Shades (Evil Dead MC 3)

“The dregs of sin city.”

“I look at people sometimes and think, ‘For real? That’s the sperm that won?’”

Shades snorted. “No shit.”

A pair of arms slid around Ghost’s waist from behind, and he twisted his head.

“I wondered where you’d run off to,” Blondie said.

“Apparently not far enough,” Ghost muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” she asked.

“Nothing, babe.” Ghost tossed his cigarette into the street and pulled her around to his front, wrapping his arms around her. “Been right here, darlin’, waitin’ on your ass. And one sexy ass it is.” One big hand snaked down to squeeze one of her cheeks and she squealed, letting out a high-pitched giggle.

Shades looked at him over her head, his fingers going to his ears to block out the annoying titter, and he rolled his eyes.

****

Skylar took a sip of her drink and looked over at her father. There was a lot she wanted to ask him. The man was practically a stranger to her, after all. “So, do you, um, have any other children?”

His head turned toward her, and her own familiar blue eyes stared back at her. She’d often wondered where she’d gotten the vibrant shade of blue since her mother had had green eyes. She watched his eyes crinkle at the corners with his smile.

“You askin’ if you’ve got any brothers or sisters?”

“Yes.”

He shook his head.

“No or none that you know of?”

He grinned. “Okay, none that I know of.”

“Is there a woman?”

“Not at the moment. Not for a while actually.”

“Why’s that?”

He shrugged. “Guess I’m not the easiest son-of-a-bitch to get along with.”

She grinned and took a sip of her drink.

“I suppose that doesn’t surprise you.”

“Nope.”

“You don’t seem to have inherited your ol’ man’s temperament. You seem just like your mother.”

“I don’t remember much about her.”

He looked down at his drink, clutched between his hands. “She was a good woman. Real sweet. Never gave me a lick of trouble. I didn’t appreciate what I had until I’d lost it all.” He tossed his drink down.

Skylar studied him. There was so much she didn’t know about either of her parents. “Where did you meet her?”

A wistful smile pulled at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes studied the bar top. “I was on my bike, sitting parked at a stoplight. She pulled up behind me in this old VW Bug. The thing had a manual transmission, and apparently she was just learning how to drive a stick-shift. Anyway, when the light turned green, she dropped the clutch, and her car lurched forward right into my back tire. Bam! Knocked me on my ass.”

Skylar couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her. “I’m sorry I shouldn’t laugh. Were you hurt?”