Page 20 of Blood

I offer his shoulder a squeeze, and he shakes his head. “Oh, my dad’s not dead. I just haven’t seen him in a while. I came here to be closer to my brother. His road name is Green. You may have seen him inside.” I’m pretty sure it’s his tooth in my jean pocket.

“Maybe. Aren’t you worried about what happened, like, a killer being out there somewhere?” I shudder, giving him my best damsel act.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe with me. And if that cunt does come out from whatever rock they crawled behind, the club will deal with it.” Unlike Callan, all of Tim’s emotions play out on his face.

“Are there any suspects?”

A layer of tense silence blankets the car. Tim taps his finger on the wheel, keeping his eyes trained on the road. “I shouldn’t be talking about this stuff with an outsider.”

“Ouch.” I place a hand on my chest.

“Seriously, though, don’t tell Kitty we spoke, yeah?” He anxiously rubs a hand across his forehead.

“Yeah, ’course.” I play with the strap of my purse. “I hardly know Kitty anyway.”

Flitting his gaze between myself and the road, he raises a brow. “Well, she must like you. It’s rare for outsiders to get an invite to the clubhouse. Especially right now.”

I think back to Callan saying he invited me, the memory of his bite still burning on my hip. My stomach rumbles, steering the conversation to a lighter subject.

“Didn’t they feed you?” He looks to my stomach, then my face, and I cringe.

“I heard about Diamond’s famous chili dogs, but I didn’t get one.” The streetlights make it hard to hide my mortification.

“There’s a place down the road. I’ll get you a burger.” He chuckles.

“I have money,” I find myself saying in defense.

“It’s fine. It’s on me.”

I don’t know what I expected from the Kings of Sin, but this isn’t it. It’s playing havoc with my emotions.

“Can I get fries too?” I smile over at him.

Grinning with his teeth, he says, “You keep what we spoke about tonight to yourself, and I’ll get you an entire meal. How’s that?”

“Sounds like a deal to me.”

We pull up to the order screen, and I point to the double-burger meal. He orders the meal, handing it to me with a cup of soda at the next window.

“I hate these paper straws,” I grumble.

“It’s one of those biodegradable ones. They’re saving the turtles.”

“Yeah, it starts degrading in my drink. They suck. I do love turtles, however. Thanks for being cool.” I nudge his shoulder. “You can just drop me here. Thank you,” I add when he pulls out and drives a little down the road.

“Didn’t you leave your car back at the bar?”

“No, I walked over from the motel.” I point to the other side of the street, where the motel sign lights up the walkway.

“Is that where you’re living?” He cuts across the road, entering the parking lot. A car blares its horn at him for doing so.

“For the moment. I just moved here.” I shrug, stuffing a fry into my mouth.

“Right. Well, be careful. These places are cesspools for criminal activity.” I think his heart may be too gentle for a biker club.

“I can take care of myself.” Grabbing his phone on a charger on the dashboard, I type my number in. “Give that number to Kitty for me, yeah?”

“Sure thing.”

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