Apparently their version of brotherhood meant you enjoyed both verbally and physically harassing each other constantly. Not much different than hanging out with Eraser and Griff. Except I never worried one of them was planning to kill me.

  Dex parked in front of a small white garage and motioned for me to get out.

  “Is this where you interrogate rival club members?” I asked.

  “Shut up.” He laughed and shook his head.

  Bricks keyed open a padlock and unwrapped a length of chain from around the metal garage door’s handles.

  An all-black Harley Electra Glide sat in the middle of the concrete floor.

  “What’s this?” I asked, staring at the two bikers.

  Dex shrugged but couldn’t stop grinning. “Graduation present.”

  “I earned my GED a while ago. Try again.”

  Dex scratched his head. “Are you always so difficult, Vapor?”

  “What? Is it a ‘thanks for not snitching’ gift?”

  Bricks chuckled. “That’s exactly what it is.”

  I ran my gaze over the bike again. It was a couple years old. In good shape. Still out of my price range.

  Dex ran his hand over the seat. “Juliet mentioned you two wanted to take a cross-country trip.”

  “We talked about it.” Before I got arrested and thrown in jail.

  Was she still willing to go with me?

  “Probably be good for her to get out of town for a little bit. See some new scenery. Be good for both of you.”

  “I can’t afford this, Dex.”

  His smile slipped. “What part of gift confuses you?”

  Bricks slapped his hand on the handlebars. “This one’s the carbureted model. Got almost the same power delivery and throttle response as the fuel-injection ones. Plenty of horsepower and torque to haul you, your girl, and some shit wherever you want to go.”

  “Yeah, thanks for the specs, Bricks. But I can’t—”

  “Shut up, Vapor,” Dex said.

  This time I frowned at the strange nickname. “Why do you keep calling me that?”

  “It’s about time you had a road name.”

  Bricks spread his hands wide. “Ulfric said you moved all silent and deadly sneaking into the house to help rescue him.”

  “Rescue is a bit of a stretch.”

  The smile slid off Dex’s face. “You’ve given me the impression you’re not interested in patching in to any one particular club.”

  I shook my head. Thanks to Dex, I’d gotten a taste of how a couple of different clubs worked. I liked and disliked things about each of them. Pledging my life and loyalty to one club? Nope. There was only one person in this entire world who I wanted to devote all my time and energy.

  If she still wanted me.

  “Nothing personal, Dex. I’ll help you out whenever you need me,” I promised, because holy fuck did I owe him one hell of a debt now. “But I’m not interested right now.”

  He nodded. “Long as you take care of my girl, you’re a friend to my club. I’ll always have your back. You’ve earned Ulfric’s loyalty as well.”

  I swallowed hard, fighting off showing any emotion.

  “Vapor can exist in two states simultaneously.” He poked me in the chest. “That’s you. Civilian and outlaw.”

  “Plus, the silent and deadly thing,” Bricks added.

  Vapor. I kinda liked the name, even if I wasn’t ready to admit it yet. I squinted at Dex. “A little pretentious, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah,” Dex answered with a hint of a smirk. “But so are you.”

  “Me?” I burst out laughing. “The foster kid?”

  “Be thankful. We got a brother down in Virginia with the road name Pants,” Bricks said. “So, it coulda been worse.”

  As much as I enjoyed yanking Dex’s chain, the thought he’d put into choosing a nickname for me left an unfamiliar warm sensation sliding through my chest. For the first time in my life, I felt like I belonged. Maybe in a few years, I’d rethink prospecting for his club.

  Dex slipped a leather cut off of a hook on the wall. “This goes with the bike.” He turned it around, showing me the blank back and the rocker on the bottom that simply said “Nomad.”

  Nomad. That word resonated. No home. Always moving from place to place.

  “You can’t wear our colors if you haven’t been voted into the club.” Dex tapped a small, rectangular patch on the front. “But you’ve earned one of these.”

  It was the same patch I’d noticed on Dex’s cut the day I met him.

  Respect Few, Fear None.

  “For doing time without snitching,” he explained. “Any Lost King you run into will understand what it means.”

  My throat tightened. I could only take so much of this emotional torture before I’d break. If I teared up in front of Dex, I’d never live it down.

  He pulled me in and hugged me, slapping my back a few times.

  “Thanks, Dex,” I rasped, returning the hug.

  “You got it.” He glanced at the bike. “Come over Sunday. I’ll help you map out a route. Murphy has some numbers and names for clubs that you can safely stop at wherever you go.”

  “Thank you. Appreciate that. I gotta save up more money first.”

  “You wanna paint this up nice, you come see me,” Bricks said. He glanced at Dex and stroked his hand over his chin. “Rock—our president—needs an extra set of hands in his shop if you’re planning to stick around over the summer and need some cash.”

  Wary, since I just got out of jail, I stared at the two of them before answering. “Legit mechanical work?”

  “He’ll probably pay you under the table.” Dex shrugged. “But fixing up bikes. That’s it.”

  “He gets real busy at the start of summer,” Bricks explained. “He’s a demanding boss. But fair.”

  Just what I needed. More terrifying bikers employing me. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

  “Go on. Go see Juliet.” Dex shoved me toward the bike. “She should be at the house soon.”

  Bricks held out his hand and we shook one last time.

  Then I threw my leg over the bike, twisted the throttle a few times and roared away from the parking lot.

  I was going to go get my girl.

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Juliet

  Dull wasn’t a strong enough word to describe life without Roman. The days were all the same. Lifeless. Joyless.

  He’d gone silent. Not responding to my letters. They never got returned, so I assumed he read them. Somehow that hurt even worse.

  Dex told me Roman was okay, and that he was working on it, but that was the only information I could pry out of him about the case.

  Without Roman around, Dex insisted on either staying at the house with me or making me sleep over at his place. He seemed to have taken our Christmas Eve argument to heart and wanted to be there for me. I gave him grief over his endless fussing but secretly I was happy not to be alone.

  Somehow, I buckled down, blocked out everything, and managed to study for finals. No matter how I felt about Roman, I needed to finish school strong and figure out a future for myself.

  “You did it!” Vienna bounced up and down next to my locker, tugging on my arm. “Number three in our class!”

  “Phew.” I blew out a breath and rested my forehead against the cool metal locker door. High enough to earn the scholarship I’d applied for and low enough not to give any speeches at graduation.

  She shoved a piece of paper in my face with the list. Her name was only a few spots below mine. “Way to go, V.” I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed.

  “Not bad, right?” She pulled away and casually rubbed her knuckles against her shirt as if she possessed an ounce of modesty. “Top ten.”

  “I knew you could do it.”

  “My parents said I can have a party Sunday. Will you come?”

  The last thing I felt like doing was celebrating. “You bet.”

  “What are you going to wear for graduation?” Vienna asked.

  We’d been fitted for our gowns weeks ago and that was the last time I’d thought about it. I’d been too consumed with studying.

  “Ugh, now I don’t even want to go,” I grumbled.

  “You have to go. You’ve had a shit year and you’ve worked too hard not to be there. Besides,” she added in a lower voice, “wouldn’t Roman want you to go?”

  How would I know? I couldn’t ask him. He’d cut off all communication.

  “Purple. You should wear purple,” she declared with a nod that sent her hair tumbling into her face. She blew the strands out of her eyes with a quick huff of breath.

  Her serious tone about what I considered a frivolous topic finally pulled a smile from me.

  “Come on, let’s go try on dresses.” Vienna clamped her hand around my arm and dragged me toward the parking lot, tugging her keys out of her pocket with her free hand.

  “Slow down.” I tried to dig my heels into the pavement, but it was no use. Vienna was a force of nature that would not be denied.

  “Let’s take my car,” she pleaded. “I’ll drive you to school tomorrow.”

  “It’s out of your way.”

  She tipped her head back. “I don’t care,” she shouted at the sky. “We’re free!”

  Laughing, I opened the passenger side door of her shiny hunter green sports car and lowered myself into the smooth buttery seat. An early graduation present from her parents, it had replaced her last car that wasn’t even a year old.

  I sighed and stared out the window. I had a knack for turning a fun occasion into a pity party.

  “Are you okay?” Vienna’s hand grazed my leg. Her usually bubbly voice had turned somber. Could I be more of a buzzkill?

  I forced a bright smile. “Just thinking about which shop we should try first.”

  “How about Macy’s?” She turned the key in the ignition and the powerful engine roared to life. It reminded me of being at the track with Roman and hanging out with his friends. Then I was sad all over again.

  “They have a huge junior’s dress department,” Vienna said.

  “Okay.” Thanks to Mrs. Shields, I wouldn’t have to rely on Vienna’s charity to obtain a dress. I’d be able to afford it on my own. My chest ached at the thought of Mrs. Shields and I briefly closed my eyes. She probably would’ve baked a cake to mark my graduation. I hoped if she was watching over me, she was proud and that she understood how much her generosity meant to me.

  I tried to force myself out of my funk and follow Vienna’s happy chatter. By the time she slid the car into a parking spot at Macy’s, I was mentally drained.

  “Come on!” Vienna flung open her door and hopped out.

  “Snap out of it, Juliet,” I whispered to myself. I tugged the visor down and stole a glance at my wild hair. After a quick attempt to tame it with my fingers, I gave up, grabbed my purse, and stepped out of the car.

  Vienna was a seasoned shopper. She started at one end of the large dress department, ruthlessly flipping through racks of dresses. “Nope. Nope. Prom dress from hell. No, no, no,” she muttered to the tune of screeching metal hangers.

  I wandered away toward a display of lacy dresses in shades of pink and peach. “Vienna,” I called.

  “Oh!” she squealed and hurried over, grabbing a dress in a bright shade of peach and pressing it against her chest. “It’s perfect, don’t you think?”

  “Honestly, yes.” I nodded toward the dressing room. “Go try it on.”

  “No, let’s find something for you, first.” She draped the dress over her arm and pushed me toward a wall display of flowered dresses.

  Bright orange and purple caught my eye and I reached out to touch the fabric.

  “Oooo,” Vienna sighed. “I like that.”

  “You do?” I plucked the hanger off the rack and held up the dress for inspection. Abstract flowers in vibrant shades of purple, lilac, and magenta were splashed against a sherbet-orange background.

  “Let’s go.” She snatched the dress out of my hand and hurried us toward the dressing rooms.

  We closed ourselves in adjacent dressing rooms. Carefully, I slid into the dress. I couldn’t quite reach the zipper, though.

  “I need to find a plunge bra.” Vienna knocked on my door and pushed it open without waiting for my answer.

  “Can you zip it?” I asked.

  I turned and held up my hair while she tugged the zipper into place. Together we stared at ourselves in the three-way mirror.

  She placed her hands at my waist. “This is perfect on you.”

  Gauzy sleeves fluttered at my shoulders, and a deep, wide V showed off more of my shoulders and cleavage than I was normally comfortable with. The flowing skirt ended right above my knees. “You don’t think it’s too…I don’t know, bold? It’s a little mature for me, no?”

  Vienna’s pretty face screwed into a scowl. “You’re eighteen. It’s your graduation dress. It should be ‘mature.’” Her expression softened and she tugged on the ends of my hair. “It looks really pretty on you. Enhances your coloring.”

  “Thanks.” I glanced down again and twisted my hips, smiling at the way the fabric danced around my legs.

  “But,” Vienna added, “we need to find you a strapless bra.” She skimmed her fingers over my shoulders, skipping over my bra straps.

  My cheeks heated. I’d never had a mother to teach me the fundamentals of dressing up. Anything I’d learned was from Vienna.

  “And I need something else.” She pointed to her chest. The lacy dress was rather demure for Vienna, but the front panels dipped low enough that her bra peeked out.

  We dressed in our regular clothes and Vienna marched us to the lingerie department. I tried on several bras with the dress before finding the right one.

  Last we hit the shoe department.

  “These,” Vienna declared, thrusting a pair of deep purple suede heels in my face.

  “I’ll break my neck.” I reached for the shoes and ran my fingers over the velvety leather. “They’re pretty, though.”

  “They’re really not that high,” she insisted.

  Once again, she thrust me out of my comfort zone and into something I thought I’d never wear. The three-inch heels were easier to walk in than I expected. While Vienna tried on and discarded several pairs of shoes, I practiced walking across a stage.

  “Hopefully, I won’t face-plant when I accept my diploma.” I dropped the shoes in the box and closed the lid.

  “Yay!” Vienna punched her fists in the air. “I’m so happy you’re getting them.”

  Laughing, I adjusted the bags in my arms. “When you’re right, you’re right, V.”

  She grinned. “Let’s go to the food court and grab pizza.”

  I groaned. “Can what they serve even be considered pizza?”

  “Come on.” She tugged me into the mall.

  I wasn’t looking forward to going home, anyway.

  The food court was jam-packed, but Vienna and I managed to find a table. I tucked my bags between my feet and nibbled on my too-hot-to-eat-yet pizza, while Vienna cut her slice into neat triangles.

  “Hey, polka dots.”

  I groaned when I recognized the voice.

  “Douchebag Dougie,” Vienna sneered. “Shouldn’t you be on the curb with the rest of the trash?”

  The two guys with Doug guffawed and punched his shoulder. I recognized one who’d graduated a year earlier and the other was Jameson.

  “Juliet, right?” the older guy said.

  Surprised, I grabbed a napkin and dabbed my lips. “That’s me.”

  “You know my boy Frankie, right?” Doug slapped his friend’s chest. “Took our team to the State Championships last year.”

  “Frank,” he corrected, sliding into the seat next to me. “I didn’t spend much time on the field this year.”

  “Uh…” I shot a confused look across the table at Vienna, but she was too busy talking to Doug and Jameson

  “So, you’re graduating tomorrow, right?” Frank asked. “I heard you’re number three. Congrats. You excited?”

  How’d he know that? I shrugged and half-smiled at Frank. “I guess.”

  “Cool.” He grinned and nodded like a happy Golden Retriever puppy.

  The guys started talking football and baseball. I tuned them out, focusing on my pizza. Vienna ignored every one of my scowls.

  Frank nudged my elbow and leaned in closer. The warmth of his body felt so wrong, I inched away.

  “Not into sports?” he said against my ear.

  “Not really.” I shrugged and swiped my napkin over my mouth again.

  “Got plans for graduation weekend?”

  I flicked my gaze across the table. “Vienna’s supposed to have a party.”

  “I’m throwing the party.” Doug thumped his chest as if it was some great achievement. “You two can come.”

  Ignoring him, I nudged Vienna under the table with my foot. “I need to get home.”

  “I can give you a ride,” Frank offered, sliding out of his chair.

  “No thanks.” I nudged Vienna with my toe again. I loved her but good God, it was like her brains slid out of her ears any time a boy paid attention to her.

  Finally, we made our escape.

  “I thought you hated Dougie,” I hissed at her as we walked back to Macy’s.

  “I do.” She clasped her hands in front of her, letting her shopping bags slide down her arm. “But I was thinking, wouldn’t it be total revenge if I hooked up with him at his party and then ghosted him after?”

  That was the dumbest thing I’d ever heard. “Revenge for who? I think he’d be getting exactly what he wants. The only one you’d be screwing over is yourself.”

  “So wise, little grasshopper.” She patted my head. “Well, Jameson’s off-limits. He and Chloe just broke up. I don’t want to be that girl.”

  “Good.”

  “What’d you think of Frankie?” She nudged me with her shoulder again. “He’s really cute.”

  I couldn’t even remember a single detail about his appearance.

  “He seemed really into you,” she persisted.

  “I’m not…I can’t.” I swallowed hard. Date someone else? I couldn’t picture it. Even though the situation seemed bleak, I wasn’t over Roman.