“Yep,” I replied to Sutton, “he finally did something I liked with that sinful mouth of his.”
“Bitch,” Lennon snapped, giving me an elbow to the ribs, “he licked you like he was trying to find the Tootsie Roll center of your Tootsie Pop. Some of us are living in desert-like sex conditions, so please give the situation the respect it deserves.”
Sutton raised her mug in agreement with Lennon. “Any man who eats your kitty recreationally deserves a round of applause. And from the way you tell the story, it seems like you enjoyed it?” I nodded enthusiastically. “So what’s the problem?”
Lennon and I shared a loaded look, and she gestured to our new friend like it was on me to explain. After some meds and a greasy breakfast, she was looking slightly less dead but still a little wobbly.
“Priest and I had a rocky start, you could say. He didn’t like me when I first arrived at the compound, and I didn’t like him after he tortured me in his discount dungeon.”
“Uhm, what?” Sutton cocked her head to the side.
“Ohhh, fun! Story time! So there I was in my third favorite alleyway in Reno, minding one hundred percent of my own business when this guy, Hoodie Guy, came up behind me…” I launched into an abridged story of how I came to live with the Crows and how Priest tortured me a little bit when he was having a tough time using his big-boy words. Sutton listened intently, eyes narrowing at times, until I had caught her up to date.
“So I’m trying to figure out what all this means. Am I supposed to get him flowers or something? What happens now? Does this mean helikelikes me? You two are almost all the way normal, what do you think?”
“Almost normal?” Lennon asked.
“You know what I mean, bestie. You’d have to be at least a little quirky for Sheila to like you, and you’re her favorite after me.”
“And Sheila’s your van, correct?” Sutton asked, her expression relaxed, but her eyes calculating like the monkey inside her lawyer brain was typing up a list of characters in her head so she could keep everyone straight.
“Hell yeah, she is. I’ll introduce you two later.”
“Well then, it sounds simple to me,” Sutton said, finishing her coffee. “You’re exploring your sexuality, which is a completely normal thing to do. You can explore it with Priest, or someone else, or by yourself. As long as everyone involved is a consenting adult, I’d just take things one day at a time and give yourself space to process in the meantime. There’s no rush, right?”
“That’s what I’ve been saying,” Lennon cut in. “Just because the man went down on you doesn’t mean you have to marry him. If you want to put yourself out there, you can date around a bit and see if you have more chemistry with someone else. Or you can go solo for a while.” She shrugged. “Jilling off is fun, and there’s no drama involved.” Briar chose that moment to bring us the check, and I thought I heard a sighed, “Amen, sister,” under her breath before she walked away to check on another customer.
“So the Wicked Sisterhood is in agreement, then. Orgasms are fun, and boys are nice but not a necessity.” Sutton and Lennon snickered a bit while I grabbed the check and headed to the counter. I sent out the SOS, so breakfast was on me. Briar smiled at me as she rang me up, and I couldn’t help giving her a quick scan as I waited. The bell over the door tinkled again, and Briar spoke over her shoulder to the newcomer. “Go ahead and sit wherever you’d like. I’ll be with you in just a moment.”
My eyes widened in delight when I saw who had just walked through the door. “Hey, Ratched! How’s it going, big guy?” Ratched blushed a bit as I hugged him and nodded awkwardly to Briar. “We were just heading out, but we can stay and keep you company if you want? I recommend the blueberry pancakes. They pair excellently with a peanut butter milkshake.” I gestured over to Sutton and Lennon, who waved at Ratched.
“No, you guys are already finished. I was just going to grab a quick bite after my shift and then go home and crash.” Ratched’s eyes keptflicking over to Briar, and I got the feeling he hadn’t only stopped at Misty’s Diner for their pancakes.
Lennon and Sutton followed me out of the diner and to the parking lot, where Sheila sat in the back corner of the lot looking glorious in the glow of the morning sun. “Sutton, this charming van is my best bitch, Sheila. Sheila, this is Sutton. She’s a badass lady lawyer and the newest recruit for our vigilante femme fatale girl group.” Sutton looked confusedly at Lennon, who winked at me.
“Uh,” Sutton said awkwardly. “Hello? Thank you for breakfast, Indigo. It was… illuminating to say the least. I do have to ask before I go, though…”
“Yeah?” I walked with Sutton over to a sleek-looking black Porsche, which she tossed her purse into.
“How much of your past with Priest is Riordan aware of? He is… well, intense would be a good word. He feels very protective of you right now, and if he knew—”
“Riordan doesn’t know, and I didn’t feel the need to tell him. I mean… Priest was punished by Duke for disobeying his order, and he and I came to an understanding of our own. I can handle myself. I didn’t pinky swear you to secrecy, so you can tell Riordan about our discussion if you want to, but I don’t think he’ll be interested in hearing about…everything. You know?”
Sutton chuckled. “Oh, he definitely wouldn’t want all the gory details, but if he asks me what we discussed today, you won’t mind if I give him the broad strokes?”
I quirked my eyebrow up sassily. “And if I did? Would you lie to him?”
“No,” she admitted, “my loyalty is to my family first. I’m like you… the only family I have left is the one I found and built on my own. I won’t lie to them. But I do like you. I won’t share details you wish to keep private.”
“Good.” I slapped Sutton on the back. “That was a test. I’d hate to have to kill you for betraying my cousin. That would suck, and it’d throw off the whole vibe I’m trying to cultivate for the Wicked Sisterhood. See you later!” I waved at a bewildered-looking Sutton, whogot into her car and didn’t waste time pulling out of the lot. Lennon stood where I left her, leaning against Sheila and texting on her phone.
In hindsight, I’d say my bestie needed to work on her situational awareness. She was too involved in her phone to notice the sound of a vehicle speeding toward us from the alley next to the diner and didn’t look up until a rusty old pickup truck with a cover over the truck bed slammed on the brakes and stopped right behind Sheila. Two men, wearing leather cuts and matching grim expressions, hopped out of the truck and closed in on us. Lennon dropped her phone and tried to dodge the man who grabbed for her. The man who grabbed Lennon was brandishing a handgun, and I let out a whoop of frenzied glee when Lennon knocked it out of his hand. The other guy came at me fast, trying to grab me around the middle and drag me behind his truck.
Fists were flying, but I couldn’t give the asshat who was trying to ruin my post-breakfast vibes my full attention because I was too worried about my bestie. I was hella proud of her, but Lennon had never been in a real-world violent scenario, and I couldn’t help but want to mother hen her right now. Dodging around the guy currently trying to knock me out, I sent two vicious jabs into his kidneys. He reared back in pain, and I took advantage of his position and slammed his face into the hood of the truck once, twice, three times before he finally went limp and collapsed to the pavement.
My bestie was putting up a good fight, but as the stranger maneuvered her closer and closer to the tailgate of his truck, I could see panic overriding her senses. Tears fell from widened eyes onto flushed cheeks, and she struggled against his hold. I rounded the truck on the opposite side, having to squeeze between the brick wall of the diner to fit into the alleyway. Our mystery attacker also needed to work on his situational awareness, as he didn’t notice me coming up behind him while he was trying to get Lennon into the truck. I kicked my booted foot into the back of his knee, causing his leg to buckle slightly and drawing his attention away from my bestie. I landed a jab into his lower back as Lennon hit him with a hook across the face. He didn’t seem to appreciate us ganging up on him.
Lennon and I rained blows on the asshole, who fell and hit the side of his head on the truck’s tow-hitch. I dropkicked him in the face for goodmeasure, causing him to crumple to the ground. Lennon’s panicked voice called me back from the edge of that dark, empty place inside my head that urged me to land justone moreblow. Unable to resist, I stomped down on his head one more time before I allowed Lennon to tow me back. We were both breathing heavily. Lennon had a busted lip and a swollen cheek where her attacker must have gotten her. I glared at the still body lying in the alleyway, contemplating going back for another kick for daring to hurt my best friend when Lennon’s words finally filtered through to my brain.
