I got one solid into a pocket, but missed the next. There was no chance I won this. I was average at best when it came to pool, and Gears was pretty good until she had a few drinks.
“I think she means you should have maintenance done more often,” I offered Hawk. “Like me.”
Gears glared at him, then sank three more balls before her next miss. Only one of her balls remained.
“Your bike is a fucking disaster, Four.”
I put a hand on my heart. “All of my oil changes are on time. And I buff her up real nice once a month.”
Although, I didn’t want to think too hard about the state of my motorcycle at this very moment. We’d all been parked in ourgarage, but with the Alpha Chariots members hunting us down, they’d probably broken into our house. Quite possibly trashed our bikes. The assholes.
I didn’t sink a single ball on my turn.
“Yet,” Gears said as she lined up her shot, “whenever I check over that damn machine, it’s one bad day away from falling to pieces while you’re riding it.”
She sank her final ball, then the 8 ball.
Hawk came over and snagged my cue as Gears started to rack up the balls again.
“It never actually fell apart, though,” I insisted.
“Should I be concerned about the fact that I rode on your motorcycle with you?”
I spun to face the sliding glass doors, open to let the cold midmorning breeze flow through the space. Talia stood there, wrapped in a fluffy sweater.
“Hey, princess.” I rushed over to her, slinging an arm across her shoulders to lead her inside. “No, you shouldn’t be.”
“I would be concerned, personally,” Gears said. “Any bike maintained by Conrad is a hazard to him and everyone around him.”
“I’m following the damn manual,” I complained. “What else do you want me to do?”
“Be better at it.”
Talia laughed at Gears’ tough response. I held her closer, pouting.
“This is how she treats me all the time, you know. I don’t know why we’re friends,” I said.
“Because she has your best interests at heart?” Talia offered.
Gears snorted. “I don’t.”
“Because she’s fun to be around?”
“She’s not.” Hawk and I said it at the same time.
Talia burst out laughing. “Agree to disagree. I think she’s great.”
“Wait until you see her drunk and belligerent. You’ll change your tune,” Hawk said.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “It’s after the fifth beer. That’s when her true colours come out. She broke my nose once.”
“You got in the way,” Gears retorted.
“If I hadn’t gotten in the way, you would have knocked out the second-in-command of another motorcycle club. I saved all our asses that night. You could have started a fucking war!”
“A noble sacrifice.” Hawk took the first shot on the new round of pool. “You were ugly as fuck while that break healed. I worried for your future prospects.”
Snorting, Talia leaned into my side. “Even if the broken nose had set wrong, I still would’ve gone for him.”
