Chapter Ten
They pulled back into the clubhouse parking lot late that night. There were a few guys milling about outside, but from the number of bikes, Angel knew most of them must be inside.
Cole took her by the hand and led her through the front door.
She was right. The place was packed, music was blasting, and the air was thick with cigarette smoke. They didn’t get ten feet before Cole was stopped. Several of the brothers greeted him, surrounding them both. She noticed they all looked her over. Some of them she hadn’t seen before.
After a few minutes of talking, Cole led her to the bar. It was crowded with men and a few women. Cole shouldered his way through and grabbed two bottles of beer. He passed one to her, and his arm came up, settling on her shoulders, pulling her to his side. He tightened his hold around her neck, curling his arm and coaxing her in for a kiss. When he pulled back, she noticed Mack staring at her from where he stood at the end of the bar.
Cole turned and spoke to Crash, who was sitting on the barstool to their left. Angel noticed Crystal at the other end of the bar and waved to her, smiling. Crystal waved back and motioned her over.
Seeing the exchange, Cole dipped his head to Angel’s ear. “You can go talk to her. It’s okay.”
Angel pushed through the crowd, her beer in hand. She had to stop and wait for someone to make a shot at the pool table, not wanting to bump him and mess him up. When he was through, he turned and noticed her standing there.
Angel smiled. “Just waiting for you to shoot. Didn’t want to get in the way.”
He looked her up and down and smiled wickedly, “Darlin’, you can get in my way anytime. What’s your name? Ain’t seen you around here before.”
She smiled and turned, making her way over to Crystal. Over the crowd she could hear the man telling her to come back.
“Don’t let him bother you,” Crystal reassured her, looking over Angel’s shoulder. “Wolf’s harmless.”
“Harmless? I don’t think any of these guys could be called harmless.” Angel scoffed.
“True,” Crystal conceded, smiling. “So, how are you?”
“I’m good,” Angel replied.
“I heard about what happened,” Crystal said softly. “The tattoo.”
Angel nodded.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m okay.”
“I heard you were pretty upset.”
“I was.”
“You know, there are a lot of women who would love to wear that tattoo.”
Angel looked over to where Cole was standing, thinking about the last few days that they’d spent together. “I believe you.”
“You two seem to be getting along pretty well now.”
Angel smiled. “Yeah. We are.” She watched as Cole and the group of guys around him held shot glasses up in the air. She heard someone yell a toast.
“To money, guns, and pussy!”
Then Cole responded, “The road to Hell, boys!”
Then Crash shouted, “And too far gone to turn around.”
Then they all chimed in, “The road to Hell!” and downed their shots.
“You’ve been gone for days. Where did you go?” Crystal asked, drawing Angel’s attention back to her.
“He took me down the coast. We stayed in a cabin in Big Sur.”
Crystal’s eyebrows shot up. “Lucky you.”
Angel blushed.
“He likes you. I can tell,” Crystal teased her.
“How?”
“Hmm. Maybe it’s the way he keeps glancing over here like he doesn’t want to let you out of his sight.”
Angel turned to look. Cole was talking to Crash, but then sure enough, a moment later he glanced over at her. When he caught her looking at him, he winked.
Angel smiled and blew him a kiss.
He smiled back, until Crash reached his hand up in the air and pretended to catch her kiss. Cole’s palm hit Crash’s forehead, shoving his head back, and Crash about fell off his barstool.
Angel could tell from across the bar that it was all in fun. She turned back to Crystal, and they both giggled.
“See?” Crystal teased.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe? Hon, I haven’t seen Cole act this way about a girl, well… ever.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Really. Swear to God.”
“How does he usually act then?”
Crystal shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess indifferent. You know, like he could take it or leave it. You know, like that saying, ‘if you miss this bus, there’ll be another one along in a minute’.”
“So, you’re saying there’s just a line of women in his life?”
“Well, apparently not anymore.”
“What makes you think I’m not just one in the line?”
“Because I’m not blind. Any fool can see he’s got it bad for you.”
***