Chaos Bound (Sinner's Tribe Motorcycle Club #4)(84)
Leaning over the pool table, to take his shot, Zane cracked a smile. He’d been doing that a lot since Evie had walked back into his life with the son he never knew he had. Tank didn’t think he’d ever seen Zane smile before Evie, and he still couldn’t get used to it. But it seemed to happen to the brothers who hooked up with an old lady. Even Jagger had been caught smiling once.
“You talking smack ’cause you forgot how to shoot, Gun?” With T-Rex’s return to the club still uncertain, Tank felt obliged to try and fill T-Rex’s role as peacekeeper, but it didn’t come easy.
“Fuck you.” Gun grabbed his cue and sent the cue ball careering wildly into the far bumper.
“Looks like you need some help holding your stick.” Tank made a pumping gesture with his hand and everyone laughed. “You need some pointers, I’ll be happy to show you how it’s done.”
“Yeah ’cause you’re that hard up,” Gun snapped, never one to enjoy being the butt of Sinner jokes. “Can’t get a woman, so you spend your time with your hand down your pants.”
Damn. They were always talking him down, never taking him seriously. Ever since T-Rex disappeared, they hardly noticed Tank anymore. He’d never realized how he’d stood in T-Rex’s shadow until the light was gone. And now that T-Rex was back, he would disappear again.
“I got a girl,” Tank said bristling. “A civilian. And she’s famous. Classy. Smart as f*ck. Not the kind of girl that would ever look twice at you.” He regretted the lie as soon as it was out of his mouth. His brothers weren’t going to let that one go, but if he let slip he’d been with a reporter, he’d be kicked out of the club.
“Yeah?” Shaggy lifted his thick brows. “Like movie or TV famous? Who is she? When are you bringing her to the club?”
“Jesus H Christ,” Gunner muttered. “He’s shitting you. What would a chick like that want with Tank? Movie and TV stars, society girls … they go for the big money or the big players. Maybe if he was president, he’d have a shot. But a f*cking junior patch who lives in the f*cking clubhouse and drives a piece of shit Fat Boy? Come the f*ck on.”
Tank opened his mouth for a snappy retort, when he heard someone call his name. Frowning, he looked through the crowd in the direction of the voice and caught sight of Naiya, a bag over her shoulder, her chest heaving, and her hair in disarray. She looked around, caught Tank’s gaze, and relief spread across her face as she came toward him.
“Do you know where Holt is?”
Tank shook his head. “I thought he was with you.”
She glanced over at the brothers and lowered her voice. “We kinda had a fight. He dropped me at the hotel and took off. But there was an ATF agent who was asking us questions in Trenton, and I just saw him outside the hotel.” She leaned right up and whispered in his ear. “Holt shot Leo, Viper’s VP, and then we took his bike. The attendant at the gas station where you saw us told the ATF he saw two people in Bolton Beaver sweatshirts on a fancy bike, and when the agent saw me in the sweatshirt he got suspicious. But without the CCTV tape, he couldn’t link us directly.”
“I took the tape,” Tank said. “I told Holt when he told me about Leo. You’re safe ’cause I won’t let anyone get it.”
“But the agent is at the hotel.” Naiya’s voice rose in pitch. “It can’t be a coincidence. I need to warn Holt. We have to get out of town.”
“This is a Sinner town,” Tank assured her. “And you’re a Sinner’s girl in a Sinner bar. Nothing’s gonna happen to you here.”
She bit her lip, looked away. “I’m not a Sinner’s girl. Holt and I … we kinda parted ways.”
Tank laughed. He’d only spent a few hours with T-Rex since his return, but he knew his best friend inside and out, and he’d never seen him the way he was with Naiya. Intense. Protective. Head over f*cking heels. She was his girl. He’d all but claimed her. Tank knew deep inside that T-Rex would do anything to protect her. And that meant when Holt wasn’t around, Tank would look after her as if she were his own.
“He may have gone for a ride to cool off, but he’ll never leave you.” Tank put his arm around her and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “I know him like I know myself. He may have lost a part of himself in that dungeon, and he may need some time to come back to the Sinners, but there is nothing that will keep him away from you.”
“He won’t know where I am.” She leaned against him with a worried sigh. “And what if he goes back to the hotel? He’ll walk right into their arms.”
“I’ll call the clubhouse, get some brothers to keep watch around the hotel for when he comes back. They’ll let him know where you are.”
Shaggy gestured to her bag. “I’ll take that and put it in the back. You can wait at the bar. Banks will take care of you while we get things sorted.”
Naiya handed Shaggy the duffle bag, and he frowned. “Where did you get that ring? Looks like a man’s ring. You got a man? You messing around with our T-Rex? He’s been through enough.”
“Leave her the f*ck alone.” Tank said before Naiya could answer. “She’s Holt’s girl. If there is another dude in the picture, he’s as good as dead. And right now finding Holt is our number one priority. Last thing he needs is to wind up in another kind of jail.”