Cass sighs on the other end of the phone. "Call Mindy. Let her know you're on your way. I'm going to make a few phone calls. Call me as soon as you get there."
"I will, baby. I love you."
"I love you, too," Cass says, hanging up the phone.
Why does it always have to be me?
I call Mindy and let her know I'm on the way. She doesn't ask any questions, so I assume Cass has already told Linc what happened before I called. Mindy's waiting outside for me when I turn into the driveway. She's wraps me into a hug so tight it nearly cuts off my circulation.
"I'm okay," I reassure her.
She has tears in her bloodshot eyes and I know she's been crying. "Min, I'm okay. I promise. They didn't even hurt me like last time," I tell her.
Mindy scoffs a laugh that is nowhere near amused. "Yeah,thistime. Do you realize how insane that is? This is too much. I'm having a baby. I'm bringing achildinto this world and I'm worried enough for my safety and your safety, I cannot imagine having to worry about someone using my child as a pawn in a club rivalry!" she yells, wiping the tears that are streaming down her cheeks.
"Hey, hey," I hug her and run a hand over her face repeatedly in an attempt to soothe some of her anxiety.
Mindy leans away, wiping her tears again. She walks inside, motioning for me to follow. I grab my bag and sit it down on the bed in the spare room. Linc is outside on the phone, probably talking to Cass or another one of the guys in the club. I just want to be with Cass. I'm about to say fuck everything and drive my ass back to Oklahoma.
"I'm going to head to the bar later to work on settling accounts and doing some bookkeeping," I tell Mindy.
"By yourself?" she asks, concerned.
"Yeah. But it's a public place, during the day. And I'm not in Betty. I'm in my other car, that is not super recognizable and doesn't make me as easy of a target.Andmy pistol is in the door, and when I walk into the bar, it'll be stuffed into the back of my jeans."
"I know it's illegal, but I don't care. You could wear it on your head and I'd tell the cops they were lying if they asked," she says, jokingly.
"I'm not going anywhere unarmed, from here on out. I'm so sick of getting fucking kidnapped or feeling like a damsel in distress," I huff.
I hug Mindy's neck and head to the bar. Kelly, the new manager, is working day shift and she's a breath of fresh air when I walk inside.
"Hey, Lilly! It's so good to see you again!" She smiles at me when I enter the bar.
"Hey! It's good to see you, too. How's business been?" I ask, sitting down near the opening in the bar.
"Business has been picking up, oddly," she shrugs, pressing her glasses further up the bridge of her nose.
"Good. We could use a little business around here, but January is always a little slow after the holidays."
The bookkeeping doesn't take up much of my time and when I'm done, I opt to haveonedrink. I need to be aware of my surroundings and getting drunk today, right now, is not in the cards for me. A few of our regulars are in and one of my favorites is sitting at the corner of the bar by the front door.
Mr. Wayne, the bald-headed dancing guy, smiles and waves me over. "Get over here, girl! How you been?" he asks, wrapping me up in a hug.
"I've been good! How are you? How are those grandbabies?" I ask.
"Oh, they're getting big. Lena is four already and she's so smart. I swear she can work this phone better than I can," he beams.
Kelly sets my drink down in front of me and I take a small sip. God, that tastes fucking good.
"Oh, hey, Lilly! We got a new flavored Crown in. It's chocolate! Do you want to try it?" Kelly asks.
"I'll take one shot of it to try it, but no more. I've still got a long evening ahead of me," I tell her.
She pours me a shot in one of the frozen shot glasses and I shoot it down. The chocolate flavor takes some of the bite off, and it's actually smooth and delicious. I'm surprised.
The door to the bar opens and in walks Aaron with a yellow-lab looking dog on his heels. "I don't know who he belongs to, but he's so sweet," Aaron says, sitting down in the barstool beside me.
"I heard you were getting some work done, so I wanted to come check on ya, babe," he says, in a caring demeanor.
