Page 28 of The Professor
After a barrage of backslapping and grunts, I was surrounded by huge guys who smelled of tobacco, leather, and petrol.
“Who’s the pretty?”
“This your secret girl?” A tall guy with long dark hair and a star tattoo on his right cheek peered at me.
Vince laughed. “No, that’s Chelsea, my little sister. Keep your dirty paws off and your mind out of the gutter.”
Star tattoo guy snapped back, hands aloft. “Ah, I see, off fucking limits.”
“So off limits, consider she’s your own damn sister.” Vince huffed and caught my arm. “Haven’t you got to be somewhere?”
“Why? You want me out of the house so your mates can mess it up?”
He scowled. “No. Why would I do that?”
“To get at Dad?” I shrugged. “’Cause they need cash and you’re their new credit card.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “One, I wouldn’t mess this place up because it’s your home, too, it’s where you live and I like you being here, safe. And two, they don’t need my cash, they’ve got their own lines of revenue.”
“So why are they here?”
“They need a place to crash for a few hours, they’ve just driven two hundred miles.”
I tipped my head, not quite believing him.
“And I told you, they’re gonna help me go through what I know about Dad and that night.”
“So I should stay, if you’re talking about my mum and my dad.”
“No.” He held my shoulders. “It’s not nice.”
“But I want to help get to the bottom of what happened.” Did I, though? Because that would mean there was a chance my mother could have been saved and that my father was a killer.
“If Dad arrives home it would be for the best if you’re not here,” Vince said. “Trust me.”
I swallowed, my throat dry. I was torn between wanting to stay and wanting to go to the Professor’s afternoon lecture. I wanted to sit in the shadows, touch myself, and remember him fucking me from behind. I was sure I’d come the moment I saw him, the moment he started speaking, I was still so turned on by the knowledge he’d been inside me.
“Chelsea?” Vince frowned.
“What…er…yes, you’re right. I have got to get to uni. I’ll see you later.”
“I doubt it, I’ll be gone by the time you get back.”
“Gone? For another year?”
“No, not for that long. I promise.”
I threw my arms around his neck and pressed in close. “Be careful, it’s not Dad I don’t trust it’s that Marl Johnson. If he thinks you’ve got something on him, he might get nasty.”
Vince laughed and pulled back. “He can try, but he’ll have to get through this lot first, my new brothers.”
The bikers were making themselves at home. Pouring coffee, rooting in the fridge, helping themselves to the cookies Tina had made that morning.
“I guess,” I said and reached for my tote bag. “But still, be careful, and don’t make a mess, that’s not fair on Tina.”
Vince smiled suddenly, the first I’d seen from him. “We won’t, and I’ll go check on her now.”
“Good idea, she’s hiding in the laundry room.”
