Page 54 of Switch

“Girls? Which ones?” More silence. “Fuck, do you mean the old ladies?”

“Yep.”

He exhales through his nose. “And what exactly are theseplans?”

I can hear the suspicion in his tone, and it makes me want to tease him even more. “Just some girl stuff.”

“Girl stuff,” he deadpans. “That sounds like some vague-ass shit, babe.”

I laugh, twirling a piece of my hair around my finger. “You’ll survive. I promise to call you when I’m done.”

He grumbles something under his breath.

“What was that?” I ask, grinning.

“Nothing,” he mutters. Then, after a beat, “Be careful, alright?”

“I always am.”

I can hear the hesitation in his voice like he wants to say more but doesn’t. Instead, he just sighs. “Call me, Bella.”

“I will.”

We hang up, and I can’t help but smile to myself. Oh,he’sin for it tonight.

After work, I head straight home to shower and to grab my stuff, then go over to Jenny and Piston’s house, where the girls are already deep into pregaming.

The moment I step inside, a glass of wine is shoved into my hand.

“Finally!” Jenny exclaims, throwing an arm around me. “We were about to send out a search party.”

“I had to shower,” I laugh, taking a sip of whatever she just handed me.

Chloe, already tipsy, points at me. “Good. Because we need you at peak hotness. We have amissiontonight.”

Carlie nods, sipping her drink. “Operation ‘Make These Dumb Ass Bikers Remember Who They Belong To.’”

Sophie giggles, swaying slightly as she sits on the bathroom counter curling her hair. “And I intend to ruin Tank’s life.”

Jenny winks. “In the best way, of course.”

The girls raid Jenny’s closet for last-minute accessories while Chloe puts on music loud enough to piss off the neighbors. We’re laughing, teasing, fixing our hair, and trying on outfits, getting glammed up like we’re about to hit a club in Vegas instead of a biker bar in the middle of our small town.

“Alright, bitches,” Carlie announces. “Time to call an Uber before we’re too drunk to function.”

By the time we pull up to Perdition, we’re already alittletipsy and feeling damn good. The neon glow of the bar casts shadows across the parking lot, bikes lined up in rows, engines still cooling from their riders’ arrivals.

The moment we step inside, the smell of whiskey, leather, and testosterone wraps around us like a second skin.

That’s when I see her.

Some blonde, fake-nailed, too-short-skirt-wearing club whore trying to get Jax’s attention.

My tipsy haze does nothing to dull the sudden flare of jealousy that ignites in my chest. My hands tighten at my sides as I narrow my gaze at the scene in front of me.

Jenny and Chloe spot her at the same time.

“Oh, hell no,” Jenny hisses.

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