Lay It Down: Bastards MC Series Boxed Set (25 page)

“I’m surprised you two don’t have a mini gym. There doesn’t happen to be one in the basement, does there?” I asked hopefully.

“Nope. Rob hates to exercise.” Matty, wearing nothing but a pair of running shorts hanging dangerously low, strutted across the room toward me.

I stared, still half shocked every time I saw his colorful torso.

“Besides, it’s dark and creepy down there. It’s like the dungeon’s dungeon. We’ve a ton of underground parking though, ‘cause coming home in the middle of the night and walkin’ through Dracula’s crypt is exactly what every sane person wants to do.” Matty laughed, adding, “Good morning, beautiful!” in a hushed tone before he leaned in to kiss me. “I missed you when I woke up.”

Turning back to his friend, he asked if Rob had closed the hot tub. Rob, on his way out of the room, paused long enough to give me a wink while assuring Matty he had. Seeing my glare as realization dawned on me, he laughed and walked away.

“How’d Rob know we weren’t upstairs?”

Matty took the seat beside me and shrugged. “I texted him.”

Oh, my god. We had kept him awake! Ugh.

Matty gave me a weird look as he reached for my coffee. “Wanna go for a run? Or maybe we could get a different workout in?”

I grinned at him. Did he even have to ask?

The day flew by. Matty and I laughed our way through all of Boston’s tourist traps. I realized just how much I missed my kids when we breezed through the aquarium on our way to Faneuil Hall Marketplace. I found a quiet spot and called them just to hear their voices. They were still having a blast but missed me, a fact that made me sad.

Matty bought me a chowder bowl for lunch, just to cheer me up, even though he thought eating chowder in late summer went against nature. He did give in and have a few bites, but only after I begged him to share. I was feeling much better when we got back to the apartment later in the afternoon.

“Well, look who the cat finally dragged back home,” a lazy voice drawled at us as soon as we were off the elevator.

I’d barely taken two steps into the foyer when her arms wrapped around me, pulling me into a tight embrace. Crissia was the last person on earth I’d expected to hug me. Matty’s little sister and I had always been friendly, but she wasn’t the touchy-feely type. Unless it was with her brother, whom she was clinging to now. I shook my head, noticing once again how much they looked alike.

Crissia—pronounced Ca-riss-ah as Matty had told me before I met her—wasn’t as tall as her brother, but at 5’9”, she towered over me. She had his Greek God looks: dark curly brown hair, bright blue eyes, sharp cheekbones, and kissable lips that all too often twisted into the same cynical smirk and panty-dropping grin—or in her case, the boxer-dropping smile. She didn’t have the runner’s body, but a thicker, more pronounced, kickboxer version. There was no denying the two of them were siblings.

He laughed, hugging her back. They exchanged colorful sibling banter before she pulled me downstairs. We were going out with Matty’s friends, and she had come over early to make sure I looked the part—seeing the clothes and makeup she’d laid all over Matty’s bed made me wonder what exactly that part was though. It looked as if she had cleaned out Marilyn Manson’s closet.

“Spill!”

I turned from the leather mini-skirt I was eyeing suspiciously.

Cris smiled and demanded, “How in the hell did you get him away from the sea witch?”

I laughed. “We should totally call her Ursula from now on.” It was fitting. I sighed. “I didn’t. Not really. We just…” I stopped, staring at her. How could I explain what happened? “We got drunk and slept together.”

She laughed. Hysterically. When she finally composed herself, she gave me a giant smile. “How’d she take that?”

I shook my head. Huh. I didn’t know.

“If I’da known that was all it would take, I woulda got you two drunk years ago. Jesus, watchin’ him mope over you for the last ten yeahs was enough to sweah me off love for good.”

I chuckled. “Matty never moped over me, silly, and ten years ago he was with Becky. But thanks for the thought.”

She gave me a pointed look. “Ugh, yeah, I know he was with Bex. But he was in love with you before that. Not that he’d change anythin’, ‘cause he’s got Sammy. Wait, did he really not tell you?” She moved over the piles of clothes and sat on the bed, crossing her legs in front of her. “You really didn’t know? Hmm.” She pursed her lips and tipped her head the same way her brother did when trying to figure out something perplexing. “We gotta get ready, or the boys’ll leave without us.” She grabbed the little skirt, holding it out to me. “Go change."

22

“Would you stop fidgetin’ already? You look great!”

I glared into the giant mirror, giving Cris the evil eye. She ignored me, smacking her deep red lips together and playing with her hair.

I didn’t feel like I looked great. I felt like a prostitute—and not even an expensive one. I eyed my outfit again. Cris hadn’t backed down from the leather mini idea until I’d insisted I wasn’t leaving unless I was wearing jeans. She’d brought me skin-tight jeans with the knees, upper thighs, and the bottoms of the ass shredded—they were nothing like my comfy denim. They were too tight and too long, but she insisted they were perfect. Cris had paired them with a skimpy bright pink flyaway tank, dangly hoop earrings, two chunky black bracelets, and peep-toe hot-pink-and-black stilettos that were so tall I could barely walk in them.

If my ensemble wasn’t enough by itself, my makeup screamed, “I charge by the hour!” My cheekbones were defined, eyes heavily painted, lips glossed to shine, and pink streaks were scattered in my hair. Matty had taken one look at me and informed the group that he and I were going to stay home. His sister had pouted, so he recanted, but he had made me promise not to take the highlights out until tomorrow. Apparently pink hair made him horny.

Cris, on the other hand, looked like a model in her leather pants, black skirted corset with a chiffon-covered sweetheart bustline, and spike-heeled, leather-buckle ankle boots. Nothing about the outfit seemed out of place on her, and she acted comfortable. It made me wonder if she dressed like this all the time. The boys didn’t look bad either. They were all dressed normally in black or blue jeans, boots, and T-shirts. But the jackets set them apart.

I’d laughed when I’d seen the back of Matty’s. “The Bastards—Boston?”

The Bastards, M.C. was in large red print arched across the shoulder blades. Boston was much smaller, in the middle of the bottom. Taking up the majority of the back was a silver figure that I couldn’t place; it held two blood-red swords, as if ready to strike.

“What, are you in a bike gang?” I laughed, finding the whole concept highly amusing.

Rocker stopped moving suddenly, looking from Matty to me as if trying to figure something out.

“Yeah, something like that,” was all Matty said before grabbing my hand.

I’d seen that
Wild Hogs
movie, and the fact that my boyfriend was a weekend warrior with a silly name was cute.

“Jo?” Crissia’s voice brought me back to the present. “The boys will be panicking if we don’t go out soon.”

“How are you not sweating your ass off? It’s, like, forty billion degrees in here!” I fanned a hand in front of my face.

She shrugged. “You get used to it.”

Yeah, I was pretty sure I’d never get used to clubbing. Period.

The last few hours had been a blast—dinner with Matty, Cris, Rob, and the boys at Cheers! followed by drinks at a little biker bar. After the bar closed, Cris convinced the boys to go dancing with us—safety in numbers. She said it would be fun to come here. Rocker had been hesitant but finally gave in, and we’d walked back to the apartment and gotten the bikes.

There weren’t a lot of us—nine of us on seven motorcycles—but hearing their bikes roar to life and seeing them all in a group, I was impressed. I would definitely be intimidated by this group. They looked rough and mean. Until you heard their playful banter.

When we’d pulled into the club lot, I understood Rocker’s reluctance. The old warehouse was huge. With the amount of people—mostly men—coming in and out, the bass-heavy music drifting through the windows and doors, and the lights reflecting on the tar, I knew I would never come here alone. As we headed toward the doors, I noticed the worry etched on Rocker’s face and the stiffness in his movements. He really didn’t want to be there. Tiny, apparently on the same page, had straightened up to his full height and wore an expression that dared someone to mess with him.

Cris, oblivious, headed straight to the front of the line, leaving us no choice but to follow. The bouncer looked at Rocker and the boys and nodded, opening the door. As we stepped through, the bouncer gave me a once-over and winked. Rocker stopped and glared. Matty was exactly the opposite, and he laughed and slapped my ass.

“Jo!” Cris was next to me, staring at me in the mirror, and looking very annoyed. “You look great, really. Can we go dance now?”

As soon as we left the bathroom, I spotted Rocker leaning against the wall in front of the stairs. A woman was flirting with him, but when he saw me, he smiled and stepped away from her.

Cris turned to give me an
“I told you so”
look. She stopped in front of him. “Did my brother send you, or are you so fuckin’ paranoid that we can’t go to the bathroom alone?”

She had to yell to be heard over the music, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was some history between the two that I was missing.

Rocker shook his head, eyes narrowing slightly. “I had to piss, so I waited.” His jaw clenched, and I could see him trying to work through his irritation.

“Stalked, is more like it.” She shook her head and flounced down the steps.

I gave him a small smile and followed her. Matty didn’t look concerned at all. He was deep in conversation with Sean and Dean, the three of them laughing. Tiny stood so I could slide around him into the chair next to my boy. Matty handed me a new drink as I sat, offering me a wink. I half listened to the conversation as I looked around the table. All of them had a patch on their lapel that said 1%. I had no idea what it meant, but the jackets were pretty cool, and I felt as though people avoided us when they saw them, giving us more privacy. Privacy in a place this crowded was nice.

Cris and Rob were talking in hushed tones, and although I couldn’t hear what the words were, it was obvious that they were arguing.

Suddenly, she leaned over Tiny, clearly aggravated. “I’m bored. Come dance?”

I smiled at Matty and nodded at his sister. She hurried over Rob, not even waiting for him to move and ignoring him when he tried to talk to her.

He stood to give me room but grabbed my wrist, gently leaning into my ear. “If you need us, we’re right here.”

I smiled up at him and pulled his ear toward me. “You don’t look like you’re having fun. Come dance with us?”

He chuckled, shaking his head, and let me go.

Rocker did end up on the dance floor a few times. The first was after a couple of guys moved in to dance with us. They weren’t being obnoxious, just two friends having a good time. I laughed as one grabbed my waist, pulling me into him.

Seconds later, Rocker and Matty appeared, forcing the duo away. We danced to “Blurred Lines,” but Matty’s hands running all over my body made me forget where we were, and I turned, needing to kiss him. We stopped in the middle of the floor, people all around us, and had an impromptu make-out session. It was amazing, and I wanted to find a quiet place and do a lot more than kiss. That was, until Cris made a disgusted noise and pulled me farther into the crowd.

Five or six songs later, Rocker and Hawk brought us water and stayed for a dance. I laughed as they awkwardly danced off the floor—Matty’s friends were funny and very likeable, once they’d decided to stop hating me.

I didn’t know how long we’d been dancing—my feet were killing me and it felt as if we’d been there for hours—when Cris stopped suddenly and swore. When she marched off the floor with a scowl on her face, I had no choice but to follow.

She stopped in front of a Latino man and shoved both hands into his chest. “What the fuck are you doin’ here, Carlos?”

He looked annoyed and let go of the blonde he was holding. Taking a step toward Cris, he gave her a smile that made me shiver. “Celebratin.’ Didn’t anyone tell you?” He spread his arms wide. “I’m out, baby.”

Rage crossed her features. “Who in the fuck did you pay off?”

He shook his head. “No need to pay anyone, Chrissy-ya. The charges were dropped.” He smiled again. “No one to testify.”

Cris started to shake. I couldn’t tell if she was pissed or terrified. I looked over my shoulder, hoping to see black jackets headed our way. I wanted to go get Rocker, but I couldn’t leave her alone.

“What did you do to her?”

Carlos shrugged. “She knows you’re just trying to come between us. That I made a mistake and no matter what, I love her and our family is the most important thing.”