Page 60 of Eagle

“Which,” I said as I pointed my finger nearly in her face, “you fully supported, by the way, and you even helped me pack my shit.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, because I’ll support you no matter what, even if it’s dumb. As long as it’s not dangerous.”

“Why did you not have this heart to heart with me when I told you I was leaving?”

“Would you have listened, or just lashed out at me?” She cut her eyes at me. “You were already upset, I knew where you were going was safe, and I knew that asshat would try to fix it. So I let you do your thing.”

She was probably right. “I don’t know. I probably would have told you to mind your business. But then I may have thought about what you said. Anyway, we won’t ever know how that would have turned out. And I’m not sure he would have changed his tune until I was actually gone. It sucks, but I need to stick to my plan.”

“Well, I hope you both work out your shit soon. I’m ready for you to come home.”

Everyone kept calling the clubhouse my home. Each time, it was like a sharp blade pierced my chest. I wanted to go back. I wanted it to be home. But I also wanted this version of Eagle and didn’t trust that he’d stick around if I went back so soon.

Falcon walked a client up front and broke up our chat. “He’sready. I’m gonna go grab some food. I’ll be back soon.” He leaned over and kissed Daisy’s temple, gave a hearty smack to his clients back, then headed out.

Once the customer was taken care of and gone, I sipped my drink and turned to Daisy. “You like working here?”

She nodded. “Actually, yeah. But don’t tell him that. I dangled you working at the club over his head and said I needed a raise. How’s the club?”

“It’s a club. The day shift isn’t bad. I’m pulling pretty good tips and I’ve already adjusted to a new sleep schedule, so I may just stick to it.” I looked over my shoulder and made sure nobody was lurking around. “There is one thing, though. But you can’t say anything, especially to Falcon.”

“They have plenty of secrets, we can have ours. What’s up?”

“Butch is kind of…I dunno. He creeps me out.”

She grimaced at the mention of him. “He’s a dick. But what’s creeping you out?”

I explained the few interactions we had starting from the audition day on. “Maybe I’m just being weird because it’s one of their brothers. But–”

“I’m gonna stop you there. Trust your gut. Have we learned nothing?”

I nodded and she gave a tight-lipped stare. We both had our own shitty backstories and found ourselves imprisoned together. It was hard to admit, but pretty much every shitty-ass situation I ended up in, there had always been a little twist in my gut or voice in my head trying to wave the red flags, but I’d ignored them. Sometimes it was so hard to differentiate red flags and basic anxiety.

“Also,” Daisy continued, breaking up my thoughts, “youknow Butch started shit with Eagle at the clubhouse, right?”

“I was told there was a slight altercation, but Eagle wouldn’t tell me what happened.”

“I was close by hanging with the girls, that are not you, and avoiding Sugar. Some of the officers were chilling with Hawk, and Butch sat with them, mentioning your audition and he was being a prick about it. Eagle lost his shit, but tried to walk away when Hawk told them both to chill the fuck out. Well, Butch followed him outside because he was headed to Mama Hen’s, and all hell broke loose.”

“He was storming off to Mama Hen’s?” I asked, my eyes going wide. “Was he out of his mind?”

She gave me a sideways glance. “Girl, that man was fifty shades of fucked up as soon as he realized you were not at the clubhouse. He was acting like a maniac. Falcon tried to get me to tell him where you were. Of course I told him to fuck off. But even the bunnies were scared to be near him. It was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

I looked away and sipped my drink. I didn’t want her to think I was a maniac for grinning. But hearing how he acted, it wasn’t just a show for me. He was truly upset that I was gone.

“Anyway, like I said, probably just weird and he is a dick. But I dunno. I needed to tell someone I could trust and I don’t want trouble between them.”

“You didn’t tell Jeannie?”

I shook my head. She had been there for the first interaction and acted like it was his normal behavior. “Like I said, she’s great, but she’s not you.”

Daisy’s slender arms flew around me and she squeezed me hard, shaking us both. “I love you. I hope Eagle gets his shit together because I need you home!”

Heavy footsteps were followed by his deep voice. “Working on it, but thank you, Daisy, once again.”

Daisy and I shared a knowing look before she let me go. I wasn’t sure if he heard much more than the last part. She turned to check out his customer and I stood to look at the work.

“Looks great,” I said, leaning closer. The art was covered by some cellophane and cream, but I still see a bit of it. It was a skull, but the details around it were harder to see with the covering.

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