“Got something over here I think you’ll appreciate.” Sparky whipped a drop cloth off a bike in the corner and grinned.
Arianne gasped. “That’s not—”
“My secret project. A Ducati 1098S. One of the fastest motorcycles in the world and manufactured only from 2007 to 2009. This one crashed in the Superbike World Championship in 2008, and the owner wanted to offload it for cheap. Didn’t take long to replace and fix up the fairing, but the engine is still running rough. It’s supposed to be able to do zero to sixty miles per hour in under three seconds and hit a top speed of a hundred eighty miles per hour, but I haven’t been able to get it anywhere near that.”
Arianne crouched beside the bike. “They have a few known problems like stalling on idle and leaking gaskets. And did you check the gas tank? The plastic one leaked ethanol, and the replacement is covered under warranty.”
Sparky grinned. “Feel free to tinker with it if you want a break from your Ninja. I’ll take it up to the work bay.“
Sparky’s shop was clearly the hub for club-related gossip, and over the course of the afternoon, at least a dozen bikers came in ostensibly to chat about mechanical problems, but for the most part to catch up on what was going on. No one seemed to notice Arianne in her coveralls, fixing up her Ninja in the corner.
So she heard about the two sweet butts Bandit took up to his room and how disappointed he was to find out they weren’t sisters after all. And that Axle had been getting it on with Gunner’s old lady before he’d been kicked out of the club. And how Cole’s funeral had been especially heartbreaking because, save for the brothers, he had no one to mourn his death.
Tank reported that Dex, the reclusive club torturer, had sneaked some weed into a party the other night but was caught by Zane. No one had seen Dex since. Did anyone try the weed? T-Rex had, and it was good-quality stuff. He thought Zane had kept it to smoke in his room.
A heated discussion ensued about whether Zane was the kind of guy to smoke weed. They concluded that a guy as reserved as Zane wouldn’t smoke weed, and how much did anyone really know about him aside from the fact he was Jagger’s best friend? Bandit and Wheels didn’t trust him. T-Rex wondered what it would be like to be Jagger’s best friend and whether it would be fun. Bandit didn’t think so. After all, Jagger rarely smiled or relaxed. Show of hands, anyone who had ever seen Jagger drunk or stoned. No hands went up. What about getting it on with the sweet butts during a party? Still no hands. Dancing or kicking back? Nope. Definitely not fun to be his friend.
Arianne dipped her head to hide her smile. She couldn’t imagine Jagger losing control, either through drugs or alcohol or even letting loose at a party. She’d never met anyone as self-contained. What would Jagger think if he knew they were gossiping about him like this? He’d probably think it was a good thing no one thought he’d be a fun friend. Leadership was lonely, as Viper had told her on numerous occasions. A leader couldn’t afford to be a friend, because someone close enough to know your mind was also close enough to stab you in the heart. Deep concepts for a ten-year-old girl to hear, but even then she’d gotten the message.
Getting serious now, Tank needed some advice. He’d met a girl. Not his usual type: college grad, rich parents, fancy clothes. But he thought she was sweet. Did she want him because he was a badass dangerous biker or did she just want him for his body? Sparky threw an empty soda can at his head and told him he was the least dangerous biker he’d ever met, and had the personality of a wet fish, so she must have been after his chunky, unwashed body. Wheels suggested he get a girl’s advice. Why not ask Arianne?
Suddenly under scrutiny, Arianne froze, a piece of broken fairing in her hand. “What do you want to know?”
Tank stroked his chin. “What do women go for: body, brains, or biker?”
Arianne glared at Wheels for dragging her into the discussion and then said, “Confidence.”
Confidence? No one understood. Arianne was asked to come out from behind the bike and explain herself. After several failed attempts, she lost her patience. She told them she’d meant women always checked out the package. The bigger, the better. Jill, who had come on Tank’s bike, agreed. Much package checking and comparison ensued. Bandit told Tank he might as well forget about ever getting laid for the rest of his life. Tank took offense and punched Bandit in the nose. Sparky pointed to the door and told them to take it outside. His eyes widened. Everyone turned around.
Arianne’s heart skipped a beat when she saw Jagger in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb as if he’d been there for a long time.
He surveyed the room, his gaze stopping at each of the miscreants now terrified into silence. “I thought we had a clubhouse to rebuild, businesses to run, and contracts to fulfill.”
The room sobered in an instant.