Page 23 of Phantom
“Hopefully.”
As if intending to add tension to the situation, a phone did ring, but it was mine. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw that it was my dad. I answered it, handing what was left of my breakfast to Lockjaw. “Hey, Squared.”
“Hey. Sorry to bug ya so early, but some of the guys are up to stuff this evening, so we have to move up our MiD meeting. Can you meet here in about fifteen minutes?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks, pumpkin. I’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon. Bye.” I hung up my phone and looked up at Colin. “A meeting got moved up, so I gotta go. Are you planning to just work on your bike?”
“That’s all that’s on my agenda,” Colin responded, and even though it sounded like a joke, he was stone-faced as he set it.
“Good. Can I leave this guy with you?” I patted Lockjaw on his head, and Lockjaw slowly rolled over to his side, bearing his stomach for belly scratches, which I gave.
Colin smiled. “Sure.”
“Thanks.”
I gave Lockjaw a few more pets and then stood up, taking the plate and cup with me, and walked back into the house. Since I was free of a dog and a passenger, and since my dad had managed to fix the damages that Taylor caused to my bike within the week, I would finally get to ride my bike. I grabbed the keys and walked back outside, giving Colin another quick smile before climbing on my bike, starting it up, and roaring down the street.
I took the backstreets to Hoppa’s Taphouse so that I could enjoy the long ride and the fresh air on my face. It’d been a while since I used my car for more than transporting groceries once every couple of weeks, and I’d forgotten how empty I felt when I couldn’t ride my bike every day. It helped me clear my mind a little bit. I liked Colin. In truth, my feelings were probably a bit stronger than that. I wasn’t ready to make any declarations, but my feelings had never really abated from when we knew each other as kids. I was crazy about him then, and I was crazy about him now. His rejections aside, I couldn’t bring myself to stop wishing that things would eventually move forward with us. Perhaps I was going about it all wrong, trying to lead with sex. Did it make more sense to back off altogether, or was it hopeless regardless?
I pulled into the parking lot of Hoppa’s, and Taylor was pulling in at the same time. He climbed off his bike and looked over at mine with a vile smile on his face. “Looks like Dad got you put back together.”
“And I’d like to keep it that way.” I rolled my eyes at him. “Please refrain from letting that temper of yours result in damages atmyhouse.”
Taylor shrugged. “Maybe.” He looked around a little and then back at me. “Where’s your friend?”
“Damned if I know.” My dad and I were keeping it on the low that Colin was staying at my house. If Taylor knew, he’d be back with his bat, and he’d probably cause much more damage than busting up a coffee table and a pair of motorcycles. “Only officers are meeting today, right? It’s a MiD meeting.”
Taylor scoffed at me. The biggest problem with my brother’s evil nature was that he was also incredibly smart. Between my parents, who were both intelligent, both Taylor and I had taken in their brains.
“I just thought dad might have invited him since he’s clearly willing to bend the rules for him,” Taylor hissed.
Taylor was observant and quick, which made hiding things from him next to impossible. He was probably fully aware that Colin was staying with me, but unless my dad or I could confirm it, he couldn’t justify acting on it. It was the main reason why I kept Colin’s bike holed up in the garage overnight. Originally, it was my hope that we could hide Colin until he left, but now I didn’t want Colin to leave. I’d have to figure something else out.
“Last I checked, Dad hasn’t bent any rules. He just didn’t do things exactly as you would have him do it.” I looked Taylor right in the eyes, letting him know I wouldn’t be bullied by him. “Good thing he’s the president and not you.”
Taylor’s jaw clenched as he leered at me. “I guess so.”
A flurry of bikes approaching made it too loud for us to continue our conversation, not that I was at all interested in continuing it. The remaining three officers, Bullseye, Bucky, and Bullet, rode their bikes into the lot, parked them, and climbed off.
“Hey, Taylor,” Bullseye greeted. “Val.” The way he hissed my name was seething compared to the way he greeted Taylor.
“Hey,” Taylor responded.
I didn’t waste my breath. It was pointless to wait for any sort of pleasantries from Bucky or Bullet. Bullseye was typically the only one even willing to greet me, if even nastily, but neither Bucky nor Bullet was known for giving me the time of day.
I made my way into the Taphouse and straight back into the warehouse. My dad was already sitting at the table with a game of solitaire laid out in front of him. My dad had an affinity for card games, and we knew better than to interrupt him when he played. One by one, we all took our seats around the table and waited in silence while my dad finished up his game. It took about twenty minutes, but eventually, he was able to lay out what was left of his cards before swooping them all up back into a deck, and then he tucked the deck neatly back in his drawer under the table. He pulled out a couple of manilla folders at the same time as putting the cards away and set them up on top of the table.
“Okay. Thank you all for meeting early. Call me a softie, but I thought making sure that Bullet has an uninterrupted date this evening was actually worth it, given his general abhorrence to women.”
Everyone’s eyes shot over to Bullet. He rebalanced his glasses on his nose. “Please tell them the full story so that I don’t sound like a fool.”
My dad let out a laugh. “Fine, fine. Bullet and I were playing a little pool last night, and this woman slides up to him.” My dad did a dramatic reenactment of the slide from his seat. “She was a stunner, too. A coke bottle frame. Real pretty face. Says she’s been eyeing him for a few weeks now.”
Taylor looked over at Bullet with his upper lip hiked slightly up. “Really?”
