Page 27 of Mile High With the Bikers
“I’m not! That’s not what this is.”
The bolt finally pops loose and he puts it with the screws. They're all neatly aligned. “Your father is a billionaire who’s holding two of my brothers hostage because his daughter wanted a little space and used me and my friends to get it.”
Okay, when he puts it like that… “I’m sorry.” I crouch down and trace circles on the floor with my finger. “You don’t have any reason to believe me, but it’s not quite that simple. My life isn’t as great as you’d think, and I never meant to get you mixed up in everything. I’d feel the same if our situations were reversed, so I don’t blame you for being angry.”
Reaching in, he twists out a part of his bike. I couldn't tell you what it is, but when he gives it a shake, a little rock or piece of metal falls out on the floor. “There you are, you little fucker.”Shrapnel sighs and scratches along the scar on his jaw. “I’m not… I’m a lot better now, okay? But shit heals faster on the outside than on the inside, you know? And some of the scars never show. Up here?” He taps against the side of his head. “I know you aren’t some sexy mastermind who seduced us and sabotaged a plane just so you could get a free ride and frame the club for everything.”
“Thanks?”
A crooked grin cracks his hard facade and his voice darkens. “Besides, technically you haven’t seducedallof us.”
The tension inside unwinds a little. “You caught me! It’s the only flaw left in my master plan.” I stand up and pretend to twirl my evil moustache. “Muahahaha!”
“I think there might be one other flaw.” He points to a wrench hanging not far from me. “Can you hand me that?”
“Sure.” It’s heavier than I expected. “What’s the other flaw? Not that I’m admitting anything, of course.”
“Of course.” The very tip of his tongue sticks out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrates. “You’re technically our prisoner.”
“Ah, true. Switched out my gilded cage for the walls of a biker compound.”
He points at the part he just put back in. “Hold that in place.”
“Me? But I?—”
“Unless your soft little princess fingers aren’t strong enough.” He smirks at my glare.
It’s a little scary putting my hands inside the guts of a motorcycle, but anything boys can do, I can at least try. “Like this?”
“Perfect.” He aligns the screw and runs it in, followed by three more. “You could fix both flaws with one cunning move, you know.”
“Oh?”
“Sure, if you seduced your jailor, you could—wait!” His hand clamps around my wrist, but not before my fingers are buried in my hair, pushing it back. “Shit.”
“What?”
He pulls my hand down and holds it in his, showing me. Both of our hands are covered in black sticky grease.
“Please tell me it’s not in my hair.”
“It’s not in your hair,” Shrapnel lies. He pokes me on the end of my nose, most likely leaving a mark there too. “Don’t worry, I like my girls a little dirty.”
14
SHRAPNEL
Rory looks around my place,and I just enjoy watching her turn. We got the worst off our hands in the shop, but there’s a streak of black in her pale hair, and an adorable black smudge on the side of her nose.
“You play guitar.” The first thing she notices are the three I've got on my wall. My babies.
“Always wanted to be a rock star. Didn’t have money for a decent one when I was growing up, but I learned on a shitty twelve string I found at a garage sale.” Fuck, that seems forever ago. “When I joined the Army, that was the first thing I bought with my own money. Do you play?”
“Guitar?” She shakes her head. “No, I had to take piano lessons for a few years because my father read that it was good for math skills, but I hated it and was never any good. He gave up eventually when there was no return on investment.”
I open the door to the bathroom. “How old were you?”
“Fourteen I guess? It was right after he got custody, so I was still new and exciting. I was like a little science experiment for him.”
