Free Cole (The Ride Series) by Megan O'Brien Page B

just don’t want you to get hurt,” I explained. I knew Kat could hold her own , she’d always been incredibly confident and
feisty. But I’d never seen her take an interest the way she had in Sal and it
was my duty as her best friend to warn her.
    “I know,” she said and smiled at me
warmly. I’d always been a bit of a mother hen with her, she was used to it.
“I’ll proceed with caution,” she assured me. “Plus, you know me, since when am
I looking for a relationship anyway?” she said as she wrinkled her brow with
distaste.
    “True,” I laughed.
    We headed out through the door that
Cole had repaired before he’d left that morning. My stomach fluttered with
excitement at the thought of seeing him, but I also felt nervous to see his
father again and to go to a party at the club. I’d been to a million Sinners’
barbeques but that felt like a lifetime ago.
    We arrived well after dark and could hear
from the street that things were in full swing.
    “Here goes,” I muttered as we walked
toward the building I’d been to once before. But instead of going inside, I did
as Cole had instructed and came around the side since everyone was out back.
The music was loud but voices and laughter were louder when we reached the
back. It was a simple space with a large concrete patio, a couple of picnic
tables, and plenty of folding chairs strewn about. There were large fires going
in two fire pits, with flames dancing and providing hints of the desert that
lay beyond.
    The grill was full of meat and the
beer was flowing, all in all just what I’d expected. I searched for Cole but
didn’t see him at first, and I was instantly thankful that Kat was with me.
“Let’s get a drink,” I suggested, heading toward one of the kegs.
    “Let me get that for you ladies,” an
older biker offered, pouring our cups full of beer.
    “Thanks, have you seen Cole?” I asked
when he handed me my cup.
    “Not long ago, over that way,” he said,
pointing to the back of the building.
    I nodded and Kat followed me through
the boisterous crowd. It didn’t take us long to find him, and my heart dropped
at what I saw. He was sitting casually at one of the tables with three other
men. But that wasn’t where my attention went. There was a blond woman standing
next to him, her fingers combing through his hair, her chest provocatively
pressed to his shoulder. Clearly they knew each other well, intimately even.
And he was doing nothing to dissuade her. The sight of her hands on him made a
temper rise up in me that I didn’t know I had. I felt sick and like a complete
and total fool.
    “Shit,” I heard Kat mutter.
    “We’re outta here,” I replied, turning
on my heel and stalking back to my car. Kat followed without a word, knowing
there was no talking me out of it--not that she would try in this situation.
    “Hey, Scarlet,” Wes greeted stepping
in front of us. “Cole’s waiting for you.”
    “Yeah, well he’ll continue to fucking
wait,” I growled. “We gotta go,” I told him, unable
to temper my rudeness. Wes knit his brows in confusion, but shrugged and let us
passed.
    “Let’s go get drunk,” I said firmly
once we were back at my car.
    “Okay,” Kat answered quietly. “But
Scar, I know that looked bad but he knew you were coming. If he was going to do
something shady, why would he do it while he was waiting for you? She’s
probably just some hanger-on that he couldn’t get rid of,” she said, and I was
surprised she was coming to his defense.
    “I don’t care who she was. The fact
that he was sitting there letting her touch him like that speaks volumes,” I
replied angrily, starting my car and roaring off just as my phone started to
ring.
    “Speak of the devil,” I muttered,
reaching over to turn it off.
    I heard Kat sigh but she didn’t say
anything as I drove us downtown. We headed back to Jupiter where the drinks
were free and we could hang out with our coworkers.
    “Sorry you missed your chance to