“Whatever you need to make you comfortable.”
I took a fortifying breath. “I didn’t like the spanking. I don’t want you to do that again.”
“I’m a stickler about some things, and one of them is being on time. You were late to class and that’s what started this bullshit with Fury. Snooze buttons don’t exist in this house. The alarm goes off, you get up. End of story. You’ll be spanked for being late, or actions that will lead to being late. You’ll be spanked for bad grades. You’ll be spanked if you do something stupid and/or dangerous. You’ll be spanked if you don’t wear your seatbelt. Most things, we’ll handle at night after your shower, but some stuff works better if the spanking happens right away.”
I shook my head and stared at my plate.
“This is me, Lex. Most things, we can discuss and argue and even fight over, but some stuff isn’t negotiable. No sense arguing — makes more sense to handle it with a spanking and put it behind us.”
Okay, so in a weird, fucked up kind of way, that made sense. I started eating my breakfast without comment.
A few minutes later, I asked, “Have you heard how Fury’s doing?”
“No. Don’t expect to, either.”
When we finished eating, I cleaned the kitchen and went back to the bathroom to add to my makeup. Bubbles stood at the door and watched, his arms crossed while he leaned against the doorframe like an overlord.
I dug out the eyeliner and shadow I’d need, and got to work. Five minutes later, he said, “Fuck me. It’s like you’re some glamorous model, just stepped off a photo shoot. You’re a damned artist. That glittery shit should look ridiculous, but it makes me want to fuck you again.”
Good to know.
11
Bubbles
* * *
I hated leaving her at school, but she’d be in the same building the entire day, except for lunch, and she promised she’d walk to the cafeteria and back with a group of friends and wouldn’t be alone. She also promised to text me between classes, and I had the alarm on my phone set to ding me when she was supposed to text me. If I didn’t hear from her, I’d start searching.
I’d been working perhaps an hour when Pixie walked to me, obviously worried. “Someone’s asking for you. He’s nervous and won’t tell me why he wants to see you, just says to tell you he’s Davy Jones.”
Davy? Damn. He was a complication I didn’t need. “Small guy? Thin, maybe five-eight?”
She nodded, and I sighed. “Okay. Send him back. Thanks for checking first. You okay?”
“Yeah. Something just seemed off with him.”
“I knew him inside. I don’t think he’s here to hurt anyone. Not his style.”
She nodded, and I went back to work.
I didn’t acknowledge him when he first stepped into my work area, and he stood and waited for me to greet him. Pixie was right — the boy was nervous as fuck. I was nose-blind though, too many smells in the shop for me to get a handle on his scent.
I didn’t make him wait more than four or five minutes before I glanced up and acknowledged him. “Davy. What brings you to Chattanooga?”
“I stopped by the shop in Atlanta, but you weren’t there. Took some digging to find you.”
My hands were a mess so I couldn’t cross my arms. I stood with them a few inches from my body and asked, “Why did you need to find me?”
The poor thing looked like he was about to cry, and I waved him into the clean-up area. “Fuck, Davy. Talk to me. Don’t make me pull it out of you.”
He was quiet while I washed my hands, and looked to the floor when I turned back to him.
“I’m almost out of money. I can’t find a job. No one wants to hire an ex-con to do upholstery. I was hoping ya’ll might be hiring. I’m not on parole or anything, so it’s okay for me to move to another state.”
I sighed. “How did you get here?”
“Bus into Chattanooga, and then city buses to get me here.”
Fuck. “I can talk to Bash about hiring you to do our upholstery in-house instead of sending it out, but we don’t have enough to keep you busy.” I shook my head. “You know I’m not…”
Davy had offered himself to me when he’d first arrived at the minimum-security prison, because he assumed I’d keep him safe. The truth is, you don’t really need someone to keep you safe in that kind of jail, but he didn’t know any better, and I’d needed to get off, so it’d worked out. He’s a sweet kid, but the rules are different inside. I’m not gay or even bi, but you do what you have to inside to stay sane.
He’d carried drugs for his leather-daddy, got caught, refused to rat, and done time. Soft time, but still, it’d been more than he could handle. I was rough with him, but I’d also taken care of him.
We could discuss that later though, when there weren’t so many wolf ears listening. “Your boyfriend wasn’t waiting for you when you got out?”
He shook his head. “Yeah, but he expected me to mule for him again, and he kicked me out when I refused.”
“Good for you.” I’d seen the upholstery work he’d done in the prison class. He knew his shit, but we truly didn’t have enough work to keep him busy. Would Razor be able to use him at one of the laundromats? Kid knew his way around a computer, and he could fold clothes so they looked like they came from the factory. Fucker could even make a fitted sheet fold flat.
“C’mon. Let’s talk to Bash.”
Fifteen minutes later, Davy was in the office with Bash and Razor, working out a schedule to fold clothes at our main laundromat, and a price to upholster the custom cars we’d offered a complete job for. I knew Bash had been turning down jobs for only upholstery, and we might get more business if Davy proved responsible and showed he knew his shit. He’d been all those things in prison, but we’d need to see him in the real world before we depended on him too much.
I texted Darnell and asked if he’d rented his tiny house out yet — I’d only moved out a few weeks before, so with any luck, it was still available. Dude’s picky about who he’ll rent to, so the odds were in Davy’s favor.
Twenty minutes later, he called me back, and I explained the situation.
“Looks like I’m now running a prison half-way house, but yeah, if you vouch for him, I’ll rent it to him. Same price you paid.” He’d charged me a hundred-fifty less a month than he advertises it for because I was RTMC and he’d known there’d be no damage. Now, he was trusting I wouldn’t send someone who’d vandalize the place.
“I’ll cover his first month, until he gets on his feet. Thanks.”
I went into the office and put my hand on Davy’s shoulder from behind. I noted Bash gave me an odd look, but I ignored him. I’d have to be careful about showing ownership over Davy — he wasn’t mine out here.
“Got a place for you to live lined up. Four hundred a month, and that includes cable and internet. I’ll pay your first month. It’s one of those tiny houses, and it was a pain in the ass for me, but you’ll be fine. I can bring you to work and take you home, but… fuck, this week there are complications.” I looked at Bash. “We got a cheap motorcycle I can buy for him?”
“We have a little five-fifty on the lot for nine hundred, but I think we only have a little over four in it. Pixie’ll have the numbers. Add ten percent to what we put into it and it’s yours.”
I nodded. “Sold. I’ll bring the cash tomorrow.” If we were selling it, it wasn’t going to break down in the first thousand miles, at least.
“I’ll pay you back,” Davy said. “Every penny.”
I shook my head. “Someday, you’ll help someone else who needs it.” I’d seen him eyeing Razor, and I touched his nose to get his undivided attention. “Razor has a boy, and Matty will kick your ass black and blue if you so much as flirt with his daddy. I live in a rough world, boy. Watch your Ps and Qs.”
Razor chuckled. “My boy will either take you on as his own special project, or be a total little bitch. I can make him be nice, but if he decides he doesn’t lik
e you, he’ll still find subtle little bitchy things to do.” Razor sighed. “Apparently, some of it flies under my radar.”
Davy looked from me to Razor and back to me a few times, and finally asked me, “Your club is okay with…”
“I’m not, Davy. I have a girlfriend. This is the real world, and I can be myself again.” I looked at Bash and Razor. “I protected Davy inside, and he saw to my needs. Simple business arrangement. You do what you have to inside to keep your sanity.” I looked back at Davy. “I’ll pay your first month rent, pay for a cheap motorcycle, and help you get set up with some work, but that’s it. If you don’t hold your own at the job, you’ll need to leave town. I’m vouching for you.”
“Thank you. I won’t let you down.”
I looked at Bash. “His suitcase is too big for the bike. Any chance we can get a prospect to drive a cage and show him the way to Darnell’s? I’m leaving shortly before two-thirty to pick up Lex, have dinner with her, and take her to work. I’ll come back and get some more hours in, and then I can stop by and pay Darnell, make sure Davy’s getting settled in. Lex gets off at eight, and I’ll need to pick her up.”
“Not a problem. You’ve worked it out with Darnell?”
“Yeah. I’ll text him and let him know Davy’s on his way. He’s home today. He knows I’m good for the money.” I looked at Davy. “He’ll make you sign a rental agreement. He’s rentin’ to you because I vouched for you.”
“I won’t let you down. Thanks for taking care of me.”
I looked at Bash and Razor. “He was inside because he took the rap for his boyfriend. Didn’t rat, and he was pressed hard because they wanted his boyfriend, not him. He’s here because he won’t mule anymore and the asshole dumped him. He can know about small shit if it makes life easier, but keep him clean. I’m gonna get back to work. Let me know if I’m needed.”
I turned to leave, realized Davy might need someone to call if there was a problem, and stopped to write my number on a sticky. I handed it to him and he took it, but said, “I don’t have a phone yet.”
“I’ll see if I can run down a burner someone’s about to toss. It’ll just be a flip, but it’ll be better than nothin’ until you can afford your own.”
Thankfully, the next couple of hours passed without further drama — just me and the car. Mechanics. Logic. I lost myself in my work, and was surprised when my phone let me know it was time to pick up my little Half-pint. I’d taken my shirt off to work, and I washed up, put it back on, texted our order to Knife so it’d be ready when we returned, and slid through traffic to pick her up.
I was waiting for her where we’d agreed when she came out, and she smiled with relief. She had a lifetime of people letting her down, but she’d learn to trust me when I told her I’d be somewhere.
She’d touched up her makeup since the morning, and she still looked stunning. She was my Half-pint, but exotic and elegant and knock-down gorgeous, and like a picture. Not real, but not exactly fake. The real thing underneath, but with a mask on. Kind of. Or maybe armor. I detest fake shit, but this wasn’t fake. Just different.
I put the bandanna back on her before handing her the helmet. While I fiddled with her hair, I told her, “One of the boys under my protection in prison showed up this morning. I arranged for him to have a place to stay, bought him a four-hundred-dollar motorcycle, and got him a job workin’ for the MC.”
She didn’t say anything, so I handed her the helmet. She put it on but didn’t fasten it right away. “You’re tellin’ me so I don’t think you tried to hide it?”
I nodded. “He isn’t quite an ex because that was inside, and I don’t lean that way unless it’s the absolute only option, but I can see how you might feel about it, so I’m tryin’ to be upfront.”
“He just got out?”
“A few weeks ago. His boyfriend kicked him out when Davy refused to mule for him again. He got here with a bus ticket.”
She finally fastened the helmet strap. “Okay. Good for him. It was nice of you to take care of him. Do you have someone you can introduce him to? Or maybe someone to show him around the gay bars? He’ll be all alone.”
“Let’s let him work a few weeks and get his legs under him before we worry about that. You hungry?”
“Yeah. I only had a small salad for lunch, since I knew we’d be eating in a few hours.”
I have no idea how the MC rumor mill operates so quickly, but I wasn’t surprised to see Gen, Harmony, Connie, and Hailey at one of the big tables. Matty, Angelica, Bethany, and Gabby probably hadn’t been able to get away from work.
I nodded to Gonzo at the bar, and led the way to the VIP section.
“Ladies, this is Lexi. She doesn’t have a lot of time before she has to be at work, and she needs to get some homework done, so we’re going to take one of the tables at the back, and then I’ll set her up in the office to do homework.”
“We were hoping ya’ll might sit with us,” said Harmony, “but we understand if it doesn’t work.”
“It’s okay,” said Lexi. “We can sit with them. It was nice of them to try to make me feel welcome.”
I gave her a look I hoped she understood, and she put her hands on her hips to tell me, “I’ll handle my homework! It’ll be fine.”
I smiled because she’d known just what I was thinking, so I nodded and pulled a chair out for her to sit. A waitress showed up seconds later with her burger and fries, my three burgers and fries, a Coke for her, and a beer for me.
“I love your makeup,” said Hailey. “Do you think you can show me how to get that effect? I like surprising people with a different look sometimes, and that would be awesome.”
Lexi stared at Hailey a good ten seconds before her eyes grew wide and she stuttered, “Mmm…Mmm…Mythic Bea… Bea…” She took a breath and started again. “You’re Su—”
I clapped my hand over her mouth before she shouted it so loud the entire restaurant heard. I put my mouth to her ear. “Yes, she’s Suli from Mythic Beast, but her back is to the other patrons and she’s tryin’ to keep a low profile.”
Her little hand pulled mine off her mouth, and she kept her voice low to say, “Sorry, but… excuse me while I fangirl. I love your music!”
“Thanks, but I’m Hailey to my friends, and I hope we can be friends.”
I went around the table again, just to be sure she knew everyone. “You’ve met Gen and Harmony. Connie belongs to Gonzo, and Hailey is Ghost’s ol’lady. I don’t think you’ve met him yet.”
Once the Mythic Beast questions had been answered, the girls chatted about makeup some more, then about Lexi’s classes, which led to a discussion about her hair, and then about the tattoo place where she works. I don’t know why I hadn’t put it together that she works with Viper, but I hadn’t, and I breathed easier knowing I could ask him to keep an eye out for her at work. She didn’t get any homework done before we had to leave, but she assured me there wasn’t much and she’d be able to do it at home later.
I walked her inside at work, where they seemed surprised to see her there on time. I lifted my brow at her and she looked properly contrite. I offered my hand, introduced myself to her boss, and assured him her days of tardiness were over.
“We’re a laid-back shop, and she’s never more than ten or fifteen minutes late. It’s all good.”
It wasn’t, but I didn’t argue with him. Viper introduced me to their other coworkers, and I let them know I’d be back to pick her up — and made sure Viper knew to tag me if he saw trouble brewing.
And then I went to Darnell’s.
Ghost’s dad met me in the driveway when I pulled in. I handed him the cash, he pocketed it, and asked, “Tell me about him?”
“He’s a twink. He needs a daddy or a keeper or whatever, but he doesn’t have one so this will have to do. I protected him inside.” I explained he’d done time because he wouldn’t rat, and that his boyfriend had kicked him out when he refused to mule drugs again.
“Good to know. I wa
s clear I’ll boot his ass if he does anything illegal on the property. Seems like a nice enough kid, but he also seems lost, which can be a disaster if he finds the wrong person to rescue him.”
“I think he learned his lesson about that. I’m gonna check in on him before I go.”
He nodded, and I walked around back. Davy was sitting on the porch, looking bored.
“There are trails in the woods, and I’ll draw you a map to a kickass used book store. How are you settling in?”
“Dude gave me his Wi-Fi password, but I don’t have a way online yet. Books would be good. Razor got all my info, said I’ll get this week’s paycheck next Tuesday, so I’ll have to stretch my funds until then for food, but I’ll be okay. Thanks so much for setting me up.”
“How many hours can Razor give you?”
“Five hours a day to start, but he said he might be able to up it in about a month.”
I nodded. “We should have an upholstery job for you next week. We’ll do it off the books so we can pay you cash. We’ll need to do everything aboveboard going forward, but I see no reason we can’t help you out on your first job — pay you right away without taking taxes out.”
I recognized the sound of Matty’s Kawasaki from miles away, but I didn’t mention it until he was pulling in. “Looks like you’re about to meet Razor’s boy.”
Matty got off his bike and took his helmet off at the same time, and he practically bounced to me. “Bubbles! Daddy said you might be here.” He looked at Davy. “I’m Matty, you met my daddy earlier.” I suppressed a grin at Matty’s words, because he wanted to be sure this boy knew Razor was Matty’s daddy.
“Anyway,” Matty continued, “Daddy asked me to stop and introduce myself.” He returned to his bike and retrieved something bungeed to the back. “I have an old Chromebook I never use anymore. The M key is wonky, but it works fine otherwise. I restored it to factory settings to make sure all my stuff is off. Daddy suggested that maybe we can take you to The Diamond Club one night, our treat, to show you around.” Matty looked at me and back to Davy. “Bubbles is straight. You can’t out him to anyone else. Bash and my daddy don’t matter, but you have to chill.”
Bubbles Page 10