Page 5 of Drift
The Redline Kings weren’t just a group of guys who rode motorcycles and wore matching leather vests. We were a brotherhood built on loyalty, honor, and trust. We lived by a code and had our own brand of justice. We were chosen family. My only family.
I stared at the carpet, listening to the faint hum of the AC filling the silence. The metal lighter snapped shut in my hand.
Jax had once told me that he didn’t want Alanna to be touched by this life. She was family, and we would protect her, but he thought she was too soft and innocent to be a part of our world. He was afraid it would tarnish or break her.
But that wasn’t the real problem. He didn’t need to worry about the world; he needed to worry about me.
Feeling restless, I stood and crossed to the window. The parking lot below glowed under the floodlights. Several bikes gleamed beside mine. Beyond the fence, the road stretched dark toward the coast.
The need to ride tugged hard. The road always brought me peace. But it was temporary because eventually, I’d have to return. Sometimes it was more like the quiet before the next storm.
However, I hadn’t let it sweep me away since I’d freed myself from hell. I was always in control. You lose it once; it could cost you something permanent.
But here I was, right on the line now.
Every image of her—the way her hair had brushed her shoulders, how she’d looked at me when she thought I wasn’t watching, the warmth of her body against mine when she hugged me—was gasoline poured over the kindling I’d been sitting on since that wedding.
I wanted to believe it would fade. That the obsession would burn itself out.
Needed to believe that this was something else. That it wasn’t raw and wrong and…fucking inevitable.
I’d seen men lose everything because they couldn’t draw the line. I’d helped bury some of them.
But standing there in the dark, replaying the way her voice had wrapped around my name, I knew I’d already put a toe across it.
I wasn’t even sure there was a fucking line left to hold.
3
ALANNA
“We’re wasting time doing this online.” My research partner’s voice was tight with impatience. “If we met at the café, I could fix the formatting while you read citations out loud. Multitasking at its best.”
We’d studied at The Drift Café a few times already, but I put the brakes on meeting in person when Ethan started to push to come over to my apartment instead. I’d only known him for a few weeks, but he’d already raised more than a few red flags. And even though my brother was on his honeymoon, I wouldn’t put it past him to still find out I’d let a guy I barely knew into my place. He had serious skills behind the keyboard, and plenty of club brothers who’d back him up by coming over here to kick Ethan out.
This actually checked the plus column for inviting him over. Because maybe Jaxton would send Chance—I meant Drift—to my apartment, and then he couldn’t avoid me. Except that would mean allowing my creepy study partner into my personal space, and I wasn’t quite that desperate. Not yet, anyway.
Forcing my gaze up to the screen to meet Ethan’s, I shook my head. “Sorry, but the café was so loud last time we were there. I didn’t want the added distraction today.”
“Which is why I should’ve just come over.”
I tucked one leg under me and ran my finger along the edge of my trackpad to give my hands something to do. “Like I already told you, I’m still getting settled. Boxes everywhere. It’s not exactly guest-friendly.”
He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “And like I said, I don’t mind a mess.”
“But I do.” I forced a smile. “And we’re losing even more time having this disagreement again.”
“Fine.” He huffed out a breath, his cursor reappearing on our shared document. “We were on the methods section.”
“Yes, your variable definitions look good, but the last paragraph implies causation. We should soften it to correlation.”
He blinked, then his eyes narrowed. “It doesn’t imply causation. It suggests potential causality pending replication, obviously.”
“Right.” I kept my tone light. “Which is why we should say it that way.”
Another sigh. “Word it however you want.”
The keys clicked under my fingers.
