Tex (Hell's Ankhor #5) - Aiden Bates Page 0,51

can’t—I’ve got to—this isn’t—”

“Wait!” he said. “Tex, just—”

But I was already out the door, slamming it shut behind me.

What the fuck just happened? I stood in the hallway for a moment, scrubbing my hand over my head. Fuck. My hat—it was in his room. No way I was going back in there, though. Not until I calmed down a little bit.

I knew Jazz was gay—I’d known for practically as long as he’d known. It’d never affected our friendship. If anything, I was his wingman, and he was mine, vetting prospective partners for each other with an unbiased eye. And we always ended up returning to each other. But I wasn’t gay, and Jazz knew that.

So why did he kiss me? And why did I let it linger?

Why did I still feel it prickling on my lips?

“Good, you’re awake.” Blade appeared in the hallway, already dressed and with a mug of coffee in his hand. Seeing him there, just on the other side of that kiss, somehow didn’t feel real. “It’s almost nine. We’re riding to Junee to talk to the Liberty guys about reparations for the damage at Ballast. Suit up.” He nodded at Jazz’s door. “Grab Jazz, too.”

A ride and then a serious job with Jazz felt close to impossible right now. I was already shocked and confused, but rather than deal with things between us now, I thought space would be easier. Better, in the long run. So I grimaced and tugged Blade further away from Jazz’s door.

“He’s a little shaken up from last night—getting booked got to his head a little bit. Can he be on duty in Elkin Lake while we’re on the job?” I asked.

Blade frowned slightly. “Didn’t think of that. Makes sense, though. All right, I was going to have Coop stay, but I’ll tell him he’s on for the ride and Jazz is staying here.” He sighed and glanced at Jazz’s door. “Is he all right?”

I nodded. “Just needs a little down time. He’ll be fine tomorrow.”

Hopefully. Hopefully, we both would be.

I dressed quickly in my room, pulling on my faded old Stetson as the final touch. Already it didn’t feel right, despite ten years of wear. It felt like it belonged to a Tex that didn’t exist anymore. I itched to put on my new one, sitting in Jazz’s room, but I’d have to wait to deal with it until after we dealt with the Liberty Crew.

Outside the clubhouse, Priest and the rest of the enforcers were waiting for Blade and me. Heath was riding as well—he was getting more involved with club affairs daily. Even if he did harbor a crush on Jazz—which still annoyed me, even if it was just Raven talking shit and wasn’t actually true (and the fact that it annoyed me now set my heart racing)—he didn’t let it affect his duties as a prospect one bit. He’d do good on this ride.

“All right,” Blade said as he mounted his bike and revved the engine. “Liberty Crew hasn’t given us any trouble before this, so I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt. But be ready for anything.”

Junee was only a twenty-minute ride south of Elkin Lake. It was still technically within Hell’s Ankhor territory, but the Liberty Crew was a small crew that’d been around longer than Hell’s Ankhor, so we’d never asked them to give up their turf. They generally kept to themselves, and had no interest in expanding, so it had never been a problem before.

The roar of our engines alerted the Liberty Crew to our presence as we pulled up outside their clubhouse. It was an old converted motel, with the carport to the motel lobby repurposed into a patio; it was situated on the edge of Junee just a few blocks from the bakery they ran on the town’s main strip.

As we cut off our bikes and dismounted, the Liberty Crew president, Mal, stepped onto the porch, his arms crossed over his broad chest. He was a tall, wide-shouldered man, not hugely muscular but fit, functional. He was close to Priest’s age, with dark skin, warm dark eyes, and hardly any wrinkles besides crow’s feet. His vice president—also his son—was close behind him. Dante was nearly a head taller than his father, and bulkier, too, with tattoos winding down his muscular body all the way from his neck to his fingers.

“Blade,” Mal said, casting a wary, but curious look around at the enforcers. “To what do I owe the unexpected pleasure?”

“We had