Page 29 of The Price of Love

I give Dimples a side-eye. What the hell is up with her this morning? Frost calling her soft on prospects doesn’t mean she has to act like a jerk.

The prospect stares at her for a beat before she nods and grabs hot sauce. When Dimples bends to tie her boot, the prospect shakes the bottle over Dimples’ drink, but she’s not removed the lid.

I smirk at the prospect, and her eyes grow big. I motion for the drink. Once she gives it to me, she picks up her rag and moves away as she wipes down the bar.

CHAPTER 13

DIMPLES

The temperature when Storm and I left the clubhouse was in the mid-fifties, but it’s getting colder as we near Lake Placid.

Each day, spring pushes the winter further away. It’s my favorite time of year since everything feels like it’s waking back up. Patches of fog rise where snow still hangs on, sheltered by the pine trees. But the white of winter is giving way to green. The pines never let the snow completely win, but with the rest of the trees regaining their leaves, green is conquering the season.

We ride side by side on Route 3 as we head east. Rules of the road say bikers should ride staggered. Club rules say otherwise. The Thorns ride in a pack, which means next to each other. It shows solidarity and trust—we move as one. Something special happens when twenty, fifty, or more bikes ride two by two.

While there’s nothing like riding in a pack, I miss riding alone with Storm. There’s a special bond that ties us together while riding. No words are needed. But since she became president, we don’t get to do it often enough.

An hour after drinking that fucking Bloody Mary, my mouth is still on fire. I shouldn’t have been an asshole about it. I didn’t need to take my foul mood and indiscretions out on Jazmin. Yeah, like burning my esophagus was punishment for her. Though the sadness in her eyes every time I forced down another swallow told me enough.

Fuck her. I don’t need her in my head right now.

When we arrive in Lake Placid, we pull into a gas station.

As soon as Storm dismounts from her bike, she says, “You gonna tell me what happened back at the clubhouse?”

I give her a puzzled look, even though my throat is still raw from the Bloody Mary.

“The fuck. Don’t play dumb with me.” Storm’s face scrunches, causing her brow to get a deep crease. “Since when do you drink Bloody Marys?”

I give a nonchalant shrug as she pulls the nozzle from the pump. “I probably shouldn’t have had her put in the extra hot sauce.”

“She didn’t.”

I stare at Storm. “She didn’t what?”

“She shook the bottle over your drink, but she never took the cap off.”

Damn her. I didn’t ask Jazmin to save me from myself, but my mouth sure the hell appreciates it. Storm is staring, so I need to say something. “Maybe you make her nervous. Prospects get rattled when the president comes around.”

Storm shakes her head. “It wasn’t me making her nervous, and it wasn’t an accident.”

Fearing anything I might say would only bury me further, I keep a blank look on my face.

“Care to cut the crap?” Storm drums her fingers on her gas tank.

“Were you at church last night?” It’s true it’s weighing on me; it’s just not the entire story.

Storm raises her eyebrow but doesn’t respond as she pulls the nozzle from her gas tank and stretches the hose to my bike.

“I mean, for fuck’s sake, Frost is up to some shit, so sue me if I’m rattled.”

The skeptical expression on Storm’s face remains. “So you order a drink you hate because of Frost?” Storm shakes her head. “Doesn’t make sense.”

I let out a loud breath. “Upset people don’t always make sense.” A save flashes in my mind. “Did you forget Frost called me out for being too nice to the prospects?”

I realize my mistake as soon as I see the amused expression on Storm’s face. “Well, that put the prospect in her place. How dare she anticipate what drink you might want? It still doesn’t explain why she pretended to put the hot sauce in it.”

“You’ll have to ask her why she disobeyed an order,” I say, crossing my arms. “Not me. Besides, we should be talking about the bullshit with Frost, not my drink preferences.”