Chapter Thirty-One
Kori stared at the inside of the locked bathroom door with a sigh. Time was up. She’d stalled long enough. Four women waited down in Lila’s kitchen no doubt gossiping about what a slut she was. Seducing their friend when she was supposedly engaged to another man. A man who hit her. A man who betrayed the club. A man who threatened to kill Lucky.
Not that the girls downstairs knew those last two details. Hopefully the bruise on her face would be enough for them to accept why she’d left Savage. While it would seem an obvious reason to leave for most, sometimes ol’ ladies in an MC saw the world differently. In her experience, they put up with an unbelievable amount of disrespect and abuse.
Striker and Lila certainly didn’t seem to have that type of relationship and she had a difficult time imagining any of the Crystal Rock men she’d met being abusers, but still…
“Okay, you can do this,” she muttered as she opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. After a two-second introduction to a smirking Emily, Kori had escaped to the solitude of Lila’s guest bathroom claiming she needed to shower.
Of course, that had set off a round of giggles and questions for her and Lucky about why she needed a shower. The explanation of her being sweaty and dusty only made them laugh harder so she’d given up and fled. Lucky could do the same or fend them off himself.
Halfway down the stairs, Kori heard the clinking of glasses and more giggles. Longing hit her square in the chest. Between caring for her mother and moving to a new state, it had been quite a while since she’d had any time for girlfriends. These women sounded close, like they really enjoyed each other’s company.
All laughter halted as she stepped into the kitchen. Three shit-eating grins and one assessing expression trained on her. “Um…hi.” She waved a hand in an arc. “I’m Kori.”
“Come on in, Kori,” Lila said. “Let me introduce you. You met Emily.”
Kori’s face burned with embarrassment as she nodded at Emily whose eyes sparkled with mirth. God, what Emily must think of her.
“This is Fia. She’s Acer’s girlfriend,” Lila continued seeming oblivious to Kori’s discomfort. “I don’t think you’ve met him yet, but you will. He and Lucky are tight.” She spoke as though Kori and Lucky were an item of some sort and she’d soon be acquainted with all his buddies.
“Hey, Fia,” Kori said. “Nice to meet you.”
Fia nodded but didn’t smile as readily as the others. Lila rolled her eyes. “Excuse her, she’s a little protective of Lucky,” she said in a stage whisper. “And this,” Lila said, motioning to a long-haired blonde holding a pitcher, “is Marcie. She’s pouring the margaritas. We hadn’t planned on drinking, what with it only being a little past two, but we figured you could use a few of these.”
Marcie snorted and held out a margarita glass, rimmed with salt and full to the brim with neon liquid. “Don’t let her fool you, girl. The good doctor was looking for any excuse to break out the margarita mix. The others didn’t put up a fight either. They all love it when their men have to come to pick them up because they’re a little too silly to drive home. Makes the evening quite fun.” She winked as Kori relieved her of the glass.
“Let’s head out to the deck and sit for a while.” Lila breezed through the door without waiting for an agreement from the rest of the ladies.
Kori tagged along with the group and took a seat at the picnic table in Lila’s stunning backyard. They had a huge, sprawling deck that overlooked a large shimmering lake. Beautiful, peaceful, and the perfect place for her newfound friends to grill her.
Marcie wasted no time. “Sooo,” she said.
Kori took a sip. Damn, the tart, icy drink hit the spot. Never one to shy from a problem, Kori dove right in. “So, there’s no point in playing games. You all know exactly what happened earlier. It’s…complicated. And painful.” She rubbed a hand over the ache that formed in her chest. “And…and to be honest, I don’t know what the hell is going on, or what it means, or if it even means anything. I’m a mess. And Lucky might be a mess too. And now I’m babbling. There you go. Cards on the table.”
“You’re in love with him.” Fia spoke from directly across the table, the untrusting look she’d originally worn replaced with empathy.
“No.” The word was out of her mouth much too fast to be believable. She dropped her head to her hands. “I don’t know. I’m not—it’s just so—well, it’s fucked to be quite honest. Even if I do have feelings for Lucky, it doesn’t matter anymore.” When she looked up, she was surprised to see nothing but compassion on the faces of these women she didn’t know.
Ugh, how embarrassing. Here she was, two minutes and three sips into her drink, and she was spewing her emotions all over Lila’s deck.
“Look, Kori, I know we just met,” Emily piped in from the seat next to Kori. She seemed sweet. Her raven hair was thick and shiny and she had the palest blue eyes Kori had even seen. And she had the cutest little baby bump. “And I know you feel embarrassed about the circumstances, but any of us can see you’re tortured by something. It’s not easy being with any of these guys. They’re rough, possessive, closemouthed—”
“Don’t forget they get hit on by club whores all the time.” Marcie polished off her drink.
They all chuckled. “Yes.” Emily sipped her lemonade. “The constant female attention gets old fast. Anyway, we’re a sisterhood as much as they are a brotherhood. So please, if you need to unload, consider us friends.”
There was sincerity in her tone and the other women nodded their agreement, even Fia. What would it hurt to share some of her burdens with these women? She’d been alone in carrying them around the past few weeks and the solitude was starting to swallow her whole. She wouldn’t share all the details, but she could at least share her pain.
She took another taste, surprised to realize the glass was now empty. A small buzz hit her bloodstream, giving her the liquid courage she needed to share. “Lucky and I were together in Vegas. It was fast, it was intense, it was…pretty close to perfect. And then I blew it. I ended it with him for another man. All that’s left now is hatred and resentment.”
Lila raised an eyebrow. “Sure didn’t seem like he hated you this afternoon.”
Sadness swamped her. “Men can sleep with someone they detest.” She shrugged. “It’s easy for them.”
“While I agree with the statement, I didn’t get hatred off him today. Anger, sure, sadness too. But not hatred,” Emily said.
“I feel like there is a whole lot of that story you left out.” Marcie refilled Kori’s glass. “You leave Lucky for the man who did that to your face?”
“Savage. Yeah,” Kori said, disgust evident to her own ears.
“I’ve been around here the longest so I know most of the Vegas guys. Gotta say, never been a fan of Savage. Major creeper if you ask me. I hope he’s singing soprano these days.” Marcie nudged her glass. “Drink. Makes the hard stuff easier to say.”
She did as ordered, then set the glass back down. “I was more concerned with getting out of Dodge than getting revenge at the time. Now? Well let’s just say if I had five minutes alone with him now, he’d definitely be speaking an octave higher.”
Fia smiled and held up her glass. “Now you’re talking, girl. Can I ask a question I have no right to ask?”
Kori nodded. Why not. The vault was open now. Besides, it wasn’t hard to guess what Fia wanted to know and no doubt all the girls had the same question. “Go ahead.”
“You really made it sounds like things were hot and heavy with Lucky. Why did you leave him for someone else?”
I had no choice.
Savage and Rebel threatened to kill him.
I was terrified for his life.
All three sentences were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t reveal the real reasons. For one thing, if anyone was going to hear it, Lucky deserved to be the one. And two, she’d promised to keep her mouth shut about club business. Pissing off Shiv and Striker by revealing too much to the ol’ ladies right off the bat wouldn’t be the wisest idea.
Which all led her back to the question of why she hadn’t come clean to Lucky yet. Fear was a huge part of that reason. In theory, the explanation should soften him towards her, make him realize she hadn’t wanted to leave him. But what if it didn’t? What if the sense of betrayal he’d felt overshadowed the feelings he had for her? What if he realized he was better off without her? Somehow, as ridiculous as it sounded, not knowing was better than hearing him say he didn’t want more than sex from her.
She was a hot mess of conflicting emotions.
“I can’t talk about all of it. I’ll just say that the choice was taken out of my hands. The last thing I ever wanted was to hurt Lucky, and if I had it all to do over again…” Her nose tingled with the threat of tears. She sniffed and blinked, managing to ward them off. “Well, I can’t say for sure I’d do anything differently. Sorry, if that’s too cryptic to make any sense.”
Lila smacked a palm against the table. “I knew it. Something’s going on, isn’t it? Something within the club itself.” She waved a hand in front of her face. “Don’t answer that. I know you can’t. We all know how this works.” Unease creased her forehead.
“Sounds like you may have been trying to protect him from something. Am I right?” Emily piped in. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth.
Kori didn’t answer, but held Emily’s gaze.
“Thought so.” Her voice grew sad. “I can tell you from personal experience that can blow up in your face faster than you ever thought possible.”
Marcie reached across the table and squeezed Emily’s hand, a sympathetic look on her face. Whatever story Emily had to tell, it sounded like a doozy. Maybe Kori would ask Lila about it later, or maybe Lucky would tell her on their ride tomorrow.
“Just one question. No details, but is it bad?” Lila asked.
“It’s bad,” Kori answered. Each woman bore a grim expression, lost in their own thoughts for a few seconds. Perhaps it wasn’t fair to let their imaginations wander to worst case scenarios, but it was too late to take it all back now.
“Well, shit,” Marcie said. “If I had known we were gonna get this morose I’d have made more margaritas.
Emily was the first to giggle, but it spread through the table in seconds. Before she knew it, Kori was belly laughing along with the rest of them.
“Oh my God,” Fia said, wiping moisture from her eyes. “I have no idea why we’re laughing like crazy people.”
“Stress relief,” Marcie said. “Okay let’s change the subject to something we’d all much rather talk about.” She focused on Kori once again. “So tell us, Kori, how was it?”
Her face heated almost before the question was out of Marcie’s mouth.
“Oh man! Look at that blush. That good, huh?” Lila asked.
In for a penny, in for a pound. “Uh, no, not that good. Probably ten times better.” Kori could barely stand to look at any of them. Here she was with four women she just met, sharing dark secrets and sexual escapades. And damn if she wasn’t enjoying herself. There was no real awkwardness. It was as though she’d known them all for years. A sisterhood, just like they’d boasted.
“Damn girl.” Emily held up her hand and Kori slapped her five.
Conversation stayed light and easy after that. For the next few hours they drank another pitcher of margaritas, laughed, and tried to forget the impending trouble. When the deafening rumble of motorcycles hit the street, glasses were dropped in the sink and the women ventured outside to greet their men.
Kori remained behind in the kitchen, listening to giggles, teasing about their tipsy states, and the unmistakable sounds of passionate kissing through the open windows.
Her heart squeezed painfully as she took it all in. What she wouldn’t give to walk out of the kitchen and find Lucky waiting for her, ready to take her home to bed.