Page 94 of Whips and Chains
I snorted on a laugh. “By chilling, do you mean…”
X nodded. “He’s in the freezer, right next to the popsicles.”
Levi wrinkled his nose. “Remind me never to buy an ice cream from you.”
X pointed the wrench at him. “Hey! I’ll have you know I have the best prices in town! I’m way cheaper than anyone else!”
Grayson rubbed the back of his neck, his agitation common during these meetings. His clipboard with his notes rested on his crossed legs. “Okay, so we have a dead body on site. That’s great. My kids are asleep in their beds just down the road.” He sighed. “How about you all sit here and think about your behavior while I go get someone to deal with that.” He eyed X. “Seriously, you need a time-out. Don’t freaking move until I get back.”
He stood and went to the door, pulling it open.
X twirled his wrench like he was a cheerleader with a baton. “Uh-oh, I made Dad mad.”
“You make all of us mad,” I told him.
He leaned over and ruffled my hair. “Aw. I love you too, Whip.”
“I will break every finger on your hand if you don’t get them out of my hair,” I said through gritted teeth.
He leaned in closer, giving my hair one last stroke and withdrawing his hand just in time to keep it. “It’s okay. Even if I have no fingers, I can still get Violet off with my dick.”
Levi made an annoyed noise in the back of his throat. “I can break that for you too, if you want?”
He didn’t get to answer, because the workshop door opened again.
I twisted to see Grayson coming back in the door. “That was quick. Did you sprint up to the clubhouse and back?”
He shook his head. “Didn’t even get as far as the road. Found afriendhanging around outside eavesdropping.”
All of us shoved to our feet, weapons drawn, muscles tensed and ready for a fight.
Grayson glanced over his shoulder.
Violet stepped into the open doorway, her cheeks pink but determination in her eyes.
My stomach flipped in a sickening roll. She was supposed to be at work. She’d been scheduled at Psychos tonight, and that’s where she’d been because I’d watched Fang drop her off there hours ago. They had security, and on any given night, half the bar was filled with Slayers keeping an eye on Bliss or Rebel, so it had felt safe to leave Violet there without a babysitter.
But she was clearly not there any longer, and there was a dead fucking body up at the Slayers’ gates, currently frozen along with the Ben and Jerry’s.
Levi lurched forward, his face like a thundercloud, but putting himself between Violet and the rest of us holding guns. “What are you doing here?” He was clearly having similar thoughts to me and Grayson about having dead bodies anywhere near the people we cared about.
X seemed oblivious to it all, as usual. He just blew her a kiss, which she ignored.
She instead focused on Levi. “I want in.”
X cocked his head to one side as the rest of us holstered our guns. “Into the squad or into Levi and Whip’s newly discovered gay awakening? Because I have questions about both.”
So did I, but I decided to focus on the Violet question first, since she was standing right there next to Grayson, so incredibly tempting but also super out of place in the middle of a dirty workshop where a group of killers were having a meeting. “You shouldn’t be here, sweetheart.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Don’t ‘sweetheart’ me. And where should I be, Whip? Hiding at home with one of you babysitting me?”
Irritation rose up my spine. She’d had a brick thrown through the car window the last time she’d followed us, but clearly that hadn’t been enough to scare some sense into her. She was being reckless with her own safety, and frankly, it was starting to piss me off. That bubbled to the surface. “Preferably, yes!”
Her mouth flattened into a line, and she moved around Grayson, beelining for me until we stood pretty much eye to eye, me staring down at her just a few inches.
She poked me in the chest with a finger. “You aren’t my keeper. And I can join your stupid group if I want to.”
To prove her point, she sat down heavily in the chair Grayson had vacated.
