Chapter Twenty-Three
Troy and Axel had planned to work on Precious in the shop all day. Troy had taken the bike apart and was cleaning every damn part, determined to get it running perfectly. Axel was regaling him with a sex story about some chick who could only get off if she scratched his back. From Axel’s telling of the story, he was flayed by the time he finished.
Troy was still laughing when Axel suddenly went silent.
“Here’s trouble,” Axel said quietly, looking toward the entry.
Troy followed his gaze. “Fuck!”
He’d figured it was Hawg, but when he looked toward the street, he saw Snake pulling in on his Blockhead.
Snake made his way over to Troy. They’d been close until recently, so he wasn’t expecting a fight. But he always kept his semi-automatic in a waistband holster and a knife in his boot—he’d been trained to be prepared. And he was seriously pissed off at Snake for cheating on Lizzie.
“Beast. Axel.” Snake nodded at them, his gaze watchful. His thin mustache drooped in an unkempt fashion.
“Snake.” Troy returned the greeting. Normally, he’d give him a fist bump or a loose man hug, but Snake’s long arms remained down alongside his rangy body. His gaze shifted warily around, as if sensing danger.
“The brothers and I are having a meet to celebrate your engagement,” Snake announced. With his short hair, mustache, dark glasses, and thin face, he used to have old-time spiv glamor, the sort from the gangster movies, but now he just seemed shabby and miserable.
Troy scowled. Stacey at a meet? Hell, no. “Since when did you become the organizer of my social calendar?”
“Razor ordered it,” Snake said, using Pa’s biker name.
“What are you, the fucking messenger boy?”
Snake was a full-fledged brother. Normally, the prospects did all the grunt work around the clubhouse. Membership was not a sure thing, and the prospects had to work hard and show the right amount of respect. If they were ordered to eat shit, they’d better do it.
Snake shrugged.
Troy crossed his arms and looked Snake up and down. He wanted to punch his lights out he’d caused so much trouble. “Too bad. I’m not fucking interested in partying.”
Snake shifted from side to side. Troy was bigger than him. Meaner than him. They both knew it.
Snake’s expression turned pleading. “Razor and Hawg expect everyone to be there. Look, I fucked up with your sister. I’m sorry. I’m going to make it right.”
Anger flooded through Troy. “You think organizing a meet will make things better? Fuck that. I don’t want to celebrate while my sister is off God knows where. Lizzie’s fucking gutted because of you. I want to break every bone in your body.”
Snake looked down at his boots, and Troy could smell his fear. “I want Lizzie back. I miss her. I love her.”
“Then why’d you stick your cock in that hooker?” Axel asked, coming over, unable to resist.
“She does anal,” Snake said, as if that was an explanation.
“And Lizzie doesn’t?” Axel asked.
Troy swiped up the nearest heavy tool. “You answer that, you’ll be eating this wrench,” Troy said to Snake.
Snake backed away.
“Go easy, Beast,” Axel said, placing himself between them.
Snake’s gaze slid from Troy to Axel and back again.
“I don’t fucking want to hear about my sister’s sex life,” Troy ground out. “Deal with your own shit, Snake. I’m not interested.”
He’d have enough of his own shit to deal with, now that he had to convince Stacey to attend a Slayers club meet. She didn’t like bikers, and she could be fucking stubborn when she wanted to be.
He turned to Axel. “You know about this meet?”
Axel shrugged. “The brothers want to do right by you. Besides, it’s a good excuse to get pissed and hunt pussy.”
“You don’t need an excuse,” Troy said with an eye roll. “Try growing your skin back on first.”
Axel grinned.
Troy stared back at Snake. “Stacey’s not a biker. She’s not going to like this idea.”
“You know the deal. She marries you, she marries us,” Snake said.
“And hell, everyone wants to see the woman who brought you down. No one ever thought you’d marry,” Axel said.
“Thanks loads. What am I, a monster?” Normally, Troy didn’t give a fuck what the brothers thought of him, but he was starting to feel offended.
Axel laughed. “More Hulk than Frankenstein.”
Troy shook his head. “That’s the best you can do? A weird, violent, green bastard?”
“You’re not green,” Axel said.
“Or that ugly,” Snake added.
Troy glared at him. “Who asked you?”
“Fine. I’m outta here. See you Saturday.” Snake raced back to his bike, no doubt relieved that Troy hadn’t ripped him a new one.
Axel looked at him curiously. “Why didn’t you take him apart for fucking your sister around?”
Because he’d made a promise to his sister. But he had no intention of looking like a pussy and admitting that to Axel. “Believe me, I’d like to. But he’s not the first guy to be caught with his dick in the wrong hole. I’m not a fucking fidelity enforcer.”
Axel had a funny look on his face.
“What?” Troy asked.
“Do you really think you can be content fucking only one woman for the rest of your life?”
He turned back to working on the bike and thought of Stacey, of how he couldn’t get enough, do enough, or explore enough of her. “Yeah,” he said. “With Stacey? Sure.”
And suddenly he realized…it hadn’t been a lie.