Page 9 of Lies Beneath Secrets

“Need help?” Knox chuckles, eyeing me.

“Fuck off.” I turn around and keep swiping through the phone, finding nothing. “Where the fuck is the voicemail on this thing?” Behind me, Knox lets out another laugh, and I have half a mind to punch him right in the gut.

“Go to the square that has a phone on it. You see how it has a red dot there? That means you have a notification.”

“Jesus,” I grumble and click where he said to and find in the corner where it says voicemail. “Why are there words here? Is it a damn text or a voicemail?”

“That’s a transcript of the voicemail,” he explains, “Mr. I know how to use a damn phone.” He smacks me on the back and walks out of the room. I read the transcript text thing and realize it’s just the therapist’s office confirming Gabby’s appointment.

“Fucking hell,” I say aloud to the empty room and pocket my phone. Everyone is out in the bar celebrating King becoming president, and it’s expected of me to join. Gabby is with Kendra and Kaleb for the night, so there’s no reason for me to go home. Add in the fact King would take it as a snub if I were to leave, I’m not going anywhere. Accepting my fate, I walk out into the bar, and the music and smoke hits me right in the face. Knox already has a cigar lit and is at the poker table. Not wanting to get into a game just yet, I decide to get a beer.

“Hey, new girl,” Pace says, trying to get Siena’s attention, who’s currently struggling to hook up the keg. “You gotta have the tap unlocked, or it won’t go on.” He hops up over the bar to show her. “Here.” She watches as he adjusts the lever on the tap, then shows her how to screw it into place. “Now, you can put this down. It locks that tap into place.”

“I knew I was forgetting something.” She puts her hand to her head and smacks it a little, then reaches over to press the pump on the keg down.

“No!” both Pace and I yell in unison.

“What!” Siena jumps back, away from the now-tapped keg.

“You don’t pump right away. You’ll end up with nothing but foam,” Pace explains and grabs a pitcher from behind the bar. We don’t have a fancy establishment with taps built into the bar. Just a couple different kinds of beer in kegs and a cooler the women keep stocked. The liquor though? That’s a wide range.

“Well, it’s not like there’s a user manual for this stuff,” Siena huffs, then looks over at me while Pace helps himself to a pitcher of beer. “Guinness, right?”

“I’ll take a glass with it too.” She nods, then looks down at the cooler. I watch as she chews on her bottom lip for a little but then looks back up at me. “Black can with the gold top.”

“I remember,” she defends and looks for a little bit longer, moving things around. “There it is, hiding under something. Tina doesn’t know how to stock the cooler,” she says, then places the can in front of me. “This must be your go to?” she asks, grabbing a glass from behind her.

“Unless I’m in a mood, then it’s the scotch up there.” I point to the cluster of bottles. “This though?” I crack open the can and tilt my glass to pour in the liquid. “This will do for tonight.” I finish and set the can on the bar top. “Thank you. And you’ll get the hang of it.”

“I hope so. Are all the girls so…”

“Bitchy?”

“I was going to say catty, but we can go with your word.” She laughs a little, then glances over at where Tina is sitting, draped over King.

“She’s not a member. You don’t need to take shit from her,” I say, feeling like there’s some silent question there.

“She led me to believe otherwise.”

“Not surprising. To be honest, we haven’t had a woman join in quite some time. We aren’t what the club used to be. That reputation we once had isn’t the same.” She tilts her head a little and seems to be about to ask a question, but someone at the end of the bar yells to her for another drink.

Pace has since left to join the poker table with his pitcher, which is where I’m about to go, but Knox picks this moment to sit next to me. “New girl is cute.” He points at Siena with his cigar.

“She is,” I agree, but the tall blonde with tight jeans and leather tank top isn’t what I want. Something a bit shorter with a curvy ass and dark-brown hair is what’s on my mind. “How the fuck am I supposed to babysit some woman and figure out how to take care of my kid at the same time?” I take a long drink from my glass, forcing myself not to drink it all down in one go.

“Well, maybe you need a new place to live?” Knox says.

“New place to live?” I echo and turn in his direction, wondering what the hell he’s talking about. He did just tell me that me and Gabby could stay at his place for as long as we needed, right? Knox taps away at his phone, then looks up.

“Yep.” He extends his arm, showing me his phone. On the screen is an apartment listing at404 Lindin Lane.“You and Gabby are going to move into an apartment in her building. Perfect cover. Single dad trying to raise his daughter all alone. Women love that shit. And you are… approachable now.” He gestures to where my beard used to be. “Keep that shit shaved, and you’ll have her thinking you’re a lost puppy.”

“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” I groan.

“I’ll help you move in.” Knox smacks me on the back and chuckles.

CHAPTERSEVEN

Lauren

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