Jules speaks before I can. “It’s not. I love the clubhouse. It was just starting to feel like a perpetual vacation. I like working here, are you saying I need to be on some kind of lockdown?”
Onyx finally relaxes. “I know it’s hard, but it’s not forever. Maybe Tessa can find you something to do. There’s a lot that needs doing around the clubhouse. Keeping busy might take your mind off this shitty situation, at least until we can resolve it.”
Chapter 17
Jules
The drive back to the clubhouse feels longer than usual. Flint’s motorcycle is getting serviced, so we took my car today. Since I’m still spiraling about these men in suits trying to implicate me in their bank robbery, I’m in no condition to drive. Flint looks strange behind the wheel of my Accord because I’m used to him riding his big Harley everywhere.
He doesn’t seem to mind driving my car. He has one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting on my knee. This is him trying to be supportive, but all I can think of is my purse sitting on the floorboard by my feet with three pregnancy tests hidden inside. Getting the alert from my menstrual tracking app that I was two days late threw me into a tailspin before lunch.
Compared to that, the whole bank account drama feels almost inconsequential.
“Everything’s gonna be alright,” Flint says reassuringly. “I’m not going to let those assholes from LA or the feds get their hands on you. I’ll do what I have to do to keep you safe. Trust me on that, sweetheart.”
His roughly spoken words hit me right in the feels. I don’t deserve him, but since he’s all I’ve ever wanted, I’m not letting him go. Reaching over to his hand, I cover it with my own and give it a little squeeze.
“I know, babe. I trust you to keep me safe. There is just a lot going on in my head right now.”
After getting the news about my bank account we circled back to Flint’s place so I could pack my essentials. Luckily, my cat isn’t the highly-strung type, so she takes all these moves in her stride. Jasper’s going to let us stay in Mica’s old suite to give us room. Apparently, it has an ensuite bathroom and a kitchenette, so at least it’ll be a bit homier than Flint’s room in the basement. Though at the moment it’s acting as a general storage area so it won’t be ready for a day or two.
We turn onto the long gravel drive leading up to the clubhouse. Onyx wasn’t joking about it being a virtual fortress. It even has a ten-foot-high cement wall around it. I am safe here. The logical side of my brain knows this, but they don’t talk about the long arm of the law for nothing. And it’s the feds, no less.
Flint parks my car and cuts the engine. A short silence spins out between the two of us. When I reach for the door handle, Flint catches my wrist gently in his big hand.
“You wanna tell me what’s really going on? Something’s eatin’ at you, and I’d like to fuckin’ know what it is.”
I almost blurt out the truth.
Hey babe, there’s a decent chance you knocked me up.
But before I can even open my mouth, I panic. What if he doesn’t want the hassle of a pregnant girlfriend? What if he thinks I got pregnant on purpose to baby-trap him? Or worse, what if I really am pregnant and he wants me to get rid of it? I don’t think I could terminate a pregnancy, especially not with his child. Just like that, the words get stuck in my throat.
Instead, I stammer, “It’s nothing except stress, babe.”
His hand comes up, and he brushes his thumb slowly across my bottom lip. “Alright, I won’t push you. I just want you to know that I’m here for you if you want to talk.”
Leaning over, I throw my arms around his neck. “Thanks for being so understanding. Sometimes I just need to think through stuff on my own before I talk it over with another person.”
“Yeah, I get that, darlin’. We all handle stress differently.”
Tessa is sitting at the bar, sipping a margarita. Her eyes lift the second we walk in. A second later, her expression changes. She frowns, and her eyes narrow on my face. It reminds me of my brother saying female intuition is a terrifying thing.
She just points at me with one manicured nail. “You don’t look so well, Jules. What’s going on? Is it anything I can help you with?”
“I’m fine,” I say, sounding more defensive than I intend. Then I just can’t lie to her anymore. “Those assholes from LA that the club has been tracking are trying to implicate me in a bank robbery. They got my bank account shut down.”
She immediately pulls her straw out of her drink and holds it out to me. “You need a drink more than anyone in this clubhouse. Have a sip of mine.”
I almost reach for it before remembering that I could be pregnant. I shake my head. “That’s the top of a long list of problems. I think I’m going to get Fluffy settled in the room, grab a shower and take a nap.”
She pulls her drink back, eyeing me suspiciously. “Okay, but if you ever need to talk, just give me a shout. I’m never far away, you know?”
I can’t help but smile. She’s never far away because she lives at the clubhouse and her husband is the club president. I nod, telling her, “I might take you up on that one day soon.”
Flint is quiet beside me. When we walk off, he asks quietly, “Do women really do that? Talk over stuff with each other instead of the men in their lives?”
“Maybe some do. Men often try to fix everything but sometimes you just need to vent and get it out of your system. Though, I’d probably talk to you before I’d talk to anyone else. Unless it’s about menstrual cramps or something only another woman would understand.”
