Chapter 25
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
Willow
“I totally knew it,” Payden says, glancing under her arm at me while we’re in downdog.
“Totally knew what?” I whisper. Didn’t anyone ever tell her it’s rude to talk while we’re in the middle of a yoga class?
“That you slept with Haze.”
“I didn’t—” Her glare cuts me off. “Fine, I did, but we’re married so it doesn’t count.”
She snorts. “I’m so totally winning the bet, so I’m not bothered.”
I frown as we move back to a plank, then back to downdog in one fluid movement. “What bet?”
She puffs all the air out of her cheeks. “I’m not supposed to say anything.”
“Payden!”
That earns me a look from the instructor just as she’s telling us to ‘flip our dogs’. Holy crap, am I out of shape. I mean, I run, and I do weights to stay trim, but has anyone held a plank for a minute and done Pilates abs for a straight five without stopping? That’s some hard shit right there.
“The girls at the club had a little bet,” she whispers.
Flipping the dog is seeing how far you can bend your body in the wrong direction and trying to look elegant while doing it. It feels like my spine may split in two. “Wow, and you’re telling me this now?” I garble.
“You only just reminded me.”
“Oh, and betting on your friend, not cool, Pay.”
She doesn’t seem fazed, not in the slightest. “Oh, come on. As if you were ever gonna stay away from him. It’s kinda sweet he held out on you all this time.”
Yes, I had to confess to someone. A girl has to tell her bestie things, and Payden is as close to a best friend as I’ve got, even though I share her with Luna.
Audrina being my other close friend, but I don’t want to burden her with my fricking love life when she’s got a baby to take care of.
Plus, I’m still getting my head around me and Haze, and I know Payden is the least likely to judge.
“I’m not sure he’d see it that way if he finds out I told you. ”
She snorts, flipping back fluidly into a plank while I try to catch my breath.
“In that case, we need to celebrate. The girls are having a poker night, you should come.”
I give her a look again under my arm, when her eyes meet mine, she shrugs. “What?”
I glance at the instructor, adjusting someone so she’s temporarily distracted from our whispers.
“I don’t think the girls would appreciate that, not to mention my hanging out with the NOLA Rebels ol’ ladies won’t be a good look while my father’s in town.”
“Stop being a snob. You’re worried about what people will think.”
She isn’t entirely wrong. I’m not ashamed of Haze, nor do I think the club is bad, but people’s perceptions can be a very judgy place.
I have a position that was given to me under great privilege, and I don’t take that lightly.
But if me and Haze really are doing this, then something has to give.
I think I stopped giving a shit what people thought about me a long time ago.
That wasn’t always the case, of course, and I still have to tell my dad.
I can’t even imagine how that conversation is going to go.
Still, I’m an adult, and my dad has no say in my life.
It’s about time he realized that. I’m so sick and tired of walking on eggshells with him.
“I am not. I just don’t think the girls will accept me.”
“Well, if that were true, they wouldn’t have accepted Stella and Cale.”
“That’s different,” I hiss. “Callaghan is… fucking sunshine on a cloudy day.”
She snorts again as we flip the other way. “Maybe to you. I’ll have you know the club hated him for a variety of reasons for a very long time.”
The instructor gives us another stern glare and we quit talking until the end of class. “What did you mean by that?” I ask, dabbing my face with a towel later. “That the club hated Callaghan?”
“Oh, come on. That can’t come as a surprise. He was a thorn in their side. Nothing new. He and the MC were like good cop, bad cop, and then Stella had to go and fall in love with him. Kinda sweet when you think about it.”
“One thing’s for sure, they’re lucky Harlem came around, or there’d be one more body to go hunting for in the bayou,” I say with an eye roll thrown in.
Payden’s eyes widen. “I thought that bayou stuff was a myth?”
I pat her arm gently. “You heard none of that from me.”
Poor soul. Payden may be upfront and in your face, but she still believes in the law.
It’s amazing to me she is becoming more involved with the club considering some of their priors.
While I can’t say I know exactly what they’ve done in the past, I sure as shit know this whole ‘legit’ thing they put on isn’t entirely a hundred percent accurate.
They aren’t Boy Scouts no matter which way they peddle it.
I know they overlooked some prior felonies because they handed the Mancinis to the feds, along with at least half a dozen other illegal things involving the underworld.
Somehow they manage to keep on the same side as the law.
Wheeling and dealing is still rife, but at least in this case the bad guys were the ones taken out.
There’s a lot less paperwork if you look at it like that.
“So, when are you two making it official?”
I frown. “What do you mean? Announce it on the nightly news?”
She takes a sip of cold water from her bottle, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Ha-ha. I mean, when is Haze claiming you?”
I frown a whole lot more. “They still do that?”
She gives me a are you shitting me look, screwing the lid back on her bottle. “You know they still do that, and while you are technically still married, Haze still has to go through the motions.”
“It’s not gonna happen,” I say. “He’s not claiming me anywhere, and I’m not wearing his dumb ‘Property of Haze’ jacket. If anything, I should claim him.” I smile at my idea, but Payden doesn’t look so convinced.
“Okaaay. Like that’s gonna happen.”
I think about how Haze crawled to me last night and begged, and my cheeks heat. I know he’s crazy about me, and the feeling is mutual, though he’s a lot better at showing it than I am.
The man kept me up until three in the morning, and then I slept through my alarm. He thought it was hilarious and made rude comments about my ‘bedhead’. Admittedly, my hair looked like someone dragged me through a hedge backward, but that is hardly my fault.
“Hey,” a girl says from behind us. “You’re that lady from TV, right? The police commissioner?”
I blink in surprise. “Uh, no, sadly, I’m just the captain,” I say. “The commissioner is making a lot more money than I am.”
She smiles at my joke. “I just wanted to say you’re a real inspiration. Thank you for your service.”
Well, that was unexpected. I’m a little lost for words. I rarely have people recognize me in the middle of a sweaty yoga class, or anywhere else for that matter, but I’ll take it as a win. “Oh, thanks, that’s nice of you to say.”
“I’m Clare, I’m new here,” she says, holding out her hand.
Me and Payden both shake it, introducing ourselves, and she goes on to say how she doesn’t really know anyone but she saw the yoga class ad online and thought she’d give it a go.
Bella’s studio has had a lot of press over the last few years for all the charitable work she does to keep the crisis center running, and the profits from classes like this go toward that. It’s pretty amazing.
“What do you do?” Payden asks as we begin to leave the room.
“Oh, I’m in between jobs at the moment,” she confesses. “I’m staying with a friend, so I’ve got to be careful with money. But a girl has to stay in shape, right?”
“Totally,” Payden replies. “I come here all the time, they have a fantastic coffee bar right next door.”
“Thanks for the tip.” She smiles. “It was great meeting you.”
“You too,” I say.
“Hey, a bunch of us are going out for drinks on the weekend,” Payden says before Clare can leave. “Why don’t you tag along if you’re not doing anything?”
That’s just like Payden, too, she’ll befriend anyone, anywhere. Especially someone down on their luck, or needing a friend.
The girl’s face lights up. “Really? That’d be so cool.”
“Reel off your number, and I’ll call it, then you’ll have mine. I can text you the details closer to Saturday.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Her gaze turns to me. “Will you be there too, Willow?”
I shake my head. “Unfortunately, the type of clubs these girls frequent won’t exactly do much for my reputation as a good captain in New Orleans,” I laugh. “But you girls enjoy yourselves.”
I’m not saying Payden will frequent one of the MC’s strip clubs, Vault XL being the main point of attraction, but it’s highly likely.
I almost break out in a huge grin when I think about how Haze would react to my frequenting that place. Jealousy has never been his strong point, nor mine.
She makes an oops face and laughs. “Well, thanks for the invite. I’ll see you this weekend.”
She waves and takes off.
I glance at Payden. “What?” she asks.
“She seemed nice, but inviting her out?”
“Well, she looked like a sad puppy, what was I supposed to do?”
I sigh. “This is why I don’t have many friends. I’m suspicious of everyone.”
Payden laughs. “You’re cautious, and that’s okay. It’s the detective in you.”
“I can’t help it. Not that she’s suspicious, but you will take care of the injured little bird every time.”
“Well, I was alone in the city I grew up in for a long time. It was hard making friends.” She shrugs. “She seemed alright. I don’t think she’s a secret serial killer or anything.”
I instantly feel bad. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t meant to be criticizing. I’m sure she’s lovely. But I think showing my face at the Vault XL may be a little too much exposure.”
She looks at me, then bursts out laughing. “Too much exposure, as in strippers? Or as in you getting caught going inside?”
I bumper her with my shoulder. “Both.”
“I don’t know, Haze seems like he might be the jealous type when it comes to you.”
“Ugh, you have no idea. He threatened Connor in a room full of cops.” I shake my head at the memory.
“He’s a hothead, but that is kinda sweet. Have you heard from Connor since that day?”
We both know what day she’s referring to. The day he caught me and Haze in my office.
“No, thank goodness. I can’t believe he not only showed up at my ceremony, uninvited, but then came to my workplace after I dumped him.”
“What a creep. Some guys just won’t take no for an answer.”
“No, they can’t—” I squint. Is that a freaking NOLA Rebels prospect checking out my car?
Payden looks from me to where I’m staring, then tips her glasses down her nose. “Hey, Rip,” she calls with a wave, then to me. “He’s cute, but he’s at least ten years younger than me.”
“The more important question is what is he doing beside my vehicle?”
We approach and the prospect they call Rip looks a little… sheepish. “Oh, hey Payd.” His eyes dart to me. “Captain Willow.”
“It’s Sinclair,” I tell him. “What are you doing here?”
He palms the back of his neck. “I, uh, I was just checkin’ out the back of your SUV. I thought someone grazed it. Didn’t know the car was yours.”
My eyes widen, moving quickly to the back of my car. It needs a wash, but as I inspect the back, I see nothing. “What happened?”
“Like I said, I thought it got scraped, must’ve had a close call.”
I narrow my eyes. “Hmm, glad you were in the vicinity then, heaven knows what could’ve happened.”
“I know, right?” He flashes me a million-dollar smile that likely works on all the ladies.
Then I hear. “Here you go, bud, decaf soy latte with extra foam. Oh, hey Payden, Captain Sinclair,” Wheels says, his smile just as bright.
“Wait, you guys like Cafe A-GoGo too?” Payden asks, astonished. “I knew it wasn’t just me with those Brazilian coffee beans.”
“Oh, we love it,” Wheels says, handing his buddy the coffee. “When we’re in the neighborhood.”
“Speaking of which, what are you doing here?” I ask. “You boys thinking of taking up yoga?”
They look at one another, and I don’t know — call me suspicious — but they look like they just got their hands caught in the cookie jar.
“No, we’re doin’ some shit for, uh, Bella,” Rip says, thumbing behind him. “Speakin’ of which, we better take off. Glad the car is okay.”
“Who’s car?” Wheels asks as Rip heads toward the building.
“I’ll tell you later,” he mutters.
We watch after them. “There’s something fishy about those two,” I say.
“Oh, don’t. Let me enjoy the rearview before you go spoiling all my fun.”
“They’re prospects,” I remind her. “They’re not allowed to touch you even if they wanted to.”
She side eyes me. “Spoken like a true ol’ lady.”