Page 66 of Never Submit

“Do what?” she asks with forced lightness.

She waddles beside me much faster than I’d have thought her capable of moving.

“Get me out of there like I was going to break at any point,” I reply. “And I was.”

I rub at the ache in my chest. Something about being in a room with those guys digs right under my skin and it’s like a wave comes out of nowhere, crashing through my insides.

They smelled so good, too.

Much to my surprise, the woman giggles. “Oh honey, no, I didn’t do it for you. I did it for me. Too much testosterone.” She waves a hand in front of her face to clear the air. “It’s like a boys’ club in there and those are never fun.”

“Only for the boys,” I correct.

She giggles again and the sound is adorable. One of those high chirruping sounds ladies make, the really feminine ladies who seem to float in the air and leave fairy dust behind them.

“I’m Flora, by the way.” Despite her very pregnant self, she doesn’t slow on the way to the elevator, pressing her nail to the button for the ground floor. “And you’re Ren?”

I blink. “I am. It’s nice to meet you, Flora.”

“You could say I work with Mathis.” She bursts into gales of laughter when my gaze drops to her stomach. “Not that way! Owen is my mate. He’s back at home.”

I’ve never seen anyone like Flora before, and to watch the way she stands up to the others…she barely gives them a second to step out of line. Wrangling them with ease seems to be her specialty.

I could learn a thing or two from her. Shit, I’llhaveto.

She stops me on the street and points to a truck. “How about we go for a drive? Get a little fresh air. That way, it will give us the space to let some things go.” She leans closer. “And get us away from our tails.”

I glance behind me to see one of Torin’s men and one of Mathis’s, both of them standing in the shadows of the building and grunting at each other. Like their shoulders are so big that they can’t get out of the doorway at the same time and neither is willing to move first.

It’s comical.

“That’s one of the best propositions I’ve heard so far,” I reply.

Flora and I rush toward the truck before either of the bodyguards can free themselves from the mess of their own making, laughter bubbling up inside of me and my chest feeling light for the first time in a long time.

Gosh, when was the last time Isaw Aspen or Carrigan? Had a little girl time to just drink and gossip? My friendships have fallen way off the map, other things taking up space and priority, and I miss them.

Flora might be a stranger, but she gives me a little bit of that back. It’s in her aura or something.

She pulls open the door and ushers me inside quickly before taking the driver’s seat.

“Mathis lets you drive his truck?” I ask.

She throws her head back and laughs. “Letsme? Ha! This is my truck. He’s lucky I lethimride in it.” She pulls a set of keys out of her pocket and jams one into the ignition. “We’re out of here!”

We pull away from the curb just as the two baboons reach us, and the speed in which she takes off presses me into the seat, but I’m laughing too hard to care.

“This is so great!”

“Boys’ club,” she repeats. “There’s only one way to get out and it’s this. Sneaking around. I knew I came with them today for a reason. So, where do you want to go?”

“Rudy’s Bar.” I offer it automatically and then stop, swallowing, my throat constricting. “I mean…maybe it’s not the best place to go, but?—”

“Why not?” Flora interrupts. “Is it familiar to you?”

“I have friends there. Human friends. I always thought the bar was a place for me to escape, but now that I’m out, I miss it.” My lips twist in a smile. “How crazy is that?”

What’s crazy is how easy it is to talk to Flora, even though I just met her.

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