Page 25 of Zeke

The end of the day rolls around much faster than usual, and I attribute that to Julia. Downtime is typically spent cleaning alone or playing on my phone, but with Julia, I have someone to talk to while I work and when we have absolutely nothing to do during the day, which makes it go by so much faster.

“See you on your next shift,” I say to Julia as she mounts her bike in the lot. It roars to life, and the headlight comes on, blinding me for a second. I walk up the stairs outside the bakery to my apartment, which sits on the second floor, and nearly trip over the box at the top.

I don’t see well in the dim light of the streetlamp behind me. When I pick it up, I see it’s a long cardboard box with an ornate bow on it. I lift the lid off and gasp. Inside are a dozen pure white roses. The smell immediately escapes, and I deeply inhale the beautiful scent. I pull them out, searching the box for a note of any kind, but whoever left them—Eli or Zeke, I have no idea—either forgot to put a note in or omitted one deliberately.

I bring them inside and put them into a vase, which I place on my nightstand. I lie in bed for a while, staring at them, knowing they are a token of someone’s affection for me, physical proof someone cares about me and wants me enough to do something so generous and special.

I flip over onto my back, thinking about Eli and Zeke.Let the games begin.

CHAPTERTWELVE

Eli

Fucking asshole.

I watch Zeke in the bakery through the window from across the street. Neither he nor Kira notice me pull up, but I notice them. I see it all, every little interaction. Including the moment when Kira beds down to kiss him on the cheek.

I can’t believe he got here first. I wasn’t that far behind him, but I was too slow. I’m left outside, waiting for him to leave. Why, though? So I can go in right after him? So I can profess my love and win Kira like that? So I can say way too much because I’m furious and nervous and bound to make a fool of myself?

No chance.

I rev my engine and pull away from the bakery parking lot before Zeke can leave, not wanting to watch any longer. Two can play this game, and I intend to. I’m not going to follow his little performance with mine, though I’m way more sincere in my affections than he is, no matter what he says.

After nearly hitting a car in the lot, I head out of town. Eden said no riding alone, but she won’t take her own advice. If she had, we wouldn’t have Bastard, since she was out on her own when she found him. I feel only the smallest hint of guilt as I tear ass out of the little town and onto the highway.

I don’t go far before I pull off the road onto the same stretch of winding road where Eden found the dog. Jacoby is a tough road to ride at high speeds, with curves that turn you more than one hundred and eighty degrees in places. You need to be a skilled biker before you even try it, but if you master it, you can do pretty much any flat road, no matter how winding it is.

Zeke and I used to come here and go as fast as we could, each trying to top the other. I remember Zeke once took a sharp turn too fast and wiped out. Helmet was the only thing that saved his life. He broke one arm and a couple of ribs. Charge barely got him patched up once I managed to get him back to the house. He nearly had to go to the hospital because he’d overestimated himself and was injured.

I’d be damned if he wasn’t doing the same thing right now, with Kira.

As I take each curve at dangerously fast speeds, I think about how Zeke always falls in love but never lasts past an orgasm or two. He’s a sucker for a new girl every night but gets bored the minute he gets what he wants. If he does that to Kira…

I will be the road he crashes into. I will be the blunt force that knocks his ass out.

I make it to the end of the road, winding and weaving, without wiping out. I sit there, sweat dripping from my head. It’s hot, but it’s as much from the physical and mental attention I had to pay to riding around those turns. I take the way back a bit slower, the rush no longer there as the adrenaline fades from my system. My rage has cooled enough for me to look at the problem logically.

Zeke and I have never fought over a girl before. I can’t figure out why he is so intent on scoring with this girl. It will come to a battle of wills and prowess, and, I think he has a better shot at winning than I do. And what happens then? What happens when he breaks the heart of a girl I really care about because he can’t commit to more than one night, two at the most?

There has to be a way for me to show her I’m the right choice. I wrack my brain, but nothing comes. That’s okay for now. Sometimes I get my best ideas when I’m not thinking about the problem.

Night is falling by the time I get back to the farmhouse. I can probably sneak inside and no one will know I was out alone against Eden’s orders. That’s what I think until I see Eden standing on the porch, right outside the door.

Shit.

“Have a good ride?” she asks in a dangerous voice.

“Not too bad,” I say, trying to sound nonchalant and failing. She knows I’ve been out alone, ready to call me out on it.

“Good,” she says, though her face shows that she thinks my little stunt was anythingbutgood. “Then you should be good and relaxed for Church.”

“Church?” I ask. If she was waiting out here for me, the reason for calling Church probably isn’t a celebration. Not that it usually is. I could count on one hand the number of times it had been for a good reason.

“Yes, Church,” Eden says sarcastically. “Big meeting where the Prez and VP get and give information to the club. Maybe you’ve heard of it?”

“Once or twice, maybe,” I say, trying to alleviate the tension between us.

It’s obvious how much itdoesn’twork. She glares at me, then says, “Get inside.” She turns and walks into the house, leaving me alone in the porchlight.

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