Clear (Storm's Soldiers MC Book 3) Read Online Free

cold. I guess there were things he didn’t want my boyfriend to hear.”
    “Nice.”
    Aubrey met us at the waterless fountain in the plaza outside. “Bite to eat?”
    I checked the time. “Sure.”
    Darryl had sent me a text during class: Free to hang out after dinner if you’re looking for something to do.
    We rounded out of the plaza to the streets of downtown Atlanta. As we walked along the storefronts, Aubrey and Faith yammering at each other, I texted my brother back: Shouldn’t you have a girlfriend to attend to?
    The phone buzzed right away: I’m holding out for the sweetest berry of all.
    Ugh. I could barely type: Don’t talk about my roommate like that.
    Bzzz: You’re the one who asked about my love life. Guess that means you’re spending the night on yours?
    I pocketed the phone. We’d talked yesterday. He knew the answer well enough.
    “Here again?” Faith asked as Aubrey pulled into a Mexican place.
    “I like my my food like I like my men,” Aubrey said. “Fiery and consistent.”
    “I can tell you one thing that wasn’t consistent after my last visit.”
    “Dude, you’re so gross. Just lay off the hot sauce.”
    I hesitated in the doorway, but Aubrey beckoned me in. “She’s lying. It’s really good. Tell her it tasted good.”
    Faith sighed to the heavens. “It’s fine.”
    The food was more than fine. We ate and talked in between wiping the sweat off our brows. I finally told them about the last meeting - my final meeting - with Rico. I even told them the whole story.
    “He yelled ‘spic’ out loud?” Faith asked.
    The conversations around us screeched to a halt. Or maybe that was just my heart. “Sweet jesus,” I whisper-yelled at her. “Did you forget where we are?”
    “Oh, sorry,” she leaned in. “He actually said ‘spic’ to Rico?”
    My stomach recoiled every time I heard the word. I knew Faith didn’t mean anything by it - heck, she’d dated Latino guys - but she just could never understand the way a word like that could make you feel. Neither of them could, really.
    “Yeah, he told him off,” I said. “I didn’t talk to him for days after that.”
    “Seems like the sort of guy who would say that,” Faith mumbled through a mouth of refried beans. “Didn’t his jacket say SS or something?”
    “SS? He’s dating Meagan. How in the world could he be a racist?”
    They both looked at me and I just shuffled my shoulders apologetically. “He’s not racist,” I said. “Not that I can see anyway.”
    “Well, what he said worked right?” Faith asked. “RIco knows not to mess with you with a guy like that around.”
    “I guess…”
    I didn’t want to press it in front of this audience. I just let them simmer the air with their own stories and we laughed our way to empty plates. The food really was good. I wondered if maybe I could bring Vaughn here as an eye-opener.
    No, I’d seen him eat a burrito. What was I thinking? Why did I have the urge to keep poking a fresh wound? Things were fine between us now. The rest would heal with time.
    The city glowed warm at noon when we went back out - a ray of light to break up the usual winter chill. People were out for walks, moms were pushing strollers and single girls were walking shaggy little dogs. I smiled at the sights and we took our time getting around to the student parking lots. Aubrey lived nearby on West Peachtree St, but Faith was giving her a ride anyway.
    We passed by the giant student tackboard and stopped to check it out.
    “You ever heard this band SpeechSwirls?” Faith asked, reading off a purple and black poster. “They’re having a free concert Saturday night.”
    “What do they play?” Aubrey asked. “Actually never mind, I already hate their name.”
    I drifted over ads for tutoring and placards for the new theater club production. I landed on a stark black and red sheet of paper. There was just a large cross with winged ends filling most of it. It felt familiar.
    Below, a line of bold