But even with my training and instincts to never trust anyone, I wouldn’t guess Piper had her hands in anything illegal that she transported via bakery boxes.
“Catch dropped them off.” O caught my own slow blink and amended, “The prospect.”
My hope returned, though I couldn’t stop myself from getting momentarily distracted. “His name is Catch?”
I didn’t know any of the bikers’ backstories for their road names, but they still somehow made sense. Hollywood looked like a Hollywood. Haze was a Haze.
Catch, though?
It was likely the grudge speaking—and also that stupid mustache—but he didn’t seem like a catch to me.
I already knew I wasn’t the only one who thought so since Glitch had mentioned O got bad vibes. I still wasn’t expecting the sneer she gave.
Note to self: Don’t get on her bad side.
“If you ask him, he’ll say it’s because he used to play baseball,” she said. “But it’s because he’s got no game. He can’t even catch a biker bunny. Actually, from what I’ve heard, he couldn’t make a banshee scream.”
Yikes.
That was unfortunate, yet not at all surprising.
Her voice lowered like we were swapping secrets. “I get the feeling he thought joining the club would help, but they’re not miracle workers. Not to mention, getting laid isn’t what Mayhem is about.” She flashed me a wicked smile as she turned in her stool, giving me my first unobstructed view of her pregnant belly. “That’s just a bonus.”
Like when I’d been at the bakery, that yearning part of me wanted nothing more than to settle in to talk to the friendly woman. Not because she might divulge something. If I were to assemble a list of possible informants, she would be at the bottom of my list. Because unlike the equally friendly women from the day before, she wasn’t all soft edges. There was asharpness to her that I knew was mirrored in me. I simply wanted to chat for the fun of it.
Before I could, though, I had to ask, “So, um, why do I need to lock the box in the safe?”
She gestured down to her belly. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m approximately five thousand months pregnant. Growing a tiny human is hard work. No, it’shungrywork. That damn box has been taunting me ever since Catch dropped it off.” She held up her hand with her thumb and index finger nearly touching. “I was this close to eating it and letting him suffer the consequences. I didn’t even care that he had to drag his ass out of bed early, go to the store for the ingredients, and then do chores and work the register at Sweets You Rock in exchange for her remaking whatever it was he’d eaten. But I didn’t want to make you miss out for the second day in a row. Oh, and also Judge said we’d go when we’re done here, and I could clear out every shelf if I wanted.” She shrugged. “But mostly, it’s the whole me-being-a-selfless-angel thing.”
God, I like her.
“I appreciate your sacrifice,” I said solemnly as I finally allowed myself to take a seat.
“I’m a girl’s girl. But maybe get it away from me before I snatch it and run. Waddle. Whatever.”
I tugged the box closer and laughed when I saw the multitude of stickers that lined the closure like evidence sealing tape. None looked messed with, which was a promising sign. I scanned around the bar for something I could use to cut through it. I would’ve settled for one of those little plastic swords used for garnishes, but there were none.
I settled for carefully ripping through each one as I said a silent prayer to the patron saint of sugar that I wasn’t completely mangling the contents each time the cardboard stretched and smooshed.
When I broke through the last one and opened the lid, I saw it wasn’t an exact replacement.
It wasthreeexact replacements. And they somehow looked even better than the ones the day before.
I silently thanked my saint, O for not devouring them in secret, and even Catch. He’d put in a lot of effort to make it happen. If I found out that he’d been the one to triple his payment, and it wasn’t only Piper’s doing, I would even drop the grudge I’d planned to hold until the end of time.
Grabbing cocktail napkins, I set them down. “Cookie, cupcake, or both?”
She must’ve truly been a selfless angel because she waved away my offer. “That’s okay. You’ve earned these. Glitch told us about you going all badass on Catch.”
I grimaced and hoped my face wasn’t as red as it felt. “Going badass, being dramatic and making a scene. Potato, po-tah-to.”
“Not dramatic. I probably would’ve kicked him in the dick until he was peeing rainbow sprinkles. Or let Judge cut his tongue out for upsetting me.” She flashed a smile. “I’m kidding.”
That last part was the first thing she’d said all conversation that didn’t ring quite true.
Definite edge.
It didn’t lessen how much I liked her. An emotion I backed up with actionandsacrifice. “There’s three of each. I could knock off two, but not all three. And since I haven’t eaten today, scarfing down all three on an empty stomach would cause the mother of all sugar crashes.”