Page 8 of Point of Infinity
“That the only way to hurt each other is to hurt each other, but it never ends. It doesn’t solve the actual problem.” Patrick shrugged. “It doesn’t get us closer to where we need to be.”
“You mean where you want to be.” He patted Patrick on his right cheek. He flinched but played it off. “Listen, son, the club will be yours when I’m dead, but you know what?”
Sonny spun the same bottle cap. It traveled across the table and settled in front of Patrick. Before he could react, Sonny slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and got in Patrick’s face. “I’m not fucking dead yet.”
The room erupted in cheers. Sonny stepped onto the vinyl seat and up onto the table before jumping down into the middle of the diner.
“Get your best costumes on, my friends, because on Saturday night, we are going to fuck stuff up, and it’s best you do not looklike yourselves.” Sonny cackled, grabbed a beer, and chugged it. He blew a spray of beer across the diners, dousing his adoring fans. The crowd went wild.
He was like a king, like a god. These men worshipped him. Every last sick and disgusting one of them. All except Patrick and Reid. They didn’t take part in the revelry. They sat back, heads together, whispering.
I approached their table to clear it.
“Hey.” Sonny turned his attention to me.
Reid pulled me onto his knee and wrapped a hand around my waist.
“You bring the pretty lady to the party?” Sonny pointed.
I attempted to move, but Reid tightened his grip.
“Yeah, bring her.” Sonny chuckled. “Give the place some class.” He took another sip of someone else’s beer, but thankfully, he swallowed it.
“Let’s go, boys.” He pointed to Patrick. “Come on, son. You ride up front with me. Reid might need a minute or three.” He sneered, wiped his mouth, and stumbled outside. With any luck, he’d pull out onto the highway and get hit by a bus.
Patrick stood up from his seat and leaped over the booth with the agility of a cat. He turned and gripped the red vinyl booth. “See you back home.” He nodded but stopped and stared.
“What?” I wiped a stray hair out of my eyes.
“Nothing.” He pushed his own hair out of his face. “You look familiar.” He didn’t wait for me to respond. He winked and followed his father out into the dark Pennsylvania night. The other guys followed.
The silence in the empty diner was short-lived as biker after biker jump-started their bikes. It sounded like a freight train rolling outside the windows. In a few minutes, the noise faded into welcome silence.
“You can let go now.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” He loosened his grip and helped me stand. I missed his touch already. He was so fucking beautiful, it would be a waste when I had to ruin him, too. I scooted behind the counter. “What exactly are you sorry for?” I needed to put some distance between myself and those haunting gray eyes.
“Shouldn’t I be sorry?” He slid onto a counter seat.
“No, you should but just wanted to know if you knew why.” I wiped the counter. “If you even had a remote clue.” The stained counter was as clean as it was going to be. I kept wiping the counter, anything to distract myself. My right hand slipped into my apron—empty. The knife was gone again. My eyes snapped to him. Fucking pickpocket.
Reid tossed the knife onto the counter. I grabbed it and slid my finger down the edge. It wasn’t sharp, but with some effort, I could plunge it into . . .
He placed his hand on mine.
“Hey.” I pulled back. “I think you’ve manhandled me enough for one day.”
“Manhandled.” He smirked.
“Yes.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “One of many things you should apologize for. Didn’t your father teach you not to touch a woman without permission?”
He shrugged.
“Or maybe consent isn’t a concept you’re familiar with.” I turned my back to him and occupied my hands with straightening the coffee cups on the shelf. “Again, something your father must have forgotten.”
“Well, he was killed when I was a kid, so yeah, probably didn’t work those two conversations in before he died.”
I spun around on my heels and captured his gaze for a second before he averted his eyes. His bright eyes turned dull and dead. It lasted a second.
