Page 15 of Tex's Angel

I snort a laugh, “Not in a million years. But he tends to cling to any hope, so he might think getting me fired might make me come crawling back to him.”

“Well, seventy-six percent of female murders are committed by an ex-husband or boyfriend. I have to assume if he would go to this length to get y’all fired, that he might think if he can’t have you no one can.”

I shake my head. “Chris is an asshole, but I can’t see him getting violent. His preferred method of getting his own way is to usually whine until I give in. But not on this matter.” I pause while I roll over what he said about murder in my head. Thatstatistic sounded familiar from the shows I watched. “Do you think I’m in danger? Is someone after me? Should I stay with my parents until this whole thing blows over?”

Tex looks me in the eye and murmurs, “You could always stay with me if you’re really worried.”

His son speaks up from his knees where he’s gathering up the magazines. “I don’t want her at our house. She called me a delinquent and accused me of harassing her.”

Before I can apologize again, Tex says soothingly. “She already apologized for that. Plus we can’t leave a woman in danger just because she made a rude comment about y’all.”

“Yeah, I guess,” he reluctantly agrees as he flips through one of the magazines.

I tug it from his hands, “Don’t look at that stuff. It’ll rot your brain.”

Levi looks at me and shakes his head, “I’m liking you less and less.”

Tex looks thoughtful, “The magazines could be escalation. I’m not seeing anything to suggest you’re in immediate danger. If you’re worried, I can ask my prez if you can stay at our clubhouse?”

“At your biker place? I don’t know how much better that would make me look than subscribing to dozens of porn magazines,” I say.

“Hear me out, I’m in charge of our club’s security business. We’ve got cameras and stuff we can set up. It might take a few days, but if you stayed at the clubhouse while we haveyour house under surveillance, we might catch whoever is doing this.”

“If you think it’ll work, then yes,” I concede.

“Levi, go back in the house and pack some stuff, we’ll gather up all the magazines then head to the clubhouse.”

His son speaks up firmly, “You promised that I’d always get a vote and you’re just deciding things for me again. Like here, I never wanted to leave Texas.”

Tex stoops down in front of him and says, “How about I make you a deal. We’ll stay at the clubhouse for a few days and if y’all play nicely, I’ll find y’all a chess grandmaster to train under.”

His son’s eyes light up, “You really mean that, Dad?”

Tex nods solemnly. “Of course I do. If my boy wants to learn chess, he’s gonna learn from the best. Besides that, you’re really turning down the chance to hang out with a bunch of bikers?”

Levi rolls his eyes in the way that only a teenager can do and gets to his feet, they shake on it, and he heads off into the house.

Tex turns to me, “Y’all wanna shake a tailfeather and get yourself packed for a short vacation?”

“Okay,” I say before rushing into the house to grab a shower, wrangle my unruly red curls under control, and pick out a suitable outfit that’s flattering, but won’t attract too much attention if I’m going to be in a building with a bunch of tough bikers. By the time I make it back downstairs with a suitcase,the magazines are bagged, my cat is in her carrier and all her supplies are bagged up.

I shoot Tex a questioning look and he responds, “We can hardly leave your cat behind to be abducted or accosted. My cat just gives a long-suffering meow from his carrier.

***

We load up in Tex’s truck and head to the Savage Legion clubhouse. It’s a bit of a trek but Levi is fascinated by my cat, who seems every bit as fascinated by Levi, as Levi is with him. I can’t help but glance at Tex, because he’s all kinds of amazing for stepping up and helping me when he could have just walked away. He’s a gentleman and a good decent man, I decide.

The big bad biker clubhouse is nothing like what I expected it to be. The building is brick, has a huge sign that says ‘Savage Legion MC’ on the outside, but the inside looks like a sports bar only with motorcycle memorabilia all over the walls. Looking over their club artifacts feels like capturing a glimpse of their past.

They give us a room to relax in, actually it’s more like a suite, there’s two bedrooms, one master with an ensuite, a small separate bathroom, a kitchen area, and a living area with a couple of sofas and a large TV.

“This was Rigs’ suite,” Tex says. “He lived at the clubhouse full-time until he got married. We use it for anyone who needs a longer term place to stay. The brother who took it over, recently moved out, so we can use it as long as we need.”

Levi immediately takes the cat out of the carrier to roam free. I scramble to make a box of kitty litter so there are noaccidents on the carpets. Tex disappears to talk to his club officers, leaving Levi and I alone together for the first time.

I sit on the floor beside him as he holds the cat in his lap.

“So you go to St. Mary’s High. Right?”

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