Page 30 of Exile & Lula
“It never crossed my mind to steal him.”
“Well, don’t kill Goblin, either. I’ll never love a dog like I love him,” Rowdy said and looked over the menu I left on the counter. “Do you have a dog?”
“Yeah, but it’s mostly my sister’s dog.”
“Are you tight with your sister?”
“We share a house, so, yeah.”
Studying me with his cold, blue eyes, he asked, “And if I were to run roughshod over your sister’s heart, how do you think you’d respond to my callous ways?”
“I’d break your legs at the minimum. Might need to break a few other things while I was at it.”
Rowdy smiled in a totally unfriendly way. “Then, we’re agreed. If you run roughshod over my sister’s heart, I’ll need to, at the very least, break both of your legs. Sabrina and Vanessa can handle breaking that additional stuff.”
“Fair enough.”
Rowdy ordered the sandwiches and then ran upstairs to the loft bedroom. I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. I had only wanted to see Lula. Now, I was forced to bond with her family.
After returning downstairs, Rowdy dropped on the couch and asked me to go through the steps of how my club located his sister. I sat in a nearby chair and told him what he wanted to hear. Every time I got irritated, I considered how I might fall inlove with Lula. If we got married, this guy would be my brother-in-law. Did I really want a hostile relationship with him?
Choosing to play nice, I remembered Nova’s words about how people didn’t always notice my sweet side. I wasn’t a mellow guy. My club brothers never expected me to coddle them. The club sluts I occasionally fucked wanted to party, not see my inner nice guy. Nova and her girls were the only people in my life who required tenderness.
“My sister nearly died when she was three,” Rowdy said after calling in our order. He stretched out his long legs and rolled a blunt. “There was a shooting at the shopping mall. An asshole named Zombie was targeting the wives of men he deemed disloyal to their president. Anyway, my mom and Lula were there. Clint’s mom, too. They didn’t get shot, but my sister broke her arm. Lula started her life scared and vulnerable.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“She’ll never be tough like Sabrina, Nessa, and me. We grew up in a solid home, safe and spoiled. Lula might not remember the details of her early life, but she also hasn’t totally forgotten, either.”
I wanted to ask questions about what happened at the mall. However, I figured I’d be better off hearing the details from Lula.
“My sister is smart and strong,” Rowdy said after lighting the blunt. “She always watched out for us younger kids, put up with our shit, and kept us out of trouble. But deep down, she’s the one who needs protecting. I bet she’s hurting tonight.”
“Your family will take care of her,” I mumbled, wishing I were the one keeping Lula safe. “She’s important to a lot of people. That’s why she was targeted.”
“Was that why your sister was targeted?”
Frowning, I shook my head. “Zodiac doesn’t have any real family. The Void might have hoped I’d pack up my family andmove on. I hadn’t lived in Baton Rouge for as long as the other guys. I probably seemed less loyal.”
“But you’re the VP.”
“I hadn’t expected Zodiac to offer me the rank. He had known other guys for longer. I assumed he knew I would keep him in check like the other guys wouldn’t.”
Rowdy exhaled smoke and narrowed his eyes. “Did you consider bailing on the club after your sister was shot?”
“No.”
“Because you’re loyal or because you’re stubborn?”
“Can’t it be both?”
Rowdy grinned. “I’m glad you’re here with me.”
“Okay,” I said, wondering if he was going to get weird.
“I need the distraction from thinking about Cher and Stevie.”
“How bad are they?”
