Page 28 of The Afterthought

"Okay.” I take the win, even though I hate him referring to her as a piece of ass.

His phone starts buzzing next to him, and he clicks it to voicemail with a clear look of frustration. "Is there anything else I need to know, or are you done fucking up my day?"

"She has a younger sister that's still in high school, Chloe Marshall. She's been hanging around some of our younger recruits."

"I'll put the word out for the guys to be respectful to her." That's his way of saying he will make sure they stay away from her.

"Thank you," I say before making my way to the door to head out.

"Greyson," he says, and I stop to turn back at him. "You owe me one. I hope she's worth it."

He gets one more nod from me before I turn and head back to my car. That went better than I expected. I thought he would lose his shit and tell me to kill her. I think he knows that could never happen. I smile as I pull open my car door and slide into the front seat. I'm sure, at some point, he will want to cash in on the debt I now owe him, but that's a problem for another day. It's time to get my precious flame and officially make her mine again.

Chapter 14

Avalynn

As soon as Greyson left, I gave myself some time to wallow in my feelings before pulling myself together and moving on with my day. I wonder if he was telling the truth when he said he wasn't planning to hurt me with the knife.

Why did I let him touch me like that? I fought him, sure, but not nearly as hard as I could have. Part of me wants to submit to him, but I won't allow that. I can't believe he had the audacity to ask if I was okay. Like he really gives a shit if I'm okay. It has to be part of whatever game he's playing to get me to leave town.

He hurt me before; what's stopping him from doing it again? I won't allow Greyson into my heart this time. A sly smile spreads across my face. He seemed very distraught at the idea of me and Alec spending time together. There is something off about that guy that I can't seem to place, but knowing it will piss Grey off has me wanting to run right into Alec's arms.

I should probably keep my distance from him. He can't be a good guy. Most people from this town are involved in gangs or drugs in one way or another. The only people who aren't are the stupid ones who enjoy living in poverty. There are no opportunities in this town outside of the criminal organizations.

That was one of the many reasons I never wanted to stay here. It was why we were supposed to leave. Even Chloe has been running around with some of the crew. Part of me worries for her. She is stubborn, and most of those guys get immense joy from breaking people like her. I have to trust that her boyfriend wouldn’t let that happen, even if I don’t want to.

I wonder if I'll be able to convince her to come with me after she graduates. If the two of us sell our parents’ houses here, we could have enough money to establish ourselves somewhere decent. We could move to a big city where I could do my PI work, and she could go to college. She could get a real education and go on to really make something of herself. We wouldn't have to worry about the men of this pathetic town.

Memories of what Grey said hit me like a sack of bricks. Do you even realize who he is? What the hell did he mean by that? Who is Alec? I make a mental note to be more cautious with him going forward, at least until I know what I'm dealing with.

I do a quick Google search, and boy am I surprised by the results. This man has a rap sheet a mile long. He's never been arrested or formally charged, but there are a bunch of articles about... no fucking way. The Cobras. He's part of the Cobras.

As soon as I see that, I know I won’t find the information I'm looking for on the internet. The media only ever gets their hands on basic things regarding the gangs in this town. Most of the time, they manage to pay them off before anything too demeaning hits the papers. The only way I will get information on this guy is from a local who makes it their job to be involved in all the town gossip. Wrenly.

I scroll through my contacts before landing on her number and pressing the call button. It feels wrong to get her involved in this, but I need to know exactly what I'm getting myself into. The call goes to voicemail, so I send her a text asking her to give me a call when she gets a chance. I'll have to figure this out myself then.

I head back to my room to change my clothes and put on something a bit more comfortable. I've settled on black high-waisted leggings, a black cropped sweater with skull hands making a heart, and my black and white Converse—cute but comfortable.

I decided to make this easy on myself and go to Temptations. I know Alec will likely be there because it’s his club. I’m a bit nervous at the idea that it could be a Cobra hangout, but I need to know. I could pretend I'm there for that job and do a bit of digging. He expects me to show up there anyway.

Anxiety courses through me at the thought of letting myself get close to Alec. If I'm staying in this town for the next few months, I'll have to choose a side. Greyson is part of the Crimson Rose, and he’s made it clear that he doesn't want me around. His only goal is to get me out of Dune Valley. I'm going to one-up him. I'll fucking glue myself to his damn enemy and shove it down his throat. He thinks he has some claim on me because we dated when we were kids, but he’s wrong.

With my mind made up, I grab my keys and head to my car once again. Getting involved in any gang could be one of the dumbest decisions I've ever made. I left this town to get away from this shit, but here I am, willingly driving to a club owned by someone in the Cobras. The direct enemy of the Crimson Rose. They're not nearly as big or powerful as the Crimson Rose, but they have been trying to gain traction to take down the Crimson Rose for years. It's a bloody feud that I should avoid, yet here I am, placing myself right in the middle.

I try to find a reason to talk myself out of this as I make the drive across town to the club. I tell myself I can find another job somewhere else. Do I even want to work at Temptations? It's true, I could find a job somewhere else, but where's the fun in that?

I pull up to the address listed on the card Alec gave me and park in one of the spaces directly in front of the main door. The building is long and rectangular in shape. A few deep purple stripes flow along the building to break up the monotone black color. There are no windows. Above two blacked-out doors, a sign that says Temptations hangs with a martini glass next to it.

There are quite a few cars in the parking lot, which is a bit surprising for the time of day. I raise a brow as I watch someone else pull into the parking lot. He parks in one of the far spots and looks around cautiously before entering the building. My eyes have to be playing tricks on me because there's no way Sheriff Wolfe just walked into this club. Maybe he likes strippers. Who am I to judge?

I take a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts. Am I really going to do this? Am I going to get a job in a strip club to piss off my ex-boyfriend? I know from the coffee shop incident that they don't get along. I only came here to creep on Alec, but the opportunity to make Greyson mad is enticing. A grin crosses my face. I most certainly am. It's now or never, I suppose. I push open my door and walk up to the front door of the club.

I step into an entryway with a large man sitting on a stool, scrolling on his phone. I immediately catch sight of the snake tattoo on his neck. He must be a Cobra. He finally pulls his gaze from his phone and raises a brow, not bothering to hide the way he looks up and down the length of my body.

"I need your ID." He holds his hand out, waiting for me to place my driver's license in it. After a quick glance, he looks at me again. "You're good to go. No pictures." He hands my license back to me, and I roll my eyes.

When I push open the door to the club, it takes my eyes some time to adjust to the lack of light. It’s dim, with low lights surrounding each stage. Once my eyes adjust, I take a moment to look around at my surroundings. A soft bumping sound fills the club. This isn't my first time in a place like this. In my line of work, there are a lot of shitty men out there, and shitty men like naked women.

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