Page 126 of Give Me Redemption

I lift my hat and turn it around backwards. “Yeah, I’ll catch Bryce later.”

I dart my eyes over to Pops who gives me a small smirk.

Having his approval means a lot to me. He gets it, but I won’t tell him what I’m doing. I don’t want him to feel like he has to lie to Bryce if he asks him why I’ve been MIA.

“I’ll see y’all.” I grab my keys from the table and head to the door.

“Jace.” I look over when Mary walks up to me. I have to admit, she looks good. Better than I’ve ever seen her. Maybe this time she is going to walk a straight line. “How are you doing?” she asks.

I narrow my eyes. “Good,” I say skeptically.

She nods and gives me a small smile. “Look, I know you and I have never… Well, we’ve never had a chance to get to know each other. That’s my fault.”

“What are you doing?” I ask, wanting her to get to the point.

She clears her throat and slides her hand into her back pocket. “I’d like to spend some time together. I know you went through something in the Army. If you ever want to talk about it, I’m a good listener. I’m helping out with meetings down at St. Andrews. Anyway, I just thought I’d ask.”

She looks nervous and unsure of herself. She’s wrong about us not getting to know each other. I know her well enough.

I lift a brow and twist the knob. “Good talking to you, Mary,” I say, expressionless. I don’t wait for her to respond. I hit the elevator button and step inside when the doors slide open.

She thinks I’m just going to sit down and have a conversation about all the shit I’ve been through? She thinks she’d be the one I’d want to talk to about all of that?

The woman who gave up her rights to raise me? The woman who didn’t have time to talk to me when I was a child, because she was too busy sticking needles into her arm?

Now she’s helping out at the church and talking with other junkies. That’s supposed to make me feel some type of way?

I chuckle as the doors open. Fuck that.

I walk out of the lobby and head to my bike.

I spot Bryce and Harrison walking from the garages. Her cheeks are flushed, and he has a cocky grin on his face. “There you two are.” My eyes jump from my brother to Harrison, and I smile, not making a big deal of it. I’ve got some shit to figure out. “I’ve got to run. Glad you’re home, brother,” I say, pulling him in for a side hug. “Harrison, you got a little smudge right there.” I point to my cheek. She doesn’t have lipstick on, but I couldn’t resist fucking with them.

She hits my shoulder as her cheeks turn a cute shade of pink. Bryce smiles, looking at her with adoration.

God, he’s got it bad. I’m glad it’s for Harrison. I kind of love the girl myself, in a brotherly way.

Bryce looks to me. “We gotta talk.”

“Yeah. We will,” I reply, looking down at my phone. I head toward my motorcycle, reaching for my helmet before sliding it over my head. It’s been a while since I’ve ridden this, but it’s nice out.

“Be safe, punk,” he says to me as I grab my soft pack of smokes from my front pocket. I cuff it and strike my Bic, smoke drifting into the evening air.

“You bet.” I wink at the lovebirds and hop onto the bike, kick-starting it and revving up the motor as I walk it backward. I nod at them, stopping briefly before raring the motor up and flying out of there.

Chapter Fifty-One

Harlow

All the boys are here, even creepy Miller. He slides up to Monroe and me as we sit at the bar. “Heard about the payoff,” he says, sucking his teeth. “Bummer.”

“Yeah,” I say. “Did you hear about the other thing, though?” I ask quietly.

He gets closer, seeming very interested. “What?”

“You’ve got rib sauce all in your mustache.”

Monroe laughs and I roll my eyes. Miller straightens his back and snatches a napkin from the bar top. “You think you’re so funny, Dalton,” he says, wiping his face.

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