Page 5 of Biker Boo
Maybe he’d stop pretending he doesn’t feel what I know he feels when he looks at me.
But when the door swings open, it’s not Legend standing there.
It’s her.
Or rather a girl who looks just like her.Yes, she’s identical to Sophie.Pride of Paradise, heiress to Paradise Falls.Legend’s long lost love.
I don’t even wait for this new girl to say anything.I just turn and walk.
Fast.
Like the road might open up and swallow me whole if I let it.
Legend catches up to me in the gravel lot.“Becki…”
“Don’t,” I snap, spinning on him.“Don’t say my name like that.Who’s this new girl?Another one?”
He flinches.“It’s not what you think.”
“It’s exactly what I think.”
“She was in danger… Hannah’s just passing through.We’re not getting a new bunny.”
“I was in danger too!I’ve been in danger since the day your daddy dragged me off that church floor, away from my daddy and made me one of his!”My voice cracks.“Where were you then, huh?Where were you when I needed saving?”
Legend doesn’t answer.His mouth presses into a hard, thin line.
I laugh.Ugly.Broken.
“Right,” I mutter.“Same place you’ve always been, wrapped around some other girl’s finger.”
“Look, Becki.You swore to me your relationship with my dad was legit.I had no reason not to think things weren’t over back then.Put yourself in my shoes.”
“What was I supposed to tell you?Tell you, Legendary Mike, your savior father was a piece of shit… I know, I know.You’ve said it a million times.There’s no future for us when our past is so fucked up.”I storm off, trying not to let him see the tears.
Trying not to let myself see the truth.
He’ll never choose me.
Not really.Not after all our history.Not after he caught me in his father’s bed.Doesn’t matter if I wanted to be there or not.Legend will never let me forget I broke his heart first.
Later that night, I end up behind Heck’s Kitchen, knees tucked under my chin, hiding behind a dumpster like some stray mutt.But I’m in good company.
The mayor of Hell, Mayor McCoy, the golden retriever mix who won our election thanks to write ins is cleaning up the area like a Hoover.Soon, he settles down next to me.My nerves are calming as I stroke his fur, only to be prickled again by a shadow looming.
I jump out of my skin.
“Figured I’d find you here,” a voice says, deep and smooth as good bourbon.
Royal.Of course.I don’t even look at him as I take a breath of relief.“Go away.”
He crouches down beside me anyway, resting his arms on his knees.“Can’t do that, pumpkin.I made a promise to myself a long time ago, don’t let the fire die if I can help it.”
I turn and glare at him.“I’m not some campfire you can poke.And you’re full of shit.”
He grins.“Usually.”
A silence settles between us, thick with old wounds and things we’ve never said.And we’ve always said too much stuff.Royal watches me like he always does, like he sees right through me, through the pretty and the poison and all the cracks in between.
