A Twist of Fate Read online

  Thirty minutes later, I was kind of wishing I hadn’t chosen the tuna for lunch, because no doubt, people would be able to smell it on my breath. Wouldn’t you know it, the one day I eat a fish sandwich, and no mints. No gum. There was what looked like an already sucked on butterscotch candy partially stuck to its wrapper while the rest appeared to be glued to purse lint at the bottom of my handbag. I briefly contemplated trying to wipe it off, but then I thankfully came to my senses. A quick peek at my vintage Mickey Mouse watch told me I didn’t have time to do anything about it either. Nope. The gas station, which was the closest place that would sell mints, gum, or toothpaste, was still a couple blocks in the wrong direction. Why in the hell was I always on the shit end of the luck train?

  One of these days, I was going to get my ass together! Seriously. Do you know what’s worse than eating a fish sandwich for lunch, and then burping that taste back up repeatedly? No? I’ll tell you. What’s worse, is working in a studio of ridiculously, genetically gifted male specimens. All of those men smelled better than sex and made me wonder if I’d ever actually been fucked properly, because I just know deep down in my southern-born soul that they could do it so much better than I’d ever had it before. So, the last thing a girl wants is to be standing face-to-face with one of the studio gods, only to have her fish breath waft up and smack him in his smirky little sexed-up smile. Women do not want men to associate them with tuna! Am I right?

  A giant sigh heaved itself from my chest. There was no going back now though. I’d made the dumbass decision, and now I had to fish it out. I mean, stick it out. Damn tuna! Only, when I got closer to the studio, there were two bikers blocking the entrance. One of them looked like someone just shot his dog and the other seemed to be consoling him. I slipped off to the side, standing in front of the shop window. I could see Zeke and Kane standing there as Ever spoke to a third biker-man inside. When I glanced back over, the younger of the two bikers outside looked completely stricken. The color drained from his face, and I’d swear an invisible phantom must have just ripped his heart out right there as he stood on the sidewalk.

  It was only then that I realized Ever’s voice had been raised and was drifting out the still cracked-open door. “You weren’t there when the only way out was a fuckin’ bottle of pills, that I couldn’t even manage to get myself to swallow, when not even my family would show up to celebrate my sixteenth birthday. None of them were there! None of them gave a shit, not even my brother, not for a long time. None of them cared until the truth came out, and even after that… you see how it goes. Just like today. I’m still in the wrong for feeling the way I do about people who made me want to end my life. I promised Lucy, my fuckin’ therapist, and myself that I would never allow people to take me back to that point again. So, I’m sorry if I don’t want to jump right back in and set myself up for that particular failure, okay? I was happy today for the first time in a very long time, and now it’s gone again because the Aces High MC came walking through that door and stole it from me, even if that wasn’t their intention this time.”

  “Okay, that’s enough,” Zeke demanded. The door to the shop shut tight, cutting off anything else that might have been said, and the young man I’d just witnessed having his heart wrenched free of his chest, he was openly sobbing right there in the middle of the sidewalk, for all to see. The bad ass biker in his denim and leather, with menace and swagger dripping from his essence was pulled to pieces and shredded while not giving a single fuck who witnessed it. It had something to do with Ever. She was one of the sweetest girls I knew, but in that moment, I wasn’t concerned about her. I knew the boys would have her back. Right then, I wanted to go hug the shit out of the boy whose heartache I had inadvertently witnessed.

  It wasn’t long before the third man came out of the studio looking like the whole world just took a piss on his shoes. They spoke softly with one another, making it impossible to hear from where I stood. I figured that was my cue to quit gawking and get back to work. It wasn’t difficult to slip by the men unnoticed, and into the store. I thought it had been unnoticed anyway until I turned back and locked eyes with the man who wore his crushed soul in plain sight. I swear, it took everything in me not to go to him. I didn’t know what I could do to make an ounce of difference in his life, but whatever he needed, I could do that. Except that I couldn’t because he was a stranger and that would be weird.

  Instead, my feet took me, by rote memory, to the front desk where my purse was quickly stowed away in the cabinet underneath before groaning out a heavy sigh as I slowly stood to my full five-foot, three-inch height that my current shoes allowed. I came face to chest with Sully and glanced up to see his brows pinched tightly together. “Man, one of those guys must have had sushi or something before coming here. Smells like the catch of the day over here!”

  Fuck. My. Life!

  I clamped my lips shut tight and just nodded my head vigorously. Better to blame the bikers for the smell than my poor lunch choice. Sully shrugged it off as he glanced at the calendar. “Okay, well, that was my last appointment of the day. I’m off for the night,” he reminded me. I nodded my head and smiled a tight-lipped smile. He tipped his head to the side, studying me a little as I tried to appear preoccupied with getting the computer back to the point of sale system we used to check people out when they purchased merchandise from the store portion of the studio. “You doing all right?”

  I nodded again, leading Sully to just shrug and take a couple steps away. Thankfully. I was able to breathe out normally again without fear of tainting someone else’s air. Only, I breathed too soon, as it turned out.

  “Damn, girl! That was you this whole time?” Sully questioned while laughing at me. “Here, you need this more than me,” he said as he dropped a tin of cinnamon flavored breath mints on the counter next to me. “What the hell did you eat, anyway?” Then his eyes rounded out really big in poorly faked shock, “Don’t tell me! It was that new girl at the bakery.”

  I stood, stunned, tuna-breath wafting from my gaped mouth before I could pull it together, narrowed my eyes on the pesky bastard that was the bane of my existence today, and I let him have it. “I’m not a fucking lesbian!”

  “Really? Could have fooled me. I’ve had the bakery’s catch of the day, and I’d say,” he leaned in and sniffed. “Yup, that’s about it.”

  “Ew!” I screeched out. “You are not just the run-of-the-mill kind of cock weasel, you’re a rotten dicked, foul beast of a cock weasel.”

  “Nah! I think that smells more like your deal, today.” On that note, he spun on his heel, cackled out a gleeful laugh, and left the store. “Later, sweetness!” He called before the door could hit him in that perfectly tight ass of his.

  Kane came back up to the desk shortly after I took advantage of the mints on the counter. “Is Ever okay?” I asked him.

  “You were here for that?”

  “No, but I came back in the middle of it, I think. There was a biker outside breaking completely down. I mean, he was bawling his eyes out, and another trying to make him feel better. Then,” I swallowed thickly. “I heard a little of what she said at the end, about the pills.”

  Kane moved in close to me then, and leveled me with serious eyes. “You will not repeat that again. If she wants you to know, she’ll confide in you.”

  “Oh… Okay, I just, I only wanted to make sure she was okay,” I finally managed to get out. I’d never heard Kane sound so intense about a person before.

  He nodded. “We have her. No need to worry.” He crossed off his next appointment, who must have cancelled, and then moved back toward our employee lounge area in back.

  The tortured biker that I had seen out front that day had been Ever’s brother, Toby. It wasn’t the last time I saw him either. I supposed after the revelation that day, he was looking for anyway to make things up to his sister. I didn’t know everything that had gone down between them, but I’d heard enough over the course of her working in the shop that I had a pretty good g
ist. He had chosen sides once before, and it hadn’t been hers. It was obvious he had some pretty hardcore regrets about his actions, and the pain they had caused his sister, but I don’t think she was quite able to see through the years of hurt and torment she suffered to notice that it was genuine.

  I was surprised to see him when he opened up the shop door and came sauntering into the lobby. He took everything in before heading over to where I sat behind the front desk. “Is there something I can do for you?” I asked the question while staring straight into his baby blue eyes. I could just fall right into those eyes and get lost, they were so mesmerizing. It wasn’t until I turned my attention to the rest of him that I noticed the cocky-as-fuck grin he was sporting. Tipping my head to the side, I narrowed my eyes at him and cocked a brow as if to ask, “What?”

  “My sister done with J-Bird yet?”

  I didn’t have to answer because the man in question came out of the back area looking somewhat doom and gloom, if I had to describe him. He just kept staring at his forearm like it was going to implode or something. Hell, considering all the turmoil he’d caused in Ever’s life, I could understand why he might be worried.

  “Don’t suppose you have time for us today?” He asked after shifting focus from his friend to his sister. That was the first moment I realized he hadn’t come into the shop alone. There was an older, slightly greasy biker there with him, about 12 kegs past a pot belly, and leering in my general direction. I did not get warm and cuddly vibes from the guy. He seemed far more like a predator, and if I was being honest with myself, he was what I’d always pictured as the stereotypical biker-dude. He looked mean, dirty, and not like someone you wanted to mess around with.

  “Actually, I have an appointment in 30 minutes,” Ever informed him, and before I could think better of it, I blurted words out of my mouth that I wished I could take back.

  “No you don’t! That guy just cancelled. Something about being afraid of your boyfriend,” I informed her as all eyes moved from me to Ever. Hers stayed locked on my own for a minute, and if she could shoot daggers with them, I’m sure I would have been shish kabobbed right then and there. I shrugged my shoulders, smirked at her and added, “Pussy!” to describe the yuppie idiot in order to lighten the mood.

  I didn’t notice if it helped with Ever or not because her brother turned those beautiful gem-like orbs of his on me, and the heat in them practically melted my panties right off my body. Okay, I wasn’t actually wearing panties since I was in faux leather, skin tight pants today, but still… That look would have demolished them if I had been. I quickly turned away, and went back to foraging up some supplies in World of Warcraft. I did it to take the attention off of me so that Ever wouldn’t get pissed, but it backfired a bit.

  “A gamer chick, too?” Toby asked me as I continued ignoring him. I didn’t miss the way he adjusted himself. I smiled inwardly at the thought that I caused him some discomfort in those jeans of his that fit far too well already. There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of room for growth, if you know what I mean. I knew what I probably looked like to him today. I was total biker-babe eye candy. I wore my faux leather pants with an electric blue tank top that had Permanent Marks logo on it. It went well with the blue streaks I had dyed into my otherwise golden blond hair. My four inch heels matched the shirt and made me top off at about five feet, four inches rather than the fact that I barely managed a solid five feet without them.

  It was Ever’s response to her brother that finally drew me out of my thoughts of having Toby take me, right here on the front desk, damn whoever wanted to watch.

  “If you ever learn some manners, you might actually get a girl,” she explained to her brother. The other men laughed at his expense.

  He simply shrugged. “I get girls.”

  She sassed him back though. “Club whores don’t count. They’re basically paid to deal with your shit.”

  “So, am I next or what?” Toby asked.

  “Nah, man. I’m going.” The fluffy biker, PeeWee, told him. “Since you appointment canceled, I’ll go next. Lover boy there can wait his turn.”

  “Sounds fair,” Ever agreed and took him back to her area leaving me with her brother.

  “So, what’s your name, honey?”

  I turned my attention back to Toby, whose kutte said his road name was T-Bone. That was stupid. “It isn’t ‘honey,’” I answered.

  He just rolled his eyes and grinned at me. Dear lord, that grin was something special. I got stuck watching as his eyes twinkled in amusement. He leaned his elbows on the glass counter top, propped his chin in his hands, and never once broke eye contact as he did. “I’m going to get you to tell me your name, and then I’m going to take you on the best date you’ve ever been on in your life!” The boast made my heartbeat tick up to a spastic beat. Holy hell. I took a deep breath and then let it out.

  “Oh yeah, bad boy?” I asked in a teasing tone. “And then what?”

  “Then,” he emphasized before lifting one of his hands to push a stray lock of blue hair back behind my ear. “We go get started on our family.”

  The laugh that burst from me was completely involuntary. “You are too much!” I told him, still teasing.

  “What? I’m fucking serious as a heart attack, honey.” He leaned over and conducted a full-body perusal from the tips of my painted toes up to the top of my head with a few pauses to really take in my curves along the way. “Yeah, I can see you wearing my kutte already.”

  “You see me wearing that?” I pointed to the leather vest thing he wore, the same one that stated his name was T-Bone and not Toby, even though that’s what I kept calling him in my mind.

  He shook his head. “Nuh-uh. I’ll get you your own with a property patch on it, so everyone knows you belong to me. Then, I’m going to make sure you know that you’re mine when I take you while all you wear is that kutte.”

  I was pretty sure my eyes couldn’t go any wider. I leaned in too, our noses almost touched since I was sitting up high on a stool on the other side of the counter. “You just met me, biker-boy. You can’t just claim someone like that when you’ve never really been with them.”

  He nodded his head sagely, as if he would agree with me. His words were something else though. “Honey, sometimes, when a man knows, he just knows. You’re going to have to just go with it until you can jump on the same page.”

  “Yo, G! What’s shakin’?” Kane asked as he slipped past us and wrapped the countertop with his knuckles while glaring at Toby along the way. He didn’t stop to talk or wait for my response either. My eyes trailed after him though, watching as his tight ass, hugged so well in those jeans of his, moved back into his workstation. It was only once he was out of sight that I remembered the man standing in front of me. He had a sour expression on his face, full lips were pulled down at the corners as he stared off toward where I had just watched Kane retreat to.

  “He didn’t even see you,” Toby quietly told me. Not that I didn’t already surmise that for myself, but it was a bit of a punch to my ego that someone else noticed too. I just shrugged my shoulders. “You deserve someone who notices you, honey. Don’t settle for chasing the blind. I’m right here in front of you.”

  “And how long will you be there?”

  He glanced down at his watch, then toward the back where his sister had taken his club brother. “I don’t know a couple hours at least.”

  I laughed at his misunderstanding. “I meant how long will you see me before the shiny wears off, and you’re off to the next toy that makes your heart beat harder or your dick go stiff?”

  “Jesus, you don’t pull any punches, do you?”

  “No reason to,” I admitted. “I know the score. I’m the exciting, exotic experience for most and then I’m scraped off. So, how long will you notice?”

  “You’ve been fucking around with the wrong men if you think it would be easy for me to just scrape you off, honey.” He almost looked angry on my behalf, but then he changed the course of o
ur conversation again. “He called you ‘G’ so what’s that stand for?”

  “Hey Gretchen, who is up first for me today?” Kane called out. I blushed as Toby’s grin widened.

  “It’s that Nico guy,” I shouted back to him.

  “So, Gretchen,” he made sure to emphasize the fact that he knew my name now. “What are you doing when you get off work?”

  “I’m going home to eat a pizza and read a book.”

  “I could come with you and share the pizza.”

  “I didn’t say I was eating a slice of pizza, I said I was eating a pizza! As in, the whole damn thing.”

  “You?” He questioned while checking me out once more. “Okay, I’ll buy two pizzas then. This, I have to see. A tiny thing like you packing away a whole pizza…” he shook his head instead of finishing his thought. Then he finished it anyway. “Nah, I don’t see it.”

  “I do it all the time,” I told him.

  “Prove it!” I never knew just how much those two simple words would change the course of my life. Some of it for the better, some of it in gut-wrenching ways, but there wasn’t a single piece of me that could ever regret it.

  It took Ever two hours to finish up the tattoo she did on the fat biker. He came to stand near the front desk for a few minutes, leering at me as he did. I tried my best to ignore him, but he wouldn’t let it pass. “You’re just going to ignore me, but I hear you up here laughing and joking around with my brother.”

  I shivered physically at the mention that Toby might consider this man his brother. “I don’t know you,” I stated before going back to faking more work.

  “Didn’t know him either, now did ya?”

  “Look, you’re old enough to be my dad’s age.” Not my dad, because my dad was a far better person, and I didn’t need to listen to the asshole talk any longer to figure that out for myself. “No offense, but you’re not my type.”