cheek and knew it would be a great ride. He hopped on and revved up the engine, listening to it roar to life with a kind of pleasure. It was the most thrilling and comforting sound in the world and he was still so thankful every day that he’d found something like that.
Diesel took off, flying around his house and then down the streets leading out of his neighborhood and towards the highway. The only thing better than the fact that the wind was whipping past him at impossible speeds was the smell coming off the water as he headed closer and closer to the port. There was nothing more amazing than living so close to so many bodies of water. He had no idea how people lived their landlocked lives elsewhere. Even in prison he had been able to smell the ocean when he was outside. It was one of the things that kept him going.
Chapter 5
Diesel’s phone rang, and he just about jumped out of his skin. He was sure he wouldn’t feel any guilt over the fact that he'd had to teach Lotten a lesson. He had not brought the total shipment of heroine they’d been promised, so the dealers were going to be short supplied. Pops was not going to put up with that situation anymore. But Diesel felt himself wondering how the kids would take it; how his wife would take it when they saw how injured he was. At least he wasn't dead. That’s what he kept telling himself anyway.
He pulled to the side of the highway and picked up his phone, certain it would be Pops to make sure the job had been done as he asked, but the voice on the other end didn’t belong to a male at all. In fact, the person on the phone could do a lot more damage to him than Pops could dream of.
"Hi, Diesel," a raspy woman's voice drifted into his ear. He silently cursed as he hopped off his bike and kicked the dirt piled on the side of the highway as hard as he could manage, watching it fly into the air with satisfaction. He should have looked at the screen before answering.
"Sophia, why the hell are you calling me? I thought we agreed on a clean break and all of that. How am I supposed to let go of what I thought we had if you keep calling me up?" He tried to sound angry, but his words came out sounding more defeated. He hated himself for allowing her to break him down that way.
"Woah, look Diesel, I don’t know if I can stick to all of that agreement. I understand that you're hurting, but how do you think I feel? You couldn’t accept who I was. That hurts just as bad, if not more. That's why I called. I wanted to talk to you and warn you about some things. I'm back in town, and I'll be back with The Shadows at some point. It's a part of who I am, and I can't let that go."
Diesel could feel his blood begin to boil. The Shadows had been his MC; his safe haven that he had introduced her to a long time ago. He had been glad at the time she'd fit in so well and been able to become a member, but he had been regretting it ever since things had gone south for them. She had been so understanding after their divorce had gone final. She had agreed to keep her distance for a while and think long and hard before ever working for The Shadows again. She had agreed that they were his and not hers. He should have known she was just pretending to be alright with everything. That was who she was; a really great liar.
Diesel remained silent, waiting to hear what else she had to say. There was nothing he could think of that would pop out of his mouth and make things any better for him. "Look, you can't expect to go making deals with someone and have someone be loyal to you after you've broken up; especially when it was a marriage that ended in divorce. I've given you time and space, but now I get to move on and focus on myself. It's something you'll have to come to terms with. I already have." Diesel wondered in what way she had come to terms with that and how many men it involved. He closed his eyes and pictured her thick, curvy body and the tattoos that covered her from head to toe. She
Arnold Nelson, Jouko Kokkonen