Page 82 of Exile & Lula
Rock walked over and frowned at my president. “I’m completely sober, and I still want to beat the shit out of those fucking Jokers.”
“Yeah,” Nine said with Ben behind him. “They were talking perv shit to our sisters. Let’s neuter their fuckers!”
Clint eyed Zodiac. “You’re suddenly coy about violence.”
“Coy, am I?” Zodiac growled before backing off and shrugging. “Or maybe I don’t want to go to war with your dipshit childhood friend. Exile plans to be around this town plenty. I’m trying to make peace, so no one jumps him. Or is that no longer a concern?”
“No, it is,” Clint replied. “That’s why we’re going to face off with Tricky tonight. If he wants a war with your club, he wants a war with mine.”
Zodiac froze after hearing the loyalty he had been seeking from Clint. Just as quickly, his icy blue eyes flashed in my direction. I sensed he wanted me to step into the argument. His gaze moved to Lula and then back to me. He was clearly signaling that she might be in danger, so I ought to shut down the brawl.
We commonly did the good cop/bad cop routine. He would unleash his charm while I snapped at people. Right now, I wasn’t sure if I should agree to Zodiac’s plan by playing the bad cop.
Clint didn’t strike me as a wild card. He might be difficult to read, but I knew the guy didn’t start fights without knowing how they’d end.
Unsure of the answer, I looked to Lula, who smiled at me like she wasn’t worried. I trusted her in a way I trusted no one else. If she thought we ought to face off with the Jokers, I didn’t plan to second-guess her instincts.
LULA
I didn’t wake up this morning wanting to get punched in the face. Even before the garage attack, I was leery about violence. I have a daughter to think about, so rushing toward danger had never been my passion.
However, the LM Jokers frequently acted like thugs around Little Memphis. Many of their newest members were rejects from Baton Rouge. They came to our town, harassed the foxes, and showed disrespect to our allies.
Clint claimed the Jokers grew too fast for Tricky to control. Maybe my cousin was right, but I also figured Tricky wasn’t the kind of guy to control anyone. Clint knew when to push or ease off a person based on the individual’s traits rather than his own needs.
Tricky couldn’t think like that. He expected people to bend to him, even while being too much of a “bro” to actually bring down the hammer on his club guys.
So, as much as I didn’t want to get bruised up tonight, I understood why Clint chose to face off with the LM Jokers.
“I forgot my brass knuckles at home,” I told Exile while Clint pushed his way through the crowd at the door. “I should bring a broken bottle with me.”
“You need to stay behind me.”
“But you’re tall. How will I see what’s happening?”
“You’re not funny,” Exile muttered.
Zodiac nodded at Exile’s irritation before looking at me. “You and your girlfriends ought to stay inside.”
“That’s half our club. Why would we leave the other half vulnerable? You can’t possibly think we’re all on our periods right now.”
“Don’t listen to him,” Goldie said and handed me her brass knuckles. “Men from Louisiana are weak-kneed. They can’t stand up to our Arkansas mettle.”
As I started to slide the brass knuckles on my fingers, Exile swiped them from me and insisted, “You’re not fighting anyone.”
“It’s okay. My dad trained me to punch people in the face.”
“Didn’t stop you from getting lawyer-napped,” Zodiac said and snapped at his guys. “You don’t let these little ladies get black and blue, okay?”
“Stop protecting us!” Sabrina hollered at him. “We like pain! Right?”
Xandy shrugged while Moe gave a rebel yell. I smiled at their reaction while Clint signaled to Rock that the LM Jokers had arrived.
“No fighting,” Exile said, wedging himself between my club and me. “What about Dillon?”
“She punched a kid at the park who was bullying one of my parents’ foster kids. Dillon isn’t a debutante, and neither am I. Now, let’s kick some Baton Rouge ass!”
Zodiac and the rest of the Black Rainbow club frowned at me in unison.
