Page 35 of Phantom
All of me that felt bad before faded to being irritated. “Brat.”
Maybe I only had myself to blame for upsetting him, but he didn’t have to act so childishly about it. I got on my own bike and started off down the road after Colin. Trips between Hoppa and the MiD desert were usually really calming, but all I could think about was how to make nice with Colin. After the fractions of steps forward we’d taken, the last thing I wanted was to take a massive step back because I was so used to having to puff out my chest.
A small thought in the back of my mind told me that Colin may go straight home, but fortunately, he did stay on the highway past the exit to my house, and we took the exit for the Taphouse. When we were on the side road on the way to the bar, Colin’s pace slowed, and eventually, I was riding at his side again. We pulled into the parking lot and parked our bikes, and that time it was me who rushed him. I hopped off my bike, raced over to his side, and threw myself into a hug.
“I’m sorry. That was out of line.”
Fortunately, Colin didn’t pull back from me. “I’m sorry for—”
“No. You…” My words were getting all muddled in my brain. When it came to Colin, it often felt like I couldn’t think straight. “You don’t treat me like that. It was just an impulse.”
Colin squeezed me a little tighter. “I’ll never not worry about you.” He smirked. “Especially when mixed up with a guy like me.”
My heart fluttered at his smile. “Well, I meant what I said. Icantake care of myself, you know?”
“I know, Tess,” Colin said. “You’ve always been a badass.” He ducked his head, and the logical part of my brain short-circuited. I tilted my head up and took the kiss he was offering, regretting it only when another bike’s rumble rocketed behind us.
“Shit.” I whipped my head over my shoulder. Any other member of the Steel Knights could have been rolling into the parking lot, and I would have felt okay.
But fate isn’t kind.
The bike that rolled into the parking lot while I was still trapped in Colin’s arms was Taylor’s chrome-plated cruiser. We wasted no time in pulling ourselves away from each other, but the way Taylor pulled his bike into the spot directly next to Colin, got off, and glared at Colin as he sauntered toward the front door was telling.
“That’s not good,” I muttered.
Colin ran a hand through my hair. “I’m not worried. Come on.”
By the time we got inside Hoppa’s, Taylor was already in his back corner, strangling the neck of a beer bottle with both hands. Our eyes instantly met, and Taylor kept his eyes on us while we picked a table and sat down. Before I knew it, we were locked in a continuous stare that neither of us was willing to break. I didn’t feel safe taking my eyes off Taylor for a second. And given the fact that he kept his eyes locked on me, I was warranted in my feelings.
“You all right, pumpkin?” The screech of a chair was enough to break my gaze. My eyes shifted toward my dad as he settled into a chair at our table. “You seem out of sorts.”
“I think that’s my fault,” Colin said. “Got a little jumpy in the desert today.”
“The Raging Vipers were there,” I tacked on. “The Collinstown vendors are in.”
“Ah,” my dad responded. “That’s my bad for not saying anything. I got word they may come in today, but I forgot to mention it.” He pounded a fist against Colin’s shoulder. “Good on you for keeping your eyes open, though. I knew I was right to trust you two with that mission.”
With a lift of his arm, my dad called over a waitress and ordered a round of drinks. As I watched him chatter away with Colin, I couldn’t help but smile. He’d been hanging around much more ever since Colin showed up. It was nice to get a warm feeling when I was in the club as opposed to the cold, neglected one I had before. If Colin really did leave one day, I’d be hard-pressed to go back to the way things used to be.
“Drinks on me,” my dad said. “I whooped Bullet’s ass in rummy earlier. He was talking a big game and put money on it, money that I won.”
“I’d like to thank you for teaching Colin, by the way. He makes me play it all the time.”
My dad chortled. “God, I knew there was a reason I liked this kid.”
We were all smiles until the door of Hoppa’s flew open. Everyone came to a screeching halt and looked over at the door, and the Steel Knights’ resident drunk, Adley “Stag” Johnson, came ambling in.
“Shit,” my dad growled. “Stag, I told you not to come up in here wasted anymore!”
“Stag?” Colin asked.
In the few weeks since Colin joined, we hadn’t seen Stag once. His drinking had been getting progressively worse as of late, and with MiD planning underway, my dad had given Stag the task of working with the prospects, exclusively in liquor-free environments. Clearly, he’d found his way to some booze.
“A non-officer member. Dad’s been keeping him out of the bar because he can’t handle his liquor.” I held out a hand in his direction. “As you can clearly see.”
Stag ambled over to the table and looked down at my dad. “I’m a grown ass man, Nicky. I’ll do what the fuck I want.”
My dad didn’t flinch. “You’re drunk. Get out.”
