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  Crow comes over, and I notice he has a bandage wrapped around his knuckles on his right hand. I wonder what he did to himself.

  “Boxing at the clubhouse,” he says, eyes on me.

  “Oh, I...” I trail off, not knowing how to reply to him answering a question I only asked in my head.

  Boxing at the...clubhouse?

  Clearing my throat, I lean back in my chair and study him. Crow’s enthusiastic attitude when he saw Cameron is long gone, a broodiness he seems to only reserve for me left in its place.

  What’s his deal with me?

  The phone rings, saving me. “I guess I better get back to work.” Saved by the bell.

  “Fast & Fury, Bronte speaking,” I say, ignoring his blue eyes on me. I schedule an appointment for the client to come in, and only when I hang up does he speak.

  “Your hair looks...different today.” He walks away, leaving my eyes narrowed.

  He doesn’t give away whether that’s a good thing or not, which annoys me.

  He annoys me.

  Cameron walks up, brow furrowed. She turns, tilting her head to the side and studying me. “Crow is the most laid-back, funny guy I’ve ever met in my life. I don’t know why he’s so weird around you.”

  “I must have that effect on people,” I reply in a dry tone, still staring at his back. I don’t know what’s up with him, but his energy is all over the place, and he clearly has a chip on his shoulder when it comes to me. I know I only have to put up with him at work, and he’s not terrible to be around, but he just leaves me feeling a little...off-kilter.

  And I don’t like it.

  “He’s a good-looking man,” she continues, sitting down on the edge of the wooden desk and crossing her legs. “You’d be surprised how many times women come in here pretending they are looking at motorcycles to try to get his or one of the other men’s attention. It’s sad, really.”

  I don’t want to ask her the next question, but my curiosity wins out. “The two of you have never...”

  “Me and Crow?” she asks, eyes going wide as she shakes her head. “No. He’s like a brother to me. He took a huge chance on me, giving me this job, and I’ll never forget that. There aren’t many places that want to hire someone who has done time, let alone a woman in a place like this, but the Knights don’t judge.”

  Wait, what?

  Cameron has been to prison?

  She leans down closer and adds, “It’s too bad I have zero attraction to him. He’s hot. Tall, too. Far over six feet, none of that ‘five-eleven, almost six foot in shoes’ bullshit I get when I’m online dating.”

  I burst out laughing, earning a dirty look from the man in question. “Shame he’s an asshole.”

  “The hot ones usually are,” she murmurs. I want to ask her about the prison thing, but I figure if she wants me to know, she will tell me.

  Abbie drops in on her lunch break with her fiancé, Temper. I’m not going to lie, the man looks a little scary with his huge build and dark eyes, but he shakes my hand and welcomes me to the Fast & Fury family.

  “Abbie has been talking about you nonstop,” he adds, glancing down at her lovingly. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too.”

  “I have to head out back to do a few things before we leave, so if you both will excuse me.”

  “Okay,” Abbie says, turning to me with a big smile on her face. “How’s it been? I wanted to text you and realized I didn’t have your number, so I thought I’d drop in and get it.” She holds out her phone and types in the numbers as I say them.

  “It’s been really good,” I say, eyes darting to Crow to see what he’s up to. He’s currently talking to a customer. “Everyone has been really welcoming.”

  Besides Crow, of course.

  “That’s good to hear. I thought they would be. I know not many work here, but I don’t think you could find a better crew of people.”

  “So far so good,” I agree with her.

  “So I was thinking, if you don’t have any plans this weekend, do you want to do something? My friends are dying to meet you, and Skylar of course wants to see you. I’d love to spend some time together,” she says, pushing her hair back behind her ear.

  “That sounds really nice,” I reply.

  How could I not when she is so genuine? I don’t think many people could say no to the woman in front of me.

  “Perfect.” She grins.

  Crow wanders over and casually wraps his arm around her. “What happened to you last night?”

  “I had to finish my assignment,” she explains, crossing her arms over her chest. “So I locked myself away until it was over. Pretty hard considering how loud you all are.”

  Do they all live together? The two of them are obviously very comfortable with each other, something I can tell from their body language. Abbie must be close friends with most of the members in the MC, especially considering Temper is the president. Does that make her a queen of the MC of sorts?

  “We tried to keep it down,” he says, removing his arm and fondly nudging her. “Until Saint started pouring shots. It all went downhill from there.”

  “I don’t know how you can function the next morning.” Abbie smirks, rolling her eyes. “I’d be suffering in bed with a hangover, yet all of you were up earlier than me and ready to start the day.”

  “Our bodies have adapted,” he jokes, turning to me as if only just remembering that I’m standing here. “What about you, Bronte? You much of a drinker?”

  I shake my head. “No, not really.” Which is the truth.

  “What’s your vice then?” he presses, studying me. I don’t miss the look Abbie gives him. It clearly says leave her alone but he simply ignores her.

  “What’s yours?” I fire back, arching my brow. “Just drinking? Or do you have more than one?”

  I bet women is one of them. Lots of them.

  “I’m the one asking the questions here,” he states, crossing his arms and narrowing his blue eyes.

  “Crow,” Abbie interrupts, scowling at him. “She doesn’t have to tell you shit about her personal life. Maybe if you want to know more about her, you should have a normal conversation with her instead of all this weird posturing that’s going on.”

  “I’m not allowed to make conversation?” he asks, her comment now the big elephant in the room. “I’m just trying to get to know our new employee.”

  Abbie’s about to reply when I decide to answer his damn question, just to prove that he doesn’t intimidate me.

  Not one bit.

  “I think shopping is probably my vice,” I reply, shrugging. “Even that I’m always in control of, but I do enjoy it a little too much. But as long as I’m paying for it and maintaining myself, I don’t think it’s a problem. Alcohol, drugs and smoking don’t appeal to me, but I’m not judging people who do what they have to do to fight their demons.”

  I don’t know how the hell this talk turned deep, but here we are.

  “Anyway, I better get back to work. Abbie, text me the details and I’ll see you on the weekend,” I say, smiling warmly, ignoring Crow and leaving my desk to see what Cameron is up to. The guy makes me want to leave my own damn workspace.

  Gritting my teeth, I vow to myself: I’m not going to let a man that goes by the name of a damn bird get one over on me.

  Chapter Four

  “Holy shit, you designed this?” I ask Cameron, eying the motorcycle that now looks like a piece of artwork. Red flames come off the matte black in a 3D effect, fading into orange and yellow.

  “I did the design, the artwork, everything.” She beams, circling the bike and admiring it. “Dee, one of the Knights, gave me free rein to do whatever I wanted. I think he’s going to love it.”

  “I think so, too. Man, you are so talented. I bet all of the Knights come i
n here to get their bikes done.” I don’t even ride, and suddenly I want a custom bike.

  “Yeah, they do. I think it started out as just a place for them to custom their own bikes, but it grew. It’s now known as the best custom bike shop in the city,” she explains, pride in her tone. “We have a waiting list for people wanting a one-of-a-kind, custom bike. And we’re a small shop, so we take our time creating them, which makes them even more exclusive. I do the designs and then we have the mechanics that work in the garage.”

  “I feel like I need to do a little research so I actually know what I’m talking about when customers ask me,” I say, opening the lid from the lunch I packed from home and eating one of the nuts from the top of my salad. Not long after Abbie left, so did Crow, and I have to admit the workplace is much less stressful with him gone. I can now enjoy my lunch break talking shit with Cam without the tension Crow brings.

  “I’ll help you and guide you through everything. You’ll be a pro in no time,” she assures me. “My mom said she’s going to drop in and see me today, so if you see someone who looks like me but older and with pink hair, let me know.”

  “Will do,” I say, grinning at the image. “You’re lucky to have your mom around.”

  “You don’t?” she asks, lifting her head and looking at me.

  “No, she died when I was a kid,” I say, staring into my salad. “She had cancer. She and my dad had an epic love story. He’s never loved anyone again, never even introduced a woman to me. I wonder if I’ll ever find that type of love, or if it even exists anymore.”

  Cancer. The disease that took my mother may just be my downfall, too.

  Or maybe it will just take away my chance to give life.

  “I’m sorry about your mom,” she says, pulling up a crate and sitting next to me. “That type of love does exist—I see it every day. Temper and Abbie, they have that. Sky and Saint. Renny and Izzy. It’s out there. I don’t know if I’m ever going to find it, but it’s out there.”

  “So you have hope for others but not for you?” I ask, frowning. “Have you seen yourself? I’m surprised you don’t have men coming in lining up to see you.”

  “I’d like a line to form,” she jokes, laughing. “Men and women, I’m not fussed—I like them both.”

  We laugh together at that, and I like how open she is about everything. Cam hides nothing—she is who she is, and I appreciate that about her.

  “What type of women are you into?” I ask. “Do they need to be over six feet, too?”

  A man I’ve never seen before walks in, eying the two of us. “Hey, Cam.” He looks at me and grins. “Bronte?”

  I nod.

  “Damn, Crow never mentioned how cute you are,” he says, openly checking me out.

  Of course Crow didn’t.

  “I’m Dee.” He offers me his hand and I shake it.

  “Nice to meet you, Dee. You come to see your piece of art?”

  He rubs his hands together. “I have, and damn, she is looking good. Cam, you’ve outdone yourself.”

  The two of them coo over the bike while I head back out front, and sit back down at my desk. I’ve only just opened a tab on Internet Explorer when Crow walks back in, holding a big-ass bouquet of flowers.

  “Who are those for?” I ask before I’m able to stop myself.

  He places them on my table and leans forward on his palms. I can smell his cologne, a wild, woodsy scent, and I have to stop myself from wanting to just melt into him.

  “Cam,” he says quietly, blue eyes raking over my face. “It’s her birthday tomorrow, but I won’t be in, so I wanted to surprise her.”

  “Oh. She’s in the back with Dee,” I reply, licking my suddenly dry lips. “Who, by the way, was surprised that you didn’t tell him I was cute.”

  Crap, I shouldn’t have said that. It’s a bit unprofessional, but I wanted to get a rise out of him. Besides, I enjoy putting him on the spot, but I should have known that nothing ever fazes Crow.

  “I’m not a woman. I don’t sit around gossiping and discussing other people.” He tilts his head a little. “Why? You want to hear that I’m going around saying that the new chick at the garage is a hottie?”

  “Just repeating what he said, and don’t act like men don’t gossip,” I reply with a smirk, glancing back at the flowers. “They are beautiful. I had no idea it’s Cam’s birthday tomorrow. I’ll have to bring in a cake or something.” Everyone has a few talents in their life, and one of mine happens to be cake decorating.

  “Yeah, she doesn’t like to make a fuss, so of course we do that for her. By the way, good work with the parts order you put in this morning. You have a good eye.”

  “Thanks.”

  He picks up the flowers and takes them out back to give them to her, and I can hear her yelling in happiness when she sees them.

  It was a thoughtful thing for him to do.

  Maybe Crow’s not so bad after all.

  * * *

  The next day my dad drops into work unexpectedly, food in his hands.

  “Hey, Dad, what are you doing here?” I ask, giving him a big hug.

  “I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I’d drop in and see how you’re doing,” he explains as he glances around the warehouse. “Pretty cool place. I brought you your favorite burger and fries.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” I say, smiling at him. He always did things like this when I was working with Nadia. It’s what I love about him—he is so thoughtful.

  Crow walks back out and sees us standing there, and quickly comes over.

  “Dad, this is my boss, Crow. Crow, this is my dad,” I introduce.

  Crow offers Dad his hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

  “And you,” Dad replies, glancing over to me. “I hope you don’t mind, just wanted to check out Bronte’s new workplace and see how she’s doing.”

  “Not at all,” Crow replies, eyes going to me. “She’s a great worker, we’re lucky to have her.”

  Well, that’s news to me. I can’t look away from Crow as he says kind words about me to my dad, who appears extremely proud. In fact, his smile is wider than I’ve seen it in a long time. I’m happy, because I know how proud he was of me at my old job, so it’s nice to know that hasn’t changed with this one.

  And Crow? I think for the first time I can see what everyone else says about him. He can be charming. Friendly. And yeah, he’s cute.

  Dangerously so.

  “She’s a great girl.”

  “That she is,” Crow replies. “Do you want a tour of the warehouse? I can show you...”

  He leads my dad away, like he came here to visit him instead of me, and shows him all of the fancy motorcycles, the two of them suddenly best friends.

  I eat my burger and fries.

  Alone.

  Once the tour is done, Dad returns to me. “This place is pretty awesome.”

  “It is, isn’t it?” I reply, smiling at him. “Thanks for the food, Dad. And for dropping by. It’s definitely made my day. Even if you’ve spent more time with Crow than you have with me.”

  Dad just laughs. “I like him, he’s a good man.”

  Is this my dad giving his approval for Crow? He’s my boss! I want to tell him that is not happening, but I don’t want anyone to overhear that conversation, so it’s going to have to wait for another time.

  “He’s okay, I suppose,” I admit.

  Sometimes.

  “He promised me he’d look after you,” he adds, winking at me. “I better get going—Neville and I have some business to work out.”

  “Nothing serious?” I ask, remembering their intense conversation at the barbecue.

  Dad looks at me in surprise. “You worry too much. You know Neville, always has a scheme. We just have to discuss some things then we’re going to see a movie.”

  It’s so c
ute that the two of them go on little brother dates, and make sure to spend time with each other as much as they can. They both have such an amazing bond.

  “Okay, Dad,” I say, giving him a big, tight hug. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, princess.”

  * * *

  Locking my apartment door behind me, I stretch my neck from side to side to release some of the tension. After placing the grocery bags on the kitchen counter, I pull out my phone and slump down on the stool at the bench. It’s been a long week, and I’m glad it’s finally the weekend.

  My phone is pretty dry, apart from messages from my dad and Billie, one of my closest friends. What are you doing tonight? she asks.

  Billie is the type of friend where we won’t speak for a few weeks at a time, lost in work, life and relationships, but our friendship is always as strong as ever. I know if I need her she will be here in a heartbeat, and vice versa.

  Netflix and chilling, I type back.

  Alone, I also add.

  She replies instantly. Get dressed. I’ll be there in an hour.

  I type out a few different messages, all stating that there’s no way in hell I’m leaving my apartment tonight, but hey, maybe time catching up with Billie is exactly what the doctor ordered.

  I’ve showered and thrown on some black, ripped skinny jeans with a lace bodysuit underneath when I hear her knocking. She always does the exact same knock, two slow taps followed by three quick ones. I don’t know if she realizes she does it.

  “Hello,” I greet her with a wide smile. “You look beautiful.”

  Her red hair has grown down her back, similar to mine, and it suits her. She’s wearing a white dress, her green eyes lined and smudged in black eye shadow. Growing up, people always thought we were sisters and we milked it for all it was worth. Now, though, she’s always changing her look and I couldn’t keep up with her even if I wanted to.

  I met Billie in kindergarten. Apparently I gave her a once-over and she thought I was a snob. But there was this really mean kid in class—I don’t even remember her name—and we bonded over our mutual dislike of her. The rest is history.