wasn’t about to hide any part of himself from anyone—especially her. “When the police went in the front door, they had the back door covered. But a couple of guys came out the cellar doors on the side of the house, and more from a shed in the back, and we went after them. Like I said, things got a little rough.”
Her brow wrinkled, conflicting emotions swimming in her beautiful eyes. “They were the ones running the dogfighting ring?”
He nodded.
“Then they deserve whatever they got.” Her voice softened as she said, “And the dogs?”
“We saved the ones we could.”
Sadness rose in her eyes, and she put her hand over his. “Some didn’t make it?” She looked regretfully at the table where his brothers and cousin were sitting and said, “I thought you guys were just…”
“Being reckless? Troublemakers?” He cocked a brow. “I’ve heard it all, Chloe. Nothing you say will shock me.”
“I’m sorry. I should know you better than to assume something like that. But there’s so much that I don’t know about you, I guess I filled in the blanks based on past experiences.”
“No shit, princess.” He turned his hand over, holding hers, and said, “I’ve been trying to fix that.”
Her eyes skirted nervously around them. She looked down at their joined hands, and he was sure she’d pull away. But she didn’t. She met his gaze again and said, “Do you want to take a walk and talk about it? Get it out of your system?”
“You sure you want to hear about this?” He was thankful for the opening she’d given him but wary about bringing her down. “It’s not pretty, Chloe.”
“Life rarely is.” She put away the first aid kit and shouldered her bag. “I should probably throw away this bloody stuff.”
He swept the trash into his hand and went behind the bar to throw it away. Chloe was looking at him so differently, he paused, taking an extra moment to soak in what it felt like to be looked at by her when she wasn’t struggling to hide behind her usual armor.
She raised her brows and said, “Are you coming, biker boy? Or do I need to find out the rest of the story from one of your brothers?”
“Like hell you will.” He had no idea how she’d done it, but he already felt a little better. He slung an arm over her shoulder as they headed for the door and said, “My road name is Maverick, sweet cheeks. Not biker boy.”
She flashed a sassy smile. “Biker boy is cuter.”
As he pushed the door open, he said, “Maverick is manlier. And trust me, baby, I’m all man.”
Chapter Eight
A COLD BREEZE swept across the parking lot as they locked Chloe’s bag in her trunk. She wrapped her arms around herself and said, “I should have brought a sweater.”
“I’ve got a sweatshirt.” They went to Justin’s motorcycle, where he retrieved his black zip-up sweatshirt from the saddlebag. He helped her put it on. It was about three sizes too big on her. “You look adorable.”
She rolled her eyes and pushed up the sleeves.
As they walked across the parking lot to the path that led to the beach, the ugliness of what he’d gone through seemed a little farther away. He knew that had more to do with Chloe than the fresh air. “Why do you roll your eyes when I compliment you?”
“I don’t know. Habit, I guess.”
“It’s time to break that habit. Every time you roll your eyes, I’m going to do something to remind you not to.”
“Here we go,” she said sarcastically. “Like what, smack my ass?”
He grinned. “That’s the best idea I’ve heard all night.”
“If you value your hand, you won’t try that.” She stopped at the edge of the beach to take off her sandals and said, “Aren’t you going to take off your boots?”
“No.”
“You’re going to walk on the beach in leather boots?”
“Yup.”
“Don’t you want to feel the sand between your toes?”
“You obviously want to get me naked, starting with my boots, so…” He tugged off his boots and socks and set them beside her sandals, and then he popped the button on his jeans.
“Justin!” She blushed a red streak and hurried down the path. He caught up to her in three long strides, and she said, “Are you done trying to get naked?”
“For now.”
She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, but her smile told him she liked his sense of humor as much as he liked making her blush.