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Rooster: Beautiful. I miss you.
Me: Miss you too.
Rooster: Gotta go.
I set the phone in my lap.
Behind me, Cindy sighs. “Missin’ him?”
“Yeah,” I admit.
She’s quiet after that, working quickly to transform me into my onstage persona while I hum a few scales.
After she’s finished, I have few minutes to myself. Jittery and anxious about the show, I pace back and forth, focusing on some favorite deep breathing techniques.
A scratch-whoosh noises draws my attention to the door in time to see a black envelope with a glint of silver pushed underneath. It sails across the floor. I frown at it before scurrying to pick it up.
My name’s scrawled on the front in some kind of silver pen. Reminds me of the black notebooks and gel pens I’d loved in high school. The writing’s neat, precise, like a child trying to impress his parents.
I rip open the flap and pull out the piece of paper tucked inside. Expecting it to be from a kid, I smile.
Dearest Shelby,
For your sake, I hope the rumors of you cavorting around with two men isn’t true.
M
What the heck?
I’m not smiling any more. That’s not a note from a sweet little kid.
Cavorting? Who says crap like that?
I glance at the door again. Did security drop it off?
Whatever. I don’t have time for this nonsense.
More annoyed than scared, I stuff the stupid note at the bottom of my purse and finish getting ready for my show.Chapter Thirty-FourRooster
I keep flicking my phone on to check out the silly pic Shelby sent me. I love that she trusts me enough to send goofy candids instead of filtered glamor shots.
As much as I love to be on the road, damn, it feels good to be home. Only thing better would be having Shelby here with me.
Jigsaw and I said goodbye to Dex and Murphy at Exit 24, promising we’d both fill our presidents in on the visit to Zips. Jigsaw and I continued downstate on our own.
The front door slams open and Z swaggers outside. I stuff my phone back in my pocket. Z greets us with hugs and hearty thumps on the back. “It’s not the same around here without you two.” He flashes a sincere dimpled grin.
It’s nice to be missed and appreciated for a change. Sway always acted like all the brothers hanging around the clubhouse annoyed him and ruined his jolly good time.
I shouldn’t compare Z to our old president. They’re worlds apart. Sometimes it’s hard not to, though.
I set my helmet on the seat of my bike. “I get why you miss me, but what’s Jiggy add to the atmosphere?”
Jigsaw flips me off and I blow him a kiss.
“How’d it go?” Z asks, ignoring our antics.
“You want me to debrief you now?” I ask, following him inside. “Or at the table?”
He cocks his head and studies me under the clubhouse’s new and improved lighting. “Something happen I need to call everyone to the table for?”
“No, nothing like that.” I consider the conversation I had with Chaser. “Well, maybe.”
“All right, let’s chat.”
He waves us into the chapel and stretches out in his chair, lacing his hands behind his head. “So?”
Jigsaw adopts a similar pose, adding an eyebrow quirk in my direction. Dick.
“I ran into Chaser at Shelby’s show.”
“Really? Don’t picture him being into country music.”
The corners of my mouth twitch. “His daughter’s a fan of Shelby.”
Now I’ve got Z’s attention. “No shit?”
“She’s also smoking hot,” Jigsaw adds. “Just like Mallory.”
Z slides his gaze Jigsaw’s way. “Please tell me you didn’t—”
“No.” Jigsaw points at me. “He forbid me from even talking to her.”
“Good.” Z nods at me. “Continue.”
“Brought them backstage to meet Shelby. She and Angelina seemed to get along. I talked to Chaser a bit. All low-key friendly stuff. He invited us to the clubhouse, so we popped in after the show and hung for a while.”
Z’s eyes widen. “Good.”
“He says DeLova’s retiring.”
“Fuck me. Never thought that day would come.”
“No one did. Sounds like he’s annoying the shit out of Chaser and Mallory while he’s at it.”
Z lets out a brief chuckle. “So, he’s not upset with us then? For turning down DeLova’s work? That didn’t have anything to do with him retiring, right?”
“Fuck, never considered that angle. But I don’t think so.” I shrug. “Chaser’s pretty straightforward. If he thought we’d fucked them over, he’d have no problem saying so, and I doubt he would’ve invited us to their clubhouse.”
“True.” Z squints and stares up at the ceiling for a few minutes. “Who’s taking over for him?”
“Excellent question, Prez.” I use my best game-show host voice.
“Chaser? I don’t know all the intricacies of DeLova’s operation but there has to be some mob stuff his club can’t touch.”
“Obviously, he didn’t share details. He said Mallory’s cousin has a piece. Demons have part of it. And…” I pause for effect. “He’s offering some of the action to us.”
