CHAPTER TWELVE
Three days later
– LINA –
“Still nothing?” I ask when Heart stomps out of church, a few of the other bikers following him.
I slowly sip my coffee in the large pink mug Norie just gave me. Heart holds up a finger, silently asking me to give him a minute. He comes to a stop next to Swade and leans in to whisper something.
Fatal wanders over to Norie and kisses her as if he needs to feed on her energy. Those two are clearly in love. Not something I’ve witnessed firsthand in my life, so when I see something real, I instantly recognize it. I swallow hard and divert my gaze just in time to see Heart stalking toward me.
He leans in and brushes a kiss against my lips. “Gotta go. We finally have a lead on Digby. Wesson put some kind of tracker on his father’s email, giving us the location of the fucker. Stay here with Norie, yeah?”
“Sure,” I mutter, and can hear the indifference in my own voice.
Heart frowns and wants to say something, but Sevrin calls for them to leave.
“Everything okay?” Norie asks.
“Sure,” I mutter once more.
Norie smacks my arm with the back of her hand. I don’t feel anything, and yet I do...sad? Pity? Jealousy? Am I really feeling sorry for myself because I want something Norie and Fatal have? With a man I’ve only met three freaking days ago?
“Could you stop having a discussion with yourself and talk to me instead?” Norie snaps, dragging me out of my mental rant.
“Then what? Expose myself as a needy idiot who feels sorry for herself and has no clue how to handle...whatever?” I grumble.
Norie shrugs. “Way better than talking yourself down. So, what reason do you have to feel sorry for yourself? From where I’m sitting it looked like Heart knows he faceplanted hard. Your reaction makes me think you did the same thing, but you can’t feel shit, so you don’t realize it. Am I close?”
“Huh?” is all I manage.
“Leave her alone, Norie,” Swade says from where he’s sitting at the bar.
Norie narrows his eyes at him. “Why don’t you leave us alone, Dad. We’re two old ladies chatting, which means it’s old ladies’ business.”
Swade snorts and I grin because it gets Norie’s father to turn his back to us again.
Lowering my voice, I tell Norie, “Everything is confusing. Heart only claimed me because Karev forced me on him, and...”
Norie’s eyes go wide and she holds her hand palm up to cut me off.
“Woah, let me stop you right there, honey. No one forces anything on a member of the Kings, even if it’s another brother doing the throwing and the other one getting a great catch.
Seriously, don’t even think Karev forced Heart into something. ”
“Did you just call me a great catch?” I murmur. “Definitely something I’m not.”
She shrugs. “You are.”
Now I’m the one shrugging and I can’t help but mutter, “I can’t throw for shit and it might run in the family. Did I mention I threw a dirt clod in Heart’s eye the night we met?”
Norie blinks and then she throws her head back to bark out a laugh.
Brushing away a tear of laughter, she asks, “Why the hell would you throw a clod in his eye?”
I purse my lips when I think back. “Well, I was hiding and he was standing in the middle of a dirt road. I can’t throw for shit, so I tried to aim for his ass. I hit his back and when he didn’t budge, I threw another one, but he turned, and...yeah, I hit him in the eye.”
Swade chuckles and I release a sigh. Maybe one day I might think it’s funny, but it’s not today.
Especially when I already feel shitty about the whole situation I put him in.
The only good thing he got out of this whole mess was two rounds of sex.
Well, it might be considered one time since he was still inside me when we did it again. Ugh. Not a great deal if you ask me.
“You’re stuck in your head again,” Norie states after she snaps her fingers in front of my face to catch my attention. “Maybe we should head out back, get in the ring and slap one another around?”
“Not happening, Norie. She has injuries and doesn’t feel any pain,” Swade states without glancing back.
Norie flips her father off. “True. Hey, let’s get into the hot tub, and...”
Swade cuts her off, “Wounds, Norie. Bad idea.”
“Motherfucker, you’re annoying,” Norie grumbles.
And then it hits me. “Heart gave you the order to keep my ass on this couch, didn’t he?”
That’s why he whispered stuff in Swade’s ear before he left. Swade’s shoulders stiffen, and I have my answer.
Norie takes my hand and tugs. “You know what we should do?”
I turn my head to face her and merely raise my eyebrow as an answer.
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t hurt yourself by being too enthusiastic.
Okay, how about this...we’ll think up best ways to torture people.
I’m pretty sure we’d get to try our techniques.
I mean, you’re the VP’s old lady and I’m the president’s old lady.
High ranking ladies and all, so we can do whatever we want. ”
“Except fight one another and soak in the hot tub together,” I grumble.
Norie gets to her feet and pulls me with her. “Come on, we’re going to sit in church to have some privacy and come up with loads of violent torture techniques.”
“You girls trying to steal my job?” Remus rumbles, making us both jump.
“Holy crap, dude. Wear a bell or something instead of sneaking up on a girl. I could have shanked you.” Norie glares at Remus.
Remus snorts. “With what? Your lollipop stick?”
Norie turns to me. “Good one. We could poke someone in the eye with a lollipop stick.”
“Replace the candy with an eyeball.” I bob my head. “Nice visual.”
Remus opens the door to church. “Inside you two. I’ll grab a notepad and a pen.”
Norie and I share a look and I whisper, “Does he seem a little too eager, or what?”
She bobs her head. “Yeah, but on the other hand...he’s the club’s enforcer.”
“So, he throws the punches around here? Keeping everyone in line and the first one kicking people’s ass when they need to be questioned?” I wonder out loud.
Remus chuckles. “Something along those lines.”
“Do you guys have like a manual I can borrow? I need to learn all the biker lingo. My brother hasn’t been very open about anything. Details about my birth, and being dumped were scarce, anything else I ask the fucker just clams up.” I stare at both Remus and Norie.
Remus sighs. “Ask your old man. He’s the one who determines what to share and what not.”
“Fine. Go grab the notepad and a pen. You’re taking notes while Norie and I bounce around ideas. Heart is tracking a lead to find Digby, and that fucker needs to die.” I can feel my eyes widen and slap a hand over my mouth.
Swallowing hard, I murmur between my fingers, “I swear I’m not a violent person.”
Remus shrugs. “Heart mentioned you woke up in the forest and watched those fuckers kick your friend to death, and discussing dismembering.”
I’m bobbing my head while I state, “Yeah, but I’m starting to doubt if Rob ever was my friend or just using me to steal expensive things.”
“Fucker is dead, so don’t blame yourself.” Remus slaps a notepad on the table in front of him and clicks his pen off and on. “Fire away, ladies.”
Norie taps on the notepad. “Write down the eyeball on a lollipop stick.”
“Are you numbering them?” I ask as I watch him write.
Remus grins. “Sure am. I’m going to get the brothers to guess how many different ways you two came up with and have them place bets. Gonna earn me some cold hard cash.”
“Fifty-fifty cut,” Norie snaps, and I bob my head in agreement.
“Fine, but you two better come up with some hilarious shit,” Remus grumbles.
“Like shoving maggots up a guy’s ass?” Norie asks without blinking.
I turn to Norie. “I don’t think that’s going to work.”
Norie’s shoulders sag. “Yeah, maggots don’t munch on healthy flesh. So, I guess it’s a torture technique after days of torture.”
Tapping the table near the notepad, I tell Remus, “Best to put that one near the bottom.”
“Near the bottom,” Norie repeats and snickers.
I grin and keep my gaze on Remus when I add, “I’m more of a mental torture fan...like when you put the hand of a guy in ice water to numb it and then flay the thing while he watches.”
“A fan,” Remus snorts as he writes.
And so it begins...at least we’re having fun, bouncing around ideas.
It also keeps my mind distracted enough not to worry about Heart.
Not only if he’s safe, but also all the emotional stuff along with my insecurities.
No wonder Karev mentioned I couldn’t have a relationship, even if he’s the very one who tied me to Heart.
Did I mention my life is fucking confusing? Talk about mental torture...I’m definitely not a fan when it concerns myself.