“Like I said, I’ll talk to him,” Tank replied.
“Let’s get some shots. Nothing’s gonna change today,” Snake said, heading to the bar.
When Tank went up to the counter, a glass of bourbon, no ice, was on the top. He lifted his chin at the prospect and picked up the tumbler then chugged it down.
The club girls came out of their rooms now that the ruckus was over and started mingling with the members. Someone turned the music back on, and Chainsaw was playing a game of pool with Lynch. The club was back to normal.
Tank looked around the room, watching the club girls prance and show their wares, and all he wanted was to see Lena again.
As much as his common sense begged him not to do it, he shifted his phone out of his pocket and pressed autodial. He started in on his second bourbon, feeling it burn down to his stomach, waiting as each ring brought him closer to a better night.
“Hi, you’ve reached Lena. I’m not here right now, but if you leave your name and number—”
Disappointment wove through him and it pissed him off. So what if she hadn’t returned his text or didn’t pick up her phone? It was no biggie. She was clearly a busy woman. She’d told him that enough times. His hand tightened around the glass, savoring the oak taste on his tongue.
“You doing okay, man?”
“I’m rock solid.” Tank looked dead on at Omen, who was a little smaller than him, but well-built—less like a pro wrestler, more like a CrossFit addict or something.
The other man rubbed a hand across his buzz cut and shook his head.
“You know we got your back, right?”
“I know, bro. No worries.”
Omen shifted awkwardly before slapping Tank on the back and joining the others who were mingling around the clubhouse in tight packs. There was probably going to be a rousing game of Halo on the horizon now that everyone was so pumped full of adrenaline.
Over the next hour and a half, he found himself checking his phone constantly, like a damn dog with a bone. If he wasn’t so exhausted, he might have been disgusted with himself. But really, every minute that went by without a text from Lena drove him a little bit more into siding with his previous thoughts on their relationship. She clearly wasn’t into him anymore. She had ignored three of his texts and one of his calls throughout the day.
The nail in the coffin was when he texted her about a late dinner. He promised himself it would be his last text of the night, and after that, he was turning off his damn phone and handing it over to one of the brothers. Her reply was short, and to the point. And it boiled down to her being busy and she didn’t have time for anything more than her business.
The day before? Not more than an hour had gone by before she responded, and she was more than happy to hear from him. While he wasn’t sure what the fuck had changed between them, something clearly had. He knew a brush-off when he saw it, especially when he used them more than he cared to admit, so hers was glaringly obvious. Also, it wasn’t much of a shock that she had suddenly gone cold on his ass. Women did it all the time. They were fickle as hell.
Really, they thought men were the users in the world? That they would throw a chick away after sex like she was nothing? Women did it too, all the time. It happened to be a specialty of Tank’s type, and Lena’s action fit the bill.
At least now he knew where he stood in the grand scheme of things, which was nice in its own way.
Though it sure as hell wasn’t comforting.
Lena
“Yeah, he’s been blowing up my phone tonight, but I can’t deal with it. Not after everything that went on with Quinn. I’m not looking for anything serious, but I at least want to know the guy I’m sleeping with and investing my time in wants the same things I do. Clearly, that isn’t the case for him.”
Felicia gave an affirmative noise over the phone as Lena stuck her head out of the office to make sure cleanup in the bistro was running smoothly without her direct supervision.
“I haven’t been texting him back. I’ve been giving him the cold shoulder, but Mr. Honesty can’t man up enough to admit when he’s seeing someone else.”
“You must’ve figured that a man like that had to be seeing more than one woman. It was inevitable. They’re built like that, especially when they’re so good-looking.”
“Yeah. But to tell Quinn about me and not do the same for me in return? That’s totally screwed up. I thought he was better than that. I really misjudged him. And the killer is, I liked him, and was comfortable with him. There was something between us, or I thought there was. I don’t know. It was different with him—way different from anything else I’ve ever experienced in the past.”
“It seemed amazing from what you’ve told me. But just because it was life rocking for you, doesn’t mean it was the same for him. We’re all different people, and we see things from different perspectives. Maybe rich bimbo is his favorite flavor, and you were a taste test that was off the menu.”
Lena struggled to see the logic behind what her best friend was telling her, and couldn’t rationalize the unfairness of the situation. It was like some stupid high school crap, and she was so done with it. Which was why she had given Tank the cold shoulder. As much as she wanted to dig into what was going on with him, confront him about things, it really wasn’t her place after one night together. There were no claims made on each other, and any kind of possessiveness would just make her look bad.
She had more dignity than that, and she wasn’t sure if he was even worth the trouble.
“I have to get back to work. We’ve got a big order tomorrow, and I’ve got to make sure everyone’s clear on the timing of it. I’ll take to you soon.”
“Now that you have less time with Mister Boy Toy, I better be hearing from you more often, or I might have to pop a surprise trip on you.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” Smiling, Lena made a kissy noise and said goodbye.
Adalyn stuck her head inside the office, her eyes wide, her lips pursed. “Lena, you’re going to want to see this. It’s not good.”
“Did something go wrong with the shipment again?”
The last time she had to deal with a driver, he’d forgotten to refrigerate the trucks and all the food had spoiled. Lena hurried out of her office and looked out the front window to a mass of fire trucks and emergency responder vehicles parked in front of Gus’s dry cleaning store, catty-corner to the restaurant.
Lena gasped. “What the hell happened?”
“Maybe a gas pipe blew?” Adalyn offered. “Sarah and I heard a huge boom, and we ran outside and saw the flames coming out of the store. I’m surprised you didn’t hear it.”
“I was in the freezer taking inventory. I shut the door to keep the temperature constant. I hope Gus isn’t hurt.”
A small piece of Lena withered inside as she watched the store burn. There was no question as to who would do such a thing in this town, or why they were doing it. Gus must’ve refused to pay the “protection” money. Although she had an inkling that other shops in town were being forced to turn over a percentage of their earnings to the motorcycle club, she hadn’t had the time or the strength to approach anyone to ask about it. Lately, it seemed like she was dealing with one mess after another on her own time.