She twisted her hair around her finger and glared. “And then what? You’re going to go back to your biker life? How does that work? Gunfight in the morning; baseball in the afternoon? Lock Evie up in the kitchen so she doesn’t date men you don’t like?”
“I gotta figure it out.” He didn’t know what else to say, or what to do, his emotions still trying to play catch-up with his mind. He couldn’t think beyond the next hour, much less the future.
“Figure this out.” She poked him in the chest. “You can’t just walk into our lives and change everything you don’t like. Ty goes to school in this neighborhood. He has friends here. You want to buy him hundreds of toy motorcycles, but where will he put them? What kind of values does that teach him? I totally understand you want to make up for lost time. And I want you to spend time with him. But we need to talk about what’s best for him, and how we go about making this work. And part of that is you not telling me how to live my life. I’m going out tonight. With Viper. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Like fuck there wasn’t.
If that’s how she wanted to play it, he’d let her go.
But no way in hell was she going alone.
NINE
Don’t sweat it if you break something. You can always get another part.
—SINNER’S TRIBE MOTORCYCLE REPAIR MANUAL
Evie pulled open the heavy wooden door to the Riverside Bar and stepped inside, the warm air instantly thawing the chill from her skin. Too bad it couldn’t thaw her all the way through. How could she be here after what happened with Zane? She felt too raw, as if her deepest secrets had been exposed to the light.
And yet, how could she not be here? Zane had to understand that being part of Ty’s life didn’t mean he was part of her life. And there was no better way to drive that message home than to go through with her date as planned.
Still, her enthusiasm for meeting up with Viper had diminished over the course of the drive. Did she really want to keep seeing Viper when all she’d been able to think about over the last week was Zane? Especially since he was the rival of a member club.
She smoothed down her dress, wished she’d worn her jeans. Riverside was so not a dress-up bar. If she’d walked in any other night, she would have turned around and walked right out. Rough didn’t begin to describe the customers—mostly bikers, a few skinheads, shifty looking guys in shiny suit jackets—Zane would have a fit if he saw her here. He’d probably throw her over his shoulder and stalk out the door.
A smile teased the corner of her lips. Now wouldn’t that be hot in a totally primal kind of way.
The bar was bigger than it appeared from the outside, with a small stage in the far corner, and a sea of tables between the front door and the bar. Warm air, scented with yeast and the distinct tang of chicken wings, engulfed her as she made her way through the crowd looking for Viper.
“Nice to see you again, kitten.” He came up behind her, his voice a warm rumble in her ear. “You look lovely as always.” Viper’s warm hand slid around her middle and he pulled her into his chest, his lips brushing over her ear. “Good enough to eat.”
“I didn’t see you hiding in the shadows.” She looked back over her shoulder and Viper laughed.
“I live in the shadows. No one ever sees me coming.” He led her to a table in the back corner, guarded by four of the scariest bikers she’d ever seen. Clearly none of them had ever used a razor or had a haircut, judging from their full beards and long ponytails. But then who was going to complain given their height, the breadth of their shoulders, and their massively muscled chests and arms.
And yet, for all that Viper didn’t have their bulk, he was no less imposing. His arms were thick with ropey muscles and covered in colorful tattoos. His cut, worn and heavy with patches sat on broad shoulders and covered a barrel chest. He had trimmed his salt-and-pepper beard since she had last seen him, and tied his long hair in a ponytail. His broad face, weathered and scarred, was distinguished, rather than handsome, and he wore six rings on his fingers, the largest, a snake’s head with ruby eyes.
“My bodyguards.” Viper answered her silent question as he pulled out Evie’s chair.
“I think just one of them could take out everyone in the bar,” she whispered. “Much less four.”
“Actually there are six.” Viper winked as he sat beside her.
Evie toyed with the handle of her purse. “I didn’t know you were being threatened. You’ve never brought them before.”
“Circumstances have changed.” He covered her hand, drew it away from her purse, and slipped something into her palm.
“What’s this?” Evie stared at the key fob in her hand.
“You can’t ride around in that piece of junk you call a vehicle.” He slid his hand into her purse and fumbled around.
“Hey…”
“Your vehicle isn’t safe.” Viper pulled out her keys and tossed them to the nearest bodyguard who caught them neatly with one hand. “I bought you something new and worthy of a woman associated with the Black Jacks.”
“You bought me a car?” She stared at him in shock.