Page 7 of Juno

“And she brought you to the ER?” the woman asked. “Well, then, I take back what I just said about her. You should treat her better because she’s a keeper.”

He rolled his eyes at her as Juno shouted, “Thank you,” over her shoulder to the woman. Honestly, she didn’t seem to miss anything, and he was betting that she had heard the woman calling her his wife.

“Have a seat and we’ll call you back soon,” the nurse said. He wanted to protest about having to wait, but he didn’t want to seem like a total baby—especially in front of Juno.

He sat down next to her, and she smiled over at him. “She’s right,” Juno said, “I am a keeper.”

“I don’t doubt that honey, but I don’t need a wife or a girlfriend, no matter how much of a keeper you are,” he said. He could never see himself as a husband, and being someone’s boyfriend sounded like more work than he wanted. Asking Juno for a night of hot sex didn’t feel right either. He was sure that Dare wouldn’t be okay with that.

“Oh,” she breathed. “I didn’t know.”

“You didn’t know what?” he questioned.

“I didn’t know that you’re gay,” she said.

“What the fuck, Juno,” he growled, “I’m not gay,” he practically shouted. “I just don’t want to be in a committed relationship. It doesn’t mean that I don’t like women.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I wasn’t implying that you marry or date me,” she whispered, looking around the room to see who was watching them. Just about every person in the waiting room had taken an interest in their conversation. If Juno had told her best friends about where she worked, she wouldn’t have had an issue with having a private conversation publicly.

“Noted,” he whispered. The woman from behind the desk called his name and he stood to go back to have his arm looked at.

Juno grabbed his good arm, stopping him. “Do you want me to come back with you?” she asked.

“I’m good,” he lied. He was in a lot of pain and worried that they were going to give him something that might incapacitate him, and he hated feeling that way. It’s one of the reasons why he never drank. The other guys in the Royal Bastards made fun of him, but he never really gave a fuck. He liked complete control, and booze and drugs took that away from him.

“All right—don’t say that I didn’t offer,” she said. “I’ll be here waiting to drive you back to the club so that I can pick up my car.” He nodded and turned to go back with the nurse who was waiting for him. He didn’t bother to tell Juno that he’d probably need her to drive him home since he wouldn’t be able to drive if they shot him full of drugs.

“You ready for a few X-rays?” the nurse asked. He wasn’t ready for anything that had happened tonight—especially finding Juno up on stage, dancing, while guys threw cash at her. Yeah—nothing made sense tonight and he wasn’t ready for any of it.

Juno

Juno thought about calling Dare to tell him that his brother was in the hospital, but then how would she explain to her friends why she was with Saint in the first place? She was going to have to come up with a damn good story at some point because she needed to tell Sprite, Phoenix, and Vixen that she was going to have to move back home with her parents. It was pointless to tell them that she was an exotic dancer since there was no way that Bruno would hire her back now after everything that happened with Saint tonight. She’d have to stick with her cover story and tell her friends that she was fired from the law firm and that she just needed time to find another secretarial position. That would cover her ass with the girls, but how was she going to explain that she had driven Saint to the emergency room for his broken arm—that she caused in the parking lot at a strip club. She checked the time, noting that it was almost two in the morning, and decided that waking Dare up because Saint broke his arm, wasn’t necessary. If Saint’s injuries were life-threatening, she’d call him, but that wasn’t the case.

Juno sat in the waiting room, dozing in and out of sleep when she heard someone walk in and sit next to her. She peeped one eye open to see who it was and found Dare staring back at her. “Why are you here?” She mumbled, trying to figure out if he was really sitting next to her or if her mind was playing tricks on her. She had been trying to figure out what to do about telling Dare when she started to doze off.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Dare said. “Does Vixen know your secret?” he asked.

“Um, my secret?” Juno squeaked. “What secret?” She never gave out information without knowing what was going on first. It’s how she had kept her big secret all this time.

He sighed and rolled his eyes at her. “I’m one of your oldest friends, so I’m not sure why you are lying to me right now.” The problem with Dare was that he could see right through her, and he was right, he was her oldest friend. Still, playing dumb was her only choice here.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Dare,” she insisted. “I’m not lying to you about anything.”

“Then, why did I have to find out from Saint that you two are dating?” Dare asked. “He called to tell me that he fell and broke his arm while you two were out on a date, and you brought him here.” Why the hell would Saint tell his brother that? She thought back over what Dare had just told her and realized that Saint was probably trying to cover her ass. He didn’t lie to his brother and even covered for how he had gotten a broken arm. The problem was, how was she going to lie to Dare and say that they were dating?

“You okay?” Dare asked. She wasn’t but there was no way she was going to tell him that. She felt as though her head was spinning, and all she wanted to do was get off the ride.

“I am,” she lied. He sat back in the chair and looked her over, trying to decide if he was going to believe her or not. That’s the way Dare always looked at her when he wasn’t sure if she was lying to him or not. He was the one that she worried about most when it came to her real secret of working at the club. Being friends with Dare was like being friends with a bloodhound. He was always snooping around, trying to find all the clues. But this time, Saint might have covered both their asses enough to get away with the crazy lie that he told his brother.

“Are you going to tell Vixen?” Juno asked. She knew that her girlfriends would have many questions before giving up the hunt.

“No,” he whispered, “you are.” Shit—Dare wasn’t going to cover for her forever, that much she knew. “She’s one of your best friends, and you and Saint won’t be able to hide your relationship forever. And it’s not my responsibility to tell my wife that you’ve been keeping the fact that you’re dating Saint from her and the other Royal Harlots.”

“Please, just let me tell Vixen,” she begged. The last thing she wanted was to have to confess her life choices to every woman in the Royal Harlots.

“I’ll give you twenty-four hours to tell her, and then, I’ll tell her myself. I won’t lie to my wife and keeping your and Saint’s secret is basically a lie,” Dare insisted. She wouldn’t want him to lie to Vixen, but she was going to have to rehearse her story, and going over everything with Saint would be very helpful. But for now, she was alone and having to deal with Saint’s lie to his brother.

“I’ll tell her,” she lied. She was going to have to come up with some excuse as to why Saint lied about them being in a relationship—but that might involve her telling her friends about her choice of work. Well, what she used to do for work. What Juno really wanted was some sleep to clear her cloudy mind and then she’d have to sit down with Saint and come up with a logical reason as to why they were together tonight.

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