She rolled her eyes affectionately, like they had some kind of friendship I didn’t know about.
“As long as you show up,” he warned,
“I’ll do what I can, but my boss hates me so I can’t guarantee he’ll give me the time off. I need a tube of that ointment,” she pointed to the aftercare ointment on the shelf behind him, paid and waved him off like they were old friends. “Catch you later, Tate.” She walked right past me, exiting the shop without a glance, or even the fucking evil eye, aimed at me.
I stood, feeling wound up. Anxious. Hell, I didn’t know, but I knew the source and I followed her out of the shop and caught up with her halfway up the block.
“You’re avoiding me.”
She didn’t answer and I took another step closer.
“And now you’re ignoring me.”
She sighed, frustrated and barely hanging on to her rage.
“You are not a part of my life, Savior. I don’t need to avoid or ignore you because we’re nothing to each other. Two people who once fucked, that’s it. There’s no reason to pretend it was anything else, which means I don’t need you checking up on me.”
“I’ve known you since you were a little girl, Mandy. That’s more than two people who once fucked,” I told her, throwing her words back at her.
“No. You knew me, back when I was a kid. A lot of time and a lot of life has happened since then. You don’t know shit about me or my life.”
The way she said it told me there was shit in her life. I asked myself, should I have known about it? I’d promised Ammo that me and the club would look after her when we could. My last tour with Ammo was my last tour before I left the Army, but I’d come home and gotten caught up in the club. “So, tell me.”
She laughed and it was filled with bitterness and anger. “I don’t think so.”
I leaned on her car, staring across the hood. “So, this is how it’s gonna be? You pretending we don’t know each other.”
She shrugged. “It won’t be hard because we don’t know each other. Just forget we used to know each other, all right?”
“I can’t.”
“Try harder.” She yanked her door open and jumped inside, rolling her eyes.
I stepped back when she started the engine, feeling even more frustrated than ever, and curious as hell about what had happened to her in the years since we’d known each other.
Guilt was weighing me down as she disappeared from my view, so I hopped on my bike and rode until my hands tensed with pain. I still didn’t feel any fucking better.
***
“You want to do what?” I couldn’t believe my ears. Max Ellison had called Church to discuss his fucking destination wedding. In California.
“You heard me. Jana wants to get married at some fancy ass hotel in San Diego, so that’s what we’re doing. All of us. You got a problem with that?” His frown was fierce but I didn’t back down from a fight. Not even from one of my brothers.
I was the first one to speak up. “You want to go out of town for a full goddamn week when someone is targeting our business?”
I was all for a man finding a woman he wanted to fuck forever but business was business. And right now, someone was fucking with businesses that belonged to the Reckless Bastards.
“The old timers and the prospects will be here. But if that’s your biggest concern, stay here Savior.” The way he said it, like a threat, made my hackles rise but I kept my mouth shut because he was right. We were friends and brothers, and I wasn’t going to miss his wedding.
“Fine, I’ll be there to watch you get hitched to the old ball and chain. Just make sure we’re covered.”
“We’re covered,” Cross assured me and I knew he’d tell me more later.
“The Bitches aren’t invited,” Max said, narrowing his gaze around the table to make sure everyone understood. They hadn’t made Jana feel very welcome and I didn’t blame her for keeping them away from her special day.
Cross nodded again.
Lasso smacked the table. “Woo-eee! San Diego has plenty of sweet ass to go around.” He grinned. “I’ll even bring a Stetson or two. Ladies love a cowboy.”