Diablo leaned forward on his front paws and slightly lowered his head, though he kept his eyes on me.
“You can pet his head,” Daphne told me.
Slowly extending my hand, I reached out to pet his head. “Hello, Diablo.”
Suddenly, Diablo stood and moved forward to rub his body on my leg.
“Voila! You’re friends now,” Daphne announced.
As I continued petting Diablo, I watched him warily. To my surprise, he seemed like a completely different dog—like the big baby Daphne claimed him to be.
“You couldn’t have done that when we first got here?” I asked.
“I could have, but I really don’t know you guys,” she admitted.
“That’s fair.”
“And it was kind of funny watching y’all walk on eggshells.”
It was then that I noticed the empty bag in her hand. “Do you want me to take that too?”
“Not yet. It’s for Diablo’s stuff, which is downstairs.”
Diablo stayed by her side as she packed his food, toys, leash, and blanket. “Okay, I think I’m ready to go.”
“Did you get your spare key?”
“No, I didn’t. Thanks for reminding me.”
She rifled through a drawer in the kitchen until she found what she was looking for. “Okay, now I’m ready.”
When we walked out to Ink’s truck, I tried not to laugh as Ink guided Daphne to the seat behind him, leaving Diablo to sit behind me.
3
DAPHNE
Ireally didn’t know what I was doing or what possessed me to agree to stay at a biker clubhouse. Especially when I was in no position to defend myself if I once again needed to. I based my decision on the word of others and the vibe I got from them, even though I wasn’t always the best judge of character. My soon-to-be ex-husband was a great example.
“We’re here,” Dice said, pulling me from my thoughts.
I looked up to see we were parked in front of a large warehouse-style building. I made a mental note to drop a location pin on my phone once I got settled since I hadn’t been paying attention to where I was being taken.
Dice grabbed my bags while Diablo and I got out of the truck. We followed him to the front door and inside. I was surprised to find the place relatively empty. I had pictured a room filled with smoke, loud music, and leather-clad bodies.
Dice chuckled. “Did we disappoint your preconceived notions?”
“Sorry. Sometimes my face says what my mouth doesn’t.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s a pretty common reaction for people who aren’t familiar with us.”
“I wasn’t expecting it to be so clean and so quiet.”
“It’s not always quiet. We tend to have parties and family gatherings on the weekend, but this is what it’s normally like during the week.”
I followed him down a hallway lined with doors to a small bedroom that resembled a hotel room. “You can stay in this room. There’s a bathroom through that door over there. There should be plenty of towels and toiletries in there, but don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything.”
“Thank you.”