“You’re not what I expected, Jinx.” He shook his head and reached for the passenger door handle. “Come on. Let’s get the fuck outta here.”
Two hours later, we were bellied up to the bar with beers in front of us. Rule was carrying on a conversation with the bartender, an old guy who seemed rather impressed that Rule had spent the past six years in prison.
“I bet you’re hard-up for some pussy, huh?”
Or maybe stupefied was a better adjective. The guy was fixated on the fact Rule hadn’t gotten laid by a woman in all that time.
Rule cast a glance my way and smirked.
Admittedly, I was curious as to the answer, but not for the same reason as the dude with the wire-brush eyebrows.
Before Rule could respond, a skinny blonde shuffled up beside him, sliding her fingers over his shoulder as though she knew him intimately.
“Did I hear correctly? You’re looking for a date, sugar?”
Rule snorted. “Honey, I don’t date.”
I wasn’t sure whether Rule understood the meaning of date in this regard. The too-skinny woman certainly wasn’t looking for a night out on the town or dinner by candlelight.
“Well then, how about some relief?” she offered, lowering her voice in an attempt at seduction.
“Naw,” he said, shrugging her hand off his shoulder.
His rejection didn’t faze her. “What about you, sugar?”
I met her hazy gaze and shook my head.
“Well, that’s too bad. The three of us coulda had a good time.”
The three of us?
Rule snorted. “Darlin’, I assure you, you can’t handle us both at the same time.”
I took a long pull on my beer and watched the exchange as the blonde did her best to convince Rule he didn’t know what he was talking about. Their verbal volley was just getting good when the cell phone I’d given Rule rang.
He glanced at the screen, then over to me, and grinned.
“Yo, Creed. Good to know you’re still alive,” Rule said when he answered.
I couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end, but I caught Rule’s side of the conversation. It sounded like he was catching up with an old friend.
“California? No shit?” Rule’s dark brown gaze shot to me. “I might be able to make it out that way, sure.”
I nodded because it seemed Rule was expecting a response, and to be fair, nothing was keeping me here. The only reason I was still in Oklahoma was because of this man.
“A job?” Rule chuckled and glanced down at his beer. “Naw, man. I don’t need a job. I’ve got somethin’ in the works, and Cali’s just the place to implement it.”
His comment piqued my curiosity, and I waited for him to finish the call, waving off the bartender when he asked if I wanted another beer.
“I wouldn’t say no to a loan though,” Rule said. “I’ll pay you back with interest.”
For the next few minutes, Rule’s voice lowered, and he was nodding his head as he spoke. By the time he hung up, his grin had returned.
“You up for a road trip?”
I nodded.
“You sure?”
