Page 27 of Suspicious

She shrugs, picking up her own glass and raising it in the air. “Maybe, but it sounds logical. Am I right?”

Finally finding the strength to laugh, I raise my drink in the air to clink it to hers. “It makes sense to me,” I reply, cracking a smile.

Navy takes a sip, then exhales. “I don’t know who’s annoying you, but the one thing I do know about the men here is, if they’re being a dickhead, it’s generally for a reason. They don’t tend to play games. They don’t fuck women around. If he likes you, you’ll know it. If he doesn’t, he’lldefinitelylet you know.”

“It’s not that simple with us… there’s a whole ton of history getting in the way. Getting in our heads. It’s probably best if I get this shit with my app dealt with, and then I walk away. Go back to emailing him when I need to speak to him, with zero in-person contact. It was just easier that way.”

Navy tilts her head, really looking at me. “Was it, though? Was it easier avoiding him and longing for him all this time? Now that you’re here, now that you can see him and talk to himin person, isn’t that better than pretending like you don’t exist to each other?”

Letting out a heavy scoff, I shake my head. “After what just happened. No. Absolutely not. I’d rather go back to before I came here and not see him than have to go through the embarrassment I just went through.”

Navy slowly nods, reaches for the tequila bottle, and tops up my glass. “Okay then. I’ll keep your glass full.”

I nod. “Thanks, Navy.”

She dips her chin. “You got it, hon.” She turns, walking to the other side of the bar to serve another biker.

Puffing out a long gust of air that flicks my hair, I spin on my seat and glance out over the clubhouse. There are people everywhere, and they all seem to be in such a happy mood. Even setting up for some kind of celebration. I’m not really sure why or what. But hey, I’m in the mood to drink the night away.

What I do know is that Theo needs to be kept in the loop. So I glance back over my shoulder. “Hey, Navy, I need to call my brother and fill him in on what’s going on, but Loki has my cell. Is there a phone somewhere I can use?”

She grins, yanking her cell out of her pocket. “Here. Use mine.” She swipes in the code and hands it to me.

“You sure?”

Navy waves her hand through the air like it’s nothing. “Girl, we all help each other out around here. Stay long enough… you’ll figure that out.”

“Thank you… I mean that.”

She grabs the tequila bottle and pours a little extra into my glass. “It’s gonna be a big party tonight. You sticking around?”

Inhaling deeply, my stomach twists, thinking about staying here with Loki, but I shrug. “Is there a spare room I can stay in?”

Navy chuckles. “Damn straight. I’ll make sure it’s all set up for you. You can stay as long as you like. I’ve already had a chatwith the pres about this, just in case you’re wondering, and it’s all clear with him.”

I furrow my brows. “You were expecting me to stay?”

Navy shrugs with a grin. “Let’s just say the pres came to me about it. I thinkheis the one who was expecting you to stay.”

Spinning, I glance over at Alpha, the president, who is sitting with his Old Lady, some other woman, and his daughter. The four of them are laughing and having a great time. Warmth flows over me, and my shoulders relax a little from the tension currently being held in them.

I don’t know why Alpha put plans in place for me, but maybe he knows something I don’t. Either way, I am sticking around, even if it is only until this breach issue is solved. Maybe even Loki and I can try to figure our shit out.

But not tonight.

Tonight, I need to unwind.

Spinning back to the bar, I grab my drink, throw back the contents, and it burns like a motherfucker. Then, I type in Theo’s number and hit call. It takes a few rings, and I think maybe he isn’t going to answer, but then he does. “Underwood.”

“Urgh, how many times have I told you that answering with your surname makes you sound like an arrogant asshole, Theo?” I snap.

He chuckles down the line. “Where are you calling from, Bea? I don’t know this number.”

Tensing, my stomach rolls in apprehension. “That’s what I need to talk to you about. Are you driving back to the Valley?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Can you pull over? I don’t want you distracted while I tell you this information.”

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