Silver Bastard

Not only that, nobody bothered to stare at me, despite being rumpled and obviously well laid. They were too busy watching a couple of half-naked girls making out. That’s right—not one person cared what I’d just been doing out in the darkness. Felt liberating as hell.

Then I saw the food tables and hunger hit me. I was starving. Clearly I’d worked up an appetite.

“Let’s grab something to eat,” I said. “I think I interrupted your dinner earlier.”

“For the record, feel free to do that any time you want,” Puck told me. “I’ll die a happy man.”

“Melodramatic, much?”

He swatted my butt affectionately (I was sensing a pattern there) and we grabbed a couple of paper plates, filling them. Then we found a spot to sit at another table, one closer to the fire.

“Puck,” a man said. “Tell us about your girl.”

The brothers who looked almost like twins, Demon and Deep, came to sit facing us across the table. I’d seen them around town and served them before, but we’d never really talked.

“You know Becca,” Puck said. “Works at the Moose, remember?”

“Hey,” I said, hoping I didn’t have anything disgusting in my teeth.

“Heard you had a run-in the other night,” Demon said. “You doin’ okay?”

Run-in? Oh yeah, the handsy student. Ugh.

“It wasn’t a big deal,” I replied. “One of the assholes from the academy tried to cop a feel. I took care of him.”

The memory of him screaming and rolling on the floor brought a smile to my face. Puck gave a frustrated snarl, and Deep burst out laughing.

“Darcy said she nearly took his balls off,” he said. “You’d best hold yours tight, Puck. Hate for you to have an unfortunate accident.”

“Fuckin’ hysterical, both of you. Seriously, that guy ever shows his face there again, you call me. I’ll kill him.”

Puck wasn’t joking.

“Teresa kicked him out permanently,” I said. “Even if she hadn’t, I don’t think I’d have to worry. There was another kid there—he has dark hair. I think you’ve met him.” Puck stiffened. “He seemed pretty pissed off about it. He even apologized for his friend’s behavior. To Darcy. Isn’t that interesting?”

“Fascinating,” Puck growled.

“Good thing your woman had someone there to protect her,” Deep said companionably. “But don’t worry—she’ll be okay. Probably. The Moose might be rough, and the guys who come in there like to fight, but . . . Nope, it’s just like that. You got a gun, Becca?”

“Fuck off,” Puck said, standing abruptly. “Becca, you want another drink?”

“Yeah,” I said, wondering if I’d get in trouble for kicking Deep under the table. Might be worth it.

“I’ll be right back,” Puck said. “Deep and Demon will make sure you’re fine out here, won’t they?”

Demon nodded, smirking as Puck walked away.

“You scared him off,” I accused.

“Yup,” Deep said. “Wanted to ask you about Carlie.”

I shook my head. “I don’t have anything to tell you.”

“You know she used to fuck him, right?”

“This isn’t a conversation I need to have.”

“I think you do,” he replied, “Because I hear you’re BFFs now, and that’s weird. Girls don’t do that. What the fuck is going on?”

Was this really happening? I’d forgotten how fast gossip spreads in clubs . . . and since when did bikers call people BFFs? Common wisdom said it was women who liked to talk, but it’d been my experience that the guys were even worse.

Case in point.

“Is it so odd that two women would exchange a friendly hug?”

“Yes, especially when one of them’s fucking the guy the other one used to fuck.”

“Why do you care?”

“Carlie is mine. I want to figure out what’s in her head. Maybe you can tell me.”

That stopped me, and I frowned.

“What?” I asked.

“She’s mine.”

“But she was sleeping with Puck.”

“I’ve banged half the women here tonight, even some of the old ladies. Doesn’t change the fact that Carlie’s mine. I want to know if she’s over Puck. What did she say to you?”

This was possibly the strangest conversation I’d ever had. I knew one thing for sure, though. Sharing what Carlie had said to me violated the Code.

“She just wanted to say hello.”

Deep stared at me and I stared back, neither of us blinking. That’s when Demon started laughing. “You’re fucked, bro. Get over it.”

The moment broke and I decided to focus very carefully on my sandwich. This discussion needed to end. Fortunately, another man came and sat at the table, joining the brothers. He didn’t bother talking to me, which was fine. Those potato chips weren’t going to eat themselves. I needed to focus.

“You hear the news?” the new guy asked.

“What’s that?”

“Bozeman chapter—president’s old lady kicked him out. Caught him screwing around on her.”

“She’s a bitch,” Demon said. “Always has been. He’s better off without her. Not sure why they were still together anyway.”

“Money,” Deep chimed in. “You know her family’s loaded, right? He shoulda left a long time ago—she’s been trying to lock his balls up for years. Man can’t live that way.”