“How long are you going to keep me in here, living like a bum?”
“As long as the Prez says you staying here is law. You see this shit?” He tapped his chest, a small rectangular patch stitched in blood red beneath his name. ENFORCER, it said, as if I needed a reminder.
“Yeah, I can still read, Fireball. I was going to be a teacher.”
His tough face crinkled, anger and amusement warring over a handsome canvass. He seemed to hate it when I used the wrong name.
What kind of name was Firefly for a biker, anyway? At least Fireball would've fit the explosive rage I could sense in him, churning just beneath the surface.
“That's who I am. Enforcer. Sergeant-at-Arms. Means I keep order around here for the club. Usually, that's breaking up drunken brawls and arguments between the brothers, but it extends to you, too, darlin'. Just as long as Prez keeps me posted to keeping your ass fed and watered.”
“Uh, huh. How should I salute you, sir? Isn't that how all this pretend soldier stuff works with you biker boys?”
His temples popped as he clenched his jaw. Whatever. I wasn't here to make him happy, and I definitely wasn't here to flirt.
“You don't need to salute shit when you're not wearing a patch. You just gotta respect it. Every group needs discipline, woman. Count yourself lucky. What we've got going on here ain't half as bad as the five years I spent in Kandahar. U.S. Army does a decent job of teaching a man some respect.”#p#分页标题#e#
Something you could fucking learn, his eyes said, but his lips refrained.
I blinked. No way. This six foot something human pitbull was a vet?
“How long were you in?” I said, swallowing my sarcasm with a big gulp of water. “Daddy served too. Short stint in the National Guard. Not that it did him much good.”
“Too long to live a normal life. The shit that happened over there – that's a big part of what I'm doing here.” His eyes hardened, and he stared me down, as if he'd suddenly said too much. “Don't regret a damned thing. This is the life. Rank means a lot to me, and so does respect. A little peace and order goes a long fuckin' way.”
“Yeah, I figured. Daddy was all about the neatness and discipline too, except for the times he hit the bottle.” I stared at my shoes, wanting to punch the nearest wall.
He'd been drinking the last time, hadn't he? Right before he...
“You don't need to worry about that shit anymore, babe. It's over. All that matters is keeping you safe. We'll get his ashes out of the county for you when all this is over. You can pay your respects and get on with your life.”
If I wasn't so sick to my stomach, I would've laughed in his face. He talked like it was all so easy – like I hadn't just had the whole world torn away from me.
Like dough smashed through a cookie cutter lined with barbed wire. The old world was gone. I'd entered one that was totally illegal, dangerous, and alien to everything I'd ever known.
Firefly plopped down on the bed next to me, shaking the beaten mattress. I bounced up and down, and for a second, I imagined the sounds we'd make here under very different circumstances.
I bit my lip and blushed. What the hell was wrong with me?
Twenty-two years, and I was still a virgin, that's what. No amount of grief could stop me from thinking all about the things a big man like him could do to me, naked and raw.
“Pay my respects?” I said numbly. “Why?”
“Huh? You loved your old man, right?” His eyes widened.
“Sure. But right now, I hate him for leaving me. I hate him for bringing me here. I hate him for putting me at your mercy, Fireball.”
I saw the little tick in his lips every time I butchered his name.
What a bitch I'd become. I wanted to choke and die on my own bitter words, especially when I saw his eyes narrow and his face harden again.
“Fuck this, Cora. You can cool your heels alone and sort this shit out by yourself. I'm the man who's looking after you because I'm told to. I'm not your fuckin' therapist.” His look bled murder. Part of me wanted to apologize, if only it wouldn't make me feel worse.
Daddy was the only one who owed anyone an apology – and he was dead.
“You're dealing with a lot, I get it, but a girl only gets so many passes. Only gonna tell you one more time, darlin'. My name's Firefly, and if you keep on going with that Fireball shit, I won't give a damn how fucked in the head you are. I'll bend you over, rip off that skirt, and give your sweet ass the whoopin' it deserves for blowing smoke in my face.”
He jumped up, headed for the door, and slammed it so hard behind him the walls shook.
Jaw, meet floor. My mouth hung open for at least a solid minute.
Thank God the only mirror here was in the little bathroom attached to the bedroom, or else I'd have seen my face beet red.