Page 99 of Break Out

Rafferty rolled his eyes. “Right.” He turned to Steel. “What time are you leaving in the morning?”

Steel pondered that. “If you two can shift your schedules, I’ll leave before dawn on Monday. That lets you live it up tonight and we’ll be back in Jax in time for me to meet with that contractor.”

The idea of getting up so early didn’t appeal, but I wanted to see more of Steel in his element. Plus, I wanted to take in more of Augusta.

Rafferty dug his keys out of his pocket. “Sounds good. We loading your bike tomorrow night?”

Steel nodded. “Yeah, but in my truck, and you’ll drive the rental back. We’ll load your bike into the bed of the rental truck sometime tomorrow.”

This sounded like a production, but such was biker life.

“Got it. I’ll see you at the bonfire, or I’ll be back late.” Rafferty moved past Steel, drew even with me, and said, “Later, Simone.”

I wandered toward the kitchen, but realized Rafferty must have gone out some other exit because there was no sign of him. Then I heard his Harley and it sounded as though it were outside the garage.

Steel went to the fridge. “You hungry? I have the banana pudding Jesse gave us, eggs, beer, and whatever you packed in your ‘snack bag’.”

“Is there food at the bonfire?”

He shut the refrigerator door. “Do you want to spend more time at the clubhouse? I got a fire pit in the backyard, we can stay here if you’d prefer.”

I shrugged. “I may not be a hang-around, but I think I need the full Devil Lancer experience, too.”

He nodded. “True.” His teeth sunk into his lower lip and he came to me. “I love you, and you’re having my baby, but so far only my VP and treasurer know that. I can't claim you this visit. Are you going to have a problem with that?”

With my lips pressed together, I did a slow nod. “I don’t have to be claimed, but are you also saying you’ll be with another woman in front of me? Or let a club girl hang on you?”

He grinned. “Are you jealous?”

I cocked a brow. “More like I’m possessive, and considering it seems that Jordan might have snuck around behind my back, I’m not cool with another woman touching you.”

He nodded. “That’s fair.”

Thinking about Jordan brought Debra to mind. “Why was Debra at the clubhouse anyway? Was it really just to bust your balls? I can see where Josie might have snuck in with another club girl, but your ex? How does she get inside the gate, let alone the clubhouse? And how did she know you’d be there?”

He frowned. “Unfortunately, Torque’s old lady had everything to do with that. She overheard Tor talking to me yesterday afternoon. He said he’d see me at the clubhouse. She ran her mouth to Deb, and from there, Deb’s good at convincing the prospects at the gate to let her through.”

I shook my head. “That doesn’t make sense. Are she and Debra tight?”

“No, Jade. It’s the biggest downside to Torque screwing around on Shelly. She bends over backward to fuck with him. When she can’t fuck with him directly, she knows anything that causes me problems will cause Torque problems.”

“Sounds like quite the couple,” I muttered.

He bit back a grin. “That reminds me, why do you think Torque has a grudge against you? He doesn’t even know you.”

My brows arched. “He’s certainly a master of the cold shoulder.”

“He’s doing his job and making sure I’m not being taken advantage of, sweetheart.”

I couldn’t hold back my scoff. “Where was he when Josie messed with your wallet?”

He shook his head. “He’s not my housekeeper or some shit. Besides, Josie admitted to being in my room to check which brand I use. Then she bought her own box, tampering with those at home before showing up to the club to make the swap. It was an in-and-out kind of thing.”

I widened my eyes at the pun. “Ba-dum-bum.”

He tipped his head back and groaned. “You know what I mean, woman.”

“Yeah, I do. I’ll keep that in mind if I run into Torque again.”

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