Page 25 of Exile & Lula
Tomorrow, we’d be alone again. We could test out these feelings. Maybe nothing between us was real. We might have been riding on leftover adrenaline from the attack. He could have been high on playing the hero, while I was simply clingy from being the damsel in distress.
Or maybe this biker was special to me like Pax had been to Bebe. If so, I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next.
EXILE
Five Points Lofts was the home of many of the male Crimson Guard members. I knew most of the women members lived in a big house on the north side. I always found the living situation strange, since several LM Jokers members, including their president and VP, also called this place home.
I parked my ride next to Rowdy’s in the underground garage at the condo complex. He took a minute to climb off. We arrived minutes after someone else, and I assumed Rowdy wanted to avoid sharing the elevator with that person.
“Who are you dodging?” I muttered under my breath after we entered the elevator and the doors shut.
“Jagger.”
“Do you think he’ll start shit?”
“No, I think he’ll charm you into the Jokers’ arms. Hell, Jagger might even send his pretty sister to bat her pretty eyes at you.”
“I’m not interested in his fucking sister.”
“But youareinterested in mine, right?” Rowdy asked as his demeanor shifted from distracted stoner to razor-sharp killer. “That’s why you showed up today, isn’t it? I’d hate to believe this is a bizarre plan by your boss to get close to our inner circle.”
“If the Black Rainbow wanted to seduce someone from your club to get an inside angle, do you really think we’d pick Lula?”
Rowdy studied me with his icy blue eyes before smiling. “She’s a gorgeous woman. Inherited our mom’s good looks.”
The elevator doors opened, and Rowdy was instantly in the hallway. The tension he gave off a second earlier was gone. I followed him down the fourth-floor hallway.
We soon stepped into his unit. The two-story ceiling in the kitchen and living room were definitely slick. The wall ofwindows was covered in heavy, dark drapes. I noticed they were up in the corner where a cage rested.
“I’ve got to take Goblin down for his shit break,” Rowdy explained and released a black-white-brown Chihuahua. The dog rushed over to me, looking like an arrogant shithead considering his size. He sniffed my boot and then growled at me. Just as quickly, he sauntered over to the door and barked.
“Don’t let his attitude fool you,” Rowdy told me. “I’m the boss in this relationship. He knows his place.”
The dog instantly barked at Rowdy again, as if to prove his owner wrong.
“Should I go with you?”
Smirking, Rowdy asked, “Do you want to watch my dog shit?”
“What the fuck else am I supposed to do?”
Rowdy walked back to the kitchen and grabbed a handful of menus from the cabinet. “Pick something for me to order. I don’t care what we get. I skipped breakfast and only ate a granola bar for lunch. I might have to eat this fucking dog if I don’t get fed soon.”
The Chihuahua looked up at Rowdy and barked for a third time.
“Sure,” he said and lifted his boot over the dog’s head. “It would be so easy to end you.”
The dog wagged its tail and licked the heel of the boot. Rowdy grinned instantly and glanced at me.
“That door over there is to the guest room. There are clothes in there. Some might fit you. Take a shower, or a shit, or watch TV. Whatever. I’ll be back soon.”
Rowdy and the dog walked out of the condo while I stood like a clueless kid. I glanced over the menus and picked sandwiches because few places could screw up something so simple.
Walking to the bedroom that Rowdy pointed out, I shut the door and checked my phone. Zodiac had sent a cryptic message, saying only, “Your balls have lost their power and might need to be removed.”
I called Nova to check on her and explain how I wouldn’t be home tonight.
“Did she appreciate your romantic gesture?” Nova asked, answering with the sound of cooking in the background. “Have her knees gone weak?”
