Silver Bastard (Silver Valley #1)(30)
Author: Joanna Wylde

The kid took the guns and put them into the trunk of a very sporty little BMW convertible that’d been parked in the shadows on the side of the building. It had “princess” written all over it, and I sincerely hoped it belonged to his girlfriend.

Then he turned back to us.

“Looking forward to doing more business,” he said, holding out his hand to me. Interesting. His shake was firm and strong. “I’m Rourke Malloy.”

“Puck.”

He nodded, clearly committing me to memory, then walked away, his body casual confidence. I glanced at Boonie.

“We done?”

“Yup,” he replied. “Let’s get Deep and head back to the clubhouse. We’ll go over everything at church tomorrow. You want to go back inside, maybe say good night to your girlfriend?”

The question annoyed me, because I’d planned on doing something very much like that. Not saying good night—of course not. But I’d figured I’d check her out at least one more time, maybe make sure she was doing okay.

Now I couldn’t, and Boonie knew it.

Christ I needed a smoke. Couldn’t have one of those, either.

“I hate you.”

“Stop being a little bitch and take care of business,” he said, laughing. “Claim her or get over it.”

Fuck, I wished it was that easy.

BECCA

“Hold up, I’ll walk you out,” Blake said. “Just have to grab something out of the back room first.”

I pulled out a chair and collapsed, because my feet were killing me. I appreciated the fact that he didn’t want us girls wandering around a dark parking lot at three a.m. on our own, but standing and waiting for him simply wasn’t an option.

“So how did you do?” Danielle asked, grabbing the seat next to me. “I made out better than I expected—not half bad for a first night. Says something good about the place. Of course that table of little fuckwads stiffed me on the tip, but no surprise there. I knew they would, from the minute they came in. Think they’re the shit, don’t they?”

I shrugged, because she wasn’t really expecting an answer.

“You ladies ready?” Blake asked.

“Yeah,” I said. He laughed and reached out to catch our hands, dragging us to our feet.

“Don’t you ever get tired?” I muttered.

“Nope,” he replied, his voice disgustingly fresh and smug. “Endless energy. Be afraid.”

“I live in fear.”

Danielle giggled and popped up on her toes to kiss him. When he tried to catch her and kiss her back, she ducked around and jumped on his back without warning.

“Jesus!” Blake muttered, staggering, but he looked happy. Joe had been right—Blake was into Danielle for real. Shit. I hoped she didn’t destroy him . . .

“Take me to my car,” she announced, bouncing up and down. “If you’re a good boy, you’ll get a reward.”

He started toward the door and I followed, feeling like the third wheel. Usually that wasn’t a problem with these two, but it was late and obviously Blake wanted her at home and in his bed. The fact that I needed a ride complicated that, seeing as it took her in the wrong direction.

“I’m sorry my car’s not here,” I told her.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said as we passed through the back door, locking it behind us. Teresa was still in her office but she had an apartment upstairs so we didn’t need to wait around for her. Blake trotted down the steps, me trailing behind like a puppy. We were halfway across the lot when I saw someone move in the darkness.

“Shit,” I hissed. “There’s someone back here.”

“If you’re a murderer, you can back the fuck off!” Danielle shouted. “I have a gun and Blake killed someone with his bare hands once, asshole!”

Blake stopped cold.

“What the hell?”

“It’s all about creating an atmosphere of fear,” Danielle said confidently. “We’ll just scare him off. It’s probably just some dumbass kid having fun with us.”

He—whoever he was—wasn’t exactly radiating fear. I guessed this from the way he started walking toward us, each step crunching the gravel. I felt like there should be menacing music in the background. Maybe the lone call of a loon . . . Blake lowered Danielle and took on that menacing aura he’d had during the fight yesterday morning.

I was very, very glad to have him on my side.

Then the figure stepped into the ring of light surrounding the porch. Puck. I felt an innapropriate thrill, remembering all too well how he’d kissed me earlier . . . Hard hands cupping my face. Raw need in his eyes and the frustration written across his every move.

Now he waited for me in the darkness.

I wasn’t sure whether I should be relieved that we weren’t about to get murdered, or scared, because whatever Puck’s intentions were, they wouldn’t be pure and innocent. Meet him head-on, I decided. Never show a biker weakness.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, challenging him. “Not enough that Boonie trips me while I’m trying to work? And don’t deny it—I saw the look on his face.”

“Thought you might need a ride home,” he replied, his voice soft and deep. “And I happened to be passing by. Figured I’d wait.”

“What are you, some kind of fucking stalker?” Danielle demanded bluntly.

“Danielle, I can handle this,” I protested.

“So handle it,” she muttered. “I’m ready to go home and he’s in my way.”

Puck’s face hardened and I realized we were headed down a dark path here. Danielle was brave and loyal, but her sense of preservation was lacking. Throw in the fact that Blake was always ready to throw down, and Puck . . . Well, best not to go there.

“Danielle, he saved my ass today,” I said quickly, shifting out of tough girl mode. “It’s all good. He just caught me off guard and I’m tired. And Puck, it’s really nice of you to offer, but—”

I stopped talking abruptly. Danielle and Blake obviously wanted some time together, but she was such a good friend she’d run me home first. That meant close to an extra forty minutes of driving for her in the dead of night, all so I wouldn’t have to spend time with Puck.

She’d do it without a second thought, too—that’s the kind of person she was. But should I really be asking her to just because he sort of scared me?

“You know what? A ride would be great,” I told him, forcing myself to smile. Blake shot me a quick glance as Danielle started protesting again.