Axle might be a stone on the outside, but he obviously has a heart somewhere inside that massive, firm, very distracting chest of his.
Right?
CHAPTER 4
AXLE
She’s staring right at me as we walk over to her, and Drex curses me again like it’s my fault he has to deal with this.
“What’s going on?” Sarah asks.
I really wish she wasn’t over here right now.
“You can’t stay here,” Drex tells Maya, ignoring Sarah’s question and jumping straight to the point.
The last thing we need is someone else getting stuck in the crosshairs of the impending war we have breathing down our necks with the Hell Breathers.
“I can’t leave Halo and I can’t go home,” she tells him firmly.
“Not my fucking problem,” Drex tells her, bored. “Get the hell out of my clubhouse before I let the guys inspect the new merchandise.”
“Seriously, I might die—”
“Seriously, I give zero fucks,” Drex interrupts, cold as ice as he steps closer to her.
I should have just kicked her out myself, but she’s persistent and annoying, and I hate dealing with women. I do find the determination in her eyes a little amusing. She’s not backing down. She even narrows her eyes in challenge.
“I want to talk business,” she goes on.
Drex snorts derisively, and I smirk.
“We’re not selling cupcakes. Understand? You’re more likely to die here than at your brother’s hand. Now go.”
My amusement dies when she looks at me like she’s disappointed. I’m tempted to let her crash in my room for the night. We’re not working a job, so I’m not using it. It wouldn’t hurt anything if she stayed up there.
Then I remember what a sadistic asshole Benny is, and if we go to war, what she could face is worse than death. She’s a little too sweet for the bloodshed in store.
“I have money. I can pay for protection.”
Drex’s eyes light up with humor as he grins. “We don’t need money. We probably have more of it than you. Go. Now. Before I lose my temper. Trust me, you don’t want to see that.”
“I’ll take her home,” Sarah says, stepping between them almost protectively.
Drex laughs to himself as he walks away, and I leave Sarah behind with Maya. No one will mess with Sarah. She’s Snake’s girl and he’d kill anyone if they did. Besides, she’s part of our crew.
“So the guy was a junkie?” Drex asks me, already forgetting about the girl.
“Yeah. No deal.”
“Pop should have vetted him better.”
“Herrin’s standards aren’t as high as yours. You should take over the vetting from now on,” I point out. Again.
Drex snorts, looking over at where Sarah is escorting Maya out the doors. I look away when those dark eyes meet mine again.
“Don’t bring back any more strays. For all we know, she could have been trying to plant herself in the crew.”
Drex is paranoid, but I don’t call him out on it. The girl is a scared kitten who has a twisted brother and nothing more.
“I thought if you had to deal with Herrin’s mess, you might start cleaning it up,” I tell him, letting the corner of my mouth tug up in a taunting grin.
Since he never says anything bad about his father, I’m not surprised when he simply flips me off and walks away. I decide to get drunk and forget about the girl who shivered at the sound of my voice.
I also try to forget about the fact she touched me. It’s been a long fucking time since a girl touched me in any way.
CHAPTER 5
MAYA
“Where are we going?” I ask Sarah as she turns down another road.
“That depends,” she says as she trains her eyes on the road ahead.
“On what?”
“On you telling the truth. You were lying about why your brother wants you dead. Trust me, I know a lie when I hear it.”
Shifting uncomfortably, I study her profile. How does she know?
“He really does want my money,” I tell her, because it is the truth. “And it was all left to me when my parents died.”
“Why else does he want you?” she asks, obviously detecting the honesty there.
There’s really nothing left to lose at this point, even though I’m worried that the club is helping my brother. They never would tell me why they were there.
But, considering my limited options and the pile of shit I’m already in with Lathan, I tell her the very long, drawn out story as she drives in circles. When I’m finally finished, I expect her to pull over and shove me out of the car before burning rubber in the opposite direction.
People who want to live stay far away from me and all my dangerous madness.
“You look like a sorority girl,” she states randomly, quirking her eyebrow at me before returning her gaze to the road.
“You look like a stripper,” I volley, shrugging.
She laughs under her breath. “My look is just an act. Your act is pure genius. You’re actually a little crazy.”