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“Seriously? That fucking sucks.”
I nod. “Yes. Alejandro, the man your baker killed.”
Gia nods. “And you’re here to get your revenge on Willow,” she says and nods. I turn toward the blonde keeping her distance even though she’s been watching me the entire time.
I smile and shake my head. “No. I didn’t love Alejandro, and he didn’t love me. It is sad that he is dead, but really, she did me a favor. If not for her, I wouldn’t have been free to be with Dix.”
“Bullshit,” she spits out and smacks the table with one hand and summons more drinks with the other.
I shrug. “Believe what you will, but Dix believes me, and that’s all I care about.” I know I’ll be fine with his love and protection, but life would be better if I could find an ally among these women.
Gia nods, her eyes staring as her mind whirls, probably with more questions. “I don’t trust you, and I don’t trust your father.”
“I don’t trust him either,” I shoot back honestly. “But I love him as any girl loves her father.”
“Even when her papa murders our innocent prospects? An innocent girl and one of our friends?”
I shrug. “I did not know about any of that until recently. But it isn’t the first time. I doubt it will be the last. It is the nature of this business, as I’m sure you are all well aware.” I let my gaze bounce around the growing group of women to drive the point home.
“Yeah, that’s all true,” Gia begins. "And we all cope with it in our own way.” Then she pushes out of her chair, a fire in her eyes I hadn’t seen until now. “We’ll be nice to you because we’re supposed to make you feel welcome for some reason,” she rolls her eyes. “But if I get one fucking whiff that you’re up to no good, that you’re still working for papa,” she says mockingly. “I will make it my mission to fucking end you.”
The room is silent, but it’s not tense, just quiet as if everyone is waiting for…something. “Shot glasses and gold tequila,” the woman wearing black says as she sets a dozen glasses on a tray down on the table with a bottle.
“Thanks, Trudy,” Gia says and turns over two shot glasses and fills them to the brim, then shoves one in my direction. “Rumor has it you’re gonna be sticking around for a while.”
There’s a question in Gia’s eyes but the hatred is gone.
“Looks that way,” I admit.
Letty pours a shot for herself and turns to me with a smile. “Cool,” she says. “Glad that’s over.”
She then sips the shimmering golden liquid from the shot glass in her hand. “I’m with Shades, the secretary of the club,” she begins to explain. “Gia, on the other hand, is hooked up with Wilder, the club’s tech captain.”
Letty then proceeds to identify the other women present in the room, offering brief introductions and detailing their connections to various club members. “The other women are Club Whores, but I don’t like to call them that. It’s demeaning.”
Gia snorts, making me uneasy. “Even if they’d sleep with your man in a heartbeat? Don’t be fooled,” she warns me. “They’re cool chicks and all, but make no mistake, they want to be us. They want to be one of these guys’ old ladies.”
Letty nods in agreement. “Yes, that’s true. But they’re nice, and they always show up for the guys, so they’re family too.” I’m surprised by her admonishing tone, which seems to put Gia in her place.
“The guys over there,” she points to a trio playing pool, “are prospects, which means they will, at some point in time, become patched.”
“Or not,” Gia adds, her snarkiness returning. “It’s not guaranteed. But you’ll get used to those guys being here and at the shop. They’re tasked with all the bullshit no one else wants to do. If some messed-up cartel psychopath doesn't murder them first.” She turns to me and narrows her eyes.
I raise my hands in surrender. “I get it. I’m not here to hurt anyone. This,” I gesture around the room, “is more than I expected.” I admit I’m feeling a mixture of discomfort and surprise. “But you don’t have to be nice to me,” I assure them. “I know this is all weird as hell, and I’m not really sure how to do this either.”
“You just do it,” Letty says seriously. “Just be yourself. If you are Dix’s ol’ lady, then we’re sisters.” She turns to Gia, “Whether we want to be or not.”
“Thank you,” I assure Letty. “I do love Dix, and I won’t do anything to jeopardize his life or his well-being, or those he holds dear.”
“He holds dear,” Gia mimics. “You’re hella proper. Did you take classes to learn English?”
