Chapter 13
“Hello?” Lucius answered his phone in his usual gravelly voice and continued to do his work.
“Lucius?”
He grinned when he head Lilith’s voice.
“Yes, what can I do for you, Lilith?”
“I have a stupid question for you.”
“What’s that?”
“Will there be a club run if it’s raining tomorrow?”
“Probably not, this storm is supposed to last a couple of days.” They had been going on a run every Sunday for the last three months, and Lilith was ready to take what they had going to the next level. “Will that be a problem?”
“No, I really didn’t want to ride in the rain, I’ve done it twice now, and I’m not a fan.
” They shared a laugh, then he heard her draw in a deep breath.
“I called because I was wondering if you wanted to come to my place tomorrow? There’s something I want to talk to you about, and I thought I could make us a pan of lasagna. ”
“With garlic bread and salad?”
“If you’d like.”
“I’d like. What time, and where?”
She gave him the time of eleven in the morning, and wondered if they would be eating that early, but pushed the thought to the side.
He wrote down her address, and after they hung up, he looked it up on-line to make sure he knew exactly where it was.
He was off by a couple of streets, but programmed the address into his GPS.
The next morning, he made sure to take extra care with his shower, and he even trimmed his beard, especially around his mouth.
He nodded and dressed in blue jeans, a black tee, and his engineer boots.
Because it was raining, but in the upper seventies, he grabbed his leather and colors and slipped them on.
By the time he knocked on her front door, he had five minutes to spare.
“Wow, I feel overdressed,” he said as a joke when he saw her in leggings and an oversized shirt that slipped over one shoulder. He swallowed hard when he didn’t see a bra strap resting there.
“Come in.”
“Shoes on or off?”
“You can leave them on,” she said and stood back as she pointed to where her own leather hung on a coat tree. She led him into the dining room, and invited him to sit. “Coffee, tea, hot or cold, beer, wine?”
“Coffee.”
She nodded and went to the kitchen to pour him a cup. She joined him with a glass of iced tea. Once it was set before him, she studied him. “I’m going to get right to the point, Lucius. Do you remember our first date, at the café?”
“I remember all our dates.”
“Good, do you remember me talking about that paranormal prison in West Virginia?”
“Yes.” He leaned forward and crossed his arms on the table, excitement shining in his eyes. He watched as she reached over and took a folder off a chair that had been pushed into the dining room table. She laid it in front of him.
“I was able to get a deal on three different paranormal tours, along with a tour of the prison. This folder has them, and if you’re still interested in going with me, I’ve figured with the cost of the four tours, gas, hotels, and food, it would be roughly one thousand dollars each. Oh, and that includes spending money.”
“Really? That’s it?” Luc asked in shock as he opened the folder and began to read. It took thirty minutes to go through all the information, and the more he read, the more he liked. At one point, he looked at her with his signature scowl. “Is this how you plan your vacation every year?”
“Yes, except for this year, I planned on two of us going. I would like to invite you to attend with me.”
“When does this take place?”
“Four weeks from this coming Thursday. I plan on leaving on that Thursday, it’s only a five to six hour drive, so no pressure, then we can settle into the hotel, tour the surrounding area, and town, then there is a tour a day for the next four days, starting on Saturday.
I would like to return home the following Friday, so we would have the entire two days of the weekend to recoup. ”
“What vehicle would we take?”
“I know you probably want to take the bike, but I was hoping you’d volunteer to drive your truck. I can help drive, if that’s a problem?”
“It isn’t, and as much as I do want to take the bike, I don’t want to be that far away without my club. Also, I will not be going to unfamiliar territory wearing my colors.” At her expression, he smiled gently. “My patch.”
“Ah, is that a safety thing?”
“Yes, because I don’t know if there are any bikers or other clubs around. I don’t want to step on any toes. I’m not saying that we have to avoid any bars that might be biker bars, but I won’t be wearing my colors.”
“Got it. I don’t want an answer now, but I gathered all this information for you to look at.”
“Can I take this with me to look over?”
“Yes, that’s your copy. All websites are highlighted there too, in case you want to look at the tours yourself. I’m not saying we have to, but there is also a list of other things to look at in the area. Some are free, some are paid, but you can pay at the door.”
“That’s great news to have.” Luc nodded as he flipped through the pages. “I’ll get you an answer by next week.”
“Thank you.” She nodded and got up to refill his coffee cup.
They spent the next few hours discussing the contents of the folder, and around four that afternoon, she slipped the lasagna into the oven, and an hour later they were eating.
He stayed until almost ten that night, and when he left, they made out at the front door for almost thirty minutes before he said he had to go, or something might happen.
As he turned to leave, with the door open, she gripped his upper arm.
“I’m not saying this to put any pressure on you, but if you decide to go with me on my vacation this year, I wouldn’t be opposed if you brought an ample supply of condoms with you.
” She giggled at his grin, and he reached in to grip the back of her neck and brought her in for a kiss.
“I’ll stock up,” he said against her lips, then quickly left. He wore a grin all the way home. Since he called to check in at the bar, and knew it was running smoothly, he called it an early night and went to his home, instead of back to the bar.
*****
Luc looked up when Hawk cleared his throat. They were sitting in the patch room having their weekly meeting, discussing their business.
“Hawk, what’s up?” Luc asked when the saw the other man’s expression.
“I don’t know if this falls under new or old business.”
“Doesn’t matter, the secretary will put it where he feels fit. You have something on your mind, state your peace, and we’ll deal with it.”
“Okay, and it might not be anything.”
“Hawk.” Luc drawled his name out, and just stared at him.
“Okay, sorry.” The other man looked around the table at his fellow patch holders, shook his head, and sighed heavily. “I have concerns about the woman named Brenda Smith.”
“Who?” Luc asked in confusion.
“She’s one of the women that Starr asked to help her with the makeup for our Halloween Bash. It’s my understanding that Starr and the professor of the class had to shut her down the first time she was introduced to us.”
“How? Remind me who she is.”
“She questioned Starr why Starr was going to do your makeup, and not her.”
“Ah, that one, the one that acted entitled. What have you observed or heard her doing? I’ll be honest here, after that first meeting, I haven’t given her another thought.”
“Yeah, and she’s pissed about that. I overheard her trying to get the ladies of the club to give her personal information about you.
She wants to know where you live, who you’re dating?
What vehicle you drive. I personally overheard her ask Misty, the bartender, how much revenue the bar brings in on a daily basis. ”
“Fuck, what did you say or do?”
“First, Misty cut her off at the knees. She, Misty, told this woman that she had no right to ask those questions about you. When she, Brenda, tried to defend herself by saying she wanted to know if you were worth pursuing enough to date, both Misty and I shut her up. We told her you were already in a committed relationship, and since you don’t step out on your ole lady, then she has no chance in hell with you.
” He shook his head and finished the beer that sat before him.
“I don’t want to sound like I’m back in high school, but you need to talk to the ladies.
One of them, I forget which one now, told me that she saw what Brenda was drawing in her sketch book.
When questioned, Brenda said she was getting her sketches for the Halloween Bash down pat. ”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“They were all of you, only a few had you as Lucifer, but the others were of the two of you together in what could be considered as compromising positions.”
“Fuck me,” Luc sighed heavily as he scrubbed his face. He stared at the table before him, shook his head and did something that was against the rules of a church meeting. He pulled his phone from his pocket, turned it on, dialed, and made sure it was on speaker.
“Hello?”
“Starr, it’s Luc.”
“I know, I saw your name flash across my screen. What’s up?”
“What are you doing right now?”
“Nothing.” She laughed. “Well technically I’m looking at three books and debating which one I want to start reading first.”
“How fast can you get to the bar?”
“Fifteen minutes?”
“See you then, oh, tell Misty I requested you to come. We’re in the patch room.” He didn’t wait for her to reply, and hung up the phone, turning it back off. After that, other patch members voiced some things they had observed regarding Brenda. The more he heard, the angrier he became.