The Broken Pieces of Us (The Devil's Dust #2.1)

“I’m here,” she says, her hand on her hip, smacking some gum.

“You are,” I reply, taking a drag off my cigarette. I glance around the bar; it’s disgusting. How she will get it cleaned is beyond me. I pull some cash from my wallet and hand it to her. “You are going to need to go get some cleaning supplies,” I inform her. “Oh, and pick up some coffee and something to eat around here.”

She takes the cash, eyeing it.

“What are you doing here? I thought I told—”

“I work here now!“ Babs yells over my shoulder, interrupting Locks mid-sentence, who has just entered the bar.

“What the fuck you going on about?” Locks questions, shrugging on his cut.

“She is working around here now. This place needs a woman’s touch. She just happened to be at the right place at the right time when I came to that conclusion,” I explain, stepping in front of Babs. I look down at my feet, curious how they moved without my thinking. Why do I feel so protective of her?

“This ain’t no place for a fucking woman,” Locks barks, his face turning bright red.

“You might be involved with a lot of shit around here with you being my vice president, but this doesn’t concern you,” I reply, quoting his words he said to me just yesterday. Locks bares his teeth, his hands flexing as he hollers out and knocks over a stool. He points at Babs, blowing air into his cheeks, spit bubbling over his lips in the process. Babs stands a little taller and slaps his hand out of her face. Good for her.

Locks’ face takes on a stunned expression, gone with the red blustery look. His face turns pale and his mouth parts with surprise.

“Go cool off,” I order Locks.

“What?” Locks says, shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts.

“I said go clear your fucking head,” I repeat, pointing at the doors. Locks scowls at me and stomps to the doors, throwing them open with anger.

“Shadow, go make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid,” I command. Locks hasn’t been himself lately and I would hate for him to do something stupid.





I place the last of the groceries in the fridge and start Bull’s coffee for the day. I have been here every day for two weeks now and have gotten this place looking more presentable than it ever has. I have washed and waxed the floors, cleaned all the dishes, dusted, cleaned the bed sheets and more. I haven’t seen Locks since the day he stormed out, and I’m thankful for that. I know when he comes back, he’ll come right for me.

“Smells fucking great in here, babe,” Bull says, walking into the kitchen. I smile proudly as he makes his way over to the coffee pot. Every day he comes to the kitchen wanting coffee, so I make sure it’s warm and ready. He is always staring at me, a smirk on his face showing off that one dimple on the left side of his face.

“I should have hired you here a long time ago,” Bull continues, grabbing a cup from the cupboard, that dimple striking me where I stand. I have always had a crush on Bull, ever since the first day Locks introduced me to him. The way his green eyes look at me, the way he smiles and always seems interested in what I’m saying. I can’t help but wish I met Bull before Locks at times.

“It’s coming along; still have some things to do around here,” I reply, grabbing a cup as well.

Bull looks at me, his green eyes making me suck in an excited breath. I can’t help the blush that stains my cheeks, and look away. When Bull looks at me, he really looks at me. Not like Locks. When Locks looks at me, it’s as if he is disgusted that I’m in his line of sight.

“I’ll let you get to it then, doll,” Bull says sweetly, stepping around me, his hand brushing along my lower back as he passes, causing me to hold in a breath.

“Hey, Babs, I can’t cook for shit. Think you can make me some eggs if I buy some?” Shadow asks, coming into the kitchen behind Bull.

“You can’t cook eggs?” I ask, laughing.

“Nah, my bitch of a mother never taught me,” he says, running his hands through his black hair.

“I just bought some eggs, hun. I can whip you up some,” I reply, taking a sip of my hot coffee. Every time I have come around the club before I was hired, Shadow has always clung to me, asking if I needed help with setting anything up for family parties, or just generally talking to me. He’s damaged in the worst possible way because of his mother, but he has some light in there. It will just take one hell of a person to pull it out.

“Me too?” Bobby asks, shoving through the kitchen doors. Bobby, with his wavy blond hair and blue eyes, looks more like a surfer than a biker. I’ve just started to get to know him since I’ve been working here the last two weeks. Bobby is… he’s Bobby.