Page 32 of Savage Ends

Ava was about to bite into a piece of bacon, and she felt her cheeks go hot.“Mom, seriously?I’m twenty-four years old.”

“It doesn’t matter how old you are.You don’t go around believing a guy who says he can’t fit into one, or he can’t afford one.You always make sure you have protection on you.You have no idea what these men have, or dealing with their babies when they are done with you.”

Violet winced.“You’re getting the serious talk.”

She wanted to slap her sister.Ava was not prone to violence.She didn’t even have violent tendencies, but it would seem right now, they were developing at an alarmingly fast rate.It sucked.

“Did you get the serious talk?”Ava asked.

Violet snorted.“Girlfriend, I had this talk during prom, and trust me, most girls get some money to go to prom.I got a stack of condoms I didn’t even use.”

“Seriously?”Ava asked.

“Seriously.This girl did not become a prom V-card loser.No, this girl discovered her boyfriend was cheating on her with her best friend.”Violet shrugged.“Remember Mandy and Ryan, happily married, three kids?”

Ava’s mouth dropped open, but thankfully, she didn’t have any food inside, so it was all good.

“I had no idea they cheated?”

“Yep, well, I can’t exactly hold it against them.Even after all this time, they’re going strong.They’re happy, and he’s not strayed once.All is good.”

She looked at her sister, and Violet didn’t seem at all concerned.“Wow.”

Violet laughed.“I can be reasonable.”

Ava had no doubt that her sister could be.

Chapter Seven

It had been too longsince Pat had been able to get back into the garage and actually work on fixing cars.Club business always came first, along with protecting the town.He pulled out from under the hood of the latest car he was fixing.There was nothing wrong with it, just a tune-up.

Most of the people in Carnage rarely spent money to keep their cars in tip-top shape.Only a couple of people did, and Pat was always happy to work on those vehicles.He was happy to work on any of them.He loved working on cars.Rarely did he like working with people.His time with people was over, apart from the club, but he didn’t have to fake it or deal with assholes while staying silent.

At the sound of a feminine throat-clearing, he turned to find Hazel, Ava’s mother, standing at the edge of the gate.

“Good morning,” he said, checking his watch to see it was a little before twelve and still technically morning.