Chapter 48
CHAPTER
FORTY-EIGHT
ELODIE
I’m not sure how we even finished cleaning that last house, but we did it in record time. Everything about it is a complete blur. Alex drives the car straight to the Iron Flame clubhouse. He’s on a mission to find out exactly what the hell is going on.
I can’t think. I can’t see. I’m having a hard time even breathing. This can’t be real. I cannot believe that this is all happening right this second. I suck in a breath, and my eyes slide closed as I try to calm myself down. I feel like I might actually end up having a panic attack.
The dark desert highway doesn’t help matters. It feels like we’re driving straight into the damn abyss. Luckily, it doesn’t take us long to get where we’re going. When we pull up to the little guard shack thing, I look over to the man who is walking up to the car window.
Alex rolls the window down, and I can tell by his tone that he’s just as annoyed as I am, although he’s nicer than I would probably be right now, which is why I let him handle the moment.
Thankfully, the guard doesn’t ask many questions.
He must recognize my car. I mean, the gigantic magnet on the side that reads: Dirty Little Secrets Cleaning Service doesn’t hide anything at all.
The man flicks his gaze over to me, his eyes taking in my entire body, then back up to meet my eyes before he gives me a smirk.
“I’ll open the gate. Have a good one,” he announces, tapping the top of the car before he turns around and heads back into his little shack.
The gate opens slowly, and Alex shifts the car into Drive before he eases forward.
My heart begins to beat a bit more rapidly.
Each inch forward makes my breathing come out a bit more ragged than the last. And then we’re in the makeshift parking area.
I don’t look around for Coast’s bike, because I have no idea which one would be his. They all look the same to me.
Opening the car door, I shift around, placing my feet flat on the gravel parking area. I start to stand when I feel fingers grip my elbow. Turning my head, I look back at Alex. I can clearly see the worried expression on his face.
He doesn’t speak immediately. His gaze searches mine in silence. I’m about to pull my arm from his grasp when he finally speaks. His words cause my spine to tingle, and I don’t know if it’s in a good way or not.
“Whatever happens here, I want you to know that I appreciate all you’ve done for me over the years. I don’t think I would have survived out here on my own without you. And for what it’s worth, I like Wrath a lot. I want this to work for you.”
“But?” I ask.
He smiles softly, his hand falling from my elbow. “No but. Just, you deserve love, and you deserve to have a man who looks at you the way Wrath looks at you.”
My heart squeezes, but I have to ask the question because I really want to hear the answer. I don’t know why, but I need to hear it. I need to know. So, when I ask him, my voice is barely above a whisper.
“How does he look at me, Alex?”
His lips curve up into a grin, his gaze searches mine for a moment, and then he speaks, and it rocks me all over again. “Elodie,” Alex whispers, “he looks at you like you’re the only woman on earth. Like he’s starving and you’re a steak dinner. Like he could love you.”
Love.
That never truly crossed my mind. I don’t know anything about love. How to love, and certainly not how to be loved. The man can’t even send me a damn text, and Alex is here talking about love.
“You’re crazy,” I murmur under my breath.
He laughs softly. “Yeah, I am. But not so crazy that I’m blind to the fact that this is real with him.”
“He’s not a good guy,” I say. “That fire. That’s not good.”
Alex shrugs a shoulder. “Yeah, well, it’s not like any of us are good. Not really.”
“I think that level of not good is a little higher than, say, someone who doesn’t put the shopping cart back at the grocery store.”
“Beggars can’t be choosers, and he wants you, babe. Don’t ruin what could be.”
My brows snap together as my gaze searches his for a long moment. He doesn’t say anything as he watches me. Then his lips twitch into a smirk. He leaves me hanging as he opens the driver’s door and unfolds from the car. I stay where I am, Alex’s words playing on a loop inside my head.
When I stand from the car, I look around the parking lot, no longer feeling like I’m going to hyperventilate, but still nervous and upset about what happened.
Alex’s words have made me feel lighter, though, and I don’t know if they should, because Coast can’t love me.
He doesn’t know me. Clearly, I sure as shit don’t know him, either.
Alex walks in front of me. The way he opens the door to the bar and just waltzes in with an air of confidence is something I could only wish to possess. Meanwhile, I slip in behind him, wondering what the hell my eyes are going to be assaulted with when I find the courage to look around.
I’m surprised to see that everyone is at least somewhat clothed. The music is playing low, the murmurings are just as low, and something is vibrating through the room that I don’t quite understand. And then everything goes quiet. I can feel them all looking at me.
“Alex,” I whisper.
He hums as he moves forward, then steps to the side. I take another step. The room is focused on me and only me. I don’t understand it. Then the leader, Dare, emerges from the group of lookie-loos and closes the distance between us.
Tipping my head back slightly, I look up into his eyes. “You good, babe?”
I open my mouth, my brows snapping together in confusion, because I don’t understand why he’s asking or what he’s asking me. I open my mouth, then snap my lips closed. I don’t know how to respond to it.
“Look upset. Just want to make sure you’re good.”
I open my mouth again, but the words don’t come out. Then I hear a noise behind me, and I spin around to see Coast walk through the door, with three guys behind him.
The other three are dressed in tuxedos, but they all wear serious expressions on their faces, their jaws set tightly.
I stare at them in confusion, but Coast doesn’t seem confused at all.
I don’t know if he senses me, but he strolls directly toward me.
He doesn’t look anywhere else but right into my eyes, and he doesn’t stop until he’s right there.
Right in front of me.
He’s so close that his entire body is almost touching mine. I want to reach out, curl my fingers in his shirt, and force his body to touch every inch of mine. I forget why I came down here, and then he lifts his hands, cupping my cheeks, before he leans down and kisses me.
I forget my own name.
He kisses me in the middle of the bar, surrounded by all of his guys…
and those girls. No fucks given. His tongue slips inside my mouth to taste me thoroughly.
And I love every second of it. The rest of the people in the bar melt away.
If they’re watching us, I wouldn’t know, and, more importantly, do not care.
My back arches, my chest presses against his. I want to feel him this way naked. I wish we were naked. I don’t think I would even say no if he wanted to get naked right here in the middle of the bar.
I’m pretty sure I would do just about anything.
When he breaks the kiss, he rests his forehead against mine before he pulls completely away. I feel his panting breath wash over my face. It’s sexy, and goose bumps break out over every inch of my skin.
I curl my fingers around his wrists, holding on to him, trying to keep him close to me.
He lifts his head, much to my dismay, and shifts it back slightly.
When his gaze finds mine, he just smiles.
Then the entire room around us erupts in cheers and applause.
Coast chuckles, and that’s when I let my hands fall from his wrists.
“What are you doing here, Haze?” he asks.
Everything from the news, the reality of what happened, slams into me so hard that I physically jolt. I take half a step backward, my spine straightening. I think about not telling him anything yet, sure that this is something we should talk about in private instead.
But I have to say something. He wants to know why I’m here, and I have to tell him what made me come down here in my dirty work clothes covered in sweat. Starving, exhausted, and dirty.
“I saw the news.”
It’s all I can say. The words tumble out of me. I can’t stuff them back inside as much as I’d like to. I expect him to get pissed at me or at least frown, but he doesn’t. He dips his chin in a single nod.
He understands what I’m saying.
He knows what I mean.
He doesn’t question it further, almost as if my thinking is right.
This conversation doesn’t need to happen in an open forum.
Whatever he has to say, he doesn’t want his men to hear.
Which is fine with me, because I want him to be honest with me, and I don’t think he would be with an entire roomful of people watching us.
“We’ll discuss it later,” he murmurs.
Coast lowers his head again, his lips brushing mine. “We’ll discuss this later.”
I say all I can think to say. “Okay.”
He moves back slightly, then takes a full step backward. He doesn’t move away from me, though. Instead, he slips his arm around my waist and tugs me against his side. Dare takes a step forward, shifting so he’s standing in front of Coast.
“In my office. I need a debrief before your night commences.”