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“You know them?” she jerked her head to the men she was staring at who were carrying furniture into the house.
I nodded. “Well, my stepfather knows them. They’re … friends. Here to help out.”
“Well, I owe your stepfather and you a really big fucking thank you,” she chirped. “I haven’t been laid in a hot minute, and that one in the middle looks like he knows how to please a woman.”
Her eyes were on the Latino man who had hair brushing his shoulders, bulging muscles and an air of mischief.
“He does,” I agreed.
“I’m Sariah,” she held out a hand stacked with rings. “Not Sarah. I’ve been fighting it all my life. I have a Jewish mother and a Mormon father who wanted me to emulate the ‘princess of the Lord,’” she said in air quotes. Her tongue darted out to trace her shiny pink lips as she followed the men with her gaze. “Needless to say, that kind of backfired.”
I couldn’t help but grin. “Violet,” I offered.
Her eyes raked over me. Though the gaze wasn’t judgmental in the least, I suddenly felt self-conscious. I hadn’t washed my hair in a couple of days, and it was piled messily on top of my head. Nor had I had the energy to wear makeup, the dark circles under my eyes unmistakable. I was wearing jeans that fit low on my hips because of the weight I’d lost over the past few days, a tight tank and Converse. Not my usual style, but I didn’t feel like my usual self.
“Violet my new roommate and effortlessly beautiful, stone-cold hottie with outlaw biker connections,” she snickered, meeting my eyes. “Love you already.” She reached out to squeeze my hand.
I didn’t expect the contact, but it was nice. I hadn’t had human contact since Elden pushed me away in his bedroom at the club.
My throat burned with the memory. I’d used all my antacids on the drive.
“Now, I’ve got booze in here,” she held up her large and expensive purse that indeed had a bottle sticking out of it. “Let’s order pizza, drink and watch the men work.”
She didn’t give me the opportunity to answer, just gripped my hand harder and dragged me inside.
I didn’t say it out loud, but I found myself endlessly glad that she was my new roommate too.
ChapterFive
I didn’t,as a rule, answer the phone when unknown numbers called me. Actually, I did not answer the phone at all. No one in my generation did.
Except when it was my mother or my grandparents. Those numbers were programmed into my phone. My father’s number was blocked.
This number was not saved.
But this number also had a New Mexico area code. It was probably spam. And even if it wasn’t, even if it was who I thought it was, I shouldn’t answer.
Shouldn’t.
Notdidn’t.
“What the fuck?” a voice demanded in greeting.
Everything inside of me froze. The voice sent shivers down my spine. For a moment, I lost my breath. But then I remembered... I remembered the smell of the smoke he blew in my face, the shy smile of the girl with the messy hair. His words, biting and cruel.
My back straightened, and I pushed past the pain that was thankfully numbed because of the bottle of tequila in Sariah’s purse that was now half empty in our kitchen.
“Who is this?” I asked sweetly.
“Violet,” Elden warned. “You know who the fuck this is, and you better tell me right now that not a single one of those fuckers laid a hand on you.”
“Forgive me, but I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I told him in a stiff tone.
“I know the Rhode Island chapter was called in to help you fucking move,” he seethed.
My hand was shaking as I toyed with my hair in the mirror. “They were,” I agreed. “But I still fail to understand what it has to do with you, nor is it any of your business whether or not any of them touched me.” I let my hair fall down my back, regarding my outfit.
I had showered. Washed and blow dried my hair. I’d put on makeup.
