Chapter Sixteen
“What about the compound itself?” Elena asked, unable to hold back her nosiness any longer. It was something she’d always been curious about but never comfortable enough to ask about until now. The details on the land that the Iron Seeds built up just outside of town were murky at best. There were lots of rumors about the place but so far there hadn’t been anyone confirming or denying any of the ones flying around. “Do you get a lot of look-ee-loos out there trying to see what ya’ll are up to?”
“Sometimes,” Viny answered with a nod. “Lately we’ve had a few people from that crazy church in Topeka sneaking around but they don’t do anything. It’s easy to ignore them, especially when security around the place is so tight. They can’t get close enough to see anything.”
“Do you want to see what we get up to?” Pax asked her, his brows raised.
His question had her eyes widening. The idea was both exciting and scary.
“Now?” she asked, unable to hide the genuine horror in her voice. The last time she’d been out that way, the ruins at Stull had creeped her out. It felt like the type of place Mama J would walk through holding her rosary while saying prayers. Plus, they may not have watched the show they were talking about earlier, but she had. It wouldn’t be the place she’d want to visit on a dark and stormy night. Just thinking about it gave her the heebie jeebies. She didn’t care if she had to tuck and roll from the passenger seat of this truck; there was no fucking way she was ready to visit the potential gates of hell tonight. For one, she wasn’t that type of girl; especially on the first date. Second, she was—admittedly—a huge fucking pussy when it came to anything scary. “Have you ever seen a scary movie? That’s how people die.”
“Do you like scary movies?” Tanner asked curiously.
“No!” she half-yelled, hoping they weren’t horror junkies. Being scared wasn’t her idea of a good time. She had an extensive knowledge of the genre thanks to the Medina brothers, but she still couldn’t watch one with the volume on. “But even I know that scenario is just asking for someone to get hacked to pieces.”
“Hacked to pieces?” Vinyl repeated with a raised brow, obviously trying not to laugh.
She gave him a nod. “Lots of ‘em. And I don’t know about you, but I’d like to keep all my pieces unhacked please and thank you.”
“Nobody’s losing limbs,” Pax chuckled, pulling her attention from the guys in the backseat. He gave her a gentle smile as his hand slid over the center divider to hold hers. “We’ve kept you out late enough considering what time the garage opens tomorrow. What about Friday night?”
“I don’t know…” she hesitated. There were a lot of reasons for her to just simply say no, but the word refused to come out.
Their date tonight had gone surprisingly well; better than any other date she’d ever had in her limited dating history. The guys were funny, nice, ridiculously good looking, employed, not registered as a sex offenders, and they were interested in her. All of them.
More importantly, she liked them back. All of them.
Individually they checked off all her boxes of what she was looking for in a man. Combined, they blew even her wildest dreams out of the water— and she had some pretty wild dreams . The books she read had planted some dirty ideas in her head, particularly the reverse-harem collection she’d been growing over the last few years, and the possibility of living out her greatest fantasy was more tempting than she could handle. Add in the protective vibe they surrounded her with, she was done for. They made her feel treasured . She’d be a fool to walk away.
Right?
“We’ll make dinner,” Tanner offered as Pax pulled into her driveway.
The porch light was on, and the curtains were closed but Elena had no doubt her roomies had stayed up to spy. On the nights she had to take a rideshare home, they were usually standing ready and waiting for her on the front porch—generally with a baseball bat. You’d think it was overkill, but it’d come in handy once with a driver that wanted to ‘linger and chat’.
Were they just dropping her off here in the driveway or was someone going to walk her up? What about a goodnight kiss? Did her breath smell okay?
“I’m not sure.” She was too busy worrying about everything else right now.
“I’ll handle dessert.” Vinyl nudged Tanner out of the way where he was leaning between him and Elena. “What do you like?”
“Pie,” she answered automatically.
“We love pie,” Tanner quipped before letting out a yelp. “I was talking about actual pie, asshole.”
“Ouch, fucker!”
She couldn’t keep from giggling as Tanner and Vinyl began to scuffle in the backseat.
“Guys!” Pax barked, his tone separating the two men where they’d been elbowing each other. When he looked back at Elena, he grimaced. “I promise they’re usually better behaved.”
“We’re not dogs.” Vinyl rolled his eyes, still pushing back and forth with his friend.
“Then act like it,” Pax shot back with a glare via the rearview mirror.
“I was just wondering what type of pie she liked,” Tanner mumbled.
Elena had to bite back a smile when he gave Vinyl the skunk-eye.
“You’re the one who made it dirty.”
“Because you’re always dirty.” Vinyl pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long-suffering sigh.
“Still deserve an apology,” Tanner said with a sniff.
Vinyl rolled his eyes as he turned to look at his buddy. “I’m sorry I assumed you were talking about—”
“What kind do you like, Elena?” Pax interrupted before he could finish. “Apple, pecan, cherry? What about cobbler? Everyone likes cobbler, right?”
“I love it,” Elena snickered, more than a little amused by the interaction between her dates. It wasn’t the first time she had to hold in her laughter tonight. The men acted like a trio of brothers instead of simple friends. It was incredibly entertaining. Watching them interact with each other was better than scrolling TikTok .
“When it comes to pie though, I love pumpkin. The only problem is you can’t find it anywhere until October rolls around. Luckily, my birthday falls in October so it’s usually what I have instead of cake. I just get a big one from Sam's and live off it for a week.”
“When in October?” Vinyl asked. “Mines on the sixth.”
“I’m on the fifth,” she told her birthday buddy with a grin. “Want some of my pie?”
The words had already left her lips by the time she realized what she’d said.
“That’s what she said,” Tanner deadpanned, breaking the silence.
Elena tried not to laugh but failed. The look on all their faces was too funny for her to keep a straight face. A second later, the men joined her.
They were just calming down when the curtain covering the large front window of her house shifted, letting her know for certain they had an audience.
“Is someone watching us?” Pax asked, obviously having caught the movement too.
“Just the roomies making sure I get in okay,” she said, reaching for the door.
“Let us,” Pax said, stopping her.
Tanner slid out and opened her door to help her down. He was joined quickly by Pax and Vinyl. The men surrounded her, Pax claiming her free hand as they walked as a group towards the front porch.
“Would Friday work?”
“Would Friday work for what?” Elena asked, wondering if she’d drifted off and missed something again. It had happened once or twice during dinner when one of the men had reached for something and flashed her some forearm. She didn’t know why, but a strong set of arms always made her heart beat a little faster.
“To come out to the compound.”