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“You okay with that?”
“Of course. It’s great. I won’t be the only old lady in the house. And they’ve finally…whatever their issues.”
My hand reaches over and captures one of hers, bringing it to my mouth, so I can kiss her knuckles. “Thank you.”
We’re interrupted by my phone ringing. I press the button on the steering wheel that answers and puts the call over Bluetooth.
“Can you come down to CB?” Z asks.
“Not right now.”
“Come on, we caught your porn star.” I grind my teeth, while next to me Hope breaks into giggles.
“Where are you?” Z asks.
“In the car. With Hope, so thanks, asshole.”
Hope laughs even harder.
The line’s silent, as I guess Z must be trying to figure out how to dig himself out of the hole he created.
“Go ahead, Z,” Hope says with another chuckle.
“Uh, well. Wrath’s here. He wants to fire Lexi, but I thought you might want to question her first. She’s saying—well, it will be easier to tell you in person.”
I’d rather ram my forehead into the steering wheel a couple dozen times than go to Crystal Ball right now. Hope makes a gesture that I interpret either as “go ahead” or “drop me off at the nearest bus station, so I can get away from your degenerate ass.” Before I can clarify, she answers Z.
“We’re leaving downtown Empire, now, Z. He’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“Thanks.” Z hangs up.
“What’d you tell him that for?”
“Just go get it over with. Otherwise they’ll end up calling you fifty more times throughout the day.”
She has a point.
“I’m sorry, Baby Doll.”
“Rock, it’s fine. I can wait in the car.”
Like fuck. “It’s a safe area, but I’d feel better if you were inside.” Where I can keep an eye on her.
She huffs. “Seriously?” I’m about to answer when she chuckles. “Is this part of your not-wanting-to-see-naked-chicks-without-me crisis?” The way she characterizes my words makes me laugh.
“Probably. You can wait in the—” I was about to say office. Yes, jackass. Why don’t you invite her to sit at the same desk she watched you nail some chick on. Brilliant plan.
“The room where some girl you were nailing before we were together videotaped you? Is that what you were going to say?”
“It’s scary how well you know me.”
She snorts and puts her hand on my leg. “To me it will always be the room where we had our first kiss.”
Jesus Christ. Every time I think I can’t possibly love this woman more than I already do, she says something like that. “Thank you.”
“For?”
“For not making me feel like shit over the whole thing.”
The warmth of her hand on my leg disappears, and she sighs. “I think we’ve already conquered worse things, Rock.” I don’t know how to answer. Before I come up with anything reasonably intelligent, she speaks again. “I just want you to be sure my…lack of worldliness in that department won’t bore you eventually?”
We’re almost at the club, so I wait to answer her. I need to be looking at her when I figure out the right words.
“Sorry. You shouldn’t have to keep reassuring me over and over. I trust you.”
I shut the truck down and think about how to say what I want. I turn and take her hands, so she’ll face me. “I love everything about you. You’re the only woman I’ve ever felt truly comfortable with and that’s way more interesting than a woman who fucks anyone she meets for reasons that have nothing to do with love.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, wow. And, you’re too classy to film someone without permission.”
“That’s true.”
“And I’ll mold you just the way I like.”
“Oh my. Sounds kinky.”
“You have no idea, Baby Doll.”
She waits for me to open her door, and takes my hand so she can jump down from the truck. “I’m sorry. I should put running boards or something on it.”
The naughty smile that spreads across her face surprises me—given our location and all. “But I like having your hands on me to get in and out,” she says.
“And I like having my hands on you.”
Two of the nomads we brought in for security are on the door. So far Iron Jim and Butcher are working out well. If that continues, I’ll ask the club if we want to offer them a more permanent place.
I nod to both of them. “Butch, Jim, this is my ol’ lady, Hope.”
After the introductions, Jim cracks up. “You’re a lucky man. I couldn’t get my ex near a strip club.”
The corner of Hope’s mouth twists up.
I don’t bother explaining why we’re actually here. Inside, the music throbs right through us and I feel like I’m walking into my past.
Hope braces herself on my shoulder and leans up. “Did you do that a lot?” she yells in my ear.
“Do what?”
She gestures at the back hallway, where my office used to be. I understand what she’s asking—if I took a lot of women over the desk in my office. I almost say “it got a lot busier after I met you” but don’t. She doesn’t need to hear that in the year before her husband died, I used a lot of women in an attempt to fuck Hope out of my stubborn mind. Now she’s mine and that’s a time in my life I’d rather forget.
“Don’t,” I warn her.
She raises an eyebrow and the question she’s asking is written all over her mischievous face. “No. Absolutely not,” I say before she even asks. Grabbing her hand, I tug her over to the bar. “Come on, troublemaker.”
Willow’s at the bar. She’s worked here long enough without causing trouble that I trust her with Hope.
“Where are Wrath and Z at?”
She lifts her chin toward the back. “Office.”
I make the introductions and ask Willow to keep an eye on my woman.
“You’ll behave, Baby Doll?”
“I’ll do my best,” she sasses back. Fucking love her.
A bit of unease follows me down the hall. Before I enter the office, I take one last look at Hope. She’s busy chatting with Willow.
Wrath and Z are two grumpy bookends leaning on the edges of my old desk. Lexi’s sniffling on the couch. Her head snaps up, eyes wide with relief when she spots me. “Rock! Please don’t fire me. I didn’t—”
“Sit back down.” I point at the couch.
I pull one of the chairs in front of her—keeping a safe distance—and pin her with a hard stare. “Why?”
“Why what?”
I turn to Wrath and Z. “Did you show it to her?”
Before either of them answer, Lexi sobs out a miserable. “Yes.”
“Did you like seeing yourself on video, Lexi?”
Her scared doe eyes peek up at me, full of confusion. “What? N-No,” she finally stammers out.
“Well, someone sent that to my fiancée. How do you think she felt watching it?”
She bursts into tears. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t send it though. I’ve met her. She’s nice. I wouldn’t do something like that, I swear.”
“Why did you even have it?”
“I don’t know,” she wails. Behind me Wrath sighs, long and loud to let me know how annoyed he is to be here. Just for that I’m gonna make him stay until closing.
“It was stupid. I must have hit record by accident, later when I realized what it was I just kept it, then I forgot about it.”
Unbelievable how something so stupid could cause so much trouble.
Suddenly, Lexi’s tears vanish and she points an accusatory finger in Z’s direction. “I told him!”
I turn and raise an eyebrow at Z. “Told him what?” I ask.
Z shrugs. “She told me her phone got stolen a couple days before Hope received the video.”
“Yeah, settin’ up her alibi,” Wrath grumbles.
&nbs
p; Lexi shoots him a vicious glare. “I’ve always been nice to you. Why are you being such a dick?”
I hold up a hand, so Wrath keeps his mouth shut. “Simmer down. Tell me what happened.”
“After that new girl,” she spits the word out like venom, “got here, Gabriella, shit started going missing. You know we’ve never had problems like that here, Rock. All the girls get along for the most part. Shit, we hardly ever use our lockers. We all trust each other. Then Gabriella shows up and iPods go missing, money, cell phones. We tried telling Z but—”
“I just figured they were upset about the new competition,” Z finishes.
Lexi’s always been a bit…hysterical and dramatic. But never a liar or troublemaker. If she’d come to me with her complaint, I would have taken it seriously. Although, given the awkward way Gabriella ended up working for us, I don’t know that the outcome would have been any different.
“Okay, Lexi. Say I believe your story. Why would Gabriella send the video to Hope? How does she even know who my ol’lady is?”
She chews on her lip and redirects her gaze to her feet. “Well…when she first got here, she kept asking about you. Where you were, why you didn’t work here anymore. Stuff like that. And, um, I might have told her it was because you were getting married. But I never told her your girl’s name. I don’t even know her last name and I certainly don’t have her number.”
Easy enough to figure out once you start asking questions. Especially if it was Vipers doing the asking.
“You get a new phone?”
“Yeah, and you guys really should reimburse me for it since it’s your fault my old one got stolen.”
Ignoring that, I ask. “Where is it?”
“In my locker.”
“Good. Keep it there and tell the rest of the girls the same thing. Anyone gets caught with their phone out of the dressing room, they’re fired.” I turn to make sure Z’s absorbing this information.
“Got it,” he says.
I give Lexi a critical eye. What she did was stupid, but I believe her story. The fact that Gabriella was so concerned about me from day one is unnerving. Fucking Vipers, always up to something.
“All right. Go on,” I stand and motion for Lexi to do the same.
“Are you still firing me?” she squeals.
“No.” Behind me Wrath curses and Lexi sticks her tongue out at him. “Hey!” I snap my fingers in front of her face to draw her attention away from Wrath. “Razor thin ice you’re standing on, Lexi. Behave. Act like a professional.”
She straightens up and marches to the door. “I’ll be professional. And I won’t be fucking anyone I work for ever again,” she snaps as she opens the door.
“Good plan,” I call out.
“What the fuck, Rock?” Wrath shouts as soon as the door shuts.
“You want to be involved here even less than I do, so why are you sticking your nose in this anyway?” I’m not yelling. But somewhere in the neighborhood of it.
“Uh, excuse me, but that’s the little bitch responsible for making Hope throw the fuck up the other day, or did you forget?”
I actually look around for a hidden camera or some shit, because I can’t believe what I’m hearing.
“Are you trying to say you’re more worried about my girl than I am?” I ask in a controlled tone. I’m furious enough to consider planting my fist in his face but also sort of amused.
To my astonishment, he closes his mouth and sits back against the desk. “No.”
Z’s still ping-ponging between the two of us. “Can we focus on the bigger problem here?” Z puts his hands up. “I’m upset about Hope seeing that shit too, but she handled it fine. Our bigger problem is the Vipers. Why the fuck did they plant Gabby here? Why’s she so concerned about you? And how’d she know who to send the video to?”
Christ, Z’s acting more presidential than I am.
“You’re right, brother,” I answer.
“We can’t fire Gabriella. We should keep closer tabs on her,” Wrath suggests.
Z shakes his head. “Don’t look at me.”
“No, you dick.” Wrath nods at me. “The kid I told you about from the gym, Twitch? He’s a stealthy little fucker. Be a good way to see if he’s prospect material.”
“All right. Have Hoot check in with him though. I don’t want him going into Viper territory alone.”
“Got it.”
“Are we done here? Because I’d rather not leave Hope out there any longer.”
The two asses laugh. “She’s here? Fuck, I hope she’s not up on stage,” Wrath jokes.
“I hope she is,” Z answers but drops his smirk when he sees my face. “Still not in a joking mood, prez?”
“Not about Hope. Never about her.”
My first fifteen minutes hanging out with Willow aren’t too bad. She presents herself as a bit of an airhead to any of the men who come up to the bar. But when we’re alone she’s got a fantastic, biting wit, cracking jokes about everything and anyone in sight.
The only way to describe my next ten minutes is awkward. While Willow’s busy washing glasses, I swivel my stool around to watch the girls on stage. Somehow it’s not as vulgar as I expected. These girls shed their clothes in a graceful, almost artistic way, that’s hard not to appreciate.
It also makes me never, ever want to get naked in front of Rock again. But we’ll save the Diary of Hope’s Body Image Issues for another time.
Between songs, I spot a short brunette stalking toward the bar. She’s dressed in street clothes, but seems so at ease, I assume she works here.
“Everything okay?” Willow asks, when the girl sits next to me.
“Yeah, I guess.” Now that her back’s to the rest of the club, her face loses some of the cheekiness she strutted out here with. She looks familiar and by her expression, she might cry any minute.
Willow sets another water in front of me and takes my empty away. “Lex, have you met Rock’s woman? This is Hope.”
For a second I can’t draw in any air. Blood rushes through my ears drowning out everything around us.
Luckily for me, Lexi seems to have a similar reaction. Her cheeks redden, mouth opens, but no words come out.
“Hi,” I finally manage. What am I supposed to say? Thanks for the engagement present, and by the way, if you so much as look at my man, I’ll kill you? Because that’s rattling around in my head somewhere.
“I’m sorry!” she blurts out.
So I guess she knows I know who she is. Awesome.
“All three of them just reamed me out—and not in the fun way,” she moans. “I’m so sorry. I swear to God, I didn’t send it to you.”
I’m still not sure what to say to her.
Wait a second, all three of them, what?
As I’m about to ask she jerks her head to the side. “Oh, fuck that. I’m not in the mood to get yelled at again.” She scoots off the stool and throws me another apologetic look. “Congratulations on your engagement,” she says before running away.
I don’t have to tip my head up to know it’s my favorite trio of scary bikers encircling me.
“Are you okay? What’d she say to you?” Wrath asks, earning a scowl from Rock.
“Nothing,” I answer. All three of their faces are screwed into slightly different forms of unhappiness. Z’s—indifference, Wrath’s—irritation, Rock’s—exasperation.
“How can three of the horniest men I’ve ever met be so miserable in a strip club?” I blurt out. The tension drains from Wrath and Z as they burst out laughing. Rock just looks more strained even though he flashes a tight smile my way.
“You okay, Baby Doll? I’m done here. We can go.”
“I’m fine.” I wag my finger at all three of them. “Did you three really gang up on that poor girl and question her?”
Guilty faces all around.
“Do you guys have any idea how intimidating the three of you are?”
“That’s the point,” Z says.
I shake my
head at them. “You guys are begging for a sexual harassment law suit. You should hire a female manager.”
When they finish laughing at me, Z turns his impish eyes my way. “You applying for the job, Hope?”
“Uh, no.”
Wrath pats my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Cinderella, no one’s suing us.”
I’m still laughing after Hope and Rock take off.
Z smirks at me. “Can you believe that girl? Worried about us harassing the chick who made a sex tape with her man?”
“She’s so square it hurts sometimes.”
Z cracks up at that. “Man, I love the girl. But if I were Rock, I might’ve choked her by now.”
“Apparently he enjoys the challenge.”
Eventually we stop laughing at Rock’s predicament. Z lifts his chin. “You can go. With Butch and Jim here and Dex coming in, I got more than enough coverage. Murph’s supposed to stop in later too.”
“To work or fuck around?”
“Probably both.” He snickers. “Nah, he’s clearing some stuff out of the basement and bringing it up to the property.”
“You want me to help?”
“It’s not what you think. Just old bike parts and shit.”
“Okay. Then, yeah, I need to stop by Furious and talk to Twitch.”
“Sounds good.”
He gives me a fist bump and I’m free from stripper hell.
Don’t get me wrong, the money the MC rakes in from Crystal Ball pays a lot of bills, but I’ve paid my dues and spent enough time there over the years.
My gym’s a short ride from Crystal Ball and I find a nice surprise waiting for me in the parking lot. Trinity’s Jeep. She mentioned stopping by to take some photos of Jake. At the time, I said sure, because I figured there was no way in hell Jake would say yes to something like that.
Well aren’t I in for a surprise. Trinity and Jake are in one of the training rings. He’s shirtless making all sorts of goofy poses for my girl.
“Hey, angel.” I plant a kiss on the back of Trinity’s neck, startling her. The smile that lights up her face when she turns around guts me.
She throws her arms around my neck, whacking me with her camera in the process, but any twinge of jealousy that was creepin’ up disappears. “Are you surprised to see me?” she asks.
