Chapter 17

The blond bikercurled his lip and shook his head, shifting his attention to Chaz, where he focused like a laser beam.

"Shep," Tav said sharply. "Leave it."

Chaz smacked my arm and smirked while staring right back at the blond biker. He swiped his longish hair behind his ear and tipped his chin up, taunting the other man with an easier target. "Go ahead and do something, if you want to spend the rest of your life in jail. Between Judah and me, we probably know all the people who matter in New Gothenburg." He sniffed. "You wouldn't stand a chance."

The blond snorted.

Tav snagged my forearm, trying to tug me closer.

"Chaz," I hissed. What was he doing?

Chaz and the blond ignored me.

"You think I'm scared of you? You'll be dead before you have a chance to call a fucking lawyer," the blond said.

Chaz's eyes widened and he glanced at me like he thought I was going to have something to say, but I wasn't that stupid. I caught sight of a gun underneath the leather jacket on one of the big men backing up the smaller one who was pissed off at Chaz.

The blond swiped the back of his hand across his nose, then launched himself at Chaz. Pure instinct had me moving to block the hit. My days playing football came back to me in a rush. Unfortunately, the blond was fast, and he slammed a right hook into my left eye, and then he kept going and plowed right into Chaz, who had frozen in place like a squirrel facing off with a semitruck.

"Shep! God damn it! Shep, stop!" Tav called, and it clicked that he must know the blond, but why in the hell would someone who knew Tav want to hurt my friend? None of it made sense.

I lurched out of Tav's grip and grabbed the blond's arms, attempting to drag him off Chaz. I needed to end the fight or Chaz would be a stain on the ground.

Next thing I knew, the big biker with a tattoo of a skull on his throat slammed his meaty fist into my right eye. Pain lanced through my skull and my head spun. Both of my eye sockets began to ache and throb along with my heartbeat.

"Stop! Fuck!" Tav yelled.

There was a scuffle, and when I opened my eyes, Tav was standing over me with his hands out, and the biker who'd hit me was scowling but shrugged and stood back to watch the blond beat the shit out of Chaz. I lost count of how many punches Chaz took, but finally his nose spurted blood, and the blond jumped up with his hands raised as if he'd just scored a touchdown. The bikers with him chuckled.

The blond bounced toward Tav, and I forced myself to my feet and stumbled in front of him.

"Leave Tav alone," I said, even though I wasn't the steadiest.

"I know Shep," Tav said, a familiar exasperated tone in his voice. He gestured at the blond. "Shep, this is Judah, my boyfriend." He held up his arm and lightly snapped the bracelet.

Shep's expression crinkled with confusion, and he swung around to get in my face, looking even more pissed off. "Do you know that stupid shit?" He pointed at Chaz.

A small crowd began to form around us, people watching the spectacle, and I felt hemmed in. I saw people reaching for their phones, and that was the last thing any of us needed. My heart rate tripled. I couldn't be seen at the center of something like this, not with the social media campaign going on for the ice tires right now.

"Shep, that's Judah's friend. I told you to leave it," Tav said, grasping his shoulder and shaking it.

Shep shrugged Tav off and pushed me in the chest until I stumbled backward into Tav. Shep glared at Tav and shook his head before he got right in my face again. "Get better fucking friends," he snarled. "Tav's a stand-up guy, and you don't deserve him if you let people who are your friends—" He made a face. "—trash-talk him. He waited a long time to date someone, and he deserves the best, not whatever the hell you are."

His fist caught me in the gut, and I was winded for a second. I held up a hand when Shep raised his eyebrows at me.

"Enough," Tav said, and this time Shep's lips pursed, but he nodded.

I glanced between Shep and Chaz, then turned and stared into Tav's eyes. They sparkled a pretty green in the sunlight. "What's he talking about?"

Tav hung his head and his cheeks flushed red. "It's nothing."

Chaz sat up and moaned, which given the state he was in, was a heroic feat. "I didn't say anything that wasn't true." He wiped at the mess on his chin, but it was like trying to stem the tide. His blood was absolutely everywhere. "Your mom told me what he was like. A con artist."

Shep pointed at Chaz, who crumpled back against the ground again to play dead.

"Why would you believe her?" I raised my hands and shook my head.

"Look at what you're doing now!" Chaz spit blood onto the grass. "She was right, man. You just can't fucking see it."

Tav huffed. "We loved each other. Still love each other. She drove us apart. She wasn't a good person then or now." He jutted his chin, and I thought maybe if Chaz wasn't already dripping blood, Tav might've been tempted to smack him.

Chaz stared at me with hurt in his expression, but I just shrugged because Tav was right.

Shep stepped closer to Tav and asked him something quietly. I was torn between helping Chaz and demanding that Tav tell me what the fuck was happening. The crowd around us started to disperse now that their free show was over, and relief slammed me.

"Fuck!" Chaz shouted, wiping at his face with both hands. "It just won't stop!" He dragged the bottom of his shirt up and held it to his nose.

"I hope you fucking drown in it," Shep screamed at him.

One of the older bikers slapped his back. "Let's go, kid. We don't want to hang around." He stared at the crowd, glaring, daring anyone to say anything to them.

"See you, Tav. Take care," Shep said, shaking his hand.

My stomach fell.

Tav shook with him as if one of the most fucked-up things I'd ever seen happen in real life hadn't gone down less than two minutes ago. Maybe Tav was different from when we were younger. That Tav wouldn't have been able to see this sort of violence and be fine with it. Right?

"Be good," Tav called after Shep. He tucked his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels.

Shep laughed and nodded, and the bikers with him joined in.

Chaz took his phone out of his pocket, which was awkward because he was still on the ground, then snapped a photo of the bikers. My heart almost stopped as the meanest looking one with the skull tattoo on his throat turned back and slapped the phone out of his hand. The biker ground the screen under his black leather boot, cracking it into pieces. He grabbed Chaz by the shirt and lifted him up until Chaz was on his tiptoes. Chaz's neck turned red and he strained, holding the biker's wrist.

"If that photo ends up anywhere that we wouldn't want it, say, with the cops?" He leaned in closer to Chaz. "I will slit your throat and let the clubhouse dog piss down it so you can be yellow on the inside and outside."

Chaz shook his head hard.

The biker dropped him on his ass before walking away like he didn't have a care in the world.

Chaz whimpered.

"He won't," I called after the biker.

The man only nodded and didn't bother turning around. I guess he figured he'd proven his point.

Chaz stared up at me with watery eyes, and fury pelted through me. I was beginning to build a mental picture of what had happened here, and it must've started with Chaz saying something shitty, which wasn't unusual.

"What did you say to Tav? And if you lie to me, I'm going to be the third person to fuck you up today." I stepped toward Chaz, and he flinched.

Chaz got to his feet, although, it took a few tries, and coughed, rubbing his neck. The cascading blood that was still pouring from his nose glistened in the sunshine. From this angle I could tell it was crooked.

He flipped me off. "If you want your money hungry boyfriend so bad, fuck it. I was trying to be a friend!"

Tav grunted and put a hand in the center of my back like he might have to hold me up.

"No, if you were trying to be a friend, you would've told me your worries to my face. You were being a passive-aggressive asshole, just like when you fucked with Eric's relationship. You were being a jerk behind my back."

Tav took my hand in his, staring out at all the people nearby. We were gathering a new crowd. Jesus, why did this have to happen on such a busy day?

My stomach lurched as I saw someone filming me. Fuck.

"Let's go," Tav murmured.

"Fuck you, Dailey!" Chaz shouted as I walked away with Tav. I didn't remember the trip to the car, and when I got there, I realized I must've dropped the pastries I'd bought for us. Tav put me in the passenger seat and strapped me in. My eyes were aching and I rested my hands over them as he started the engine and began driving us home. The silence in the car was tense and absolute.

After a while, Tav rested his hand on my thigh. "I'm sorry."

"Why the hell is this anything you would apologize for?" I asked hotly, lowering my hands. I blinked against the invasion of light and a dull headache started up behind my eyes.

He slouched in his seat. "If I were like your friends, this wouldn't've happened. None of it, from the beginnin'. We would've just been together all this time, and no one would've cared." He ended on a whisper I barely heard. "How much of this will you want to take?"

Sitting up straight, I studied his serious face, watching his jaw tic. "There's nothing any friend of mine can say that's going to make me think twice about you, but I sure as hell will dump them! I don't want you to be like my friends." I swiped my hand through my hair. "If Chaz was being a dick, why didn't you tell me?" He opened his mouth, but I was on a roll. "Do you really think I want to hang out with anyone who would treat you that way?"

Tav closed his mouth and shrugged.

Sighing, I shut my eyes again because they both hurt, and I could already feel the left one swelling. "What will I have to do to get you to trust me?" Pain that had nothing to do with my beaten face swarmed through me like a thousand biting insects. "I've never cared what anyone thought about us."

I almost choked on the silence in the car.