Discovering Me
Page 13

“I hope to hell you have something strong then.”
Well, well. The sweet is gone. Damn. I liked that about her.
I change the subject from drinking to something we will have to know if she is stuck on the compound. “If you are stuck at the MC, is there anyone who you have to call?”
A laugh sputters from her mouth. “Yeah, right. It is me and me alone. My father died a few years ago, and who the hell knows where my mother is.”
Shit. “I’m sorry.” I hope she understands that.
“It was a while ago.”
Okay, then.
The gate opens and I pull in. When I park, I take a deep breath and prepare her.
“The guys look rough, and they are. Their looks don’t deceive you. Almost all of them are fine as hell, too. So if you are stuck here, at least you’re stuck lookin’ at sexy the entire time.”
The upside of lockdown and it’s the only enjoyable part about it all.
“I’m sure my husband will love that,” she says, and it throws me off.
“You said—”
“Gotcha!”
Damn her.
“When I am nervous, I joke. I shouldn’t, but it is a habit. It helps my moods.”
Maybe she is sweet and has a small, sassy side. I sure hope so. There are enough smartass bitches around us.
“You’ll definitely throw the girls off with that behavior. You gave me fuckin’ whiplash, chick.” I laugh and grab the handle. “You ready?”
She straps her purse to her side. “I have no choice, right?”
I give her a sad smile and shake my head no.
“Well then…”
I take that as my cue to open the door, and she does the same with hers. Once we are out and the doors of Tea’s car shut, I click the alarm, and we head towards the clubhouse.
“That large, tall building is the live-in. Basically, the slut free zone. The family area and that small building over there is the office, and you can tell what all the other small buildings are.”
Jinx looks around. “You can’t tell how big this place is from the outside. It is huge once you are inside the gate.”
She thinks it is big now, but she won’t be thinking that if she is stuck here with us. The guys throttle into the compound and linger behind in the parking lot as we walk inside.
“Whoa, cigarette and weed-filtered air.”
“Sorry.”
She will probably get tired of hearing that come from me, but I can’t help it.
“No biggie. I’m not a smoker so it is heavier on my senses.”
When we round the corner, I gesture for her to sit on a barstool. She does and she lays her bag on the bar counter. I want to scream, “Get your name brand purse off of there. You don’t know what disease infested shit will crawl up onto your bag,” but I can’t because the chick will be scarred for life.
“A stage and a stripper pole?”
I grab two shot glasses and some cheap whiskey and crack a real smile. “Don’t knock it. When you’re trashed, you won't believe what you can do with that there pole.” I point at her as I uncap the bottle, pour us some shots, and slide one towards her.
“Bottoms up,” she says and gulps down the shot. She didn’t ‘cheers’ me, and I can’t say I blame her.
The door to the compound opens, and Pyro’s voice echoes to the bar area. “Yeah, brother. She packed her bags, and she’s at the live-in. No, Berry was very pissed. She screamed that she was too old for this shit. Next time, you can give the low down to your mother. I ain’t ever listenin’ to her scream like that again.” He rounds the corner. “Look, I gotta go,” he says to who I think is ZZ. “We got a straggler,” he smarts off as he eyes Jinx.
“Asshole,” she murmurs low for me to hear.
When Pyro hangs up the phone, he can’t help himself. “Piper, what did we tell you about bringin’ strays home. Just because they’re hot, doesn’t mean bring them home. You’ll never learn,” he jokes.
“First off, asshole with no manners, my name is Jinx, and I’m not a straggler or a stupid stray,” she yells and I pour another shot for her. “I happen to be here against my will.”
Pyro turns his attention to me. “Truth?”
“Yeah,” I answer. “I gave her a friendly hug, and the men went red, and here we are.” I move my hand around in the air. “No idea why. Still waitin’ on answers. Guys still outside?”
Pyro doesn’t answer me. His attention goes right back to Jinx. “Well, aren’t you unlucky,” he teases as he takes a seat next to her.
What. In. The. Fuck?
The guys coming in interrupt my thoughts, and the older brothers come out of the church room.
Braxx walks towards me and leans on the bar. “Scared yet?”
Could he be any more of an asshole?
“No, but maybe you should get yourself a breath mint.”
Wow!
“I like her,” Sniper jokes from the couch. I didn’t even see him sit down. My Sniper blinders are disappearing again. Hell yes!
“Little lady, I believe you’re probably right. Smoked a fat joint outside before coming in here.” Braxxon moves closer to her. “Are my eyes tweaked, too?”
She leans backward. “No offense, but I don’t care.”
Pyro scrubs his face to hide his smile. Interesting.
“All right, enough fuckin’ round. Move to the chairs and couches. I’ll tell you guys what the fuck is happenin’, and then I got to explain this shit storm to my wife,” he orders us.