"Why did you do it? Why did you race?"
Colin was driving Brad's car. That was just how it ended up. He had the keys in his hand, and Lipski came around to the driver's seat and settled in easily, relaxed.
Brad smiled.
"The guy I've got beef with pushed it too far. I had to act."
That explained nothing. Absolutely nothing. Except for one thing—the hatred between those men was real.
"Jonathan Anders?"
"So you already know?"
"He came to my clinic today about Miles… Oh shit."
"What happened?" Brad snapped to attention, leaning forward.
"I just remembered I was supposed to see his son tonight."
Lipski grimaced and leaned back again, though he looked a little tense now.
"I don't even have his number to call and apologize…" Colin added.
"You'll call tomorrow from work. Or better yet, Stacy can do it and explain you had an emergency," Brad said casually.
"Yeah. I guess that's what I'll do…"
"And what exactly brought you here, Doc?" Lipski frowned.
Stone sighed.
"Your nieces are worried about you. Apparently your behavior's been… pretty abnormal."
Brad twisted his mouth like someone who had just realized he'd made a mistake and the consequences were still ahead of him. Colin caught it out of the corner of his eye and felt another wave of warmth.
What is wrong with me? he asked himself, completely thrown. Why can't I even sit in a car next to this man without feeling…?
What was he actually feeling? Arousal? Tension? Desire?
Was it possible Brad gave off some kind of special pheromone that hit him harder than it did anyone else?
Absurd as that answer was, it seemed to be the only one he could accept. Because there was absolutely no other reason his body would react so strangely to Lipski—so intensely that he could barely control it.
Brad pulled his smartphone from his pocket and made a call.
"Hey, Olivia…"
Colin couldn't hear the reply, but one look at Brad's face told him he was getting a lecture. The irony was priceless: a grown man, a tough biker who'd been in at least three fights in the last three days, now grimacing and politely listening while a fifteen-year-old girl chewed him out. Stone hid a smile and focused on the road.
Brad replied into the phone, but so softly and gently that Colin couldn't make out the words. Anyway, they clearly weren't meant for him.
"Sorry about my nieces, Doc. They messed up your plans."
"It's fine. I'm just glad you're okay. You are okay, right? Asking as a doctor."
"Yeah. I'm good." Brad rolled his jaw side to side. "Not the first time I've taken a hit to the teeth."
That confession didn't surprise Colin at all. Nothing did—except his own body, flaring up again.
"That Sean…" Damn it, he shouldn't ask, but…
"He was the Boss of my old gang. I was his lieutenant," Brad said, as casually as if he were talking about the weather. "I rode with the Red Skulls when I was a kid. When the chance came to race in NASCAR, I had to leave the gang. Sean didn't cause trouble—he was like another big brother to me—but there had to be a price."
"You promised you wouldn't ride a bike anymore?" Colin guessed, recalling Sean's words about a broken promise.
"Something for something." Lipski shrugged. "So now that I broke the promise, I had to take a beating—otherwise the Boss would've lost face. Honestly, he had every right to turn me into applesauce."
Brad laughed quietly, like someone relieved he'd basically gotten off easy, but Colin pressed his lips together.
"So you knew what could happen when you got back on the bike?"
Lipski didn't answer.
He knew. Of course he knew. And he'd done it anyway. He'd broken a promise made to a hard-ass biker gang boss in order to… well, why exactly? Because Jonathan Anders had crossed some invisible line in their conflict?
Jesus Christ, how deep did that conflict go? What could it lead to?
Had Stone somehow wandered into the middle of something he absolutely wanted no part of?
Maybe he really should move out from the Lipskis'. He was definitely not going to accept Anders's offer to move in with him either, but maybe he should find somewhere neutral. Maybe farther from the clinic… He'd have to buy a car, sure, but that wasn't a big deal. He just needed to get off the firing line while those two kept taking aim at each other…
Yeah. That was probably the smart move. The only sensible option. Except… he didn't want to.
He was supposed to spend a year here. A whole damn year of exile. He wouldn't be able to dodge bullets forever. And he definitely didn't want to be on the side of the guy who was collecting dirt on him…
A tingle crawled up the back of his neck. He glanced sideways and met Lipski's dark eyes locked on him. They were smiling. Sparkling.
Another rush of heat.
Wow. That was…
"Thank you, Doc, for coming to my rescue," Brad said quietly, his voice a low purr.
"I—" A quick look at the road, then back at Lipski. "It was nothing."
"No. It really wasn't."
Colin heard the honesty in his voice—simple, unforced, clean.
"Jonathan Anders is the most powerful man not just in this town, but in the whole area," Brad went on. "After what happened between Miles and my brother… well, it's getting harder and harder to find anyone willing to take my side. So I really appreciate what you did. I don't want to put you in an awkward spot—you're a doctor, after all—but… yeah. I just wanted you to know it means a lot to me."
"I…"
What the hell was happening to him? Why had the words suddenly vanished? Why was his blood racing like this, like…
He felt a flutter in his chest. Like the beating wings of butterflies. Like a whole swarm lifting into the air at once—blue-winged butterflies rising over a meadow scattered with white flowers. He'd seen that once. Long ago, when he was a kid. He remembered how excited he'd been then, how happy…
Just like now.
As if his lungs had finally filled with air he'd been missing for minutes. Weeks. Years.
He blinked.
"I… just did what needed to be done. For the girls." He added it quickly, forcing his eyes back to the road. Lisa's bar was already coming into view.
"Still. Thank you."
Colin could only nod.
"You know," Brad said after a moment, "if I remember right, we were supposed to grab a beer together tonight. Talk…"
Dr. Stone swallowed. He shivered with excitement.
"Yeah. I remember."
"I'll need a few minutes to talk to Sean, but after that—if you're up for it…"
Colin knew he shouldn't.
But he nodded anyway.
"Great!"
Brad's voice was full of enthusiasm. It sounded so good in Colin's ears. Pleasant. Almost like they were setting up a date…
But this isn't a date, he realized, a dull ache blooming in his chest. Brad Lipski doesn't see you that way. He sees you as a potential friend, not a lover. He needs a friend—someone he can talk to, someone not tangled up in the politics of this town. And you need a friend too, right?
A friend?
Colin parked the car next to three motorcycles marked with red skulls. A fourth man stood by Brad's bike, waiting for a truck.
It's good to have a friend, right?
He turned off the engine and sighed, watching Lipski get out of the car.
Yeah. It is. Only…
Well. A friend with benefits would be even better.