Page 78 of Busted Dreams

Beck laughed and glanced at me. “Well, you can thank Astrid for bringing us together. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have any time for these losers.”

“Ha.” Rhys grinned, and Thatcher mock glared at Beck.

Angel slid over and gave me a hug, his beautiful, healthy locks falling in my face. I tried hard not to smell him, but it was impossible. His allure was so strong, he was exactly like Beck, but a biker instead of a musician.

“Treat my cousins good, all right?” He winked and then took his girl to an impromptu stage area, where they looked like they were setting up a karaoke machine.

“I…didn’t think that was a real thing.” Jonah was mesmerized by it too.

“Oh yeah. It’s the one thing that’s demanded at all the family picnics. Next time, Beck, you’ll have to play a song for us.”

Young and old bikers yelled farewell to us as we left. Some of the women waved and smiled too.

“Wow, that was actually fun,” Jonah said once we passed the gate.

“They seemed scary when I first met them. This time, not so much.” I smiled.

“Yeah, great time. Considering.” Thatcher clenched his jaw and turned toward the back lot where he was parked. “Listen, I need to go home and wait for Trinity. I had hoped to break through to her by bringing her here, but that was an error in my judgment. Seems like she has no desire or care to meet me halfway at all. And I’m…I’m worried about her.” Thatcher’s voice broke at the end.

She was spiraling. Anyone could see that. I just had no way to help him. Did I?

I went to him and slid my arms around his waist in a tight hug. There was nothing I could think of to say, so I just held him for a minute. His body shuddered with his next few breaths, then he seemed to pull his emotions back.

Squeezing me tight, he kissed the top of my head. “Go on. I’ll see you later.”

Then he was gone.

The rest of us made our way to Rhys’ SUV and climbed in. Only this time, Jonah was behind me.

“You guys want to hang out at my place for a little while?” Rhys offered.

Some of the buzz from a successful family event had sobered with Thatcher’s declaration. I expected the guys to want to separate, but they didn’t.

“Yeah, sounds good. We can order a pizza later,” Beck said as he stretched his legs out.

I had synced my phone up with Rhys’ stereo system a while ago. Turning on the system, I started a random playlist to fill the empty space of the cab. After a few hours of chatting, I kind of felt all talked out. Once we were at the cottage, we all sort of floated around the room, gathering food and drinks until we fell on the couch and loveseat. I landed on Beck’s chest, which was just fine with me.

I’d fallen asleep, safe in the comfort of Beck’s arms, until tense murmuring started to bring me back to reality.

“Fuck, I have to go take care of this,” Rhys said as rustling filled the room.

“Why? They’re big boys, they can handle it themselves,” Beck whispered over my head.

“Because I’m the captain, and we all know why those bastards are there in the first place,” Rhys bit out.

“I’ll come with you then,” Beck sighed, then started to shift me off to the side.

Lifting my head, I blearily looked around the living room. It was pitch dark outside, and Rhys was tying his shoes, while Jonah seemed conflicted as he glanced back and forth between Beck and his own shoes.

“Are you sure?” Rhys asked as he glanced up. That was odd. Rhys was usually a solo guy, never asking for assistance for anything.

“Yeah, just don’t get me arrested.” Beck laughed. “That’s the last thing I need.”

“Don’t worry. We’d all lose any potential for scholarships if they tried to fight us.” Rhys looked to Jonah as he stood up. “Stay with Astrid?”

“Of course,” he answered immediately.

“I’ll be back, okay, pretty girl?” Beck kissed my lips, then was up and off the couch.

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