Page 54

FORTY-ONE

KEELY

Inhaling a deep breath, I decide to make my way out into the bar and kitchen. I don’t want to see Tits Out, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to avoid her forever, as much as I would like to do just that.

Two weeks until we get into that house can’t pass fast enough.

Cradling Thea, I tug the bedroom door open and step out into the hallway. Looking from side to side, I exhale. Alone. There aren’t any sounds of life anywhere, either. Maybe it’s too early for any action.

After Brock left yesterday, I locked us up in his room, but it’s time to venture out. I also have to deal with my job and Clare, something I’m not looking forward to. I’m going to have to text her because I’m supposed to be working late tonight.

I move down the stairs but stop when I see three women and a man sitting at a table. There is a pink box in the middle of the table that I recognize from Clare’s bakery. Thea makes a noise, and as if all four sense our presence at the exact same time, their heads shift, and their eyes find us.

I am frozen in place, unsure of what to do. These don’t look like the women who Brock has explained are clubwhores. They’re wearing what looks like comfortable clothing: athletic shorts, T-shirts, tank tops, and one of them is heavily pregnant.

“You must be Keely,” one of them states as she stands to her feet.

She’s got long light-brown hair. She’s tall and lean, except for the little pregnant belly she’s sporting. It’s not much, just a slight bump, and if I hadn’t just had a baby, I probably wouldn’t even realize she was pregnant.

“I am…” I confirm hesitantly.

She smiles and moves toward me, then she stops when she’s within arm’s length. Her gaze shifts from mine to Thea. “And this must be Thea. She is downright gorgeous,” she says, her last words coming out in a whisper.

I blink, unsure of what to say or do. So I just stand there, waiting for an opening or some kind of idea of what the hell is going on here. The others stand from the table and make their way toward me, stopping beside the original girl, making a semicircle around Thea and me.

I’m not sure if I should feel uncomfortable or not. I don’t, but this is weird as hell. Then I hear the man speak. “I’m Alex,” he announces before he lifts his hand and extends his index finger to point to each of the women.

“This is my cousin and Wrath’s old lady, Elodie. That’s Juliette, who is Loot’s old lady. And the one who looks like she’s about to give birth at any given moment is Chassis, the queen. She’s Dare’s old lady. He’s the president.”

My eyes widen. I’m not sure what to say here, so instead of saying something that makes me sound really stupid, like how none of these women are actually old or something like that, I press my lips together and nod.

“And you’re Keely,” Alex says. “You’re with Hound. And this is Thea, Hound’s baby, yes?”

“Yes,” I whisper. “I… uh… I don’t know what to do here,” I confess.

Alex’s eyes sparkle as his lips curve up into a grin, but it’s Elodie who speaks. “You’re going to come over to this table that has breakfast and coffee for all, you’re going to hand one of us Thea, and you’re going to eat something.”

“Okay,” I whisper.

I do just that. I walk over to the table and sink down in one of the chairs, and the others do the same. I’ve never felt more like an animal on display at the zoo than I do right now. All eight eyeballs of the people surrounding me are on us, and we have their full attention.

“Would you mind?” Chassis asks as she extends her arms.

I gaze down at Thea. She’s looking around, almost in awe of the new world around her. I decide to pass her over to Chassis. “I need the practice,” she says, giving me a big smile.

She looks down at my daughter, smiling down at her. Something warms my heart at the sight. I’m not sure why, because I don’t even know these people, but it’s sweet the way she looks at her.

“So, you were the girl outside the baby shower?” Chassis asks.

“Yeah, I guess,” I murmur.

The box of pastries is pushed in front of me at the same time someone else slides an iced coffee in front of me as well. Reaching for what I know is an out-of-this-world cinnamon-and-sugar coffee-cake-style muffin, I take it out of the box and place it in front of me.

“And you’ve moved in?” Elodie asks.

I move my eyes up to meet hers. I gather they want the score. The whole story and nothing else will do. They’re slightly dancing around it, but they want to know everything. They are desperate for the tea.

“I was living in LA, but with Thea, it was hard to work and afford to live, so my parents let me move back here to get back on my feet.”