Chapter 2
HERE COMES TROUBLE
LEXI
“Come on! We haven’t been out in forever, and you can’t let me go to this party alone, or I’m bound to wind up behind bars. You should see the way the girls act there.”
“No shit. It’s the Viper’s MC clubhouse, Harlow. It’s probably worse than some of the frat parties we used to sneak into back in high school.”
“Oh, definitely. But you need this. You can’t just keep sitting around the house, day in and day out. I’m worried you’ll become one with the couch.”
I am, in fact, cuddled into the side of my couch, watching my favorite comfort movie, under a mound of throw blankets. The remote is within reach and the snacks are only an uncomfortable stretch away, but shoot me, it’s been a long week.
“I’m not. I’m still going to work,” I argue, but it’s a sad excuse.
The truth is, I don’t really see the point.
The black eye might be gone and the bruised ribs only twinge occasionally, but I’m still skittish after the hell Evan put me through.
I don’t know where he is. I don’t know what he has planned.
He could return at any moment and finish the job he thought he’d handled.
“I don’t care. You have two hours, and then I’m coming over and dragging you out of the house regardless of the state you’re in. Come looking like shit or actually get ready, I don’t fucking care, Lex, but you’re coming.”
Harlow’s no shit’s given, bossy side has always been a perfect match for my sassy, spoiled self, but right now, I kind of just want to hang up on my best friend.
Unfortunately, I know she doesn’t make empty threats.
She will absolutely break into this house—which won’t be hard since she knows the code—and drag me out kicking and screaming if she has to.
“Ugh, fine. I hate you.”
“I love you, too. I’ll be there at ten. Wear that cute hot pink mini skirt we got on our last girls’ trip to Dallas.”
“Whatever.”
She hangs up without so much as a goodbye, and I let out a frustrated screech to the ceiling. It might be Friday night, and I have tomorrow off, but I planned on sitting right here until sleep finally stole away my consciousness.
Kicking my sweaty legs free from the blankets, I turn the movie off and switch over to my current favorite playlist. If any women know the visceral hatred of the male specimen, it’s early 2000s country queens.
This was a mistake. I should have fought Harlow harder to stay in tonight. She showed up exactly at ten with my brother in tow, but waiting outside on his bike. She knew I wouldn’t get on the back of hers, so we opted for my car instead.
I pull the scrap of fabric I used to consider a skirt down on my thighs, but the thing revolts against my efforts and reverts to its original length.
I at least had the forethought to throw on a pair of cowboy boots instead of the heels I’d typically pair with this for nights at the club.
Silas has never let me attend parties at the clubhouse, but my previous statement about frat houses still stands.
Open-toed pumps in this environment are a surefire way to lose a toenail or end up with wet feet—the last thing you want to deal with all night.
The parking lot is full of bikes and a couple of random cars and trucks. The crowd spills out of the building through a lifted garage-style door. Music blares from somewhere inside, reducing the calls of the nocturnal bugs to a steady hum.
“I don’t like this,” I overhear my brother mumble to Harlow.
“Stop it. You have to be here tonight for Vik and I’m not about to allow some skanky cunt to try and get their claws in you, handsome.”
“Wildcat, no one’s stupid enough to try with me. You made damn sure of that last time.” He smacks her ass and pulls her into his hulking frame. “But that’s not what I meant.” His eyes, the replica of our dad’s, stare over at me. “She shouldn’t be here.”
“She can hear you, asshole. I didn’t want to be here anyway, but since your lovely wife dragged me from the safety of my happy place, now you get to deal with it, big brother.” I tap him on the chest and push past him.
“Don’t embarrass me,” Silas’s deep barking command calls after me.
I give him a double bird salute high in the air and drift through the crowd, heading straight for the one thing that will make tonight bearable. Alcohol.
“Double whiskey on ice, please,” I tell the young guy in the prospect vest, waiting until his eyes finally lift from my tits in the low-cut halter.
I should have ignored Harlow’s clothing suggestion.
I blend in with half the women here, the ones vying for anyone’s attention that will flicker their way.
They must be the skanky cunts Harlow mentioned outside.
The women who obviously belong aren’t dressed prudish by any means, but their outfits don’t scream, “fuck me where I stand” either.
Plus, they all have matching tops with Property Of on the back.
It dawns on me that even though Harlow and Silas are married and very much together, she doesn’t wear one. I should ask her about that.
“Here you go, hot stuff.”
The overzealous bartender slides my drink in front of me, sloshing part of its contents over the edge.
“Grab me one too while you’re at it.”
That deep voice I managed to forget would be around skitters across every exposed inch of my skin. I try to ignore the way it settles low in my belly and reach for my glass, turning the opposite way to find Harlow and Silas. I should have known better.
“Surprised Si let you loose in here, Princess. Especially dressed like that.”
And there it is. He’s the only one who knows exactly where to find the right button to set me off. “What the fuck is wrong with my outfit?” I whirl back in his direction, hair flipping, and hopefully slapping him in his smug face.
“Oh, nothing, as long as you’re looking to give every guy in here a piece of ass tonight.”
His eyes cast up and down my body before that tanned throat bobs as he sucks down his drink.
“Well, it won’t be every guy in here, now will it?” I quirk my eyebrow and spot Harlow over his shoulder. Before he can pull me into a sparring match, I march past him with my head held high, knowing I got in the last jab.
As if tonight couldn’t get any worse, now I’ll have to deliberately keep my eyes off Pierce, because I don’t think I’ll be able to handle watching some half-naked woman drape herself all over him.
Thankfully, the empty chair at the table where Harlow and Si are seated leaves my back toward him, and I slump down, already checking my watch to see if I can sneak away and leave.
“You good?” She leans closer toward me from Si’s lap so I can hear her over the music.
“Peachy,” I deadpan and take a sip of the smoky whiskey.
“A couple more of those and I’m sure you will be.” She smirks, and my brother groans at her words.
Which is fair considering the last time he saw me wasted, it wasn’t pretty for either of us.
Thankfully, he’s missed the many other times since that night.
Drinking alone has never been my thing. But lately, other than picking up a sleeping pill habit, it’s the only thing that shuts my brain up enough to get sleep that doesn’t have my heart racing and me screaming in the middle of the night.
The hangovers are wicked, and the new relationship I’ve made face down with my toilet isn’t one I’m proud of, but no one has to deal with those consequences but me. So, who is it really hurting?
“You know what? I think that’s a brilliant fucking idea.” I slam the rest of my glass and pop back up from my seat, that’s barely had enough time to warm from my body. “Let’s go get another round!”
Dragging Harlow from her protected perch, I set my sights on a bottle of Jack behind the bar. Might as well make this easier on all of us. Waiting until Mr. Eyefull is busy with someone else down the bar, I sneak around the edge and snag the bottle of Jack from the shelf.
A few moans and groans of protest come from the small crowd waiting, but I couldn’t care less. I’m not sure what the rules are here when it comes to booze, but I also know my brother holds a position that should allow me some leniency if I’m breaking them.
“Oh boy, you’re definitely going to be trouble tonight.” Harlow laughs, and we pass the bottle back and forth a few times until half the contents are gone.
When she’s had enough, she hands it back, and I keep my skinny fingers wrapped around the neck like it’s nothing more than a bottle of beer.
The warmth of the liquor coasts through my veins, and the worry from earlier dissipates.
There’s even something tickling the back of my mind that I think I should be remembering, but I just can’t seem to put my finger on it.
There’s not much of a dance floor since the place is smaller than I expected, but Harlow and I find a small clearing between a couch and the table where my brother and his friends are sitting. I pull her in close, letting the thudding bass move my limbs as they start to go numb from the alcohol.
Closing my eyes is enough to trick my brain into letting loose, and for the first time tonight, I think maybe Harlow had a point about me coming out.
“Hey, I need to go check on something. You good?”
“Mhmm.”
I don’t bother opening my eyes, letting the rhythm keep its hold on my body, and enjoying the freedom on the makeshift dance floor. I feel a soft peck to my cheek as the warmth of her body pulls away, and I’m left with a refreshing cool breeze.
This is exactly what I needed.