10. Eagle
CHAPTER 10
EAGLE
I stir when I hear Lacey talking softly, but that’s not what wakes me up. After spending a couple of hours beside Lacey, her bare legs tucked into mine, my arm thrown over her, the sudden loss of her warmth against my naked body jolts me like a bucket of water to the face.
She is speaking softly into her phone and tapping quietly at the keyboard of an old-looking laptop. “Okay,” she says. “No. No, don’t do that.”
She’s tapping her bare toes against the floor as she glares at the monitor. “We prepared a gluten-free and a dairy-free option,” she says. “Are you telling me the bride wants to make a major change to the menu three hours before the meal is supposed to be served?”
Lacey covers her face with one hand and sighs. “I’m sorry, Carla. I know. I’m sorry. That’s not what happened at all. All you need to do is show them this. I’m sending the final menu that was initialed and signed by both the bride and groom weeks ago when we took the final guest tally.”
I scratch the sleep from my eyes and grab my phone. It’s nine, and no doubt the Asshat Family is giving Carla some trouble on their last morning. I roll over onto my side and tuck a pillow under my head, adjusting my view so I can watch Lacey work.
She notices me tossing around in bed and throws me a smile, but then mouths, “Sorry, almost done.”
Then she’s back to business.
“There is a price difference,” Lacey snaps, not snapping at Carla. “So, you can just tell the bride that the plated meals require not only a different preparation but a different presentation . She ordered a brunch buffet, and she’s getting a brunch buffet.”
Lacey holds up a “wait” finger to me and then puts the phone on speaker. Carla is talking a mile a minute and sounds like she’s been crying already.
Jesus.
“…and then she told me that it didn’t matter what Lacey sold them, because, as far as she knew, Lacey was fired…”
My heart drops at that. Lacey was most certainly not fired, and she corrects Carla immediately.
“Carla, I was not fired,” she says, slamming down the lid of her laptop and coming back to bed. “Due to some issues that I had with the Acostas, Don made the decision to do whatever it took to keep the peace at the wedding.”
“But Lacey, they’re saying they want all these changes…” Carla sounds frazzled, and I feel bad for the kid.
I hold up a finger, and Lacey mutes the phone.
“Remind her that Brute and Arrow are there to protect her too.” I lower one brow and shake my head, firing off a text to Arrow and Brute to keep an eye on the wedding planner.
Lacey looks grateful and mouths thank you, and then she unmutes the phone. “Carla, I can’t come in today, but I need you to bring in Don or whoever is on today… Okay, fine, good. Don was there last night. He made the decision to send me home; he should be the one to explain to the Acostas that we can’t change the breakfast buffet at the last minute. Loop him in, and don’t forget to call in the security guys if they give you any real trouble… I know, Carla. I know. I’m sorry. You’re doing a great job. I know you are. I know you. You never do anything less than your best, okay? Okay. All right. Go ahead. Good, then. Tell Arrow thank you for me. Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, Carla. Bye.”
Lacey hangs up the call and drops down on the side of the bed. “Your friends work fast,” she says, a sad smile on her face.
“Arrow?” I guess.
She nods. “Did you text him? He showed up like a ghost while I was talking with her. He offered to talk to the Acostas with Carla. He might also have offered to do some damage to the man if needed.”
I chuckle. “Arrow’s good people. He’ll take care of her.”
Lacey nods, but that smile turns from sad to thoughtful. “They’re telling people I was fired,” she says quietly. “But I’m not…at least not yet.”
I stroke her back through the thin sleep shirt and then tug on it slightly. “Today,” I tell her, “is your day off. You can let Carla worry about the shit at work, and you can worry about nothing. How about that? Let’s make this a day you worry about nothing.”
She nods and leans back against my chest. “I love the sound of that. Do you want to come with me to pick up Ruby?” She turns and faces me. “Unless you have things you have to do today. I can just make you breakfast really quick if you need to go.”
I wrap my arms around her and tug her back toward me. “Babe, I was supposed to work today. I got no place else I’d rather be.”
She lifts her face and kisses me lightly, a smile returning to her face. “Cinnamon raisin toast? I can make French toast with it if you want that instead?”
I shake my head. “The only breakfast I want is right here in this bed. I have one condom left, and it’s gotta be lonely in my wallet.”
The small smile spreads, and before I know it, she’s tugging the sleep shirt over her head.
I insist on driving her to get Ruby. I know it might seem stupid, but now that I’ve got her, I don’t want to let her go. There’s nothing calling me back to the compound except a clean pair of pants, which I figure I can stop and get later.
I take a shower at Lacey’s so I don’t stink like sex. Although once I put on the tuxedo pants from last night and remember what we did to them, I’m pretty sure that everything I’m wearing definitely smells like sex.
After we fuck again, eat, shower, and dress, we climb into my truck and head for the dog.
I don’t know why I didn’t realize it sooner. The kennel is none other than the Canine Crashpad, the business owned by Leo’s old lady and Tiny’s kid. Lia told Lacey to come in around noon, and when we hit the parking lot, I see two motorcycles I recognize right up front.
The strip mall where the doggie day care is located is a small industrial-looking plaza with an auto service station on the far end. There is a vacant office space where Arrow used to rent a place for his business and an office that the VP of the club and his wife use to manage the property-related business. They bought this strip mall a couple years back when the club went clean.
Now, Morris runs a small property management company, and he’s got his fingers in construction projects and other businesses. Just about every one of us works in some way or at some time in some aspect of the legit businesses.
All except me.
I’ve spent the last couple years drifting, doing my own thing. That’s how I happened on the security gig at the Lantana. I didn’t want to haul debris and wear a hard hat, show up at a jobsite before dawn, even if that meant working with my brothers.
If I had an old lady like Morris, and even more so if I had a kid at home, you couldn’t get me to work on Sunday unless it was for overtime and something I felt like doing. I feel like a hypocrite even thinking it, though. How many Sundays have I worked for regular-time pay at the Lantana over the last two years? Just because the job wasn’t what everyone else would do, because it was my choice.
Maybe that’s the reason. Or maybe the reason is sitting right here beside me in the passenger seat of my truck.
I climb out of the cab and go around to open Lacey’s door, but she’s already bouncing out, looking excited. She grins at me, and I wonder if I should take her hand or what the right thing to do is here, but she rushes past me, heading full steam for the front door of the Canine Crashpad.
Lacey’s wearing a pair of very short denim shorts that show enough of her ass to keep me on the verge of a chubby, sandals with a little heel, and a tiny T-shirt that exposes her soft belly whenever she moves her arms. Her hair is loose, and she’s wearing no makeup, sunglasses pushed up on her head, looking free and relaxed.
“I see her,” Lacey squeals, clapping her hands and pointing through the locked glass door.
I see people I know too, so I point through the glass, but at a very different target.
Lia comes rushing toward the door, looking like an ad for a music festival. She’s wearing this super-short off-white crocheted dress and leather flip-flops, her long brown hair tied back in a floral scarf.
“Welcome back, Mama.” Lia opens the door and motions for Lacey to come inside.
My heart skips a beat for a second when she calls Lacey Mama, but then I realize Lia’s referring to the dog, not a human baby.
“Look what a good girl she was.” Lia bends down and scratches a large, short-haired, brown-and-black German shepherd behind the ears.
The dog flops down on her side and kicks one foot in the air, basically choosing Lia’s pets over a joyful reunion with her mom.
Lacey shakes her head. “Well, I can see I wasn’t missed.” She drops down on her knees and vigorously rubs Ruby’s belly while thanking Lia for coming in early.
Lia walks up to me and smacks me on the shoulder. “Eagle, who knew? You clean up nice,” She follows up the smack with a big hug, then leans into my ear, fake-coughs, then whispers so loudly I am sure Lacey hears every word, “Walk of shame much?”
I hug her back, shaking my head. “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell, but I ain’t no gentleman.” I laugh. “Still, I’m not answering.”
“Oh, come on.” Lia claps her hands. “Tell me I’m the first to know. Is there anything to know? What’s the story?”
Her excitement for the fact that I look like I fucked Lacey last night is cut off when Tiny emerges from the back of the day care.
“If Eagle got laid, I don’t wanna hear it.” Tiny’s name is pure irony, because he is the total opposite. He lost a little weight last year, but on a man his size, the little bit he lost isn’t much. He seems committed to being healthier, even working out with Leo, Lia’s husband, once in a while on the equipment we have at the club.
I clap him on the shoulder. “What the fuck you doing here on a Sunday?” I ask.
Tiny jerks a thumb toward the back. “Had to take a shit. Went for a ride with Morris, and this place was closer than going all the way back to the compound.”
“Dad.” Lia grimaces. “Please tell me you flushed. I don’t want to have to have the talk again.”
“We ain’t talking about anything having to do with my shit,” Tiny confirms. “So, don’t ask.” He leans forward and kisses his daughter on the cheek, then points to my tux. “Speaking of shit. You liked that crap so much you’re still wearing it?”
I shake my head and point to Lacey. “Tiny, this is Lacey. She is my boss over at the Lantana.”
Tiny extends a hand to shake Lacey’s and seems to put two and two together without my painting a more vivid picture than that.
“Nice to meet you, Lacey.” He points to me. “Watch out for this one. He’s a dickhead, through and through.” He cackles when he says it, but I notice Lacey’s smile lose a little bit of its luster.
“All right, fuck off,” I say, nodding at Tiny.
As soon as Lacey stands and stops petting Ruby, the dog leaps to her feet as if she’s just noticed me. She immediately smashes her nose into my crotch and starts sniffing like she’s trying to figure out how the hell she smells Lacey all over my junk.
Since Lia’s busy at the tablet at the front desk, I let the dog sniff. Probably the best way to get her to trust me is to let her smell her mama all over me. I hold out the back of my hand, fingers cupped down, and let the Shepherd sniff me. Finally, she lets me pet her, and then she leans into it.
Tiny throws a wave up behind him and heads out to the parking lot. Lacey signs the checkout form confirming she picked up her dog and gives Lia a hug. “Thank you. Ruby loves it here. She doesn’t look like she’s in any rush to go home.”
Lia and Lacey turn and watch me loving on Ruby. I clear my throat. “We good?” I ask.
Just then, my phone buzzes with a text message. I grab the phone from my pocket, assuming it has to be Arrow with a question about the brunch. I swipe the lock screen to check the message, but it’s not from Arrow.
Linda: We need to talk. You around today?
Fuck.
She doesn’t say more than that, but Linda only texts me when she wants something or wants to say something to piss me off. Sometimes I think she does that just for kicks.
I can’t decide whether to tell her to go fuck herself or just to ignore the text. Now isn’t a good time for either pissing off Linda or talking to her, and basically, no matter what I do, it won’t be the right thing. She always finds a way to make a federal fucking case out of everything and anything. And if she can make me feel stupid or shitty in the process, it’s just a bigger win.
I want to ignore her, but if I don’t reply, she’ll start calling.
Lacey has Ruby on her leash and is headed toward me. “Ready?” she asks.
I don’t know if she’s seen me look at my phone or if she cares either way. But something about Linda texting me while I’m with Lacey makes my stomach churn.
I flip the slider to silence my phone. This is my time with Lacey, and come hell or high water—and knowing Linda, it’s likely gonna be both—she’s going to have to wait.