Page 56 of Dirty Like Dylan

“No. And I’m not really looking to. I’ll be leaving town soon.”

“Oh.” Katie’s shoulders dropped; she looked disappointed. She was still eying me, but it was a friendly perusal. “So… you can tell me to leave it alone if this is rude, but… Haven’t you been staying at Ash’s place?” I was about to ask how she knew that, when she added, “Thin walls,” and rolled her eyes a bit. “No walls, actually. These guys gossip worse than housewives.”

“True story,” Maggie concurred.

“Con let it slip,” Katie explained. “Oddly enough, the security guys have the biggest mouths sometimes. I think it’s because they spend so much time standing around, just waiting for drama. Con is Dylan’s bodyguard, sometimes. He’s a biker, too, if you didn’t notice. That’s Flynn over there. He’s Elle’s bodyguard. He’s not a biker, though he kinda looks like one… And that’s Shady.” She pointed out the beefy dude who’d answered the front door with Zane, the one who was more overweight than built but still looked like he could split my skull with his thumbs. “He’s Zane’s newest bodyguard.”

“He goes through them like chewing gum,” Maggie muttered.

“Wouldn’t know it to look at him,” Katie added, “but Shady’s about the nicest guy you’ll ever meet. He’s a biker too, though, so—”

“Don’t ask?” I finished for her.

“Right.”

“Trust me, though,” Maggie said, “you run into trouble at a party, you go straight to Jude or Shady. Flynn’s solid, too. Con will flirt with you, but if the shit hits the fan, he’ll have your back.”

Katie nodded in agreement. “As for Piper, he doesn’t work with the band and I’d just steer clear of him.”

I glanced at Maggie for her take on this, but she just shrugged.

“You don’t trust him?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Katie mused. “He’s kinda like my brother-in-law now. But let’s be honest, the dude is scary.”

Fair enough.

“Don’t get me wrong. I now have Christmas dinner with him, and he’d probably take a bullet for me. Actually, I know he would. It’s all about family loyalty with these guys.”

“True,” Maggie said. “The guys in the band grew up together. And now we’re all a big family. Dysfunctional, sometimes, but there’s a lot of love in this room.”

“I’m one of the newest members, I guess,” Katie said, “and some days I’m still figuring it all out. And you haven’t even met any of the crew guys yet…”

“Jesus,” I said.

“Yeah.” Katie giggled. “This is just Zane’s VIP list. Like the members of the band, and their closest people. But these are all good people, I promise you. Even the ones with the guns.” She said it in a way that I could tell “the guns” made her nervous, but she’d made her peace with it. “At least, if you’re on their good side.”

Yeah. I definitely planned to be…

I glanced at Maggie, who sipped her cocktail and smirked at me, appearing unfazed. Then I looked around, wondering who, exactly, was carrying guns. Like right now, they were carrying guns? Was it legal to carry a concealed weapon here? I’d grown up in Vancouver and I didn’t even know. I’d never really had to think about it before.

I was gonna assume not, though.

I looked at Katie and Maggie. Despite the fact that I maybe didn’t need to know the thing about the guns, I was kinda moved by how nice they were being, telling me all this stuff to help me feel like I fit in. Even after I’d told them I wouldn’t be sticking around long.

“Um, to answer your question,” I offered, “I am staying at Ashley’s place. For a few days. But just because my sister Liv set it up.”

“Oh!” Katie perked up, which was saying a lot. She was already pretty perky. “You’re Liv’s sister?”

“Yeah. Dylan’s hired me to photograph his house.”

“You’re a photographer? That’s amazing. I’m a painter,” she said, like it really was amazing.

I smiled. I really liked this girl. “Really? Can I see your work? What kind of stuff do you paint?”

“She’s ridiculously talented,” Maggie said. “It’s kinda sickening. You should see the paintings she’s done of the band…”

“I’d love to.”

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