Chapter Ten
Lily
I woke to the feeling of a gentle kiss on my forehead. When I opened my eyes, Rattler was staring down at me with a bemused expression on his face.
“You look beautiful when you wake up. All soft and dreamy.”
I smiled. “Flatterer. You think I’m going to fall for that kind of crap?”
He grinned. “You already have. You’re in my bed, aren’t you?”
I wrinkled my nose, pretending to look thoughtful. “I guess I am. How did church go?”
“Fine. Your ex isn’t going to be a problem much longer.”
I felt my eyes widen. “You’re not going to kill him, are you?” Not that I’d object to that, but I didn’t want Rattler to go to jail just because of me.
“No, nothing like that.” He stroked a hand through my hair. “I can’t go into detail. Club business and all, but he’s been screwing around with stuff that he shouldn’t. We just handed off the information, and the authorities will take care of him.”
“So I’m free? I can go into town if I want to?”
He narrowed his eyes. “That sounds like you have something in mind.”
I nodded. “A dress for the wedding. I can’t show up in leggings and one of your shirts. I need a dress. And some shoes to go with it. Formal dresses aren’t something I can rustle up from Mom’s lost and found box.”
He frowned. “It’s not a done deal yet, so I think you need to stay put a bit longer.”
My happy bubble burst. “So, I’m still in hiding?”
“Only until it all goes down and your ex is behind bars. Then we can go to the local sheriff and clear up the missing person thing. I have an idea, though.”
“What?” I wasn’t very hopeful. He was an outstanding guy, and I was so lucky to have found him, but I’d seen his wardrobe. Black and gray so he didn’t have to think about what to wear or what would match.
“Why don’t you let a couple of the old ladies go to town and pick out some shit? You can give them an idea of what you want. Shadow can put you on video chat with them while they shop and if you see something you like, they can bring it here for you to try on. Would that work?”
I thought about it. “Couldn’t you just smuggle me into a store so I can look for myself?”
“Too risky. What if the clerk, or even the owner, had seen you on one of those fucking missing person posters? They could call your ex and turn you in, or they could think we are holding you against your will and notify the local cops.” He shook his head. “Sorry, but not gonna happen.”
I could see his point; I was just disappointed. He was trying to keep me safe. “Okay, we can do it your way. Who would you send?”
“Not sure. Janet’s already going nuts trying to make sure everything is going to run smoothly. You’ve met all the old ladies. Who do you think?”
I had no idea. “I guess we could ask and see who has time?”
“That sounds like a good idea.” He traced one finger across my lips. “We can ask around at supper. Prospects were just pulling in with the Chinese food when church let out.”
I opened my mouth and bit his finger lightly.
His nostrils flared. “Naughty girl!”
I grinned around his captive finger, biting down gently before letting it go. “That’s for not letting me go shopping.”
He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in closer. “You know I’m going to have to punish you for that?”
I tossed my head, batting my lashes at him. “I was counting on it.”
It was almost an hour later when we headed out back for supper. The Chinese food wasn’t hot any longer, but we didn’t care.
* * *
Rattler
Lily was busy with the Zoom call Shadow had set up so that she could follow Emma and Piper as they browsed dresses for her for the wedding. Shadow set her up in my room and I definitely wasn’t needed, so I wandered down to the kitchen and grabbed a beer before heading out back.
Ace and Beast were hanging around the BBQ area and motioned me over.
“Join the group, bro. The closer this fucking wedding gets, the more time I spend outside trying not to annoy anyone with a pussy.” Beast shook his head. “The twins are thrilled to be bridesmaids, but they’re taking the whole thing too fucking seriously.”
I took a swig of my beer and plunked my ass down on a log. “Lily is up there trying to find a dress to wear without visiting the store. Shit. It can’t be that hard to find a dress. Pick a color. Pick a length. Pick a size. Simple.”
Ace snorted. “You have a shitload to learn about women, my friend. Nothing is simple when it comes to them, especially shopping. Send them to the store to pick up a case of beer and they come back with a complete set of outdoor furniture, a selection of wine, and, if you’re really lucky, that case of beer you asked for. ”
“Charming.” I took another swig of beer. “I gave them my credit card.”
Both Ace and Beast burst out laughing just as Shadow came out to join us.
“What’s so funny?” He looked around at the three of us.
Ace grinned. “Rattler here gave his credit card to Emma and Piper so they could go shopping for a dress for Lily for the wedding.”
Shadow gave me a sympathetic look. “Rookie mistake, and probably not necessary.”
I tilted my head. “Why not necessary?”
“Lily’s ex is dead. He was found this morning by his housekeeper, hanging from a beam in the basement.”
“Suicide?”
“Looks that way, although I have my doubts.” He dragged a chair over and sat down.
“I think whoever he’d done business with in the past got wind of the sting the Secret Service was planning.
They didn’t want him singing to the authorities about their involvement, and you know guys like that don’t have the guts to stay quiet under interrogation. ”
“Still could have been suicide,” I pointed out. “Maybe he knew what was coming and couldn’t face it.”
“Possibly.” Shadow shrugged. “We’re in the clear, so that’s really all I care about.”
I frowned. “Will this make the missing person thing go away?”
“I’d give it a few days, then Lily can go to the local sheriff’s office and tell her story.
She tells them she just heard about his death, so she’s coming out of hiding.
She has all of us as alibis to prove she was nowhere near him when he died.
And we have the file and pictures Joker took when she first came to us.
Not like they haven’t heard this kind of tale a hundred times before.
The guy’s dead, so they’ll just cancel the missing person report. Should be simple.”
I hated it when someone said that. “Should be simple.” I sure as hell hoped it would be this time.
* * *
The day of the wedding dawned sunny and warm, as if the universe was happy to cooperate with the lucky couple.
At Thor’s insistence, all the guys were wearing black dress pants and crisply starched white shirts under their cuts.
I even had a tie to put on. Only problem was I had no fucking idea how to tie one.
After wrapping it around my neck a couple times and failing miserably at making it look like anything other than a hangman’s noose, I resorted to asking for help.
I walked over to the bathroom where Lily was busy torturing her hair into a hundred bouncy curls. Don’t get me wrong, she looked absolutely adorable, but that’s a lot of effort for something that ain’t going to last more than a day.
“You have time to help me with this thing around my neck?”
She twisted her head to look at me. “You mean the tie?”
“Yeah. It looks like crap no matter what I do.”
She put the curling iron down and came out to check on it. She was wearing a black lace thong and a matching bra that held her breasts up like a pagan offering. My cock swelled at the sight, and there wasn’t time to let him out to play.
“I’ve never tied a guy’s tie before, but let me Google it.” She typed something into her phone and watched the resulting YouTube video for a minute. “Okay, I think I’ve got it.”
She put the phone down and proceeded to turn the idiotic strip of material into a perfectly tied knot in less than a minute. I pivoted to stare at my reflection in the mirror. Amazing! “You are obviously a witch.”
She laughed and gave me a quick peck on the lips. “Remember that the next time I ask you for a favor. I could turn you into a toad with a snap of my fingers!”
I slipped my shoulder harness on and pulled the cut over top of it before Lily could object. I wasn’t sure what the protocol was for concealed carry in a church, but I felt naked without it. As long as nobody pulled any shit, no one would even know I was wearing it.
“What do you think?”
I turned, and my breath caught in my throat.
She’d picked a simple turquoise sheath that clung to her hips and then flared out to a full skirt that fell to the floor.
“You are gorgeous!” I took her hand and spun her around so that I could see her from all angles.
“No one is going to be looking at the bride. All eyes are going to be on you.”
She grinned. “I don’t think so, but thank you.” She reached out to adjust my tie so it was centered. “Are we ready to go down?”
I held out my arm and she slipped hers through it. Together, we descended the stairs and walked out into our future.
Together.