Page 76 of Exile & Lula
“But I don’t live here.”
“True, but I’m selfish,” I said, and Nova frowned. “I like my life, and I’ll find reasons to constantly have Exile, you, and the girls here as much as possible. You might meet someone. But again, there’s no hurry. The girls are little. Besides, you should have fun as a single fox.”
“Fox,” Nova murmured, snickering. “I don’t know about that.”
“Foxes aren’t just members of the club. My mom is a fox. You can be a fox, too.”
Nova shook her head. “I don’t know. The only time I’ve ever been fun or wild was when I was with my girls and Dan. I’m not like that with other people.”
“We’ll see. You’re a tough chick.”
“No,” Nova said, shaking her head again. “I wouldn’t get a tattoo or ride a motorcycle.”
“You fought that gunman.”
“Yes, I did,” Nova said, exhaling unsteadily. “Did you know my babies were there that day?”
Shaking my head, I glanced at the girls who walked on all fours after Xena and Ramen.
“I thought the man was going to shoot them next, so I grabbed whatever I could find in my trunk to hurt him. The last thing I remember before passing out was him yelling and running away like a dumb bitch. I figured I would die, but I knew my babies were okay.”
I hugged Nova while she teared up at the memory. She gripped me, craving closeness. Like Exile, Nova learned to shove her feelings down deep, but they weren’t naturally hard people. The siblings wanted more than they had allowed themselves to claim over the years.
Nova proved how good a friend she could be when she comforted me later when I got an unexpected call from Stevie.
“Cher’s awake!” Stevie said way too loud before adding in a whisper, “She wanted to see you.”
Stevie turned the phone’s camera toward her groggy sister. Cher looked so small and vulnerable as she fought to keep her eyes open. When her fingers reached for the phone, she seemed confused.
“They took you,” Cher mumbled before a small smile lit up her face. “But there you are.”
Tears blinded me. Having her worry more about me than herself was such a Cher thing to do. I cried at how she remained the same adorable weirdo who struggled to bench press a potted plant yet took on armed men without hesitation.
“Don’t be sad,” Cher said when I cried. “My hair will grow back.”
Laughing at her words, I wanted to race to her side and wrap her in a hug. Instead, I could only sob with relief. I heard Stevie tell Cher that I was relieved. Nova stroked my back while I mumbled through my tears that I would come visit Cher today.
“Not too soon,” Stevie insisted. “She’s so tired right now. You know how Cher gets about her naps.”
Smiling at Stevie’s gentle way of asking for space, I restrained myself from racing to the hospital to hug them both.
By the time Exile returned from his meeting two doors down, I was wiped out and dozing in bed. He gently rested on the mattress next to me. His hand brushed across my tattoo. I felt his warm breath against my throat before he left a gentle kiss on my cheek. As I gave in to sleep, I relaxed in the knowledge that the man I loved was nearby.
EXILE
The day before the clubhouse party, Zodiac rode down to Baton Rouge to get the guys and town in order. He doubled up on local muscle to guard our locations. I assumed he gave the Black Rainbow members a lecture about behaving like gentlemen around the Crimson Guard female members.
“They will cut you,” was how Zodiac put it the first time we met with the other club. “Then, you will cry, and I will look stupid in front of our allies. You don’t want to see what an insane fucker I become when embarrassed.”
I waited in Little Memphis, feeling overly tense about a party at the Crimson Guard’s clubhouse.
Lula spent the day working from home. She also called Stevie and spoke with Cher, who basically mumbled a song in response. I honestly couldn’t tell if she was drugged up or if her brain was scrambled. Lula seemed relieved, though, so I didn’t ask questions.
Nova had planned to stay home with the girls, but changed her mind once she learned Ivy would be at the clubhouse. At some point, the two of them had bonded over dogs and cooking.
“You never wanted to go to our clubhouse,” I pointed out. “Don’t be fooled by the women in this club. It’ll still be rowdy.”
“Ivy’s like five feet tall. If she can handle it, so can I.”
