Honey Whiskey (A Bastards MC Novel) (5 page)

I looked at Rocker. He was staring
straight ahead at the building, his triangular face covered in
shadows, thick fingers tapping a soundless beat on the steering
wheel as if trying to work out some giant puzzle, and I knew that
he was thinking about his best friend. Rob was more loyal than
anyone I’d ever met and fear hit me suddenly. “Please don’t tell
him before I can.” The words were a whispered plea.

He didn’t look at me, but I could
see his bright white teeth working his bottom lip, as if he was
lost in deep thought. He shook his head. “I’m not telling him shit,
Joey! Not my business.” He snapped his head towards me then. “You
drivin’ down or takin’ the train?”

I started. That was the last thing
I expected him to ask. “Train. I’m staying with a friend tonight,
and she’s dropping me off in the morning. Cris is meting me down at
the station.”

“
Where aah you lookin’ for
apahtments?”

I shook my head. I actually didn’t
know. “Cris set them up. I guess one of her friends is a realtor,
and since I’m just looking to sublet for a while, she offered to
help. My budget is pretty small compared to what some people want
for rent, so we’ll see.” I sighed. “I also need to find a job, so
I’m dropping off a ton of applications.”

His eyes narrowed. “What about your kids?
You’re just gonna leave ‘em?”

I frowned at him for a minute
before I realized he didn’t know. “Oh! I assumed Matty would have
told you…sorry!” I offered him a small smile before explaining.
“Will, my ex, and I have joint custody and we agreed that it was
unfair to have the kids get uprooted. So, the kids live at the
house all the time, and Will and I alternate. We tried doing the
every other week thing, but it was just too much for everyone. Now
the first two weeks of every month belong to him, and the last two
weeks belong to me. If there is a five week month, I keep the kids
an extra few days, and then he moves in a couple days early.
Divorce sucks, but we want the kids to have as much stability as
they can. They shouldn’t be punished because Mommy and Daddy can’t
live together anymore.”

“
That’s…” he paused, glancing back
at the bar before meeting my gaze, “that’s a really great thing to
do for your kids. Most parents only worry about themselves aftah a
divorce.”

I nodded, knowing exactly what he was talking
about. “The only thing Will and I ever did right was those kids,
and we’re both pretty determined to make sure they don’t get hurt.
I’ve seen how hard it is for Sammy when he has to go home after
spending the weekend with Matty. I couldn’t imagine doing that to
my babies.”

Silence filled the cabin again as
Rocker seemed to lose himself in deep thought, but never took his
eyes off me. The steady stare made me nervous, and I turned to look
out my side window, watching people leave the building. Last call
was getting close, and I needed to go inside and find my friends,
but I couldn’t bring myself to open the door. I felt like there was
more to say.

Rocker cleared his throat, feeling the tension
in the air. “Come home with me.”

I jerked in surprise, hoping the
gasp I’d let escape wasn’t as loud as it sounded in my head. I
looked over my shoulder at him, sure my eyes were huge. “I’m sorry,
but I think I missed a step. I…uh, I’m not...” a slut. Someone that
would sleep with my ex’s best friend. Jesus, I know I hadn’t met
Matty’s friends under the best circumstances, and that most of them
thought I was a whore because I was still married at the time, but,
wow. These guys had a really shitty opinion of me.

“You didn’t,” Rocker interrupted
my thoughts, and I’m not sure if he realized where my mind had
gone. He tipped his head and looked at me. “The boys and I are
drivin’ home tonight. You can come with us. By the time you find
your friends and go get food, it’ll be time to catch the
Downeastah. It’s stupid to pay for a train when I’m drivin’
back.”

I slowly released the breath I’d
been holding, feeling like an idiot, but relieved at his
explanation. I thought about his offer for a few minutes, not sure
it was a good idea. Matty’s little sister had offered to let me
stay with her until I found my own place, but she wasn’t planning
on me arriving until the morning. I shook my head. “I’m not sure
I’ll be able to get Cris to meet me then… it’ll be early tomorrow
morning by the time we get down there. And, I don’t have any of my
stuff.”

I could just make out the frown on
his face in the parking lot lights. “Ya know that I have tons of
room, right? You can crash there for the night. We’ll stop and get
your shit on the way.” He seemed to sense my hesitation. “Joey,
Cris knows where I live. She can come get you there—aftah you’ve
had a decent night’s sleep.” He shut off the truck. “Go say goodbye
to your friends while I grab mine.”

He slammed the door behind him as
he got out. Apparently the discussion was over and the decision had
been made. It would be more convenient for me than riding down on
the Amtrak tomorrow. I just didn’t know how I was going to survive
a three-hour ride with Matty’s friends. Hopefully I’d fall asleep
quickly.

Rocker waited and followed me into
the building. As soon as we were inside, he headed towards the bar
in search of Hawk and God knew who else, while I stopped and
scanned the crowd. I found the girls quickly on the dance floor,
almost right where I’d left them. Mere only laughed and jumped up
and down excitedly when I told her I was bailing on breakfast and
heading home with Rob. I shook my head, denying her implications,
but she only smiled and winked, telling me to live it up, have a
little fun, and that it was time to break my dry streak. I was
slightly irritated as I turned and went in search of my ride. The
music suddenly quieted and the lights came on—last call was over. I
groaned, realizing we wouldn’t be back to the apartment before sun
up.

Rob wasn’t hard to spot. A man his
size was generally given a wide berth. He was leaning against the
bar talking to Fred and Hawk. I was half-surprised the three of
them didn’t have a bunch of drunk nitwits hanging off them, begging
for attention—or more. They were all very handsome, if you liked
that tattooed, rugged, dangerous biker look. I smiled, thinking of
the one tattooed biker that I definitely found beautiful. Thoughts
of Matty invaded and I shook my head, trying to clear it. Now was
not the time to get my libido all wound up. I walked towards them
slowly, dreading finding out who else had come up with
Rocker.

“
I haven’t seen him in hours.
Should be back by now.”

Fred rolled his shoulders, clearly annoyed.
“Didja call him?”

Hawk nodded. “Yeah, a few times.”

“
If he’s not back in ten minutes,
he can find his own fuckin’ way home.” Rocker’s voice was low and
gravely, obviously irritated.

I stepped up next to Hawk. “Who we
missing?”

“Dean.” Hawk spoke up before
anyone else could. I saw Fred glance at me out of the corner of my
eye, but I met Hawk’s eyes instead. He smiled, giving his face a
softer look. This man had intimidated me when I’d first met him,
and I had no doubt that he had the same effect on many others. Not
as tall as Rob, he still towered over most men. His broad shoulders
combined with his height made me feel much smaller than I actually
was, something a girl my size could seriously appreciate. The top
half of his shoulder length, blonde hair was pulled back, allowing
me an unobstructed view of his muscular face, showing a wide nose,
thin lips, and an adorable dimple in his chin. One dark eyebrow
suddenly shot up as he watched me inspect him. “Like what you see?”
His voice was full of humor, but I could feel the embarrassment
creep in and my cheeks flame just the same.

“
Jesus, leave her alone!” Fred’s
deep voice interrupted as he slammed a massive fist down on top of
the counter. “Joey, aah ya really gonna ride to Beantown with these
assholes?” I laughed, nodding. I was about to tell him that I’d be
fine when Rob swore.

“
It’s about fucking time. Where in
the hell have you been?”

Dean just smirked, shaking his
head as he strolled up to our group. “You’re wicked smaht, Brotha.
I’m suah you can figyah it out.” He winked, his eyes twinkled, and
I didn’t have to see more than the untucked shirt or his messed up
hair to know exactly what he’d been doing. I didn’t want to know
where—or with whom. He looked like he was going to go into detail
though, and I groaned at the idea. Dark green eyes snapped to me,
widening in surprise. “Joey?” He looked uncomfortable, glancing
between Rocker and Hawk.

Rob leaned toward Dean. “You’ah
lucky ya got back when you did. Five more minutes and I was leaving
your ass heah. Your date would have hadta bring ya home.” He
slapped the bar twice, tipping his head towards the door. “Let’s
go. Later, Brothah,” he hollered to Fred as I stopped to give the
massive barkeep a quick hug, kissed his cheek goodbye, and then
followed Hawk out the door. “Joey’s got shotgun!” Rocker hollered
as Dean yanked open the passenger door.

Dean jerked back as if the handle
had burned him, turning slowly, surprise written all over his face.
“What? Last time I checked we weren’t a fuckin’ taxi.” He waved his
hand at me as if to shoo me away. “Go find some othah dumbass to
rescue you, ‘cause we don’t give two flyin’ fucks.”

Rocker stopped next to me
abruptly, reaching his hand out to the small of my back the way
Matty always did. “Last time I checked, it was my fuckin’ truck, so
you don’t tell me who can ride and who can’t,” he growled back.
“Joey’s family. She’s coming with us.” Dean looked like he was
going to argue again, but Rob shook his heat. “Just shut your
trap.”

I tensed, not wanting to cause a
problem between the friends, and wondered if it was too late to
catch Mere and the girls. Rob moved his hand from my back to circle
my upper arm as if he sensed I was thinking about bolting. Hawk
only laughed, as if seeing his friends yell at each other was a
normal occurrence, and climbed into the backseat on Rocker’s side.
Dean didn’t move.

“You know Matty will throw a shit
fit if he finds out you aah takin’ her home.” He glared at me.
“Don’t do it, brothah.” His low voice held a warning.

“
And you don’t know shit. Get in
the truck and shut your fuckin’ mouth or find anotha way
back.”

I tried to pull away from Rob, but
he refused to let me go. Of course he’d be here with Dean. The man
barely tolerated me when I was dating Matty and obviously loathed
me now. Why couldn’t it have been Tiny? I groaned. I would not
survive three hours with these men. Dean gave me a nasty look, but
climbed in beside Hawk, leaving me alone in parking lot with
Rocker. “That goes for you, too. Get in the truck,
Joey.”

“Instead of stopping to get my
stuff, you can just drop me off at my friend’s and then I’ll catch
the train tomorrow, as planned.”

Rocker walked toward the black beast, shaking
his head and pulling me along. “Naw. You’re comin’ with us. It’ll
be fine.” He opened the door and lifted me up again.

It was anything but fine. I sent a
quick text to Teagan to let her know I’d be stopping by and she and
Tom better be decent, and then gave directions to Rob. The other
two were silent as tension filled the cab. I could almost feel
Dean’s glare burning a hole in my seat. Music. We needed music.
Without thinking, I leaned over and turned on the radio, surprised
as Midnight in Montgomery filled the air. I couldn’t stop the smile
that formed.

“Alan Jackson?” I turned to look
at the giant man next to me. “Really?”

Rob didn’t take his eyes off the
road. “Yes, really.” He didn’t sound annoyed, just curious. “You
got something against Alan Jackson? Or is it country music in
general?”

I laughed. “No! I love country. I just
pictured you listening to…something else.”

“
Such as?”

I couldn’t see his face, but the humor in his
voice was unmistakable. “I dunno… Godsmack. Disturbed. Marilyn
Manson, maybe.” I shrugged. “You know, loud scary ‘stay the hell
away from me ‘cause I’ll seriously fuck shit up if I don’t get my
own way’ music.”

Rocker laughed. Stopping at a red
light, he turned towards me. “Why would you think that?” I just
stared at him, taking in the whole picture. His outfit said he’d
come to the bar right after work. Beat up work boots of some sort
were hidden beneath jeans that were worn around the knees but still
managed to make him look hot, a beat up tee covered a long sleeved
gray waffle knit, sleeves pushed back to the elbows showing the
tattoos that danced down his muscular right arm.

A ring graced
the middle finger on his left hand, which he had draped across the
steering wheel, and he wore two more on his right. The scruff
around his jaw told me he hadn’t shaved in a few days, and while it
would make most men look sloppy, it only made him look more
precarious and appealing. His black beanie was pulled low so I
couldn’t see his hair, adding to the overall picture. He was the
epitome of dangerous.

Looks had never been more
deceiving, but he wanted to know, so I gladly shared. “Gee, I don’t
know.” My sarcasm was hard to hide. “Maybe ‘cause you look like
you’re ready to beat someone to death.” I smiled. “Seriously, you
dress like a badass biker thug.”