Page 4 of Break Away (Riot MC Next Generation #2)

I tipped my head to the side just a fraction. “Initially, she saw it my way. That the ambush wasn’t cool and Porter needed to drive himself if he wasn’t going to sell his ticket.”

“That’s logical,” Rafferty muttered.

I nodded. “Yeah, but Brantley’s very eco-conscious—”

“So are you. Hell, so is anyone who understands science,” Rafferty muttered.

“Anyway, he pointed out how ridiculous it was for us to drive two cars to Atlanta, and even if Porter drove separately, he’d still be sitting right next to me in the stadium. And when I protested more, he pulled Ines away and he sweet-talked her into letting Porter ride along.”

Rafferty locked eyes with me again. “I know you’ve been rooming with her for over a year now, so you obviously dig Ines. But, that’s a bitch move.”

My eyes slid to the side because to my way of thinking that wasn’t the bitch move he thought it was.

“Now what aren’t you telling me?”

I shook my head. “She’s in critical condition, Tee. I don’t want to speak ill of her right now, but to me that’s nothing.”

He gave my hand a squeeze. “Lex. You gotta tell me everything.”

I swallowed. “So, since she wasn’t seeing logic any more by making Porter drive separate, I told them to go without me.

I’d stay home. She accused me of being a drama-queen, which hurt more than it should have because when I broke things off with Porter, Ines was there.

He accused me of misinterpreting his words.

Ines butted in and was the first to point out he was gaslighting me.

Strange that she basically did the same thing to me when I didn’t want to give into her boyfriend’s plans.

” I sighed. “Sorry, I got off track, but Brantley and Porter piled right on with her that I was being too dramatic. Nobody appreciated me suggesting Porter take a Greyhound to Atlanta because it would have been too last-minute. There was still some time for me to try to sell my ticket online. I really should have done that. None of this shit would have happened.”

He let go of my hand and slid his hand into my hair.

“Dammit, Lex. You can’t think like that.

She should have had your back. That fuck-wit should have fuckin’ known better and sold his ticket.

Christ. I’m glad I didn’t know this earlier.

Moment I saw that guy today, I wanted to punch him in the fuckin’ face. Now I wish I would have.”

After the horrible events that morning, part of me wished he would have, too. Hearing his sincere tone, a pleasant warm sensation drifted through my belly. I ignored that.

“Anyway, to me that was the bitch move. I’d suggested as long as Brantley and Porter sat in the back, it might be fine.

Brantley whined about how with his height he needed all the legroom he could get.

That’s another way he was being extra. She gave into him and made me feel bad about not wanting to be cooped up in a car with Porter for seven or eight hours. ”

“She did?”

My head wobbled. “Brantley had everything to do with that. Seems Ines shared with him what had happened. Brantley pointed out that we’d broken up. There wasn’t any reason Porter was going to try to win me back.”

“What a motherfucker.”

“Yeah, and then came the guilt about how we were already running late before this and I was only making it worse with the drama… if we hit traffic we’d miss the opening act and Ines was excited about all of the performers scheduled for this afternoon and tonight - not just the headliner.”

Rafferty’s face was inches from mine. He parted his lips and shook his head twice. “And you wanted to stick around the hospital for her? After all that bullshit?”

My head tilted and he withdrew his hand from my hair. “One bad road trip doesn’t mean I throw away our friendship.”

He shot me a dry look. “You learn a lot about your friends on a road trip.”

Those words immediately brought to mind one of the last times Rafferty and I had been in a car together.

I nodded. “You could say that.”

He leaned back a little. “Seems to me, some road trips change us more than others.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Are you trying to say something about my trip to Georgia?”

He shook his head. “No. I’m saying after the last road trip you and I went on, you became someone else afterward.”

My chuckle mingled with a scoff. “That was back in high school, and Dad grounded me for weeks. Between skipping school, and talking Simone into taking us - at just sixteen - to Bike Week, it’s hard to say what infuriated Dad most.”

He nodded. “Yeah. You’re right. That was a long time ago. Let’s get you home.”

The steady thrum of the truck speeding over the Buckman Bridge woke me up.

I couldn’t believe I’d fallen asleep, because I never slept in moving vehicles.

I wiped my hand down my face. The way the sun reflected off the small swells in the river, I guessed it was a little after one in the afternoon.

Glancing at the clock on the center console, I was close: one-twenty-five.

“Sorry you woke up,” Rafferty murmured.

I yawned. “That’s all right. Listen, I know you’re following orders, but—”

“No ‘buts,’ Lex. Hell, we’re fifteen minutes from your parents’ house.”

I glanced his way. “I was going to ask you to do me a favor. Assuming it doesn’t interfere with club business.”

His lips pressed together. “What’s the favor? Aunt Mallory already picked up your meds according to the text I got a few minutes ago.”

I nodded. “Great, and thank you for handling that. It’s just that I really need to get back to Gainesville - tomorrow if possible.

Finals are this coming week, and I can’t afford to botch anything at this point in dental school.

I don’t have my car here, and it seems silly to send someone to go get it and come back when you or somebody could just take me tomorrow morning. ”

Even in profile, I saw that shrewd, calculating expression steal across his face. “Sure. I can do that for you.”

I put a hand on his forearm. “You aren’t going to hunt down Porter.”

He almost smirked as he shook his head once. “Nope. Not gonna hunt down Porter.”

“Or Brantley,” I muttered.

“Can’t promise you that. He forced you to be in the backseat because he’s a jackass and he was in on Porter’s bullshit stunt. Nah. He needs a wake-up call.”

“Rafferty.”

He stopped for a red light and turned his face to me. “Give me this, or I give your shit to Blood.”

My face froze. To most people, they’d wonder why he wouldn’t tell my dad, but most people hadn’t met Blood. He was vindictive, ruthless, and lived to stir shit up. Only after he’d stirred the pot would he let Dad know what was going on.

“You suck,” I muttered.

“You have no idea, Lex.”

That sent a curl of lust through my torso straight to points south. But that would never happen.

Not with us.