“She has a point,” Nat says.
“Well,” Vi says “I say we just relax. We’re down here for a reason -”
“- so the big bad men don’t get us.”
“Exactly,” Vi says, pointing at Mira, before taking a long slurp of her drink.
I hiss and look down at my cuticle to find I’ve picked it til it’s bled. Sucking it into my mouth I concentrate on the taste of iron to distract me from my feelings. Everyone is in this position because of me. Because the man I decided to marry did something so evil and now these people, myfriendsare paying the price while he rots in hell.
“Come with me,” Mama Debs says gently, taking my elbow and leading me out of the room into an impressive hall.
“This’ll help, Joy. Trust me,” Kaia says, gripping my hand.
I didn’t hear her following behind us, in fact I didn't hear any of the Ol Ladies who are all crowded in the hall behind me.
“You’re feeling helpless, I get that. Maybe this will help you feel a little grounded.” Mama Debs says in her soft accent, as she presses on the wall and I gasp as a hidden door pops out, revealing a wall of weapons displayed beautifully on little shelves.
“Tadaaa!” Mira adds with some jazz hands.
“Welcome to the cache,” Nat adds with a smile, reaching for a small hand gun. “When the men are doing their thing and we feel powerless, we always come and choose a weapon. I don’t know the science behind it, but it makes you feel more grounded knowing that if you had to, you could protect yourself.” She shrugs.
Some of the things I recognize, like the knuckle dusters, and a club. Those were the things that Travis liked to use on me when dinner was cold or I didn’t salt his food properly, or he had a bad day at work or he just wanted to make my life hell.
I swallow down the bile in my throat, breathing through my nose to calm my racing heart. He may have tried to break me but I’m still standing while he’s rotting in the belly of a gator somewhere in Louisiana.
“Do you want anything, Joy?” Jazz asks, waving to the wall.
I settle my gaze on all manner of sharp and dangerous weapons, skipping over the ones I know intimately until my eyes land on a small, purple taser. I know that it’s not like the big, spiky bommy knocker thing that Kaia has picked up, but it’s something that I know I’ll be able to use if I have to.
Jazz reaches out and plucks the taser from its little shelf on the wall and hands it to me, her warm fingers brushing mine. “Good choice, Joy,” she whispers, giving my hand a small squeeze before she turns and plucks a gun from the wall. “In case you need me to back you up,” she says with a wink.
I shake out my free hand, before nodding at my friends, all of them holding their weapons at the ready. A smile stretches Blanche’s face as her eyes search my face, liking what she’s seeing there.
“You’re stronger than you think, Joy.”
I hope she’s right.
Chapter 9
Mad Dog
She’s nuts. That’s the only conclusion I can come to as I watch her peeking out of the upstairs window of my room. Well, suite is more like it. I have a small kitchen, living area, bedroom and bathroom. That’s all I need as a single man in the club. Maybe if I had a woman I would look at joining the rest of my club brothers and build a cabin on the property, but until now I’ve been happy in the clubhouse with Pops, Debs and Niko.
“Yippee ky yi ay, mother fuckers,” spills from Willa’s plump lips as she leans out the window, shotgun angled just so, as she gently squeezes the trigger. She must hit her target because she pumps her fist before reloading. “Are you going to help or just stand there staring at my ass?” she asks, not even looking at me.
I let out a snort as I settle down beside her at the window, catching her gaze as I side-eye her. “You’re a fucking firecracker, you know that?”
“Yup. It’s good you know that now too. I can’t have any soft old man catching my attention.”
I snort in reply, eyes roving the yard, looking for enemies. It’s quiet. But that doesn’t mean a thing. It could be them regrouping.
“Does this type of stuff happen all the time?” Willa asks, her throaty voice hitting me right in the dick.
I never thought I’d meet another woman who would intrigue me in the way Willa does. The last woman I met that hit me like a bolt of fucking lightning was Molly, Rhodie’s mom. Figured that was a once in a lifetime thing. But as I crouch down, next to this soft, curvy woman with a steel fucking spine I wonder if perhaps, I’m lucky enough to have found it again.
Clearing my throat, I shake my head, the lady is asking me a question. “Would it scare you away if I told you it happens regularly enough that we have protocols?”
A small smile starts to stretch her lush lips. “Would it scare you away if I told you that I wouldn’t mind doing this again with you?”
