Page 8 of Bound By Temptation

“Just came to get my family some donuts and coffee and support our local businesses.” I set the boxes down on the seat and turned to Marley, the look of disgust on his face.

“Right, just keep it that way. She doesn’t want you. Don’t forget it.”

Before I could say anything or punch him in the face, he turned and walked back into the store.

Motherfucker.

Slamming the door, I went around to the driver’s side, jumping in and turning over the engine.

Nothing Marley said was a lie. Didn’t mean I had to like that shit. It was well over time to let it go. To let her go.

When she left Sumner immediately after graduating, those ties should’ve been cut then. But they weren’t. It was as if they followed her everywhere she went, connecting us. And when she came back to town, it was a kick in the gut because those ties were only reinforced.

Seeing her everyday made them tighter. I was so fucked when it came to Indie.

Sure, I could go out and fuck any woman. But Indie, she was the only one I’d ever truly loved. The only one who meant something when we had sex. The only one I’d wanted to call mine, but life got in the way.

“Fuck me,” I grumbled, shaking my head and unable to clear my thoughts of her. She was always there. Always lurking.

Driving to my folks’ place didn’t take long, and I pulled into the driveway and killed the engine. Sucking in a deep breath, I pushed all the thoughts of Indie down and prepared for this not so fun conversation ahead of me.

My father tended to blow up at the mention of Nick because of the shit he pulled in the past. No, not just the Princess thing. There was a huge list of his indiscretions that my father could recite by memory. Which now that I thought about it was probably another reason Nick contacted Raid instead.

Raid wanted me to come and take some of the heat my father had to dish. Not a problem. Plus, I had those kickass lemon bars. No one could resist those. It’d be fine.

My brother pulled up behind me on his Harley just in the nick of time to help me carry in shit.

I hopped out of the SUV as Raid swung his leg off the bike. “Where’s your bike?” he asked, knowing I’d rather be on my bike than any four-walled vehicle.

He started pulling things from his saddlebags. Stacks of papers and folders, no doubt still investigating Nick’s shit. Lord knew what he found now, but from the look on his serious face, it wouldn’t be great.

“Clubhouse. Got some shit to hopefully ease Dad enough so that he doesn’t blow the fuckin’ roof off the house and piss Mom off. Get over here and help.” I nodded to the passenger side door.

Meeting with parents could go good. Or extremely bad. Depended on the day. And with this topic, there weren’t many positives.

A wide smile came across Raid’s face.

“What?”

He nodded to the boxes with the bakery logo on it. “You’re sure a fuckin’ glutton for punishment.”

I looked down at the box then back up at my brother. “Shut the fuck up.”

He laughed full-out and carried the coffee holder while I grabbed the large boxes. Of course Raid knew everything.

The sound of a motorcycle coming from around the corner had our attention as we turned to it. My gut tightened as Uncle Breaker and Aunt Shaina pulled into the drive.

“Fuck me. Dad knows it’s Nick,” I concluded with their arrival.

Raid nodded. “Yep. Reinforcements.”

“He probably already knows everything,” I said as Raid shook his head.

“Doubt that…”

The hairs on my arm stood to attention. “Maybe we should call the fire department and let them know there’s about to be an explosion.”

Raid shook his head with a small smile as we moved toward the door.

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