CHAPTER FIVE

Minus

“What the fuck is this?” I growled to Clutch. Cricket stared back, clearly irritated by my reaction.

“Gee, Cricket, it’s nice to see you, too. Been a long time,” she said with the kind of sarcastic smile only she could pull off without looking cold. A smile that made me want to take her into one of the back rooms and chew her clothes off.

I said nothing.

“Hey there, Cricket. It’s… uh, good to… see you. It’s been… ah… a while. You look great.” Clutch stumbled over his words, ending with, “I’m gonna… go get a beer,” before disappearing into the mass of congregated Saints, leaving me alone, standing face-to-face with Cricket fucking Wallace.

I couldn’t believe she was here, or that she’d gotten even hotter since I’d last seen her. I was twenty-three at the time, had just been patched in, and given my club name. Cricket was barely twenty-one and had just started hanging around the clubhouse. Her family had been estranged from Cutter and she was getting to know her long-lost uncle again. However, that reunion was short-lived when I decided to get to know Cricket myself. I’d gotten in way deeper than I’d intended, and although we tried to keep our relationship under wraps, I guess word got out.

When Cutter found out, I was sent away to the Savannah chapter and Cricket’s brother, Hatch, who rode with the Dogs of Fire, forbid her to be around the Saints ever again. To say I was shocked to see her standing before me now would be the understatement of a lifetime.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I finally blurted out.

“Okay, that one I’m going to take personally, Jase.” She crossed her arms. “Fuck you, too.”

Her reaction slapped me back to reality. For the first time, I was able to focus on the other occupants of the room. A who’s who of Oregon and Washington Burning Saints were spread out within the clubhouse’s great hall. Knuckle Sandwich by RatHound was playing in the background, while a group of Saints played pool in the corner. It was all bros and backslaps, like some sort of goddamned family reunion. It looked like just about every patch from the pacific northwest was present.

My attention snapped back to Cricket.

“Where’s Cutter?” I asked as I pushed my way past her into the crowd. I tried to keep my head down and avoid eye contact with anyone. I had no idea I’d be walking into such a grand affair and wasn’t in the mood to play catchup with everyone in the room.

“How would I know? I just got here about thirty seconds before you walked in,” she said, obviously irritated.

“Well, how the fuck would I know when you got here?” I snapped back.

“Have I done something wrong to you, Jase?” she asked, staying a close step behind as I made my way through the throngs of old familiar faces.

“Minus. No one calls me Jase anymore,” I ground out.

“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t refer to you by your super tough biker name. The last time I saw you, you were still Jase, at least some of the time.”

“What do you want, Cricket?” I asked, still refusing to look back at her.

“Who says I want anything? It’s been seven years since we’ve seen each other, and I was only trying to say—”

“Eight.”

“What?”

“It’s been eight years since we’ve seen each other and your uncle, my president, wanted it that way. In fact, so did your asshole brother, and as another point of fact, I’m not even supposed to be talking to you,” I yelled over the din as I continued to scan the Sanctuary for Cutter.

“Jesus, Minus. Is that what this is all about? We were kids back then,” Cricket said, her airy laugh cutting through the masculine clatter of the room.

I shook off the intoxicating sweetness of her voice and spun around quickly to face her, causing her to take a small step backwards in surprise.

“Wrong!” I shouted. “Maybe you were a kid, but I was a brand-new patch being dangled off a bridge, while my bags were being packed for me. It may be ancient history to you, but I wake up in Savannah every day. My shit’s in a different time zone because of you.”

“Because of me? You’re saying it’s my fault that you…”

Over the next few moments only fragments of what Cricket said registered in my brain. She was impossibly sexy, and I could barely focus on her words. I was also still white hot angry at the fact that she was even here. The Sanctuary of all places. I couldn’t avoid her, I couldn’t fuck her, and I couldn’t leave.

“Jase, are you listening to me?” Cricket’s elevated pitch brought me back to reality.

“Minus,” I reminded her, before adding, “and no… not really.” I turned around and started towards the back offices. “I’m looking for Cutter. The last thing I need is you following me around like a puppy.”

“I’m not following you!” she yelled over the ever increasing noise of Saintfest, or whatever the fuck was going on tonight. “Okay, maybe I am following you, but it’s only because I was trying to take the high road and be nice. Even though you’re giving me zero reason to do so. After all, you’re the one who should be apologizing to me, and instead you’re being an ass.”

“You’re right, Cricket. I’m an ass. So, before Cutter sees you, do us both a favor and go…do whatever the fuck it is you’re here to do. Just make sure it’s far away from me.”

I stopped in front of Cutter’s office door, but before I could knock, the door swung open to reveal a grinning Cutter. He smiled wide, extending his arms for an embrace before gleefully shouting, “Minus! Cricket! How perfect that you’re both here at the same time. I’m so glad the two of you could make it.”

This was turning out to be one strange fucking night.