She snorts at him. “You practically fucking live here, like my ass is going to even fucking hit your radar.”
I hide a smile when he mumbles, “That ain’t the fucking danger.”
Ahh.
So Rue maybe notices her a little more than she thinks, that would explain Diamond’s hatred of her.
Sure enough, the moment she gets her ratty band tee over her head Rue stalks in and the look on his face tells me everything I need to know.
Everything.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, flower? Get your ass back in the office, you’re not supposed to be out here and you for-fucking-sure aren’t supposed to be getting your tits out.”
She huffs and shoves the cami over her head, straightening it before she turns around to face him. He rocks on his heels like he’s been shot.
Oh yeah.
He’s fucking smitten.
“Is it safe to look or are my balls still in danger of being ripped from my body?” Speck says as he turns around and Poe scowls at him.
“Why the hell are you teasing me? Am I not allowed to go out with my fucking friend and look like a fucking girl?”
The two of them keep their mouths shut so I fumble to fill the silence. I don’t know why he won’t tell her but I guess the very secret, very selective romantic in me wants to salvage this situation. “I’ve seen how fierce you are, Graves, no doubt you have them all worried about your claws. You look great, I’ll grab the clothes back next time you’re here.”
Her eyes narrow a little more at Speck before she turns to me with a grin. “Thanks! You could come over and pick them up if you wanted? Or I could come drop them off to you if you want? I don’t have a fucking beauty like the Chevy but I could bribe Reece to bring me over.”
Tomi walks in and it’s like all of the air gets sucked out of the room, one minute I’m laughing and joking with my friend and then next I can’t fucking breathe.
“It’s fine, I don’t need them anytime soon. Just have a good night,” I choke out, forcing the smile back on my face but Poe’s eyes flick between Tomi and I until a frown takes over her features.
“You should come out with us tonight! It’s just a dumb club thing but Trink and I are going out after. It would be fucking awesome with you there.”
I swallow and refuse to glance at the dark cloud in the room. “I’m beat. I’m getting bad gas station tacos and passing the fuck out, but I hope you have a great time.”
Her glare settles on Tomi. “Why are you being an asshole to her? I just wanna hang out with my fucking friends and you’re walking around being a fucking killjoy.”
I don’t want to hear a word out of his mouth, none of the vitriol he’ll spit at me, mostly because I think it’ll hurt so much worse coming from him. I think all of that shit about myself anyway but he’s just… fuck, he just knows how to pour acid into these open wounds of mine.
I shove the last of my shit into my bag and I don’t even think about it, I just push forward until I’ve got Poe in a quick hug. She grips me back hard, even in her shock she’s down for the affection, and then I stalk out of the room before I can get my ass torn open by the utter hatred.
I’ve never hated myself more than right now, than this moment of having something I didn’t even know I wanted ripped away from me.
Another short night of broken sleep ahead of me, I start the old Chevy and let the engine turn over for a second before I pull away.
I see the motorcycles go past as I wait to turn onto the highway, Posey secure and safe behind Rue on his hog.
Speck raises a hand to wave and I lift one back at him.
Tomi pretends I don’t exist.
I fucking wish it were true.
Chapter Twelve
Tomi
I give up chasing after some fucking bitch who ‘struck me but doesn’t want me and I get my head back into what I’m supposed to be doing.
Sniffing out a fucking rat.
I’m not fucking around anymore. There’s not a single fucking thing I can do to fix my cuntstruck self but there’s options for finding the rats. I leave The Boulevard after the best motherfucking blowjob of my life, I swear to God she sucked my soul straight outta my body and swallowed it down that pretty little throat of hers, and I go back to my parents’ place for the night.
The shit I need to do isn’t the type of thing I want to get disturbed while I’m doing. Keely will be fucking thrilled to have me around anyway.
So I get home, drink a couple of beers with Hawk, and then I pass the fuck out. I wake to the smell of bacon wafting through my bedroom door because my mom is a fucking saint.
I shower before I head down, no need for her to catch me smelling like a fucking bar, and when I eventually make it to the kitchen she’s setting my plate down on the kitchen table.
Just one because I’m the only one getting up this late in the afternoon.
“Big night? You’ve been working too much. I have half a mind to call King and tell him I want my son back.”
I kiss her cheek before I sit down, she has every last one of us trained for this shit. “I’m keeping myself busy. You know I hate sitting around with my thumb up my ass when there’s shit to be done.”
She hums under her breath, checking her watch. “You take after me. Hawk always did prefer the quiet times, enjoying the fruits of all his hard work.”
I scoff at her. “I doubt it. Callaghans are made of chaos and ruin, not sitting around with a fucking beer.”
She laughs at me as she scrubs the pots and pans. She’s already dressed in her scrubs, ready to head into the afternoon shift at the hospital. She works too goddamn much, they don’t need the fucking money, but she’s always been too wrapped up in her own busy schedule to worry about something as stupid as money.
She always did say, Hawk keeps the lights on and food on the table.
She keeps sharp and ready to stitch him and the boys up just the second they need it.
And that’s how their marriage works.
“What are you doing today? As much as I’m sure you missed me cooking for you, you always come home with a plan.”
I shrug. “I’m heading on a drive to grab some tech shit. I’m upgrading everyone’s shit in batches and it’ll take me a fucking week just to get half the guys online.”
Keely laughs and wipes her hands, grabbing her purse and leaning down to kiss my cheek before she leaves. “Those old bikers won’t ever figure out an iPhone, Thomas. Stick to simple.”
I wave her off and listen to the familiar sounds of her getting into her car, the engine starting and then backing out. Something I’ve heard so many times in my childhood that it’ll never leave me, no matter how long I’ve been crashing at the clubhouse.
I don’t care whether or not the Unseen want new tech.
I care about what that tech is going to report back to me.
I clean up my plate because Keely Callaghan didn’t raise a disrespectful shit, just an outlaw with no time for the law. Then I get on the road.
The plan is simple.
I get new smart phones for as many of the guys as I can. I tell them all that I’m doing it to bring the club into the present, drag their old fucking outlaw asses outta the Wild West and into the real world, and I make a lotta fucking jokes about it.