by Karen Renee
I gave a silent chuckle and Vamp let me go but said in my ear, “I’m grabbin’ a beer, but don’t even think of sneakin’ off on me again.”
I shook my head at him, and then I had a sip of my Cosmo. A minute later Trixie, Jackie, Mallory and Abby waylaid me with their own rants about my sneaking out without them.
“Seriously! Mal and I wanted to see you in this dress before we left, and you robbed us of that, chickie!” Jackie cried out to me. She was wearing a slinky little black dress that appeared to be made of a polyester-Lycra blend. Her shoes were chunky-heeled fire-engine-red platform high heels with a thin strap around the top of her ankle. Her hair had been teased up and out and her make-up was ‘biker-babe paints the town red’.
Abby was standing close by with us, but she took a step back and then said, “Holy schnikes! You didn’t tell us about these hot shoes, bitch!”
Jackie stepped back at that point and squinted in the dim lighting of the dance club, “Oh snap. Those are sweet! I need to find a pair of those, like pronto.”
“Me, too, sister. Me too for sure. Blood would lose his mind if he saw me in those,” she said with her gaze intent on my feet.
“Y’all’s shoes are nothing to sneeze at either, you know,” I said, and it was the truth. Abby was decked out in a tight denim skirt that was a little larger than a postage stamp, with a silver satin top that laced up the middle. The top was cut in a scoop neck showing an extreme amount of cleavage and the sleeves barely stayed on either of her shoulders. Her shoes were some of the shiniest silver snake-skin embossed-leather high heels I’d ever seen. The heel was five inches and it didn’t have a platform to diminish the impact on the arch of her foot. I could barely handle the four inches my shoes forced my feet to withstand; I had no idea how she was managing to stand in those pointy-toed beauties.
Blood and Vamp ambled over. Vamp was carrying three bottles of beer, while Blood had two mixed drinks for Abby and Jackie. Vamp handed one of the beers over to Trixie and the second to Blood. Jackie grabbed my Cosmo, handed it to me and said, “To new beginnings! Cheers,” then she clinked her glass against mine and then clinked it against Vamp’s beer. Everyone else decided to join in and glasses were clinking all around.
It would be rude to not drink to her toast, so I took a sip of my Cosmo. That was when I realized Trixie had not said one word to me. She was decked out in a strapless leather-and-chains mini-dress. The dress zipped straight up the middle and a chain ran from the bottom up to the bust, weaving in and out of the corset loopholes. I wasn’t sure if the dress had actual boning like a corset or if Trixie had bought it a size too small, but either way her ample bosom was threatening to spill out of the top at any moment. She accentuated her leather dress with black fishnet thigh-high stockings, and if she lifted a leg, as she was at the moment, resting a foot on a barstool rung, one could see the hint of lace bordering the top of the thigh-high. Her feet were encased in black tie-up ankle boots with thick four-inch high heels. The back of the heel was covered in vertical rows of silver rivets and silver spikes. They screamed punk-Goth, but at the same time they said Trixie.
“Hey, Trixie,” I called out to her.
She glared at me, but I did get a chin-lift out of her. I was going to ask her what her problem was since I was thinking it was me sneaking out, but Abby gave my hip a nudge with her hip. Looking over to her, she leaned into me to say, “She’s miffed 'cause Roll wouldn’t come with at the last minute. He knows she’s wanted to come here for the hell of it, see if it’s a good time. But she’s not... Well, it’s not really my business. I should shut up.”
I lifted my chin in understanding. I remembered all too well how a brother’s business with a piece of tail was his business alone, unless he made it other people’s business. I could only guess that Abby was also going to say that Trixie wasn’t Roll’s old lady. I still didn’t understand why she did everything she could to stand by a biker who didn’t want to make a solid commitment to her, but different strokes for different folks. I could understand her disappointment though, there was nothing worse than being a third-wheel at a club, and I didn’t think that Trixie and Jackie had much to talk about.
Before I could contemplate things any further, Mallory teetered up to us on her high heels. She was decked out in her black constellation dress. Her hair had more body than when I saw her earlier in the afternoon, but it also looked mussed. She either forgot to update her lipstick or she had managed to blot her lips really well. At least I was thinking that, until Jackie looked at her and blurted, “You and Cal just got busy, didn’t you?”
“What?” Mallory asked.
“Oh, hell,” Abby said when she got a good look at Mallory.
“Good to know somebody’s gettin’ some,” Trixie grumbled.
I rounded out the commentary with, “So, did Cal find your Big Dipper tonight?”
Abby and Jackie both cried out, “What?”
Mallory was turning a bright shade of pink and I stifled a cackle, but I couldn’t keep myself from asking, “Was it out of this galaxy?”
She shoved my shoulder lightly, “Stop it, lady!”
Reggie had not heard our conversation, but saw Mallory pushing on my shoulder. He sidled up to us and said, “Why is this woman pushing you, Frankie?”
“Oh, I’m just giving her a healthy ration of shit. Mallory, this is Reggie, I’m his B-F-cubed. Reggie, this is Cal’s woman, Mallory.”
Reggie shook Mallory’s hand and said, “Who is Cal?”
My eyes bulged at him, “You don’t remember Cal from six years ago? Are you serious?”
Cal ambled up to Mallory and set a martini in front of her, “Frankie. I assume your man told you that you’re in a world of trouble with us, right?”
I gave a small head shake at this, not believing that I was getting it from Cal too. Vamp rounded the corner of the table where he had been talking with Tucker and Blood. Now he was standing behind me and he hooked an arm low around my waist. I had no idea how Vamp could have heard Cal over the din of noise in the place, but his next words indicated he definitely heard Cal or read Cal’s lips.
“She knows, Sarge. Believe me, she knows, and if she doesn’t fully understand, she damn sure will.”
Reggie took Mallory over to meet Tucker, and it appeared that Tucker was admiring Mallory’s constellation dress and the strappy blue stiletto sandals she had paired with it. They were having a very animated conversation, but it must have been going well, because I watched Mallory throw her head back as far as she could and I caught snippets of her loud laughter.
I was pulled from of my observation of the three of them when Cal demanded, “Where’d you go that you had to sneak away from the club, Frankie?”
I turned to Cal and did my utter best to keep my tone level, “I know what I did was not cool. It isn’t that I don’t appreciate all the club has done to protect me, but I couldn’t stand to spend another moment cooped-up not doing something. Henry wouldn’t tell me why Vamp was being held even though I had been allowed to leave from questioning. It didn’t make sense to me. My boss had called while I was in with JSO, and by the time she and I connected again, she felt better talking to me about things in person than over the phone. I met her for drinks at Kickback’s.”
Cal’s face was stony, but because Vamp still had his arm slung around my waist, I couldn’t see his expression.
“You didn’t think we’d let you meet with your boss?” Cal asked.
I scoffed lightly, “Not without a damn escort, you wouldn’t.”
“Damn straight,” Vamp growled in my ear, then he continued, “Fuckin’ Stillman’s still out there, and God knows what he’d do if he found you.”
“Well, you don’t need to –”
I was cut off abruptly when Mallory came toward us, tugging Reggie behind her, calling out, “Frankie, I just love your friends! You guys are awesome!”
Reggie gave her an assessing gaze and added, “Well, the jury may or may not still be out on y
ou, but one thing is for sure. I love your taste in men. Yum.”
Cal leaned down towards Mallory’s ear, and then her fair skin lit up in a strong shade of pink.
She looked sternly at Reggie and while shaking a finger at him she said, “Ok. No more talking about my man or taste in men, where men is a plural noun. I already owe him for this little excursion as he calls it, and now I’m going to owe him double.”
Reggie looked at Cal, then to Mallory. “By owe, I presume that means face time?” he asked with an arched eyebrow.
I didn’t think it was possible, but Mallory’s face flushed even further, and we could just barely make out her hissed, “Yes!”
“That’s a problem, how?” Reggie asked, condescendingly.
Mallory closed her eyes as though she could not believe her own stupidity or that she was going to admit anything to us, but then she tilted her head and said, “You’re right, but you’re also wrong. I’m a girl who believes in reciprocity. Ya know?”
Abby and Jackie burst out laughing, “Oh yeah, we know!” Abby said with glee.
CHAPTER 22
It was getting close to one in the morning, and I had stopped drinking any alcohol over an hour ago. I knew I had to drive my vehicle back to the compound, at a minimum, and possibly all the way back to my place at the beach, at a maximum. No matter where I was headed, I was going to drive sober. Mallory, Jackie and Trixie apparently were not under the same constraints and I was grateful that the three of them were happy and funny drunks.
We were making our way to the exit once the drag queen show ended. Tucker, Vamp, and Cal were behind us and were having a conversation that I couldn’t make out with the noise of the club. Once we were outside the entrance to the Metro, Tucker decreed, “Any trip here ends with the Waffle House!”
I tilted my head back and groaned, “Oh God!”
At the same time Trixie belted out, “Right on! I knew I liked you when I spoke to you on the phone.”
Blood said, “All right then. Jackie, you and Trix are with me and Abby.” He looked at Tucker and Reggie and asked, “You two need a ride, or are you good to get there on your own?”
“We’re good. I quit drinkin’ over an hour ago,” Tucker replied.
Vamp gave the men chin-lifts, slid his arm around my waist and led me directly to my SUV. Once we were there, I saw that he had parked his bike next to my vehicle. I had my keys at the ready, and pressed the button to unlock my door. Before I could reach for the door, Vamp swiveled his body and his free hand went around my back. He backed me up against the rear driver’s-side door and pressed his body into mine hard. His head lowered toward my face and I thought he was going to kiss me, but then his eyes just fixed on mine.
“After waffles, you’re comin’ with me back to the clubhouse. Leave your SUV in the Waffle House parking lot.”
I pulled my face back from his marginally. “Um, no. I’m not leaving my SUV in a parking lot overnight. Especially not one where all the drunks from the Riverside clubs and assorted Westside strip clubs congregate to soak up their excess booze.”
Vamp’s gaze turned hard, “Don’t argue with me.”
“My other pair of Jimmy Choo’s are in there, as well as my only pair of motorcycle boots. The Choos cost me over six hundred bucks when I bought them four years ago. If I tried to replace them, I’d be looking at more than a grand now, because Jimmy only makes so many of a given style.”
Vamp’s head moved away from mine so he could gaze up at the dark and cloudy sky above us. When he looked back to me he asked, “You really threw down that much cake on a pair of FMPs?”
I turned my head to the side to gain some patience. “Jimmy Choo heels are not fuck-me pumps, comprende?”
Vamp kept his hold on me, but stepped back and gave me a top to toe once over, “You’re wrong. Those heels damn sure make me want to fuck you, and if I hadn’t just spent over four hours at JSO headquarters today, I’d probably do that right here and right fucking now. That’s how much those shoes are damn sure FMPs. Back to my earlier statement, don’t argue with me. But since you lost your mind sometime in the past six years and lost a serious wad of cash for some shoes, I’ll let you drive your SUV to the compound and I’ll follow right behind.”
Had I heard him right? He’d let me do something? I was on the very brink of losing my cool, so I took in a very deep breath. No matter how hard I tried, I still couldn’t keep my hand from shooting directly to my hip.
“Well, thank you for that. I was unaware that I was stuck in a prolonged game of ‘Father, may I.’ Furthermore, in no way, shape, or form, did I lose my mind in the past six years. The shoes I’m wearing were a gift to myself, and the ones in the SUV were a congratulatory gift for the first time I made the top-twenty loan officers at the credit union. In addition to that, right or wrong, those shoes were the best damn investment I ever made since my pipeline doubled, after I started wearing them regularly.”
Vamp grabbed my hand from my hip and placed it around his back as he moved back into my space, “An investment, hunh?”
I gave him a pouty nod.
“You developed caviar tastes since we ended.”
I resisted giving him a sideways glare, but said, “That sounds like an insult, and you’re wrong. I haven’t developed expensive tastes. I like to reward myself for taking care of things. God knows, nobody else is going to do it for me.”
That statement must have struck home with Vamp because his arms around me gave a sharp squeeze, “Not any more, baby. You got me to help you celebrate shit in your life, and it won’t require you to throw down six Benjamins to do it either.”
Before I could retort, Vamp slammed his lips to mine and kissed me senseless.
He broke the kiss too soon for my taste, and then he had the gall to say, “Yep. Definitely right. Kiss you into submission every fuckin’ time.”
“Wrong! You kissed me senseless, not into submission. I don’t fuckin’ submit, mister, and you know it.”
Vamp gave me a devilish grin. “We’ll just see about that, baby. Now get in your SUV, and I’ll be right behind you.”
I hiked myself up into my Chevy Traverse and started her up. I put my phone on my car charger since I was sure it was close to dead again. I backed out and drove three-quarters of a mile to the Waffle House off of Highway 17. During the ten-minute drive, I again had that tickle of a feeling that I was being watched. I knew I was being followed by Vamp, but for some strange-ass reason I could swear someone else was watching me, which would be a hell of a feat with me on the move. That was when I remembered that I got interrupted trying to tell Vamp about Stillman running into me tonight at Kickback’s while I was with Roxanne.
I made a mental note to lead with that tidbit of information when we were seated at a table. I had always found that giving Vamp bad news when he was sitting down was far better than when he was standing up. It was always less likely that he would stalk off and put his fist through a wall if he was sitting down. I wasn’t very fired-up to go to the Waffle House, but I also didn’t want to have a long argument with Reg and Tucker, which was exactly what I would get, if I tried to back out of the end of the night experience. I pulled into the Waffle House parking lot, and Vamp parked right beside me. Cal pulled up in Mallory’s Camry, and the prospect pulled in and I noticed that Trixie was on the back of his bike.
I tilted my head at this vision, and as Cal unfolded from Mallory’s car he said, “While you two were arguing and then making out, Jackie and Abby decided against our late-night grease-fest. Trixie insisted on tagging along, so that’s why she’s on the prospect’s bike.”
Mallory had closed the passenger door to her car, but looked at Cal to say, “His name is Jim, you know.”
Cal’s retort to her was interrupted by Tucker ducking his head out of the door of the Waffle House, “Yo! Space is scarce ’round here. We got one booth and another one just opened up, but y’all gotta get your asses in here, stat!”
I had forgotten ho
w the Waffle House was so notorious for being tight on table space. We all hustled our asses inside. Yet again, I found myself with my back to the entrance and other patrons. I still didn’t feel comfortable about that, but Vamp was sitting directly across from me and had his eyes on everyone coming and going. Next to me was Trixie, across from Trixie was Cal and next to him was Mallory who was practically forced to half-sit in his lap because the booths were not exactly spacious. I was stunned that Vamp was cool with his brother being so far up in his personal space, but I wasn’t going to argue about it.
A waitress came by and took our orders for coffee and sodas. Everyone perused the menu, and I decided that might be the best time for me to drop my proverbial bombshell.
“Um, I’m sorry I didn’t mention this earlier. I was in the process of doing that when Mallory interrupted with her excitement about how cool my friends are, but –”
Vamp’s deep blue eyes were piercing me and he interrupted with, “Spit it out, babe.”
I hesitated for just a beat. “You know how you said earlier ‘Stillman’s still out there and God knows what he’d do if he found me?’”
“Yeah,” Vamp replied, in an ominous tone.
“Well, he picked up a to-go order from Kickback’s and he spoke to me.” The vibe at both tables went wired, so I quickly continued, “But he didn’t do anything. In fact, Roxanne did all the talking and he left us alone.”
Cal and Vamp both groaned, “Fuck!”
Cal leaned forward, removed his cell phone from his back pocket and had it to his ear. Vamp was giving me an incredulous look, and Tucker, who was at the next booth behind us had turned around and was also giving me a none-too happy look.
“You’re just now tellin’ us this shit?” Vamp hissed at me.
It was on the tip of my tongue to admit that I almost didn’t tell them at all except for the insistent feeling of being followed or watched, but I knew better than to tell him that. I heard the security chime indicate that the door opened. Vamp’s eyes slid in that direction and his eyebrows drew slightly together. He looked to Cal, but he was on his phone and my best guess was he was speaking to Henry. I wished I was in a position to see who walked in. I just hated having my back to the action because I was dying to know what would cause such a look to cross Vamp’s face when a new customer came inside.