Chapter 14
Wren
“Are we going to talk about the fact that since I last talked to you, you were working at a bar and dating the greatest guy ever, and now you’re living with a different guy in an MC?”
Jezebel didn’t know the half of it. “You know how it goes.” I grabbed my wine cooler and sucked back half of it.
“No, I don’t really know how it goes since my best friend since seventh grade disappears for four months and then suddenly surfaces when her boyfriend’s club shows up at my door to tell me I’m in danger.”
Jezebel and I were sitting at the bar while Karmen was in the small kitchen whipping up nachos and a list of other things she said she was craving. Cora and Nikki were giving Jezebel and me space while they played a game of pool.
“I wanted to call you before they talked to you, but everything happened so fast. Then, Maniac didn’t tell me you were staying here.”
Jezebel peeled off the label of her beer. “I suppose that one is kind of on me. I was told I couldn’t tell you, but you know girl code should have come into play.”
I waved my hand at her. I couldn’t be mad at her. If I would have been told the same thing by some scary bikers, I would have listened to them too. “Water under the bridge.”
A few of the members walked into the main room and milled around. “I do have to say even though Jake and I were thrown into this completely different world, it has been a nice change.”
My jaw dropped. “Say what? I figured you would be shocked and hiding in your room when I came here.”
Jezebel laughed. “Oh, trust me. That first week Jake and I kept our distance and stayed mostly in our room. Thankfully, I home-school him so we were busy doing that, and the guy they had keeping an eye on us is good with Jake.”
“Who?”
“Clash. Although, the more comfortable we got, it seemed like everyone was keeping an eye on us.”
And that was damn surprising. Even sitting across from Jezebel right now, I could tell she was different from the shy and quiet girl I went to middle school and high school with. “You seem like you are okay with this.” I, on the other hand, was dumbfounded.
“There isn't much I can do about it. I’d much rather be here with Jake then at home with a bunch of animals trying to kidnap us.”
“I’m so sorry.” Gah, I was such a bitch. Jezebel seemed okay with everything, but it still was my fault she was even a part of this.
She waved her hand at me. “Wren, let me tell you something right now. You have nothing to be sorry for. You didn’t ask for any of this.”
“Jez, you don’t know, though.”
She put her hand on my knee. “All I need to know is they didn’t break you, Wren. You’re still here, and even though I can tell you are different, I know my friend is still in there.”
Tears stung my eyes, and I shook my head. “I don’t know if she is in there, Jez. So many things happened, and I just don’t know what to do.”
She leaned close. “Live, Wren. You live each day with both your fingers up in the air to the guy who hurt you, and know you are a strong, badass woman who shouldn’t be fucked with.”
I blinked slowly. “What happened to my shy and quiet Jezebel?” I whispered.
Jez sat back in her stool. “Life happened to me, Wren. Just like you.”
What in the hell did that mean? “Jez, did something happen to you?”
She shook her head. “No, nothing like what you are thinking. Just life isn’t exactly easy for a single mom. Throw in a ten-year-old who acts like he's twenty, and it’s amazing I don’t have any gray hairs.”
I looked over at the pool table. Jake was lining up a shot while Nikki stood next to him. “Are you sure he’s only ten? He’s almost as tall as I am.”
Jezebel took a long drink. “Trust me, that boy is ten. The day I gave birth to him is forever ingrained in my head. It. Was. Horrible.”
I laughed and pointed to Karmen. “Don’t tell her that. If she hears how miserable birth was, she’ll change her mind and try to keep the kid in forever.”
“Why are you pointing at me?” Karmen called.
Jezebel spun around and held up her glass. “I was just telling Wren what a blessing it is to have a kid.”
I don’t even know how Jez was able to say that with a straight face. I busted out laughing before she had the last word out of her mouth.
“Aw, that’s awesome,” Karmen cooed. “Hopefully you’re still here when I have the baby.” Karmen cradled her stomach. “Like, tomorrow.”
Jezebel gave her a huge smile, then spun back around. “Oh, that poor woman is delusional,” she laughed.
“Who is delusional?” Maniac walked up to Jez and me and rested his hand on the back of my stool.
I looked back at Maniac. “Karmen.”
He grinned. “Isn’t that something we all knew?”
“No. She’s a bit kooky, not normally delusional,” I pointed out.
“Splitting hairs, darlin’.” He draped his arm across my shoulder and leaned close. “You doing okay?”
“Um, yeah,” I whispered. Surprisingly, I didn’t need to lie to him. Hanging out with Karmen, Cora, and Jezebel wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. I had been afraid we wouldn’t have anything to talk about, but thankfully, it was like no time had gone by.
Jezebel stuck her hand in Maniac’s face and smiled. “I’m Jezebel. Wren’s overprotective friend.”
Maniac laughed and clenched her hand. “Maniac.”
“What kind of name is that?” she asked.
Lord have mercy. This was an all-new Jezebel I had never seen. Her mama bear instincts were coming out, and she was unleashing them on Maniac.
“Mine,” he grunted.
Jez rolled her eyes. “Obviously. I meant, how did you get a name like that?”
“It’s short for pyromaniac.” That was all he said. Jesus. The man was always talking to me, and now he was giving short answers that didn’t really help.
Jezebel tilted her head to the side and squinted. “That’s interesting.”
I looked up at Maniac and plastered a huge grin on my face. Maniac and Jezebel fighting was not something I wanted. Jez was my best friend, and Maniac was…well…I’m not sure what he was exactly, but I didn’t want them fighting. “Did you want a beer?”
He looked down at me. “No. We’ll be leaving soon.”
My face fell. “Oh. I thought maybe we could stick around for dinner.”
Maniac glanced at the black over the bar. “It’s only two-thirty, darlin’. If we stay for dinner, we still have an almost two hour ride home.”
I hadn’t expected to be having such a good time, and now I didn’t want to leave. At least, not soon. “Um, can we stay the night here and head back in the morning?”
He sighed and looked over at Jezebel.
I put my hand on his arm. “Please? We can leave right away in the morning, or we stay for dinner and drive home. I like being on your bike at night.” Bingo. Mentioning liking being on the back of his bike was the thing that did it.
“We won’t stay the night, but we can stay for dinner.”
I beamed up at him. “Yay!”
“Yay,” he grumbled. “I’m gonna grab a beer. You need anything?”
“I thought you weren’t going to drink since you had to drive?” Jezebel reminded him.
He rolled his eyes. “Guess I’ll be having water then.” He pressed a kiss to the side of my head and walked over to the pool table.
“Do you think maybe you could have been a little nicer to him?”
Jezebel rolled her eyes. “I’m testing him.”
“Jez, you don’t need to test him.”
She shook her head. “Yes, I do. You’ve been through hell, Wren, and I’m not going to stand by and let that happen to you again if I can help it.”
While I loved her for wanting to protect me, I didn’t think I needed protecting from Maniac. “He’s different, Jez.”
She leveled her stare on me. “And how do we know that?”
I took a deep breath. “Because he saved me. He was there when I needed someone. He was there when I did everything I could to push him away. He’s just been there, Jez.”
She slightly tipped her head. “I just saw her.”
I looked behind me. “Uh, what the hell are you talking about?” Here I thought we were having a heart to heart, and instead, she was watching some chick behind me.
“No, you putz. I’m talking about you. I saw the old Wren.”
I don’t know what she saw, but she had to be mistaken.
“When you talked about him, I saw you. I saw you happy. He makes you happy, Wren.”
How did she see that in the little bit that I had talked about him? “I think it’s time to cut you off.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m drinking water.”
Well, now I had no excuse for why she was talking crazy. “Look, Jez. I don’t know what you see, but it’s probably just a piece of hair in my eye or something.”
“Jesus,” she muttered. “You don’t even know it yet.”
“Know what?” I asked. She was all over the place. First, she was talking about seeing the old me, and now, she was telling me I didn’t know yet. “Woman, what on Earth are you talking about right now?”
She laughed and lifted her glass to me. “To the fact there is still a little bit of my old Wren inside you.”
I clinked my bottle against hers but still had no idea what she was talking about. “Um, cheers?”
Jezebel smiled. “You’re gonna be all right, Wren. And I have to say, I think I might actually like that Maniac of yours.”
“He’s not mine.”
A smug smile spread across her lips. “That’s what you think, hun, but from the way he is staring at you right now, I think he sees things a whole lot differently.”
I spun my chair a bit to get a better view of Maniac. He was leaning against the pool table. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his emerald green eyes were trained on me. I had never thought it was possible, but the man was smoldering.
“He hasn’t taken his eyes off you since he walked away.”
“You mean when you chased him off?”
Jez shrugged. “The man needed to be tested, and from what I can tell, he passed with flying colors.” She stood up and set her glass down.
“Where are you going?”
“There’s a ten-year-old’s ass I need to kick in pool right now.”
“Mom! Come play. I just beat Karmen,” Jake yelled.
Karmen held up her hands. “In my defense, I am pregnant.”
“Get the woman a scooter!” Cora called. “She’s pregnant.”
Everyone laughed while Karmen scowled.
“You’re all assholes.”
One of the guys came over and draped his arm over her shoulders. “Oh, come on, Captain. We’re just giving ya a little shit.”
Karmen rolled her eyes and handed her pool stick off to Jezebel. “Well, that’s enough shit for me today. I’m going to eat and then take a nap.”
“We just ate like half an hour ago,” Nikki pointed out. “How in the hell can you be hungry again?”
“I’m not hungry. This little monster is.” Karmen pointed to her stomach.
Jezebel grabbed the chalk and rubbed some on the end of the pool cue. “Now that brings back memories. I used to say the same thing with Jake. The only thing is, I still said it after I had him.”
Nickel put his arm across Karmen’s shoulders. “I’ll grab you some food, baby. Why don’t you go lay down?”
Karmen rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. “Hmm, I love you. I take back all of the things I said about you before.”
“What you talking about, woman?” he demanded.
She patted his chest. “Oh, nothing.” Now it was Karmen who was giving Nickel shit.
“We’ll talk about this while you take a nap.”
Karmen pulled out from under his arm and looked up at him. “How are we going to talk when I’m trying to sleep?”
“I talk while you sleep, and I’ll always be right.”
Karmen slugged him on the shoulder. “Whatever. Just make sure you put extra sour cream on my nachos.” She waddled down the hallway with a wave over her shoulder to everyone.
Maniac sat on the stool Jez had been in. “Those two are crazy together.”
I shrugged. “But they are good together.”
“True that, darlin’.”
“You really not going to drink?” I asked him.
“Your friend doesn’t seem very fond of me right now, so I’m trying to stay in her good graces as much as I can.” He looked over at Jez, who was staring him down. “You wanna clue me in on what exactly I did to make her look at me like I killed her cat?”
I sighed and swirled my half-empty bottle. “I think it’s because you’re a guy.”
“That’s bullshit. Brinks was telling me she gets along with all the guys. Even Wrecker. She managed to get on his good side.”
“Let me rephrase that. I think it has to do with the fact you are a man, and you um, well, maybe like me.”
He ran his fingertips across my cheek. “Ain’t no doubt about it. I like you.”
I cleared my throat and racked my brain for something to say. Tell him you like him too. “Thank you.” I cringed and wondered where the hell that had come from.
He chuckled. “You’re welcome.”
“I’m an idiot. You know that.”
He shook his head. “Furthest thing from an idiot.”
“Can you just let me insult myself?” I was an idiot. The guy I liked told me he liked me, and I told him thank you. Perhaps telling him how I felt would have been a better response. “And I like you, too.”
His hand cupped my cheek. “Thank you.” A huge grin spread across his lips, and he couldn’t hold it in.
Hell, even I had to laugh.
“There’s my Wren.”
I leaned into his hand and had to admit the fact I liked being his Wren.
*