Picking up my phone, I decide to text the girls. A group text. I need a wine night. Dessert’s on me. And bread too for charcuterie, because there’s always charcuterie. I don’t want to do anything stupid, like run off and put anyone else in danger. That’s happened before in the name of self-preservation, and it didn’t work.
Wine and snacks. ASAP.
DAKOTA: I’m there.
BRIANA: Same.
MILLIE: Are you okay?
No.
And that’s the long and short of it. I am not okay. And I need to talk to a group of people who do not have testosterone and who will give me sound advice now that I mostly know what’s going on.
MILLIE: Tomorrow. Your place?
I look over my shoulder as Viking walks through the door, and I realize I’m not sure where I could meet them where he isn’t going to be listening. If I say the bakery, Axton can easily listen in through the surveillance equipment.
Somewhere we can talk in private.
DAKOTA: Shit.
Shit is right.
CIDNEY: Come to my house. Goose is going to be working at the club in Raleigh.
Cidney comes through in the clutch, plus if anyone knows what I’m going through right now, it will be her. Ivy is her cousin but practically raised her, and much like me, she stayed away from the club, didn’t get involved with anyone there… until she did. Then her world imploded.
I also have a feeling this group that wants me is the same one who tried to take her, but that guy wanted her dead as a revenge thing, so this is different.
Everyone confirms. And tomorrow night, at seven o’clock, we’re all meeting at Cidney’s. Millie sends a happy-face emoji along with a rock-on one. She is so happy to be part of our crew now that she no longer has to strip at night down at the Gilded Room. My birthday two years ago was her last night, and she’s always down for a girls’ night.
Viking walks back into the house, closing and locking the door behind him. The conversation is dropped because I don’t bring it up again, and he likely thinks my brother put me in my place and ended it there.
He obviously doesn’t know shit about me. Because I’ve never just let something go, especially when I think I’m in the right. I don’t see how this could be so detrimental. These people love contracts, so why not make one with all the stipulations?
I make a mental note to contact both Bullet and Ivy after I meet with the girls to form my finalized plan. I’m going to need an ironclad contract, and Ivy is the best.
I’m also going to need Bullet’s approval. As the club’s president, he, without a doubt, has more say than my brother. I doubt he would just ignore my brother’s wishes, but still. There’s a chance, if it makes sense, that Bullet will talk that sense into him… one way or another.
VIKING
She’s up to something.
I’m going to let her think that she’s getting away with it, at least until I figure out what exactly she’s up to. Because Lainey is indeed up to fucking something. Once dinner is consumed and I’ve cleaned everything up, I turn to her.
“You want a glass of wine or something?” I ask.
She shakes her head, then slowly turns around, her eyes finding mine. She’s standing on the other side of the bar, her phone in her hand. She’s been furiously texting since we finished dinner. I don’t know who the hell she’s talking to, but it’s also not my place to ask.
“What did my brother talk to you about outside?” she demands softly.
I’m surprised she’s not a bit more forceful in her words. I can’t help but wonder if this is a new tactic. It doesn’t matter what it is, because she won’t be getting any information out of me that I don’t want to give her.
Tilting my head to the side, I watch her for a moment. A long, quiet moment. Sliding my tongue along my bottom lip, I rock back on my heels as I think about how to proceed. She’snot going to tell me anything about her phone conversations if I don’t give her anything about the talk I had with Piggy.
“He wanted me to make sure you didn’t do anything stupid like run off to that organization and offer yourself up for marriage.”
She narrows her eyes and presses her lips together, then straightens and spins around. I watch as she walks toward the window, the same one I was looking out of earlier, though, like me, I don’t think she’s really seeing anything.