But I was wrong. I was starting to suspect that I’d fallen for him the first time he sent a flirty smirk in my direction.
My heart rate tripled, and I felt like a curtain had been pulled back in my mind, revealing what had been hidden just out of sight for so long. I wanted to be with Blade. I wanted it more than I wanted to connect with my dad. Because now that Piper had suggested it, I realized that was exactly what I was doing. I was trying to chase an elusive relationship with my dad through the damn motorcycle club that always meant more to him than I did. It was never going to happen, but I could have something good with Blade if I hadn’t blown it already.
I could hardly wait to get through the rest of the day after this revelation. I sent a text to Blade, simply asking if he was available to meet up this evening, but after almost an hour with no response, I felt my heart sink.
Why didn’t he respond? What was he up to?
* * *
That evening,I went to Piper’s house for our weekly poker game. I was distracted by my annoyingly silent cell phone, which made me a better player, to my surprise. I wasn’t too focused on the cards, making me a hell of a bluffer, and I wasn’t overthinking everything.
I still hadn’t heard back from Blade.
“You won’t believe what I heard,” Veronica was saying as she shuffled the cards. I was only half-listened to the conversation at this point. Tammy had been prattling on and on about her wedding plans for the last twenty minutes. I loved the woman, but it wasn’t the most interesting topic. Besides, I wasn’t in a good headspace to discuss her happily ever after.
“Oh, are we gossiping?” Piper asked as she walked in with a fresh beer for me and a glass of wine for herself.
“Most definitely,” Veronica winked. I took the beer from Piper’s outstretched hand and was in the middle of my first sip when Veronica continued, “Last night, someone shot the president of that motorcycle club. I think they’re called the Outlaws.”
I nearly choked.
“Outlaw Souls,” Piper corrected, shooting me a concerned look.
I gulped, swallowing the beer in my mouth so that I could speak.
“How do you know this?” I asked, the panic in my voice was clear, but I didn’t care. Blade calling into work the day after Ryder takes a bullet was too much of a coincidence. What if he was hurt too?
I really hoped this had nothing to do with Las Balas, but I wasn’t naive. They were enemies, after all.
“I’m good friends with one of the ER nurses over at La Playa Regional Hospital. She said he was brought in two nights ago with a bullet in his gut. Had to have surgery to get it out.”
I needed to see Blade. I had to make sure that he was okay. I could tell that he cared about Ryder when he came in for a tattoo. This must be killing him. I also wanted to make sure that he knew I had his back, no matter what. I wasn’t a member of Las Balas, no matter how much I had been acting like it. I was his girl all along, even if I didn’t realize it.
“I need to go,” I said, putting my cards down and standing.
“Is something wrong?” Tammy asked. Veronica looked concerned, too, but Piper just gave me a small smile.
“I have to go see Blade,” I told Piper. She’d explain the situation to the others. I didn’t want to waste time.
I wasn’t sure where Blade would be tonight, but I decided to try his apartment first. If he wasn’t there, I’d go to the Outlaw Souls bar, the Blue Dog. I’d never been there before, but I knew where it was.
I left Piper’s house and had just gotten into my car when my cell phone rang. I answered it immediately without even pausing to check the caller ID, hoping it would be Blade.
“Hello?”
“Kat.”
“Lexie?”
It was Jason’s girlfriend, and I could tell that she was crying. It was as though a fist had just reached into my chest and started squeezing my heart. There must be something wrong with Jason.
“What’s happened?” I asked sharply, needing her to talk to me. I started up the car and headed in the direction of Jason’s apartment building.
“It’s Jason. He’s been hurt.”
“Is he in the hospital?”
There was no way this was a coincidence. Ryder was shot, and now Jason was injured. What the hell was going on between Las Balas and Outlaw Souls?
