Chapter Forty
Corey
I killed a man.
And now Damon keeps watching me with concern in those beautiful stormy gray eyes, almost waiting for me to break down over it, but I haven’t. I’m not losing any more people I love, and for once in my life I was able to protect my family. Protect River.
Damon had taken me straight home afterward, while River dealt with the body. I didn’t ask what they did with it. This might very well catch up with me at some point, and I know that, but I will pay whatever price I have to. For now, I distract myself by spending time with the people I killed to save.
The next night Echo comes over, and surprisingly enough so does the good doctor. Or as she introduces herself, Raine.
“Raine Shine?” I ask, remembering Romeo calling her Dr. Shine.
She winces a little, twirling her dark hair around her finger. Jag was right, she is a gorgeous woman, with dark skin, big, brown eyes, and a calm energy around her. “Yeah, my parents were hippies who thought they were funny.”
I laugh, happy that she has a sense of humor. I think she’ll fit right in here. “Well, Raine, it’s lovely to meet you. Can I get you something to drink?”
Jag comes up next to me, butting in. “I’m pretty sure that’s supposed to be my line. Nice to see you again, Dr. Shine.”
I think he would love to call her doctor in the bedroom. The way his eyes are eating her up I feel like I’m intruding in a private moment, instead of just a simple conversation.
“Please, Jag, call me Raine,” she replies. “And yes, I’d love a drink.”
Jag steals her away, and I go and sit outside with Echo and Bella, drinks in hand, music playing in the background. I got Damon to put up more fairy lights, so the whole place is lit up. It’s such a vibe.
“You made all this food yourself?” Echo asks me, eying the massive grazing platter I did up. I may have gone a little overboard, but I do love to host, and I love to feed people.
Food is my love language.
“Yes, sometimes we get caterers, but I did it all this time,” I say, tilting my head to Bella. “She made all the cocktails, and the men all helped set it up. Julianna put together the playlist. It was a group effort.”
“Julianna listens to Tupac?” Echo asks, sounding surprised.
“Yes, yes she does,” I reply, amused. “So, what else do you do when you’re not working?”
“To be honest, nothing much. I have my own house, and it’s just me who lives there. My family lives in another state,” she explains, sighing. “If I’m not at Devil’s Play, I’m just out hanging with Rupert.”
“Rupert?” I ask, thinking Diamond is going to be let down if she has a boyfriend.
“My pug,” she clarifies. “And I used to love that, just living a quiet life in my own space. But recently I’ve just gotten over spending all my time alone, and I think I want to put myself out there and be a little more social. Not to mention I’m not getting any younger.”
“Well, you came to the right place. We’d love to hang out with you more, and there are a few single men here but no single women, so the odds are in your favor. You can literally take your pick,” I say, chewing on an ice cube from my cocktail. “But I think I know who you like.”
“Who?” she asks, green eyes going wide. “Is this about Damon? I only hit on him once and it was before I knew you two were together. He shut me down right away, I promise.”
Huh?
“Uh, I was going to say Diamond. I didn’t know anything about you hitting on Damon,” I say, looking over at the man in question, who is happily chatting with Leif, completely unaware that he’s pissed me right off by not telling me this happened.
“I’m sorry, Corey. I would have never hit on him had I known he was taken. I’m not that kind of woman. And it was the first time I’ve ever hit on any of the men, so it was definitely not a good experience,” she says, touching my arm so I look at her.
“No, it’s okay,” I say, forcing a smile. “I appreciate you telling me, but I wish that he had instead.”
“He probably didn’t want to ruin our friendship since it only just started,” she says, defending him, which annoys me even further.
“Yeah, I know. Anyway, never mind, nothing happened and it’s in the past.”
And I do feel like Echo is a trustworthy woman, and I believe what she’s saying. I’ve always heard that she stayed away from the bikers and kept the relationship very professional, so the fact that she chose Damon out of all the men in the club has me wondering if she really did like him.
“And you’re right about Diamond,” she says, looking over at him. “I don’t know...there’s something about him. We chatted a little that night you all came out. What do you know about him?”
Bella answers for me because I’m still lost in my thoughts.
“He used to be a stripper,” she blurts out, then lowers her voice. “And we think a pretty damn good one.”
I have to wonder how this is going to go down.
“Really?” Echo replies, studying him. “I mean, he definitely has the body for it. I don’t think I’m cut out to date a sexy stripper, though. I run a burlesque house, I see how much attention these dancers get.”
“Who said anything about dating?” Bella whispers, and we all laugh. Mine is a little fake, because I’m still angry.
Except then Diamond comes over and sits down with us. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” Echo says, sitting back and crossing her legs. “Are you having a good night?”
“I am now,” he replies, leaning closer to her to say something.
Bella and I slowly take our leave, and I walk right over to Damon, who playfully kisses my face and puts his arm over me.
“Damon, why didn’t you tell me Echo hit on you? I mean, she didn’t know we were together, so I wouldn’t have held it against her, but why didn’t you tell me?” I whisper.
His playful demeanor disappears, and he pulls me aside. “It was nothing—”
“What do you mean? She wanted you, that is something to me—”
“I didn’t want to tell you because you had just become friends, and I didn’t want you to get angry like you are right now. It would have made it awkward between you both,” he says, cupping my face. “There’s nothing between us. She was lonely, and I was there. It wasn’t anything more than that.”
“It’s fine. This is what I get for choosing the hottest one in the group.” I scowl, putting my hands on my hips.
He kisses my stubborn mouth. “I’m yours, nothing happened. I’m sorry, I should have told you, and I will forever tell you about any other woman that tries to get me into their bed.”
“You better,” I whisper to him in a deadly tone. “Or I won’t tell you about every man that tries to get into mine.”
Okay, no one has tried to get into mine recently, but I haven’t really socialized with anyone outside of this club. And he’s no longer jealous of Jag, who is now trying to get into bed with our doctor.
But he doesn’t need to know that.
He thinks I’m the hottest woman ever, so he’s probably assuming lots of men come after me all the time.
And I’m going to let him think that.
“Who?” he asks, stalking after me.
I ignore him and head inside, coming to a stop when I see none other than fucking Melinda standing in our kitchen.
We clearly have no security anymore after the Lost Lions MC left town. We’re just letting anyone in.
“Who let you in here?” I ask her, turning to Damon in hopes he will handle this situation right now. I don’t know why she’s here, but I do need someone to let her know that she isn’t welcome. This isn’t a restaurant where people can drop in for free food and look for men to get them pregnant.
“The door was unlocked,” she says, looking at him and not me. “I need money, Damon. If you give me some, I’ll leave right now. Even a hundred would be good. I know you have it, so just hand it over. Look at this place,” she adds, scanning the house. “You’re loaded.”
I look at her arms, and that’s when I see the track marks. And this all makes a little more sense. She’s not just a raging psychopath, she’s on drugs. And she wants money for the next fix.
Oh, boy.
“Are you okay?” I ask, watching as she visibly starts to get agitated. Did Damon break her so much she turned to drugs? Or was this always a thing? “Can I get you something?”
“Just money,” she says, hands on her stomach. “For the baby. I need to get food and things.”
I’ll bet.
“So you’re still going with that,” Damon comments, stepping in front of me. Does he think she will try to do something to me?
I walk over to Raine and whisper the situation in her ear.
She comes over right away to help, except that sets Melinda off, and she starts throwing things around the kitchen in a rage.
“Should we just give her money and lock our doors?” I ask.
Julianna storms in, not taking any of Melinda’s shit, and grabs her by the arm, dragging her outside. Raine and Damon follow behind. I know he’d feel some kind of responsibility for her and wouldn’t want to leave the women to handle it.
“I feel bad for her,” I say to Leif, who comes over to see what is going on.
“Don’t let her ruin your night—they’ll take care of her,” he says, pulling me back inside. He gets me on the dance floor and starts busting a move like nothing happened. What the hell? I take a tequila shot and join him.