shook Arianne’s hand. In the fifteen minutes she and Ty had been in Sparky’s shop, Arianne had barked orders at a couple of bikers, thrown a wrench at Sparky, and tuned up a V-Rod Muscle to the thudding beat of Saxon’s “Motorcycle Man.” A little heavy for midday, but no one complained when Arianne hooked her phone up to the speaker system and blasted the tunes.
Evie tried not to stare, but it was hard to look away from the contrast of Arianne’s beauty—long, thick brown hair, startling green eyes, sharply-defined features—and the baggy gray coveralls she wore for her work as a journeyman mechanic in Sparky’s shop. Evie had always wondered what kind of woman could put up with Jagger’s forceful personality, but now she knew. Formidable in her own right, Arianne was his perfect match.
“So you’re Zane’s new girlfriend.” Arianne gave her a frank, appraising look and gestured her over to the worn brown couch in the corner. Tucked away in the corner of an industrial estate, the corrugated metal warehouse had been converted into a spacious, brightly lit garage, complete with neatly filled tool racks, comfortable furniture, and work bays for five bikes.
“I have to say I never thought I’d see him with a woman,” Arianne continued. “He’s a dark horse, our Zane. When I first came to the club, he thought I was a Black Jack spy sent to seduce Jagger and take down the Sinners, and he did everything he could to get rid of me.”
“I’m surprised he’s still alive.”
Arianne’s eyes widened and she grinned. “Jagger likes him so I let it slide.”
“We’re not really together,” Evie said quickly. “We were friends growing up, and then we lost touch.” So they’d had sex. It hardly counted for a relationship, although she knew a lot more about Zane than she did about most of the men she had dated. But that was Zane before. Not Zane now.
“Friends who have a son together.” Arianne nodded at Ty who was watching attentively as Sparky changed a tire.
“Yeah. I don’t know how that’s going to work out. I mean, with the whole biker thing…”
“Lots of the club members have kids,” Arianne said. “They just keep their home life separate from their biker life, except for Sunday rides and club parties when the old ladies show up and cause trouble. You’ll get a taste of that at the party tonight.”
“Don’t scare her off.” Sparky, the Sinner road chief, and serious a contender for Tall, Dark, and Handsome Man of the Year, with his thick, brown hair and piercing blue eyes, wiped his hands on an old rag. “At least not until she’s given us the down and dirty about Jagger and Zane.”
“That kind of information is only shared among old ladies.” Arianne smirked. “So unless you want to hang with Sandy, Dawn, Evie, me and a bunch of old ladies tonight, you’re out of luck.” She put her feet up on the coffee table, and her brow creased. “Evie’s also going to tell us what she was doing with Viper when Zane was riding around available for the taking, ’cause I’m guessing she’s a few years younger than me and given that Viper’s my dad, that’s kinda … not something I really want to think about.”
Evie’s cheeks heated and she drew in a deep breath, inhaling the familiar scents of grease and paint. “I didn’t—”
“And I’m outta here.” Sparky tossed the rag on a tool bench affixed to the wall. “Gotta get back to man stuff: fixing engines, tuning bikes, using tools—”
“What I was just doing,” Arianne interjected.
Sparky flipped her the bird. “Ty. Bud. C’mon over here and I’ll show you my manly socket wrenches.”
“You don’t have to tell me anything,” Arianne said after Sparky had taken Ty to the furthest corner of the garage. “I just found it hard to believe when Jagger told me. I never saw any kindness in Viper. He was a cold, hard, cruel father, and a vicious, ruthless bastard who twisted my brother, and killed my mother because he thought she was having an affair.”
Evie’s mouth opened and closed again. She was at a complete loss for words. Had everything between Her and Viper been an act? Every word? Every conversation? His gentle kisses and soft words? As with Derek and Mark, had she failed to see the monster behind the man? Was she making the same mistake with Zane? How could she ever trust herself?
“I’m sorry.” Arianne grimaced. “I shouldn’t have said that. You