker, you know, pussy whipped. Would shame the good reputation of a biker.”

I laughed at that. Yeah, I wasn’t living up to the reputation I had. I was somehow creating a whole new one that only family would know.

“You start bitching at me for spending money on Amber, you’ll be getting cut off,” I muttered and we walked into the jewelry store.

“So, you going to make up for my birthdays as well?” Tyler had the balls to ask.

I looked at him dryly. “Since when did you get money problems, Shield?” I was starting to think maybe Tyler actually did have money problems.

His expression dropped and he didn’t say anything. He had been joking about the birthday present comment before but by his reaction now, it was confirming my thoughts. Tyler did have money problems.

“You wanna tell me about it?”

“It’s all good, brother.” Tyler shrugged it off like it was nothing and gave me an answer that usually meant in the bikers’ world the conversation had come to end. “Looks like Jack is already running up your bill.”

I took my eyes off Tyler to see Jack pointing at something in the case. Right, I needed to switch gears and try and pick shit I could see Amber wearing. But mainly I didn’t want her wearing any jewelry that wasn’t bought by me.

Having her wearing jewelry that other men had brought her really fucking bugged me. Like right now it was bugging me she was out on some client meeting wearing jewelry from a man who wasn’t me.

All the jewelry in that cabinet was getting thrown out. Amber hadn’t bought any of it and the way she had told me I could throw it out, told me she didn’t care about the value of it, which clicked in my head. She didn’t want the money from it, I sure as fuck didn’t want a dollar off jewelry that men had brought her.

I glanced at Tyler, who was now lifting Jack up to look in the cabinets. I’m sure Amber wouldn’t mind her brother getting money off jewelry she was just going to throw away. I don’t think Amber realized Tyler actually had a problem when it came to money.

Were all her brothers having a problem when it came to money? And if so, why? Jack started asking me questions, which brought my mind back to why we were here. I’d deal with Tyler’s money issues later. Right now, I needed to try and pick shit Amber would wear and not just because it was expected of her.

Chapter 23

Amber

I wanted to kill Justin. I would admit I mildly disliked him before the lunch date but during it my mild dislike went to really dislike to strongly dislike and then finally to wanting to kill him.

I took on the flirting comments, I didn’t brush his hand off me when he kept touching me, just slightly. I even listened to his current concern about his son Lucas, who Jack hated with a passion because Lucas had a habit of licking Jack’s toys.

I wasn’t even going to push his hand off me when it ran up my thigh, slowly pushing my dress up under the table but when he said the words, “how bad do you want it?” I knew exactly what the price of getting Jack into Eagle’s Academy was going to cost me. Justin wanted me to fuck him, and in return, he would use his position on the board to let Jack enter, mid-term, without being on the waiting list.

What did I do?

Something I’m not very proud of.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the criminal.”

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