Page 14 of Sanction

Like her brother you dumb fuck.

She shrugs. “You're just….my…” She pauses as she twirls a piece of her long brown hair. “My Travis.”

My Travis. Those words should most definitely not make me feel this good.

Chapter 9

Daniella

Four months later

I put the last curl in my hair and picked up my Bed Head hairspray to seal the deal. My new purple streaks are kick ass and I’m pumped to show them off today at the Mardi Gras parade. My jeans are snug and my halter top fits perfectly. It’s showtime.

“Dani! Let’s go!” My mom hollers from the living room.

“I’m coming!” I yell as I stuff my phone in my back pocket before grabbing my red lip gloss from my dresser.

“The parade starts in thirty minutes. We gotta get a spot if we want to see your dad and Nicholas ride.”

“I’m ready, geez,” I huff as I head towards the door.

My dad and Nicholas, also known as St. Nick, are riding today to represent Knights Mechanics along with Maxi’s, the diner the club owns in Paradise. A few of the other brothers are riding too. I think Preach and Knuckles are tagging along.

We finally found a place to park and walked a few blocks to the action. Beautiful decorations littered the streets with ribbons, lights, and beads. It is one of my favorite times in Louisiana. I love the festivities.

Maverick waved us over, so we pushed our way through the crowd until we reached him. Travis, Widow, and Romeo stood with him all dressed in their signature leather vests.

“Hey mom.” Maverick kissed my mom's temple and let her slide in front of him so she could see.

I stretched up to try to see around a freakishly tall man in front of me.

“Dani come on. Hop on my shoulders so you can see,” Romeo says as he kneeled down.

Maverick held my hands as I climbed onto his shoulders. Romeo stood and I felt a palm on my back as he raised up. Travis. I know it’s wrong to have the reactions I do to his touch. I’m only sixteen, and he’s twenty-five, and kinda, sorta my brother. I’m mean not literally, but people see him that way. Everyone but me. I glance down to him, but his eyes are pointed straight ahead on the first float to start the parade. His hand is still gently resting at the small of my back. As if he’s been burned, or he just realized his hand was still placed there, he forcefully yanked it away. It made me quietly snicker while I reached down, grabbing Romeo’s hat to flip it backwards.

“Here they come!” I yelled when the floats got closer. It may take a little bit for my dad to get down this way. These things are slow as hell. After a good ten minutes I saw my dad's bike.

“Here they are!” I screeched and apparently wiggled a little too much.

“Fuck, Dani, you’re going to knock me over,” Romeo hollered as he stumbled on his feet.

“Just let me down, sorry!” I apologized.

I’m sure his shoulders were hurting by now. He lowered me to the ground and two hands gripped my waist to help me step off. I knew they were Travis’ by the way my spine tingled.

“Careful,” he whispered behind me.

I had to take a deep breath before I answered. “Thanks,” I said over my shoulder as I stepped away from him.

We waved and cheered as they passed, and my dad grinned from ear to ear. He was so proud of his shop and so was I. My love for cars came from him and I spend most of my free time there letting the guys teach me a thing or two I didn’t already know.

“Let’s walk around to Bourbon Street. They are gonna make a loop then cut across,” Maverick says as we follow him down the busy sidewalk.

We made it to Bourbon Street. It was busy with live music and dancing. People celebrating occupied the road and they were stacked liked sardines on the balconies, jamming out to the soul music.

“I see them up ahead,” Mom said as she pointed up the street.

Dad and Nicholas drove side by side as the crowd parted for them. My dad saw me and a big smile flashed across his face. Seconds later, an echo filled the street. My ears rang, and my heart kicked into high gear. What was that? My eyes roamed the area then went back to my dad, but he wasn’t on his bike. Another loud sound rang out and Nicholas slumped off of his bike, causing it to skid onto the sidewalk. Screams and chatter filled the air as people darted indoors, or ran down the streets in fear. I stood frozen, staring at my dad laying on the old brick embedded into the road. A puddle of blood seeped out from under him and I felt the oxygen in my lungs decreasing.

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