Page 24 of Sold to the Bikers
"I didn't know what to do. I almost called the police, that's how worried I was."
As someone who's had their share of run-ins, never mind getting a fucking bullet in my gut from the local boys in blue, I can fucking relate. Then the sister’s eyes land on me for the first time even though I'm standing in the middle of her living room.
"Who's he?" She frowns suspiciously, and I fucking get it. Like recognizes like. She might not know who I am, but even without the cut, she knows I’m not a fucking accountant.
"I'm… Eric." Now that's a name I haven't used in years.
Natalie looks at me with raised eyebrows. With a little shrug, I nod. “Eric, this is Sandra. My little sister.”
“Yeah, yeah. Nice to meet you. Now why is he with you? And why didn’t you have your key?” Sandra looks back and forth between us.
Natalie touches her hand tentatively to my arm, and I wrap it around her waist, pulling her close. She makes a tiny squeak. “We um… I met Eric at work and got a little carried away. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“You’re…together? He was a customer at the bakery? Seriously?”
"Guilty as fucking charged," I say, stroking a hand down Natalie’s generous hip, but stopping just short of taking a handful of ass. "One bite of that muffin and I was sold."
It's a good thing Sandra's looking at me so she doesn't see Natalie's glare.
"I thought Ramona had you working with bread lately." She looks between us. "How long have you been together?"
"Um… It's been a little while," says Natalie, and even after such a short time knowing her, it's obvious she’s not a practiced bullshit artist. "But it got kind of serious the last couple days."
Now that's for fucking sure.
"Why didn't you tell me? All I got was that text and when I tried calling, you didn’t answer. And what are you wearing? I'm so confused."
Natalie shrinks down a little with each new question. "God, my phone isn’t working. We… We rented one of those paddle boats in Uptown Park, and um… you know how clumsy I am. I ended up falling in the water and Eric took me to his place since it’s closer. My phone still hasn’t turned back on, and I borrowed these from his… roommate.”
"So why didn't you come home afterwards?" Sandra can’t possibly be fucking swallowing this.
This is painful, but I could watch Natalie blush like this all fucking day.
"Well, we… you know. Got distracted. Time kind of got away from me."
"Natalie…" Sandra shakes her head, and I think our goose is fucking cooked, except she bursts out laughing. “After all these years of telling you to loosen up, you decided to jump right in with both feet. Literally. It's about time you had some fun. You spend so much time here worrying about me. I'm so glad someone finally broke you out of it!"
"Rea—really?" Natalie seems about as amazed as I am that her sister’s buying it.
"Of course!" Sandra pulls Natalie out of my arms and into another hug. "I'm super happy for you." But when she looks up at me over Natalie's shoulder, her expression darkens like a storm cloud. "Don't fucking hurt her," she mouths.
I smile back, unfazed. If she expects me to be scared of a fucking kid, she’s not as tough as she thinks she is. I have no intention of hurting Natalie, but this world isn’t kind to innocents, and if it were up to me, Sandra would know that I’m not the one that got her sister into deep shit.
"I'm just going to go get some clothes," says Natalie when they break the hug.
"You're not staying?"
"I can't. I'm sorry. We've… we've got plans."
"I bet. Go ahead." Sandra grins until Natalie disappears into a bedroom. Then she turns dead serious as she faces me, voice like ice. "Who’re you with? I'll take hundred to one odds that no one's called you Eric in years, if that’s even your name."
I consider lying for a moment, but obviously she knows what's up. "Eagles."
"Fuck," she hisses. “Nat’s not… she’s not your type.”
"I’ll be the judge of that. And I'm taking care of her. Trust me. Me and my brothers."
"Why?"