Page 35 of Tripp

Rolling her eyes, something she’d been doing quite often, she asked, “Why did you decide to stay here?”

I knew what she was doing, deflecting to take the focus off her. I’d asked her about her previous relationship, again for my own torment, but she refused to give me any details.

The anger I’d felt just moments before slowly started to fade, although traces of it continued to pump through my veins. “Okay, fine. You wanna know some shit about me, I’ll tell ya.” I took a deep breath, giving off the impression I was annoyed. It wasn’t totally off base. “You already know that Hawke is my younger brother, and although he can be quite the pain in the ass most times, we’re close. I’d do anything to protect him, even if it’s from himself. What else . . . ,” I said, tapping my finger against my chin. “I’ve been with the Knights since my early twenties. Although he was never part of the club, my father had been friends with Marek’s ol’ man, as well as Stone’s. I knew the guys growing up, so it just made sense to join. My father often worried about the goings-on within the Knights and didn’t want me or Hawke involved, but he also knew enough about us that we wouldn’t be deterred so easily.”

“What does he think about it now?”

“He passed away last year. Cancer.” I couldn’t help the sadness that crept over me. Both Hawke and I were close with the old man, and it was a dark day when he died.

“I’m sorry,” she said, reaching over to stroke my hand, her touch most definitely welcome.

“Thanks. Anyway, we were young and thrived on danger.” I smirked but quickly stopped when I saw her reaction.

“Wait, what do you mean danger?” A worried look drifted over her face.

“Not anymore. Nothing for you to worry about where the club is concerned.” I refused to elaborate. “Anyhow, I’ve always been sort of a loner, hence being a nomad.” Judging by her expectant look, I continued on, revealing something I hadn’t told anyone—the real reason I’d been in town the night some of the Reapers had attacked me, leaving me for dead in front of the Knights’ clubhouse, four bullet wound scars a constant reminder of my carelessness.

“One night, I came home to find the woman I’d been living with fucking some guy. In our bed. Needless to say, I wasn’t too happy. I almost killed him. I wanted to, trust me, but I didn’t. After telling her it was over, I left and hopped on my bike. Before I knew it I’d arrived at The Underground, our club’s bar. Because of what’d happened, I got drunk. Really drunk. And when I stumbled outside, there were a few Reapers waitin’ for me. Still to this day I have no idea how no one saw them creepin’ around outside.” I took a deep breath. “They shot me, then dropped me off outside the clubhouse.”

I paused to allow her to digest it all, her eyes wide with fright and concern. “I almost died. If it weren’t for Adelaide, Stone’s woman, I probably would’ve. She patched me up and looked after me while I recovered.” I smiled at the recollection of how pissed Stone had been when Adelaide watched over me. I liked to think I was the reason he got his head out of his ass and finally pursued making them a legit couple.

“Who are the Reapers? Are they still after you?”

Hmm . . . how to answer that question.

“The Savage Reapers are a rival club. Real scum of the earth. And no, they’re not still after me.” Deciding to be as truthful as I could, I added, “Well, because of the hatred our clubs have toward each other, there’s always the chance we could run into them. You know, not on accident.” The worried look never left her face. “But now that their president is dead, I don’t see them being a problem.”

“He’s dead? Did you . . . kill him?” she asked meekly, her bottom lip disappearing between her teeth in anxiousness.

“No, I didn’t kill him.” It was mostly the truth. While I’d assisted in his demise, Marek was the one who ended his wretched life.

Wanting to change the subject from something so grim, I allowed her to ask me a few more questions, hoping that by me opening up she would do the same.

“What else do you wanna know?” I prompted.

“Do you have any other siblings?”

“No.”

“Is your mother still alive?”

“Don’t know.”

“Why wouldn’t you know that?”

I tried not to appear as angry as I felt. “Because she took off with another guy and left us when Hawke and me were still young.”

“And you never saw her again?”

“No. Next question,” I barked. Reining it back in again, I said, “Sorry, I just don’t wanna talk about her.”

There she goes again biting that damn lip.All I wanted to do was reach over, pluck it from between her teeth and suck on it.

“That’s okay. I know how that feels. Some things are better left in the past.”

And there it was. She’d essentially just let me know that she wasn’t open to discussing anything from her past. Eventually she’d have no choice, but we weren’t there yet.

“Okay, I have one more question for you.” She smiled so I relaxed.

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