Page 38 of Tanner (Dirty Misfits MC 5)
Chey shook her head furiously. “Don’t change it. Please? I love Dean’s car in Supernatural. It looks so awesome. Don't change it one bit, okay?”
I shrugged. “I guess you convinced me, then. I won’t change the color of it.”
“Yesssssssss. Mom!?”
Summer giggled and anticipated her question. “Yes, Chey. You can see the car one day.”
“Yeah!” she exclaimed.
I smiled so hard my cheeks hurt. “And when the car is in fine working order, I’ll even take you out for a drive.”
“Ugh, Mom. He’s so awesome. You should date him.”
Summer gasped. “Chey!”
“Well, I’m just saying! I’m tired of seeing you alone. It’s dumb. I don’t like being alone, so you shouldn't either.”
I peered over at Summer and watched her eyes gaze out the passenger window. I’d never seen her without a response. Summer was always the one to get the last word in. But as she sat there—unwilling to rebuttal her daughter—so many things clicked into place. So, I let the silence ride itself out as we inched our way down the highway.
That was, until I got a call from Brooks just as we cruised into town.
“This is Tanner,” I said.
Summer looked over at me. “Everything okay?”
I shrugged as Brooks rattled off in my ear. “You two get back as quickly as you can. Have you dropped off your daughter yet?”
“No, we haven’t. What’s going on?”
Summer’s face filled with worry while Chey played on some sort of gaming device in the back seat.
“Well, me and the rest of the guys rolled out to The Body Shop. We figured we’d take the distraction to them. The plan was to set off a couple of dumpster fire explosions and let them scramble for a while after cutting their phone lines. But Finn was made and a shootout started.”
My eyes widened. “Is everyone all right? What happened? Are you guys back at the—”
“Simmer down and shut up, dude. We’re good. Everyone’s fine. But the damage will have them scrambling for a while, and now their sights are on us. Right now, we’ve all split up and are just riding around town, keeping them occupied. But we won’t be able to do it all night.”
I nodded. “I read you loud and clear.”
Chey gasped. “There’s Auntie Sloane! There she is!”
A woman waved us down and cleared my throat. “Gotta go. I’ll hit you up when we’re about halfway back.”
“Don’t worry. Porter’s keeping me updated. Just drive like a hellion when you head back.”
I grinned. “Can do.”
“Good. See you tonight.”
“See you soon.”
I wasn’t sure if Sloane would even recognize me, but when we pulled up to her townhome, her eyes connected with mine. She glared at me as Chey ran into her arms, and she didn’t tear her eyes away from me until her and Chey headed back into her place.
And if Summer saw the look her sister gave me, she hid her reaction very well as she slipped back into the car.
“Ready to head out?” she asked.
I peeked in my rearview mirror and found the guys perched underneath a shade tree at the back of the lot.
“Ready when you are,” I murmured.
Summer buckled in. “Great. Then, let’s get out of here. I’m starving, so can we stop and get food through a drive-thru or something before getting back on the highway?”
I stared forward and saw Sloane piercing me with a deadly look through her window.
“Yeah, we can go get food,” I murmured.
Then, I put the car in reverse and headed out of the complex. Leaving Chey behind, even though every single part of my being wanted to stay with her and make sure she was safe myself.
Eighteen
Summer
After driving through one of my favorite fast food places, I took a massive bite of my burger wrap and chewed as quickly as I could. I’d been so nervous on the ride down that I hadn’t even thought about eating. But once we dropped Chey off and I knew she was with the safest person I knew, all I could think about was a juicy burger wrap with sweet potato fries and a gigantic banana-mocha shake.
But Tanner hadn’t spoken since we left my sister’s forty-five minutes ago.
“You okay?” I asked as I wiped my mouth off with a napkin.
I watched him slurp on his shake. “Sloane still doesn't like me, does she?”
I blinked. “What are you talking about? She’s never not liked you.”
He snickered. “The look she gave me through the windshield could’ve killed me had it had the power to.”
“Really? I didn’t even notice.”
He sighed. “Summer.”
I rolled my eyes. “All right, all right. No, she’s never really been a fan of yours. But that’s only because she thinks you’re the reason our family fell apart.”
He balked. “What the fuck!? Are you kidding me? I’m nowhere near responsible for that shit. That’s on your parents and your parents alone.”
“Trust me, I know. But she was young when everything happened. She was only fifteen when I left home. She was the only person that knew I was heading out, and she did everything she could to stop me.”
