Rather than check on the girls, I studied Zodiac. I felt so happy and satisfied. Yet, underneath my happiness stirred a quiet panic.
“Do you ever fear you’ll lose Elle?” I asked despite my better judgment.
Zodiac replied immediately, “No.”
“You’ve neveronceworried she would end things? I find that hard to believe after how she avoided you for months.”
“Elle worships me. I make her come and put a baby inside her. There’s no reason for her to ditch me.”
“But don’t you ever worry she’ll get hurt or die?”
“Never.”
“Not even after the shooting?”
“I knew that would turn out fine.”
Of course, Zodiac was lying. Why would he share his feelings with me?
“Well, I worry about something happening to Boone.”
“Why? He isn’t even an important person within his club. No one’s going to target him. He’s, what, thirty years old? Not even old enough to have any health issues. What’s there to worry about?”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Not for a mental case,” Zodiac said and frowned at me. “Are you mental? Should I be worried you’ll try to steal my kid or stalk me?”
“I’m not as good at change as you are.”
“That’s bullshit. You came to Baton Rouge right after your mom died. You were really pregnant. Like, fifteen or sixteen months into that thing. You had a crabby kid and a faded blackeye. Exile wasn’t any help. He’s too closed off emotionally. You bought that rundown house and popped out your second hellion all within months of arriving. That was a lot of change, and you did fine.”
Though Zodiac made a good point, I couldn’t shake the panic stirring inside me. “I feel like I was scared a lot.”
“And you’re scared now?”
“A little, yeah.”
“Why not ask Boone to stay over?”
“Where would he sleep?”
“The couch or a chair. You could kick your hellions into their own beds, so your man had space to stretch out. If you had done that, would you be as scared?”
“I don’t know.”
“You always say you don’t know when you do. It’s an annoying habit that kept me from wanting to bang you.”
“Who’s banging who?” Elle asked and wiped her drool on Zodiac’s jeans. “What’s happening?”
“Nova’s missing her boyfriend, and I’m watching the game.”
“Oh,” Elle muttered and frowned. “I was hoping that damn thing was over.”
“The pitchers are on fire. It’ll be over soon.”
Elle rubbed her eyes and smiled at me. “Did you get laid?”
“We ate sushi.”
