Page 27 of Property of Thrasher
A second later he was there beside me with eyes that didn’t miss a damn thing. He took in the scene, Tiny, the new girl, and my smirk like a proud fucking peacock. His gaze, though it stopped on her and stayed for a moment. I caught his thought, who the fuck is she?
She straightened up stiff under the scrutiny of our gaze. Lifting her chin, a mask fell over her features. Trying to project confidence or tramp down fear, I wasn’t sure which.
“She’s with me,” Tiny explained to DK.
“Didn’t ask,” his tone was light but the weight behind it told me he would be asking me or Tiny some questions later.
“Prez,” DK said taking the attention back to me. “Run got pushed up an hour.”
I raised an eyebrow in question.
He leaned in and whispered so only the two of us could hear, “Shift change for the sheriff and he asked we get our shit clear before the state boys ride in today for some audit bullshit.”
“Call up Sweeper, have him take over on this one,” I ordered and gave a nod to Tiny as I walked past him and his play thing to head to my room.
After a quick shower and change I went back outside. I spent the night sitting at my daughter Elaina’s house because her ass got a new puppy. She works night shift at the hospital. Normally she took the dog to her mother’s house for her shifts, but apparently my ex went out of town and that left me with the fucking dog duty. I didn’t mind dogs, generally speaking. This dog, well, he needed some time to grow up and into himself. Elvis was a blue tick hound dog and uncoordinated as fuck. When he finally grows into his paws maybe he won’t be so clumsy.
The sun had come up leaving behind the morning haze. The lot was filling up, brothers straggling out of the clubhouse with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths.
I made my way to my bike, checking her over out of habit. I could hear the banter of the others around me.
Hacksaw was griping to FrootLoop about not topping off his gas tank. “You wanna walk home from the middle of nowhere. I told your ass full service clean. That meant topping her off. I ain’t got time to fuel up you dumb fuck.”
Frootloop didn’t reply which was smart, but damn if he didn’t look like he either wanted to punch Hacksaw or pee his pants.
“Maddox’s after the rally point,” Widower called out to everyone.
“Good,” Rage called out to no one in particular. “Haven’t touched Maddox’s girls in a bit.”
I shook my head, “damn brother. You think with your dick all the fuckin’ time. One day you’re gonna either get shot, or you’re dick’s gonna fall off.”
“Then I’ll die happy that my dick got wet regardless,” he fired back.
“Crazy motherfucker.”
The feel of someone watching me crept over my body. I looked to see Tiny emerging with his piece trailing him a half-step behind. She didn’t quite meet anyone’s eyes, but she had glanced around before locking back on me.
She was taking us in.
Soft, she might be.
Stupid she was not.
She touched Tiny’s arm before he mounted his bike, he leaned down and said something low that only she could hear. She responded and his expression shifted. It was a fraction but enough to tell me there was something more there than a fuck.
I pulled my gloves on the familiar stretch of the leather over my knuckles felt like an awakening. The fatigue of a crying puppy gone and in its place the freedom to ride giving me life.
“We ride in groups of five all different routes. Keep it tight, keep it fast. Everyone knows where to meet.”
One by one engines started up, the atmosphere filling with the growl of our machines. I slid my shades into place giving one last glance to Tiny’s new attraction. She stood on the edge of the lot, hands clasped in front of her like she was whispering a prayer as she watched him like he was a movie star.
Soft.
Too soft for our world. She was definitely hiding something.
If she stuck around, it was bound to come out.
It always did.
