to miss him and only warm memories to keep me company.
Chapter Thirty-One
Rooster
Watching Shelby’s van pull away is harder than I’d expected.
Can’t remember ever feeling this way about someone.
“You all right?” Dex asks quietly.
“Yeah. We made plans. I’ll see her soon.”
He claps me on the back. “That’s good.”
I side-eye him. “You’re not gonna tell me how whipped I am?”
“Nah, that’s Jigsaw’s job.”
“Who’s giving me a job?” Jigsaw wraps an arm around each of our necks. “What kind of job? Hand job? Blow job?”
“I’ll give you fuckin’ job.” I shake him off and stretch, already dreading the long drive ahead of me. Without Shelby by my side, being cooped up in a cage is intolerable. “Y’all ready to head back?”
“Aw, listen to that. Rooster said, y’all. Startin’ to sound like your girl,” Jigsaw says. “Is yeehaw next?”
“Fuck off.” I push my middle finger in his face and he slaps my arm away.
“You gonna be okay?” Jigsaw’s mouth turns down as if he’s feeling sorry for me. “You need to go to the bathroom and have a cry about missin’ Shelby? We’ll wait.”
“You’re extra-strength asshole today.” Dex pulls his keys from his pocket.
“Rooster knows I’m fucking with him.” He adopts a more serious tone. “Be straight with me. You all right?”
“Yes. Fuck. I’m fine.”
Jiggy crosses his arms and rests his chin in one hand, tapping his fingers against his jaw. “You worried she’s meetin’ up with her Ohio boyfriend next? I mean, she could be like most bikers we know and have a stud stashed in every state.”
“Fuck this.” I give him a quick shove and head toward the hotel. “I’m gettin’ a coffee for the road.”
Behind me, Jigsaw’s laughter rings out, then there’s an, “Ow! What’re you hittin’ me for?”
Dex’s heavy steps thud over the pavement until he catches up to me. “How have you not killed him yet?”
“I ask myself that every day, brother.”
“I’m sorry!” Jigsaw shouts as he hurries to my side. “Didn’t know you’d get so bent. I like Shelby. Any asshole can tell she’s into you.”
“And yet…”
“I’m not just any asshole.”
“Amen to that,” Dex mutters. “More like a special kind of jackass.”
The hotel clerk doesn’t look thrilled to have us in his establishment again. Ignoring him, I head for the snack bar and fill an extra-large coffee cup to the top. “You wanna stop for breakfast on the road?” I ask Dex. “Or wait ’til we get to Johnsonville?”
“Who’s riding my johnson?” Jigsaw quips.
“Did you strike out with the Demons’ club girls last night?” I ask. “You seem awfully frustrated this morning.”
Dex smacks Jigsaw’s shoulder. “The scary thing is, he didn’t. He terrorized…I mean, romanced at least two from what I saw.”
Jiggy scowls at him. “I don’t romance, bro.”
I let out a long, irritated sigh. “I honestly don’t care.”
“Sure, now that you have a steady supply of p—”
“Don’t,” I warn him.
“Pleasurable communication,” he continues, “you can afford to be smug. Don’t judge me. I’m a healthy young man. I need frequent release with various females as often as possible.”
“Christ, you’re disgusting,” Dex mutters, handing the scandalized cashier a couple of bills and telling her to keep the change.
Outside, I stop to sip my coffee and notice the other tour buses. Guess Dawson didn’t get an early wake-up. What the fuck was the rush for Shelby? I glance back at the hotel…
“You thinking of finding Dawson and pounding on his door?” Jigsaw asks.
This fucker knows me too well. “No. What are you, eight?”
“More like nine, nine and a half inches.”
I roll my eyes. That ride in the car is looking better by the second. “Shut up.”
We stop at our vehicles and I check my phone. “Texting Murphy to let him know we’re on our way back. See where he wants to meet up before we head to Zips.”
Dex takes out his phone, flips through a few screens. “We should hit Exit 28 in about three hours. Four if we stop for breakfast somewhere. Have him meet us at the gas station right off the exit.”
“Sounds good.”
“How’d you leave it?” Jigsaw asks.
I finish sending the text before glancing up. “Leave what?”
“Things with Shelby.”
“None of your fucking business.”
“Seriously?”
I blow out a breath and squeeze my eyes shut. Why am I even bothering? “We’re gonna meet up in Virginia next week. Z’s got a few charters he wants me to visit and that one was on top of the list.” I lift my shoulders. “So, it works out.”
“Aw, fuck.” Dex groans. “Priest’s still poking around?”