Page 90 of Bourbon & Blood

Her daddy didn’t give a fuck about her. Not like I did. Not one little bit, unless she was doing something that was making him look good.

It was bitter. Extremely bitter.

La Croix took me back outside to Hex’s truck, Hex staying behind for some reason.

“I want to ride with you,” I protested as La Croix thumbed the fob and the locks disengaged on the truck. He turned me to face him and caressed my face, standing so very near and sheltering me from any prying or curious eyes from the building, with the truck’s door.

“I don’t have an extra helmet with me, cher, or I would,” he said.

I sniffed and nodded and he sighed.

“Just tell me what you want me to do, baby, and I’ll do it,” he said, and I looked up into those eyes and realized – La Croix was a villain by his own design and that was something that I needed right now.

What was it they said?

A hero was a person who would sacrifice you to save the world, while the villain? The villain would burn the world, lay waste to it, to saveyou… I didn’t need to be saved, though. What I needed wasrevenge, and a villain was good for that, too.

I took a deep breath, and then took another, and then I thought to myself,what would Maya ask for in this moment?And I knew. I knew with my whole heart what she would say. What she would want, and right or wrong, I was here for it.

“Find them,” I begged. “Find them and kill them. Every last one of them that hadanythingto do with this,” I said and La Croix raised his chin, his nostrils flaring as he took a deep breath in of his own.

He kissed me fiercely, and I kissed him back as hard as I could. When he broke that kiss, we werebothbreathless.

“I planned on it, sugar. I planned on it,” he said.

To Hex who came walking up, he turned and said, “Take her home, pack up her things, an’ talk to ol’ Saint. Get as many of the boys as you can in to help.”

“You make it sound as though you mean we should pack up the whole apartment,” I said startled.

He nodded. “That’s exactly what I mean,” he said.

“What?” I asked, startled. “Why?”

“Just trust the man on this one, cher,” Hex declared, and I met La Croix’s eyes and nodded.

“Alright, but where will I go?”

“We’ll get you taken care of. I’ll be right on by before you know it,” he said. “Just need to stop on in the club first, an’ make some calls.”

“Okay,” I agreed, and he put his hands on my hips and lifted me easily into the truck. I swung my legs in and he gave me a nod, a pat on my knee, and shut the door.

He spoke with Hex a little way away, their voices low enough that I couldn’t hear them. Hex looked up from the ground and over to me and back to La Croix, his hands settling on his hips. He didn’t look any happier than La Croix did, his expression darkening.

I swallowed hard. Hex gave a nod and then jogged around to the driver’s side of the truck as La Croix strode to his bike.

“What was that about?” I asked.

“Club business, cher. Now just you sit tight now while I get you home.”

I nodded and huddled in on myself, pulling my seatbelt across me. Hex took it and fastened it. I couldn’t even give him a watered-down smile. I just looked at him, and he gave me a nod, an understanding one.

“We’ve got you, baby,” he said. “You go on and feel whatever you need to feel. We’ll take care of everything from here.”

“Thank you,” I said, and he made a sound like he’d sucked his teeth. My eyes were fixed on the brightly colored patch on La Croix’s back as he roared away from me, swooping gracefully around a bend in the parking lot. I twisted as Hex backed us up, to keep him within view, and he raised his hand to wave at me as he took another turn to point himself and his bike out the driveway. He hesitated for only a second before turning out onto the road. Twisting down on the throttle, he shot forward and disappeared.

“Someone gon’ feel the pain for this, baby girl. I promise you that,” Hex declared and I let my unfocused gaze remain out the passenger side window.

“I certainly hope so,” I said. He turned his head this way and that, checking for traffic, before turning out onto the same street La Croix had just gone up.

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