Page 65 of Jackal

Everyone and everything was tense at the clubhouse. When Jackal left this morning, he tried to keep a calm face, but it was obvious something was on his mind. Of course, he said there was nothing to worry about, but he was running errands with Eagle. Since when did bikers run errands together? But to be funny, I asked for a few shower items I needed.

They were gone for hours. He found me when he came in, but only to give me the items I asked for from the store and to tell me he had to talk to Hawk. Something must have happened while they were out. If it was random shit, he’d talk to him openly. This was something private, and since I’d been here, I’d gathered that private meant bad.

Lacy, Daisy, and I were hanging at our favorite table in the clubhouse when Jeannie joined us. “Hey, hoes, finally a night off. What’s up for later?”

I shook my head. “Not sure. They’ve been in Church a while.”

“They’ve been going out a lot lately. Not sure anything fun is happening later,” Daisy said as she scooted her chair to make room for Jeannie. “But you can hang here. It’s romcom night.”

Jeannie smirked, tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. “I’ll chill for a bit and see what’s happening after dinner. A girl only has so many nights off, ya know? Speaking of, you ever gonna come back to work, Lacy?”

Lacy shrugged. “I dunno. I’ve been thinking of going to school, actually.”

“Aw really? First Daisy, now you? The guys take the fun out of everything,” Jeannie pouted.

Lacy said, “He didn’t say anything. I’m honestly too scared to do much right now. After everything that happened, and knowing other women keep getting plucked from clubs, I just don’t want to be there.”

I patted Lacy’s hand. “Hey, nothing is wrong with dancing, but I think being a stylist is a great vocation for you. You’re so friendly and chatty and you already love playing with hair and makeup.”

Jeannie smiled. “Oh my God! You’d be perfect at that! I’ll totally start coming to you. Hell, the bunnies and the dancers would probably keep you busy all the time!” She leaned over and grabbed Lacy’s hand. “Hey, I wasn’t picking on you. I just want to be sure my friends are doing what they want, not what some dusty biker tells them.”

Lacy nodded, giving her a warm smile. “I’m sure he’s glad, but I made it clear I get to choose. But since I’ve had time to think, and apparently he has money, I’ve tried to come up with a new path and I kept going back to that.”

Leaning in, trying to not be too loud but enough that they could hear me over the music, I asked, “Do they have money? Like, I know that’s such a faux pas, but I’m dying to know.”

The other women giggled. Daisy lifted her beer to her lips, Lacy covered her mouth with her hand, and Jeannie scrunched her face.

“What? I didn’t ask ifyouhad money. But do you never wonder? Or do you know? You totally know and don’t want to tell me, right?” I asked in rapid fire fashion.

Jeannie leaned closer, grinning. “Let’s just say, Jackal could pay off your student loans, and you’d never have to work again.”

Rolling my eyes, I took a drink. I didn’t need a sugar daddy. I had money of my own. I’d worked a few years, even when I was working on my PhD, and I had a trust fund. Nothing like the trusts in the movies, but enough I was comfortable. I only had to pay for my PhD, too. Dad paid for undergrad and med school. Lacy knew, but like I said, it was a faux pas to discuss that kind of thing, so I didn’t want to rub what I had in their faces.

“We’re taken care of. That’s all I worry about,” Daisy finally said, breaking the awkward silence.

“I don’t need it. I’m just fucking nosy,” I said with a laugh. That was true. I loved the tea, I just didn’t want to be in the tea.

“They don’t really talk about that,” Lacy said.

“They don’t talk about much,” I replied.

“Hey, ladies,” Jackal said from behind me.

He leaned down, snaking his hand around me from behind before he pressed a kiss to my temple.

Eagle was right behind him, scooping Lacy from her chair and twirling her around. She was still salty with him, but he only became more over the top the more mad she was. “Ready to eat?” he asked her.

She pushed at his shoulders, but he didn’t put her down. “Stop.”

“Nope.” He planted kisses over her cheek then down her neck, making her giggle.

“Fine!” she shouted after a squeal.

They walked off and Falcon came over with an extra beer and handed it to Jackal. I turned and asked, “You want to sit?”

“Need to grab some food. Going out later.”

“Ugh,” I said with a heavy sigh.

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