Page 34 of Haze's Jewel

Trix throws back her head and laughs so hard she has to take a minute to catch her breath. Finally, she says, “How did you know?”

Absolutely mortified, my mouth opens and closes several times as I try to grasp what she just admitted to. “Tell me all about it, if I’m allowed to know and you don’t mind telling the story.”

She flashes a grin and I realize she was teasing me, “I met Vapor at a rave, and we hooked up. Neither of us knew the other had a club affiliation, much less that I was the club princess for the Hellfire Hounds MC. My grandfather was intent upon cementing an alliance with the Grave Diggers MC through a marriage alliance between me and the son of the Diggers’ president. Let’s just say neither of us were very interested in getting hitched. There was a skirmish between our clubs and the Legion took several of the Hounds prisoner. Vapor wanted to get me out of the arranged marriage, so he arranged one between me and him in exchange for releasing the Hounds being held prisoner, and for some territory my grandfather had always coveted.”

“Oh wow, that’s quite a story. So, you and Vapor fell in love for real?”

“I think I fell for him the night I met him.”

“Romance is alive and well and living in Las Salinas,” I say.

“You better believe it, sister. Vapor is my world. My brother, Tracker, is prospecting for the Savage Legion and my youngest brother probably will too once he’s finished high school. When the Diggers found out they lost out on making the marriage alliance, they patched over my grandfather’s club after a fight.”

“What happened to your grandfather?” I ask.

“He ended up in jail and got killed there.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” I feel bad for bringing up bad memories for her.

“I’d be lying if I said losing him made me sad. He wasn’t actually my real grandfather—my father was his friend Jamus, and not his son. But whether he was a blood relation or not, the old buzzard didn’t love me or my brothers. The only thing he truly cared about was his club and in the end they all turned on him for an opportunity to join the Grave Diggers MC. He was an evil man. The sad truth is the world is a better place without him.”

Her story is heartbreaking. I try to smooth things over by saying, “Well, I’m glad you made it out of that MC and didn’t end up being married off to some man you didn’t love.”

“You’re really sweet, Anna. I just know we’re going to get along well.”

Something in my chest loosens a bit. “I certainly hope so. I would really love to have a good friend. It’s been hard making new friends in Las Salinas.”

“Well, now that you work at the tattoo shop, you’ll be meeting lots of new and interesting people. That’s what happened to me when I started working at Mel and Tracker’s bar in town. Plus, I know the club wives are already partial to you.”

“They sent a lot of gifts when I was in the hospital. It really made my time there so much more bearable.”

“I’m sure my brother-in-law did his share to keep you distracted and amused.”

I feel myself blushing because she’s not wrong about that. “Yes, he’s been beyond nice and supportive of me. I don’t know what I would have done without him.”

Suddenly Mel is standing beside our table with drinks in her hand. Her expression is bright and cheerful. “Glad to see you again, Anna. Have you had second thoughts about working at the bar? We could sure use a hand here, trying to run two businesses and juggle a baby is crazy.”

Her hopeful expression makes it all the more difficult to tell her the truth. “Actually, Haze and Vapor hired me to work at their tattoo parlor. I think I’ll stick with that for a while because I really like it there.”

Trix speaks up, “You know I’ll help out at the bar.”

Mel nods with a big smile on her face. “I know Trix, but soon you’ll be in my shoes. Anyway, I brought you both virgin drinks because one of you is pregnant and the other is still taking meds to help her heal from the accident.”

There’s a gasp to my left and I turn to see Trix glaring at Mel.

“Oops, I guess I just let the cat out of the bag,” Mel says with an embarrassed look on her face.

Trix is bright red.

“How far along are you?” I ask cheerfully, trying to make things less awkward.

“Almost three months, I was waiting for my scan before announcing,” she glares at Mel again.

Mel once more looks chagrined, “I’m sorry, it’s just so damn exciting. Our kids will be almost the same age.”

“I know,” Trix says with a smile.

Suddenly a wave of understanding washes over me, “Oh, the twins thing I said at the tattoo parlor!”

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