Page 23 of Devil's Queen
“Believe me, I understand that, but despite everything that has happened between Rex and me, he came here to warn me. I can’t just ignore that.” He’s still a fucking asshole for what he did to me, but he came to tell me at great risk to himself too. “The Zulu Kings would put a bullet between his eyes and leave his body in an alleyway if they knew he’d crossed this threshold.”
“It’s still a little too convenient for me. Any more skeletons in your closet you have lied to us about that could potentially take everything we’ve built away from us?” Cheyenne uncrosses her arms and leans against the table, her eyes narrowed in contemplation.
“No,” I respond. Out of all of my club sisters, I knew Cheyenne would be the one who took the news harder than the rest. She, Tinley, and I had banded together to form this club. We didn’t hide anything from each other except when it came to Beaux’s dad. “All of my cards are out on the table.”
Tinley considers Cheyenne’s question, her gaze flickering to me. “We need to trust Remy. It’s not an easy thing to do after she’s kept something like this from us, but we must remember why we’re all here. We’re a family, and families stick together. We can’t let this tear us apart.”
“Tinley’s right,” Maya interjects. “We focus on the bike theft. That’s our highest priority. But I think we need to talk to Rex. If he’s involved in the bike theft, we’ll deal with it accordingly. But if he’s telling the truth, we need to be there for Remy and Beaux, just like we always have been.”
He may be the last fucking person on Earth that I want to talk to or see right now, but they’re right to be suspicious. Had I not been a part of the conversation and witness body language, I would be suspicious too. “I’ll talk to him.”
“I think it should be one of us or at least one of us be there too.”
“It’s not necessary. I can handle him on my own.”
Maya raises her eyebrows. “Are you sure about that, Remy?”
“Yes,” I answer, though my soul is screaming at the thought of being alone with him again. “I’ll take care of it. I made this mess. I should be the one who cleans it up.”
REX
I hadn’t gottento spend much time with Birdie since I became president, and with Pike at the garage this morning, I decide to take off the morning and spend it with her. Miss Blanche had come back to get her around lunchtime to go to her afternoon preschool session, and I headed off to the garage. By the time I get to the garage, the place is buzzing.
Every single bay is filled with cars.
I walk into the garage, revving engines and clanging tools filling my ears. The air is thick with the familiar scent of motor oil and gasoline, a smell that always feels like home to me.
I peel off toward the office, where I find Pike sitting behind the desk.
“Well, well, look who decided to grace us with his presence,” he teases without looking up. His long, gray beard is braided into a single strand today.
“I see we’re busy this afternoon.”
“Sure are,” he remarks. “What’s a five-letter word for to make up for, as sins?”
I look at Pike quizzically, my mind trying to decipher his crossword puzzle clue. “Atone,” I reply after a moment of thought.
“Well, shit. I’d have never gotten that one.” Picking up the pencil near his hand, he begins to fill in something on the paper in front of him.
“So, what’s the situation with all these cars?” I ask, gesturing toward the bustling garage. “We running a sale or something?”
“It’s Ladies’ Day.”
I arch an eyebrow. “When did we start that?”
“Today. Tweeted or whatever you guys call it, and bam, we’re busy. Go look in the waiting room, and you tell me Ladies’ Day is a bad idea.”
Intrigued by Pike’s response, I walk toward the waiting room. As I push open the door, I’m met with a scene that surprises me. The room is filled with women of all ages chatting animatedly and flipping through old car magazines. An older lady looks up from her seat and winks at me.
“You the one lubing my car, sugar?”
“No, ma’am. I’m not.”
She looks me up and down before she bites her lip. “Too bad. I’d have brought my lawn chair with me if you were. Get me that front-row seat to the show.”
“I’ll keep that in mind the next time you’re in for an oil change.”
I chuckle at the older lady’s flirtatious comment, realizing that Pike may have stumbled upon a genius marketing strategy. I walk through the room, exchanging friendly nods and smiles with the women patiently waiting for their cars to be serviced. It dawns on me that this Ladies’ Day idea could not only boost our business but also create a sense of camaraderie among the female clientele.