14. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
Tara was nice. She’d given me an outfit to put on that actually belonged to one of the other Old Ladies, as they called themselves. Essentially, they were the girlfriends and wives of the members of the motorcycle club. My cousin Jevry was, and, apparently, now I was too, even though Beau and I hadn’t actually made anything official.
In my heart, we were though. When I saw that girl, Ebony, with her claws all over him, something in me snapped, especially when he blatantly didn’t want her and asked her multiple times to leave him alone. If he’d let me, I would have beat her ass into the ground. I was pissed just thinking about it as I took the rest of the clothes and marched to the room Saria was in.
I knocked, but there was no answer, so I knocked again and put my ear to the door. A soft moan hit my ear, and I jerked away.
“Sorry,” I apologized. “I’ll leave the clothes outside. Sorry.”
A grin graced my lips as I left the clothes in a neat, folded pile on the floor, then turned and walked down the hall quickly before Saria could hear my giggle. But my merriment didn’t last long, and the small smile I had on my face fell as I came to the door of my other friend.
When I was last here, DeArie was still unconscious and had a hulking giant guarding her. I had no doubt that he was still watching over her. I didn’t know how much blood DeArie had lost or if she would wake soon, but I did hope. It was all I had where she was concerned. I knocked on the door.
“Come in,” the raspy voice of Beau’s brother reached me.
I turned the knob and pushed the door open, expecting the worst, but surprised when I saw DeArie wide awake and holding the hand of the giant.
“Oh my God,” I gasped and quickly walked to the other side of her bed. “I can’t believe you’re awake.”
Tears stung my eyes as I took in her weak smile.
“Hey.” Her voice came out like a tiny whisper. I leaned down and gently hugged her shoulders, hoping I didn’t hurt her. I felt a weak pat on the back of my shoulder.
“I’m so glad you didn’t die,” I whispered in her ear under the watchful gaze of this giant of a man.
“Thanks to Wolf, I hear.” DeArie turned to him and smiled.
He nodded and gave her a small smile back, which totally transformed the man’s face. Now, I could see the resemblance between him and Beau. They were both very handsome.
“I’ll leave you two to catch up. Where’s my brother?”
“With Loki,” I answered, and he dipped his head, leaving me with my friend.
As soon as the door closed, I squeezed DeArie’s hand.
“He’s so fine,” she muttered, then smiled.
“You are definitely feeling better,” I said, chuckling.
Then, there was a lull between us. A heavy, sad silence filled the room. Now that I was paying attention to my surroundings, the room looked much like the one I slept in of Beau’s last night. Nothing personal, just a place to lay down for the night.
“This is better than dead,” DeArie uttered, tears streaming down her cheeks.
I reached over and swiped my thumb under her eyes, clearing the tears away.
“It is better than being dead,” I agreed.
I leaned over again, resting my head on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry this happened to you. If not for me insisting we go to that stupid game, this wouldn’t have happened,” I said, sniffling. Now I was crying. I hated crying. I angrily wiped the tears from my eyes.
“This is not your fault,” DeArie said, trying to convince me. “This was their fault.”
“I know but…”
“No buts. The most important thing is that we are alive and met some really cute guys in the process,” she said, grinning, and I snorted.
Before long, we were both laughing.
“Oh. Don’t make me laugh. It hurts,” DeArie claimed, but we still couldn’t stop laughing. Not until Saria pushed the door open with her phone to her mouth.
“Okay, here she is,” Saria replied.
I cocked my head at her, brows drawn in confusion. Saria mouthed, Jevry.
“Fuck,” I muttered and closed my eyes, preparing for the onslaught I knew was coming.
I’d forgotten to call her to give her an update.
“Fuck is right!” she deadpanned. “You forgot my phone number or something?”
I sighed. “No, Jevry, I didn’t. There is just a lot going on here.”
“A lot going on? You won’t answer my calls, and Dragon wasn’t answering Stanton’s. We were fucking worried. My best friends in the whole wide world were attacked, and one of you was hurt.” She sniffled.
“We’re sorry,” the three of us said in unison.
“But Jevry, I’ve got something important to tell you. Is Stanton with you?”
“Yeah, I’m here,” he answered. “What’s this all about?”
“I know who and why they were after me,” I said.
DeArie’s eyes cut to mine and widened, but Saria seemed to not be surprised. Brick must’ve told her.
“Who?” Stanton growled, and for the first time since I’d met him, a small tinge of fear ran up my spine.
“Someone named Deacon Onassis of the Onassis Crime Syndicate. They thought I was Jevry.”
“What the fuck?” Stanton said as Jevry asked, “What do you mean?”
“Beau, I mean Dragon, and the others took one of their men from the accident and questioned him. He said that he came to collect what was owed to Elias Onassis. Said he’d bought me in Oakland.”
I paused, letting what I’d just said sink in.
“The man who the Russians sold me to after Ross kidnapped me,” Jevry said, putting it together.
I nodded like she could see me. “Yes.”
“The man I killed was from the Greek Mafia, then,” Stanton stated, he too putting things together.
“Apparently, and they came to collect their property. What I don’t know is when they started following me. Dragon has his suspicions, but nothing definitive.”
“I’ve got to talk to King,” I heard Stanton say to Jevry.
“Okay, be careful,” Jevry said to him.
“Jevry, I think they’ve been watching me since I moved to Fremont and took over your apartment,” I said.
Saria handed me the phone and went to sit with DeArie.
I could vaguely hear them talking about Brick and Wolf while I talked with Jevry.
“Damn, Lyra. That was almost six months ago,” Jevry calculated.
I walked across the room to the far corner and leaned against the wall.
“I know, but then that leaves the question of why now? Why not snatch me at home? Why wait until I’m halfway across the damn country to make a move?” I had more fucking questions than answers.
“If he thought you were me, then taking you during this trip makes so much sense. You’re away from Stanton and away from the Sinners. No family and New Orleans is crowded all year round. The perfect time to grab you,” Jevry reasoned.
I thought about what she said, and she was right. They almost got me right on the street in broad daylight. It really was an ingenious plan.
“Jevry, the fucked-up thing about all of this is I really liked the guy. Even danced with him at a bar. He tried to help me and fucking comfort me when I ran into him outside our hotel. Shit, he was probably there making sure they did the job for him.” I groaned. “I’m so fucking stupid.”
“No, you aren’t. You were having fun, which is exactly what you are supposed to be doing in New Orleans. How are the Sinners treating you all?”
I looked at my two friends in a very animated conversation about the two men who’d caught their eyes.
“They are treating us very well,” I answered, trying to keep the wistfulness out of my voice and failing miserably.
“That sounds promising,” Jevry said, chuckling.
“I will say it’s been an experience.”
“That good in bed, huh?” Jevry asked, and I gasped in surprise? Indignation? Embarrassment? Maybe all of them?
I didn’t even know, but I wasn’t going through it by myself.
“I think Saria and DeArie have admirers too,” I said loud enough for the other two to hear me.
“Nooo,” Jevry gasped, laughing. “Who?”
“Brick is the perfect gentleman,” Saria called out before I could say anything else.
“So, what were those moans I heard outside his room not even an hour ago when I brought you those clothes,” I joked with a big grin.
“Saria!” DeArie and Jevry said at the same time.
Their friend was such a church girl that it was surprising but also prideful to me that she would have a one-night stand.
“Well,” she mumbled. “He was just so nice and attentive.”
“That doesn’t mean you sleep with him!” I exclaimed.
“I know you’re not talking, Lyra. I’m not the one fighting over someone touching Dragon,” Saria retorted. “Fighting over dick, Lyra. For real?”
“That bitch had it coming,” I said, waving her incredulity away.
Jevry’s laughter rang out around the room. “I swear we are some kin. I kicked a bitch’s ass over Ace, too.”
“What? You didn’t tell us that?” I claimed, astonished.
I couldn’t believe it. When we were younger, Jevry liked to fight, but as we grew older, she calmed down a lot. I was the hothead, but I guess when it came to our men, that fight or flight reaction always leaned towards the fight side.
“Well, it wasn’t my finest moment, and Stanton was so mad that I was starting fights with the club whores. She called me a bitch and thought I was gonna let her put hands on me,” she told us.
“Well, this was a club whore who couldn’t take ‘fuck off’ for an answer, but Beau was far from upset. He had the biggest grin when I broke her arm.”
“You broke someone’s arm?” DeArie asked, her mouth and eyes in competition to see which grew the widest. “Holy shit, what has happened to you?”
I threw my head back, laughed, and shrugged. “She had it fucking coming, I’m telling you.”
Then the room grew somber again.
“I’m really glad you all are okay,” Jevry commented.
I looked over at DeArie, whose eyelids were drooping. “I’m glad too.”
“You’ll let us know what’s happening going forward?” Jevry asked. I could hear her no-nonsense tone.
“I promise I will. As soon as I can, I’ll update you and Stanton on what’s happening.”
“Good. Now that I’ve talked to you, I can go take a nap so my blood pressure can come down,” Jevry said. “I love you guys. Be safe.”
“We love you too,” I replied, then we hung up.
I handed Saria her phone back then sat on the other side of the bed.
“Okay, now tell me about this Brick.”
“Only if you tell us about Dragon,” DeArie stated, sitting up in the bed. She looked tired but happy. I was so glad she was on her way to recovery.
I looked at my two friends. We’ve been through so much these past few days. I tried and failed to blink back the tears that threatened to fall. It didn’t matter. I had a reason to cry. These particular tears were tears of relief that we all survived. I smiled when I saw the tears in their eyes too.
“Okay,” I agree, “but Saria, you go first. I want to know what the hell possessed our little church mouse.”