Page 32 of Deadly North
“What the fuck?” Reed explodes. “You’re leavin’ the fuckin’ Road Captain behind on a club run?”
“Hate to do it,” Norse adds, backing up the prez. “But we need someone to stay behind and guard Gigi. And you’re the best shot of all of us.”
“Motherfucker,” Reed mutters. “This is bu?—”
“Careful with your fuckin’ words, Reed.” Norse interrupts him sharply. “I know you ain’t questioning your president’s decision.”
Reed’s mouth clamps shut. His jaw works, biting back whatever he wants to say.
“Good,” Magnus says on a nod. “Mack, Black, and Norse, get over to the warehouse and make sure the shipment is ready to be transported. The rest of you, be ready to ride in the next few hours.”
At Magnus’s words, I know I’m gonna have next to no time to myself before we leave on this run. I sure as shit don’t have enough time to hash through whatever happened between Gigi and me. That shit’s gonna have to wait until I get back and I can get a moment alone with her, assuming she even wants to talk to me. One day ain’t gonna hurt anything, after all.
As I get ready to leave for the warehouse, I know it’s gonna be hard as shit pushing Gigi out of my mind. But that’s what I have to do. My club counts on me to be clearheaded when we’re out on club business, same as any other member. Whether I like it or not, this thing with Gigi is on the back burner until I return.
16
GIGI
Mack isn’t the one who tells me the club is going on a run. Connor is.
My brother comes knocking on the door to my apartment, with Reed in tow. “The club’s got business out of town,” he says. “Reed’s your protection until we get back.”
In my experience, Reed isn’t exactly a smiley guy, but he looks even more cranky than usual. The only indication he even acknowledges what Connor just said is a slight flare of his nostrils.Great. Reed’s not happy to be doing this.Well, at least it’s not my fault he’s stuck guarding me.
I resist the urge to ask my brother why Mack isn’t the one staying behind. I should be relieved, given the fight we had and where we left things. Instead, I feel unsettled and frustrated. I try to push down those feelings, though. Magnus is probably the one who made the call of who’s going on the run. Still, the idea that Mack might have volunteered to get away from me makes my heart plummet.
Connor puts a hand on my shoulder. “You need to promise me you’ll stick close to Reed and not leave the compound without him,” he says in a low voice. “Understood?”
“Yeah, don’t worry,” I say, trying to sound casual. Connor doesn’t know Mack and I had a fight. Hell, Connor doesn’t even know that Mack and I are anything but a reluctant bodyguard and a reluctant guarded body. “I won’t try to make an escape under Reed’s watch.”
“Good deal.” He claps Reed on the back. “See you when we get back, brother.”
Reed’s jaw ticks, the only indication he’s got an opinion about this. “His eyes flick to me. Come find me if you need me to take you anywhere.”
Since running into Mack right now would just make our fight feel worse, I opt to stay in my apartment until I hear the roar of motorcycle engines fading into the distance. I don’t know how many Royal Bastards are going on this run, but from the sound of it, I’d say almost the entire club. I decide to take the rare opportunity of looking around the clubhouse without the presence of most of its members. I open up a can of wet food for Tedward as a special treat, tell him to be good, and venture out to see what I can see.
Out in the main rooms of the clubhouse, it’s as deserted as I expected to be, and the experience is surreal. Unlike the normal din of laughter, music, and shit-talking, you could hear a pin drop in here right now. I peer out the front window and see two prospects standing guard at the entrance to the compound. But other than them and Reed, it looks like I’m the only other person here. I explore all the rooms I dare, even peeking inside the sacred members-only space of the chapel. For the first few hours, the quiet is sort of nice. But after a while, the boredom starts to get to me. I feel like I’m turning around in circles, with nothing to do and no one to talk to. Even Tedward seems determined to nap the day away.
My saving grace from going stir-crazy comes in the form of a phone call from my sister-in-law.
“Hey, are you up for a girls’ night and sleepover here at the house?” Kat asks. “I’m inviting my friend Christy, too. You remember, the one who works with me at the hospital?”
“Sure, that would be great! And of course I remember her. She’s the one who’s an emergency nurse like you, right?”
“That’s the one. Oh, and I also called Little Big Mama. I thought she’d be down for some fun.” I’d forgotten that Mama was probably around here somewhere, too. She must have holed up in her own apartment. “Since the men are off on the run, there’s no one to bartend for, so she’s free.”
Kat tells me what time to show up, and I go off to find Reed and ask him to drive me and Little Big Mama over there.
On the drive over, Reed doesn’t say a single word. Little Big Mama and I make small talk so that the car won’t be completely silent. I find out that her actual name is Melissa, or Mel for short. She’s really nice, and funny, too. I feel kind of bad that up until now, I haven’t really had any conversations with her other than her asking me for my drink order.
Kat greets us at the door, a half-full margarita glass in her hand. “Hey, come on in!” she says, standing back to let us through. “We started early on the drinks, so you ladies are gonna have to catch up. Christy’s downstairs.”
Kat and Connor have a fantastic finished full basement, with an amazing entertainment area set-up, complete with a huge flat-screen TV, a wet bar, and a giant U-shaped sectional. It’s the perfect place for an adult sleepover.
“Where’s Julia?” I ask, kicking off my shoes.
“She’s asleep up in the nursery. I have the baby monitor so I can check on her, but she should be down for the night.”