Page 36 of Loco

Somehow, I doubted it.

Russ was nothing but a punk, but the look in his narrowed eyes frightened me. I’d seen that look before. Anger, hate, and revenge. But why? We’d never met until that day at Helen’s. My interference had been minor compared to what Loco had done to him.

I was suddenly thankful that Lulu wasn’t there. She didn’t need to be involved, and I already knew her well enough to know that she wouldn’t back down from his threat.

A commotion pulled my attention in the direction that it was coming from. Russ looked, too. Relief flooded me as I watched Loco push his way through the room toward us, and his expression was ferocious. The angry glitter in his eyes was focused directly on Russ and his friends, and it was clear that they were the ones in trouble now. Loco was not happy, probably because Russ was in a place that was owned by his club.

His brisk movements drew the attention of others, and several of his brothers threw back their chairs to follow him, obviously sensing that something was up. It was a sight to see, a wall of amped-up bikers stomping together like storm troopers marching into danger without knowing what they were facing.

Russ swore, and he and his friends quickly took off. I was too dazed to laugh, mesmerized by the fierce, determined look on Loco’s face. I shivered at the primitive beauty of his rage. It wasn’t directed at me, yet a shiver of fear and something else--excitement--rolled down my spine. He was something to look at when he was in battle mode. Determined. Frightening. Ruthless.

Scary dangerous.

Our eyes met briefly before he and his brothers rushed past my table and out the door. It wasn’t until they were out of sight that I released the breath I’d been holding. Whew! I relaxed.

“What did I miss?”

I started. “Jesus!” Lulu had frightened me, and my hand covered my still pounding heart. “I’ve had enough excitement for tonight.”

“I just saw some of the Desert Rebels rushing out the door,” she explained, sitting back down. “Sorry I was gone so long, but I ran into a friend that I haven’t seen for a while. Who were they after?”

“I guess someone they didn’t like.” I was too tired to explain the whole situation to Lulu. The look that she gave me told me that she knew I was being vague. “Club business.”

She threw her head back and laughed. “You learn quick, honey. It’s always club business with those boys.”

“All I know is I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of their wrath.” I found myself yawning again. Now that the threat was gone I was able to give in to the alcohol-induced state I’d been in before Russ had shown up.

Lulu picked up her phone from where it lay on the table. “Let me text an Uber.”

The door opened and the men came back in, moving at a more leisurely pace now. By the looks of them, they hadn’t caught up to Russ and his friends. At least I couldn’t see any busted knuckles or blood on them. I was smiling by the time my eyes landed on Loco. He walked directly to our table while his brothers returned to where they’d been sitting.

“What did he say?” He was on edge, his comment directed at me, the words blunt and snarled in a way that sent a chill over me.

All I could do was blink up at him through cloudy eyes, so tired now that I was amazed that I could still form a decent thought. I wondered what kind of trouble existed between Russ and Loco. Judging from Loco’s reaction, I figured that it was bad. “You didn’t catch them?”

He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, his nostrils flaring. “Millie.” I could hear the impatience in his voice as I yawned yet again. He sucked in a deep breath and opened his eyes again. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

Lulu was looking down at her phone and scrolling through her contacts when she asked in a mildly surprised tone, “You two know each other?”

“Kind of,” I responded, thinking about the night that we’d spent together.

She stopped what she was doing and glanced up, gave us a funny look, clearly came to a conclusion, and then rolled her eyes. “Oh, God, don’t tell me you two have fucked.”

I felt the betraying heat spread into my cheeks and prayed that I was able to keep my mouth shut. Alcohol had a way of loosening up my usually reserved responses. I stared up at Loco like a dummy, hoping that he avoided Lulu’s comment, too. But the smirk on his sexy mouth gave her the answer that she was looking for without words. I pressed my lips with annoyance and rolled my eyes as she pinned her gaze on me.

“We fucked all night long.” I groaned as soon as the words left my mouth. Loco’s bark of laughter at my expense caused me to add, “Not something I enjoyed,” I lied.

Loco growled, and I smiled innocently up at him.

“Challenge accepted, darlin’.”

What?!I blinked several times, but it did nothing to make his image any clearer, and to add insult to injury I hiccupped loudly. I slapped my hand over my mouth and laughed.

He looked positively conniving, and I gradually became aware that my lie had backfired. My eyes darted to Lulu. Her response was to shake her head with disbelief as she went back to searching for her Uber app.

She sighed. “So Uber for one?” She’d already assumed that I was going home with Loco.

Before I could answer, Loco snapped, “Yep.”

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