I understood it. It had been like this since I met King. There was always someone watching over me, or so it seemed. I was surprised he didn’t have someone sitting at my house every night. But then again, if he did, he wouldn’t be able to come and go as he pleased.
We ordered our coffees and sat down at a table, waiting for Audrey to drop them off. Colleen didn’t waste any time bringing up King.
“What’s the story between you and my cousin?” Colleen asked.
Indie snorted beside me, and I shoved her shoulder.
“There is no story.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Indie snarked.
I closed my eyes and sighed. “There is nothing going on between King and me.”
“Then what the hell was that in the kitchen? ’Cause that wasn’t nothing,” Colleen asked.
“What happened in the kitchen?” Indie asked, suddenly all ears.
I liked Indie. She was young. A year younger than Mimic and Kytten. I didn’t know her story because I had been avoiding the clubhouse, but I knew she was running from something. Now that she was with Mimic, she could stop running. The Silver Shadows would protect her with their lives.
The bell over the door jingled, and I instinctively looked up. Colleen and Indie both followed my gaze. Colleen’s mouth hung open, and I chuckled as Audrey set our order on the table and then stuck her finger under Colleen’s chin to close it for her.
“Right?” she said with a wink and went back behind the counter to wait on the man who walked in.
I recognized him immediately and wondered where he had disappeared to the night the bar was attacked.
Jude looked my way and winked. I dropped my gaze down to my cup, ignoring him, hoping he wouldn’t walk over this way. When I realized that was exactly what he was doing, I spared a quick glance at Mimic, who’d moved from his bike as he watched the man.
“Hello, Grace.”
“Jude.”
“You don’t look happy to see me.” He flashed a smile, showing off his perfect white teeth. The bell of the door jingled again, and I knew without looking, it was Mimic.
Indie stood, but I didn’t spare her a glance; my eyes remained locked on the man who disappeared as soon as the cops showed up the other night.
“Why did you disappear?” I asked, crossing my arms and sitting back. He’d given me a weird vibe the other night, and the one I was getting now wasn’t any better.
Colleen was watching me intently, but she stayed silent, as did Indie. Mimic, however, normally a man of few words, decided he was in the mood to talk.
“Who the fuck are you?”
Jude looked over at Mimic, his eyes dropping to the patch on his cut. He smiled again before turning back to me.
“I left because I wasn’t ready for King to know I’m here.”
Mimic took a step closer to Jude, and Indie put a hand on his arm. “Public space,” she whispered.
“Listen to your woman, kid,” Jude hissed. “I don’t care what you think you can do; I promise you I can do worse.”
“Why didn’t you want King to know you were here? And why change it now?” I asked.
“Because I’m sure Banshee has already spilled the beans.”
“You’re Chasm,” Mimic said. “The dead man.”
“Not so dead anymore,” he offered, holding his arms out to display his fully intact body. He turned back to me. “Give King a message for me?” When I didn’t reply, he chuckled and said, “Tell the son of a bitch I’m coming for him.”
Indie slipped in front of Mimic, pushing him back with her hands on his chest as Jude walked out the door. Mimic glared at the door and then at Indie.
