Page 10 of Legacy of Smoke
“None of that. No one’s dying or getting close to it ever again, hear me?” Wolf kissed her on her temple and did something I swear I’d never seen him do before. He lingered. With his nose buried in her hair, he squeezed his eyes tight and inhaled. Then, for good measure, gave her another kiss.
They were inseparable that way. Both of them.
“I would, too. My sister is special.”
“She’sspecialalright.” Wolf snickered.
Austin sent him a glance. “Pinner thinks so.”
“My dad?” Of course he did. He loved both of us so much. “How is he doing?”
“Full of shit, and an asshole about it. Healthy, though. That’s more than you can say about some of the old-timers.” Austin’s face fell. Then he smiled. “The man practically runs the joint.”
“Is he protective of the new inmates?”
“If they are brothers, sure.” Austin’s smile fell. “Saw him shiv a guy once. Fucking skinhead with a chip on his shoulder who thought he was king shit. The bastard claimed bikers are pussies. ‘Couldn’t let that slide.” His fist curled as he spoke.
“Hell no,” Wolf agreed. “You fuck him up?”
“Smoked ‘em.” Austin’s mouth curled up on one side.
“Ha! That’s my man.” Wolf reached across and slapped his hand. “You know, that’s how he got the nickname, Smoke’m. Fucking kicking ass and taking names.”
Austin’s eyes met mine. His bright grin fell. “Sorry, Poppy. You didn’t need to hear that.”
“On the contrary, I’m glad he’s still sharp enough to protect himself.” I took a shaky breath. “I’ll sleep better knowing that.” I missed him so much. I’d had barely enough time to know him as a father, and then when I came back, barely enough time to know him as an adult. There was never enough time during visitation to say more than the nice stuff, the superficial things that didn’t really matter. I wanted to know he wasn’t getting abused, or beaten, or broken by the system. Hopefully, someday he’d live long enough to breathe free air again, and I’d get him back, but knowing that day might never come, or that he’d be cut down for the sin of getting old, killed me.
In the wake of those thoughts, I tried to shove the awful realities away and smile at the people who were present in my life. Taking time to cherish their presence with me and be grateful for every second I got to spend with friends I had so many common threads to.
When Tits and Wolf said their goodbyes, Austin lingered. Wolf sent him a warning shot, non-verbally.
“I’ll be good. See you back at the junkyard.”
“Naw, we’re going home.” Wolf slung his leg over his bike, then fixed his prosthetic into the holder that kept it from jarring loose as he rode. As soon as he was set, he smiled at Tits who crab-walked her deceptively ugly rat bike into position like it weighed nothing.
“Ready, babe?”
“Always.” She fired up her bike, and they rumbled away.
Austin looked at the sky. “I should be heading out. Sorry your sister couldn’t make it.”
“Wait, I have food for you.” I ran back inside to collect the Tupperware we’d stuffed with leftovers.
He laughed and followed me to the kitchen. When the screen door slapped shut behind him, he shut the cold out. “Are you okay? I shouldn’t have told you about Pinner doing bad shit.”
I set the containers back on the shelf. “I’m glad you did. I worry so much about him. And—” My emotions took the wrong time to clog up my throat and make my vision blurry with tears.
“Hey. Shh.” Austin’s strong arms wrapped around me and the heat felt magnificent. I leaned in, wanting just one moment to rely on someone else for a change. He smelled like sawdust and leather. Just like Dad used to. I inhaled deeply to pull those memories in and hug them tight. As I did, I tightened around Austin, practically plastering myself against him.
And his hard cock. Which also felt fantastic. But was likely just a by-product of too many years inside, not enough freedom yet, and I squeezed tight for another second, scrunched up my smile and gave him my best happy face. “Thank you for coming tonight, and tell Wolf and Tits thank you for me, too. Okay?” With another grin, I stepped back and away from temptation. Because my sister was amazingly accurate when she described him as, “Tall, dreamy, and deadly.” I’d noticed the glee in his voice when talking about beating another human.
Ignorance was an effective shield when around bikers. That and not inhaling too deeply around the grosser ones.
Austin eyed the boxes. “I don’t have saddle bags.”
An easy problem to solve. “I do. Dad’s bike may be gone, but I still have his gear.” I led Austin to the garage where he helped me pull down a box of Dad’s riding gear and custom leathers. “Feel free to borrow anything you want.” I swallowed the lump in my throat and rallied. “He’s not going to need them for a while.”
The lid clattered to the floor as Austin dropped it to hold me again. “You can’t keep doing this to yourself.” His shoulders rose and fell. “Pinner has a good daughter. But he’s not getting out. You know that, right?”
