Page 93 of Break Out

“Shee-it, you know if you got trouble, you tell me, Steel.”

I nodded once. “Understand that, Jess, but this was something I had to handle on my own.”

He crossed his arms over his massive chest. “Posturing is gonna get you killed. You have the chopped platter?”

I nodded. “And she had—”

“The brisket, I already asked her. Another thing that makes her smart. Told Winnie to get her a tub of banana puddin’, then I’ll tell you to do the same thing as those assholes. Get out of here.”

I walked Simone to the truck, watched her belt herself in, and closed her door. While I rounded the tailgate, I debated my next move. My every instinct said she hadn’t listened to me, but I didn’t know that for sure yet.

At the red light about half a mile from the restaurant, I said, “I don’t like you coming to my rescue.”

She kept her gaze on the road, but I saw her lips twist. “Jesse rescued you, not me.”

“You were supposed to stay put.”

Her head turned toward me. “I’m not a figurine you can play with and put away. I’m going to do what I can to help you.”

“I didn’t need your help.”

“Sure, unless you wanted to spend the night in the hospital.”

“It wouldn’t have come to that.”

She scoffed. “Really? If Jesse had come out any later, Flip would have hit you in the kidneys and Mug would have landed that roundhouse you dodged. Nice move, bee-tee-dubs.”

The way she said the letters shined a light on our ages.

I glanced at her before turning right onto Winter Road. “You think I wouldn’t have caught them off-guard?”

“I know that when Flip pulled his gun, you’d have been in trouble.”

Aggravation welled inside me. “Did you ever go in the bathroom like I asked? Hell, how do you know their names?”

From the corner of my eyes, I saw she was staring at my profile. “I went in and turned back around. My gut said there was more than one bike out there and that concerned me. I grew up in the life, Steel. First thing I do is read a brother’s patches. No matter the club.”

Shit. She had a point.

Most other women I dealt with didn’t have a clue about men like me. Still, I needed to drive my point home. “In the future—”

She put her hand on my headrest. “If there’s a future, please consider I’m nothing like those bitches at your club. No offense to Kendall, she’s the only nice one of the bunch. From what you said, she’s a doormat though, which makes those others even bigger bitches because they should help her see the light.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but she kept going.

“I don’t dig you because you’re at the top of the Lancers’ hierarchy. I dig you because you’re sweet as hell in your tough-guy way – which makes it even better – and we’re both part of the same lifestyle. I can be myself around you in a way I can’t with anybody else.”

“Is that all?” I asked, giving her a brief dose of side-eye before turning back to the road.

“There’s also your wicked and devious tongue. It’s freaking magic.”

With a small head shake, I ignored her comment about my tongue. “You couldn’t be yourself with Jordan?”

She sighed. “He made me feel ashamed every damn time. It’s why I’m falling for you.”

My chest warmed and tightened at those words.

She kept talking. “I may not love what your club does, but I love being at your side to help you in my own way. Even if it apparently freaks you out.”

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