give him a slight nod. “You can’t fight with each other anymore. I know Surge stressed that, but it’s more important than you realize. We’re brothers here, and as much as I hate to say it, even Rifle with all his shit-stirring. And before this deal goes down, we’ll start acting like the brothers we are.”
Sword snorts and gives me a sideways glance. “Brothers?”
“Brothers. Tighter knit than blood.”
A pale smile crosses his lips, and they all start to agree. The air changes from tension, not quite camaraderie but hell of a lot better than whatever was going on before. Tank smacks me on the back and nearly throws me onto my face, but I nod to him. It’s a start, at least. Another thought crosses my mind, and I decide to go with it. “We’ll have an initiation, a new one. I don’t know what you boys were subjected to when Surge let you join Ruin MC, but no more casual-riders will be walking around with our name. After I’m through with you, you’ll be men.”
I clench my jaw and wait for any protests. No one stands to leave, and they all seem to be in better spirits. As for me, I need something else to calm my nerves. Something more carnal and lustful. My mind goes to Cassie, and her severe eyes and knitted brow. Like my thoughts had strayed far from her all day.
CHAPTER 7 — CASSIE
T he next morning, I drag myself out of bed and crawl into the shower. I feel groggy and out of it, and worst of all, frustrated. My dreams were tumultuous and eerie, and too realistic to get grips on. One of those nights where the emotions flooding your dream hang over you all day like a wretched cloud. What else can I do but try and ignore it?
After bathing and getting dressed, I silently creep into the kitchen to find Sara there with Mark. She’s sitting on his lap, being altogether too disgustingly flirty for me to handle. Mark’s hand is angled on her thigh, but mostly hidden under the edge of the table. They’re making kissy faces at each other, and making my mood that much more sour.
As I slip past and reach for the fridge, Sara’s gleaming smile fades and she turns her head to talk at me. Not to me, but in my general direction. I’ve lived with her long enough to know better. She’ll avoid my gaze if I try to meet her. “Who was that last night?”
I pull up the carton of milk from the door and crack open the spout. Just before I pull it up to my lips, I play dumb. “Who?”
Sara’s voice raises an octave. “Cassie! I’m not stupid! We both saw him!”
Placing the milk back in the fridge, I eye for something to eat. I pretend to not hear her, not wanting to get into it. With my head still ducked in the chill air, I talk into the carton of eggs. “Just a guy I met the other day...”
Sara sighs and I hear her whisper something to Mark. My eye twitches, and I instinctively grab it to try and stop the spasm. I hate it when this happens, it’s like hiccups but worse. Once it starts, my eye will be twitching all day long. My mom used to say that it was because I made goofy faces as a kid, but growing up, I know it’s from stress. I groan and shut the fridge shut. I don’t want to be here anymore.
“Where are you going?” Sara calls after me as I walk past her and grab my sweater and bag. Without another word, I open the front door and leave.
The sun is blistering, and I’m already missing the relatively cool winter nights. It never gets really cold where we live, but it’s better than facing ninety degree weather days for four months in a row. Thinking about wearing something white outside? Forget about it. Too bad darker colors just make you sweat more.
. . .
At work, I duck under Becky’s assaults and try to make my way through the day unharmed. While she had been nice for a few days, her mood has been tanking recently. It wasn’t unusual, and I probably should be used to it by now, but after months of watching her go back and forth through her bipolar phases, I'm just exhausted. It
Sword snorts and gives me a sideways glance. “Brothers?”
“Brothers. Tighter knit than blood.”
A pale smile crosses his lips, and they all start to agree. The air changes from tension, not quite camaraderie but hell of a lot better than whatever was going on before. Tank smacks me on the back and nearly throws me onto my face, but I nod to him. It’s a start, at least. Another thought crosses my mind, and I decide to go with it. “We’ll have an initiation, a new one. I don’t know what you boys were subjected to when Surge let you join Ruin MC, but no more casual-riders will be walking around with our name. After I’m through with you, you’ll be men.”
I clench my jaw and wait for any protests. No one stands to leave, and they all seem to be in better spirits. As for me, I need something else to calm my nerves. Something more carnal and lustful. My mind goes to Cassie, and her severe eyes and knitted brow. Like my thoughts had strayed far from her all day.
CHAPTER 7 — CASSIE
T he next morning, I drag myself out of bed and crawl into the shower. I feel groggy and out of it, and worst of all, frustrated. My dreams were tumultuous and eerie, and too realistic to get grips on. One of those nights where the emotions flooding your dream hang over you all day like a wretched cloud. What else can I do but try and ignore it?
After bathing and getting dressed, I silently creep into the kitchen to find Sara there with Mark. She’s sitting on his lap, being altogether too disgustingly flirty for me to handle. Mark’s hand is angled on her thigh, but mostly hidden under the edge of the table. They’re making kissy faces at each other, and making my mood that much more sour.
As I slip past and reach for the fridge, Sara’s gleaming smile fades and she turns her head to talk at me. Not to me, but in my general direction. I’ve lived with her long enough to know better. She’ll avoid my gaze if I try to meet her. “Who was that last night?”
I pull up the carton of milk from the door and crack open the spout. Just before I pull it up to my lips, I play dumb. “Who?”
Sara’s voice raises an octave. “Cassie! I’m not stupid! We both saw him!”
Placing the milk back in the fridge, I eye for something to eat. I pretend to not hear her, not wanting to get into it. With my head still ducked in the chill air, I talk into the carton of eggs. “Just a guy I met the other day...”
Sara sighs and I hear her whisper something to Mark. My eye twitches, and I instinctively grab it to try and stop the spasm. I hate it when this happens, it’s like hiccups but worse. Once it starts, my eye will be twitching all day long. My mom used to say that it was because I made goofy faces as a kid, but growing up, I know it’s from stress. I groan and shut the fridge shut. I don’t want to be here anymore.
“Where are you going?” Sara calls after me as I walk past her and grab my sweater and bag. Without another word, I open the front door and leave.
The sun is blistering, and I’m already missing the relatively cool winter nights. It never gets really cold where we live, but it’s better than facing ninety degree weather days for four months in a row. Thinking about wearing something white outside? Forget about it. Too bad darker colors just make you sweat more.
. . .
At work, I duck under Becky’s assaults and try to make my way through the day unharmed. While she had been nice for a few days, her mood has been tanking recently. It wasn’t unusual, and I probably should be used to it by now, but after months of watching her go back and forth through her bipolar phases, I'm just exhausted. It
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