Page 31 of T-Bone
Another round of laughter exploded until I shushed them.
“It’s late and your laugh will have little old ladies peeking out of their blinds.” I marched to the dark sedan, yanked openthe passenger door and dropped down inside. “Let’s get out of here.”
I pulled the door shut and sat, lost in my thoughts while the cool evening wind blew through my hair. The first thing I needed back at the clubhouse was a shower, and then I’d lock myself in a room and read Ashley’s diary.
“What are you thinking about?”
T-Bone’s deep voice startled me. “What are you doing?”
He grinned. “I thought it was obvious, but since it’s not, I’m driving us back to the clubhouse.”
“Obviously but why aren’t you driving your bike.”
“Riding,” he corrected. “Because your sweet ass needed a break, which means my fine ass gets a break.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re just worried I’m going to run when your back is turned.” I thought about it a few times, but I don’t go back on my word.
“Well now I am.”
“Don’t worry,” I waved off his words. “You’re stuck with me until we have answers.” And once we had answers, whatever they were, I could focus on what to do with the rest of my life.
“You don’t trust me, but I should just trust you?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I won’t double-cross you because I just won’t. You and I have aligning interests right now, finding out what happened to Ashley. You because she’s your best friend’s sister and me because she died protecting my niece.”
There was a long silence before he spoke again. “I’m not the one with trust issues.”
His words teased an unexpected laugh out of me, and I turned to face him. “Oh, somehow I doubt that. I’ll bet that you don’t trust anyone outside of your MC.”
“I’m trusting you.”
“Yeah, but that’s situational. Once this is all over, you’ll go back tonottrusting me.” Why that thought made me feel anything at all was beyond me, but I felt that pang of disappointment and I was determined to ignore it.
His response was an incoherent grunt.
We fell into another comfortable silence for a few minutes, which let my mind wander to thoughts of Rachel Grey, Gemma, and Nate Ferris. I needed to get to that cabin, to see who that little girl was with my own eyes, or I’d never be able to get a moment of peace. But now that we knew the Ghost Riders were watching us, we had to be extra careful. “I think we should head back to Shiloh Valley overnight. And we should take the car.”
“You really hate bikes, don’t you?”
Yes.“No, but this is a practical matter. At that time it’ll be easier to spot a tail if we have one. And in a car, I’ll have a better view of our six while you focus on the road. Like actual partners.”
The rest of the journey was spent in silence, and once we arrived at the clubhouse I grabbed the bag with the diaries and headed towards the room where my belongings were and closed the door behind me.
A few minutes later the door opened and there was T-Bone, staring at me like I’d done something wrong. “I need some fucking sleep, and I need to talk to the guys about what we learned today. Tomorrow night we’ll head back up.”
A closer look revealed the dark circles under his eyes and the exhaustion that had settled around his wide shoulders. He’d done all the driving today because he had to, so I nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good. See you in the morning.”
He disappeared as quickly as he arrived. I shook off the disappointment that he’d be sleeping somewhere else and focused on what I needed to do. Shower first and then dig into Ashley’s diaries.
Chapter Twenty
T-Bone
Standing outside the door where I knew Faith was on the other side, likely already asleep, I stood frozen unsure what to do and that pissed me the fuck off because I wasn’t a man weighed down by indecision. But I still stood there debating whether or not to go inside, or to get on my bike and head to my place even though I was so fucking tired I could hardly see straight.Fuck it.There was nothing to think about. I was tired and the bed was big enough for both of us, not to mention that we’d seen, touched, and tasted every inch of each other.
It was fine.
My fingers tingled because I knew it wasn’t fine at all. I wanted Faith, wanted her in a way I didn’t let myself want women, which spelled trouble. For all of us. I took a deep breath and gripped the handle, twisting it gently just in case she was already asleep. The room was steeped in darkness and I crept inside, closing the door softly behind me with nothing but a few strips of moonlight helping me navigate the room. I undressed down to my boxer briefs and slipped under the sheets beside Faith.
