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“Trust most of these men with my life,” I said seriously. “But it goes without saying to watch your six while you’re here. Probably not a bad idea to stick together.”
“Seriously?”
“Do I think you’re gonna be attacked by a member?” I replied. “Doubt it. But I also thought that Cecilia was safe at the club in Sacramento, and look how that turned out. I know the old timers here, but I don’t know the new ones. We gotta work on the assumption that there’s a mole, even if there isn’t.”
“You know I can take care of myself,” she said, stopping when she saw the look on my face. “Yeah, okay, I hear you. I’ll keep my eyes open.”
“Good.”
I sighed as I took a sip of my coffee. Damn, I was tired. We’d driven through the night, and now that the sun was beginning to rise, exhaustion was riding me hard. I could go days with no sleep, and I’d had to do that sometimes in the past—my line of work meant you slept when you could, not when you wanted—but being home, in the safety of the clubhouse, was like a warm blanket on a cold day. Instant drowsiness.
“Hey, stranger,” Brenna said as she strode toward us. “Nice of you to stop in and say hi.”
“Hey Brenna,” I said, accepting the hug she offered. The smell of her took me back to being 12 and riding in the car with her to the mall because she’d noticed that my toes were wearing holes in the ends of my shoes. I still remembered every piece of clothing she’d bought me. New sneakers and a pair of flip-flops. One pair of jeans and three pairs of shorts. One hoodie, three t-shirts and two tank tops. All name brands. All things my mother would have never been able to afford.
She must still wear the same perfume.
“You guys must be beat,” she said, reaching out to squeeze my arm. “Why don’t we get you settled in some rooms? We’ve got some open ones.”
“Sounds good,” I said as I stood. I finished off my coffee in three gulps, grimacing as it burned all the way down.
“You could’ve brought it with you,” Brenna said with a laugh.
“It’s habit,” Lu said with a smile. “Finish it up while you can—don’t know when you’ll have another opportunity.”
“I have a feeling you have tons of stories about this one,” Brenna said, pointing at me. “I’ll have to pick your brain later.”
“Hey,” I complained.
“I’ve got some doozies,” Lu agreed.
“Well, if you’d visit more than once a year,” Brenna said as she led us to the hallway, “I wouldn’t have to ask your friends about your life.”
I glanced across the room, checking on Cecilia one more time. She’d handed Olive to her aunt and was standing with her arms crossed over her chest. There was nothing about her posture that indicated how uncomfortable she was, but I could just tell. Something about her stance made me want to pick her up and drag her out of there.
Lu elbowed me in the side.
“I’m right here,” I said to Brenna, paying attention to the conversation again. “Ask anything you want.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” she replied. “So, me and the girls got this bright idea to start remodeling some of the rooms. Just new paint and carpet—no big thing—but it’s taking a lot longer than we expected with everything that’s been happening. That’s why we’ve got a couple empty rooms. I hope you don’t mind the smell of fresh paint?”
“As long as it’s not still wet,” I said as she opened a door.
“Nope. And the smell really isn’t bad—it’s been a few days.”
“It smells like a new apartment,” Lu said with a smile. “Not bad at all.”
“Good,” Brenna replied. “We have three rooms, so however you want to divvy them up is fine.”
“Forrest and Eli can share,” Lu said instantly. “That way me and Chief have our own.”
“Chief?” Brenna asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Just a nickname,” I said, shaking my head.
“That should work,” Brenna said, getting back to the conversation. “I’m sure CeeCee can stay in her pop’s room—”
“She stays with me,” I said, cutting her off.
Brenna laughed. “Now why did I know you were going to say that?”
Lu snickered.
“I’ll let you two have this room since it’s the biggest—barely,” Brenna told me, smiling. “Come on, Lu, I’ll let you pick between the other two.”
“Your dad wasn’t lying, you really are the best,” Lu said, following her out of the room.
I needed to get back out to the main room to keep my finger on the pulse of what was happening, but I couldn’t resist the lure of the freshly made bed. Brenna had been downplaying the remodel she was trying to achieve in the rooms—I’d definitely never seen a club room with a headboard and a comforter before.
