Page 32 of Break Out

He just didn’t know it yet.

I’ll be in Daytona all next week. It’s a two hour drive from Gainesville. Come see me, you’ll get your money.

Sending that undoubtedly cemented his hatred of me, but we needed to talk. He needed to man up and learn to deal with people he didn’t like any damn way.

The world didn’t owe him shit any more.

Chapter 8

Life's Boring without Me

Simone

Abby sweet-talked a burly Devil Lancer named Greco into letting us through the barricade separating the Devil Lancers from other campers. She grabbed my hand and dragged me across the field – narrowly dodging other people as we went.

We stopped short and Abby angled her body so she stood slightly in front of me. “Be very subtle, now. He’s in that group of bikers standing under the awning for that white and blue fifth wheel camper.”

I stared at her for a beat longer than necessary, took a deep breath and let my eyes naturally wander that way.

At first glance the men looked like any other group of bikers. The only thing that told me those seven men were Devil Lancers was the huge patch on their cuts. The patch seemed more familiar to me, but that had to stem from being surrounded by so many of their members.

Everyone in the group erupted into laughter except one man. I stared at him and noticed the tiniest up-tick of his lips.

Oh, shit.

It was him.

The moment my brain registered the knowledge, I felt that bizarre pull of attraction. I wanted to run right to him as much as I wanted to run away from him. Especially since a tall, thin, blonde woman lurked behind him. Only it was hard to say if she was with him or the man to his right. Hell, at Bike Week, she might be with them both.

“Did you see him?” Abby asked.

I turned to her. “Yeah. I don’t think that’s him.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You’re lying.”

I shook my head. “No, Aunt Abby, I’m not. This isn’t the time or place to go looking for—”

“You’re not going to get a better place or time.”

My head cocked to the side. “You know, this isn’t something all his brothers need to know. I can come back.”

She grinned. “I thought it wasn’t him.”

I shrugged. “I don’t think it’s him. It’s still personal and not something a bunch of Devil Lancers need to know about.”

She looked over her shoulder. “Oh, good. The half dozen or so brothers all cleared out. Now he’s talking to some hang-around. Let’s move closer and get a better look.”

“No, no,” I said, and tried to dig in my heels when she grabbed my hand.

Her eyes widened at me. “We aren’t going to make an approach. You’re right about this being private, but you’re too far away.”

With a sigh, I let her lead us through the crowd. Two steps later and I caught sight of the ‘hang-around’ with Steel. Dread and dismay coursed through me. I stopped and let go of Abby’s hand. The crowd was a little thicker here, and she doubled back to me.

“What’s wrong now?”

“That isn’t just some hang-around.”

She shook her head. “What do you mean?”

---