Page 17 of All That Glitters

I flip him off, leaning back in my seat.

“You wanna talk about whatever the fuck your problem is?”

“No.” I fold my arms, making him grin.

He leans forward. “Tough. Do it anyway.”

“What the fuck, you a shrink now?”

“If you need me to be. But don’t expect it to be free, I charge by the hour.”

“Funny, so does your mom.”

He just laughs, not taking the bait.

“Look, something’s pissing you off, and I figured you needed to talk to someone about it. So why not me? You know I’ll keep it to myself, unlike the brothers, who are a bigger bunch of gossips than the club bunnies.”

I wince at the mention of club bunnies, and the perceptive fucker that he is notices right away.

“Ah. I get it.”

I shift in my seat, but don’t say anything. “It’s been a while since you’ve shown an interest in anything. Sure, you’ve got the shop, and you do whatever the club requires of you, but since shit went down with Bear and Snake. It’s like you’re only half here. Gotta say, maybe it’s a good thing a bunny caught your eye.”

I frown, thinking about what he’s saying and considering his words.

“I get it. When your brothers turn on you, it makes it really fucking hard to put your faith in the ones left.”Wait, what?

Sure, he’s right about the past, but that’s not what’s got me twisted up right now.

I rub my face and grunt at him. “It’s not like I don’t want to trust you all—I do. But I trusted Bear and Snake, too. Yeah, they’re assholes, but show me a brother who isn’t. I bled for Snake when I prospected. I took a fucking bullet meant for his old lady. I never regretted it?—”

“Until he showed his true colors. Look, none of us walked away without scars, Midas, but some of us were fucked up more than the rest. Just look at Lil. She’s changed since then. She goes through the motions, but she’s not the same person she used to be, and her so-called friends turned their backs on her. I’m not judging them for walking away, but none of them keep in touch, at least as far as I know.”

He stops talking when the waitress comes back with our food and drinks. We both thank her, then I wait until she leaves before I say anything.

“Legs asked Lil if she wanted to hang out today,” I tell him, picking up my fork and knife. “Lil looked surprised, nervous, and excited all at the same damn time. That shit broke my heart a little.”

“Legs, huh?” He smirks, and now I realize why he changed the subject. He wanted me to be the one to bring her up. Asshole.

“Yeah,” I grunt, cutting into my waffles. He watches me, knowing there’s more to it.

“You think it’s an act or is Legs a good person?” he asks carefully.

“I’m not sure yet. But I think she’ll be good for Lil.” I take a big bite of my food.

“My gut says she’s a good girl. She’s funny, sweet, none of it seems like an act to me, and I like to think I’m pretty good at reading people.”

I grunt, not needing the reminder that he’s spent time with her.

“Blade told me he’s giving them two months to figure out if they want to stay on a permanent basis. I personally hope they don’t wait too long to decide because breaking in the new ones gets old.”

I grip my fork so tight my knuckles turn white.

“I don’t see her leaving anytime soon. Not this one. Raven Souls isn’t Legs’ first club. She knows what she’s getting into.”

I nod around a mouthful of food. “Right. She’s one of the transfers.” I almost forgot about that part.

“And from what I heard, Legs was with the mother chapter of Chaos Demons for years before Viper was president. They were into some fucked-up shit back in the day, so she’s seen the dark side of club life.”