Page 50 of Gemini
“No. He’s going to stay to watch things here in case it’s some sort of distraction. Make sure everything stays running and no issues arise.”
I relaxed, but only a little. “What if it was to separate you? What if they jump you too?”
“I won’t be alone. Some of our best guys are coming also. And we won’t be going unprepared.”
I rose as he came around to stand next to me. I tilted my head up, studying his face. “I don’t know how you guys deal with all this without having panic attacks every day.”
That got a smirk out of him. “We panic,” he texted. “We shove it down deep and take out our frustration with our fists instead.”
“Maybe I need to try that.”
His smile grew and he pulled me into a hug. When we separated, he typed out some more. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Till then, Lez will keep you safe.”
I dropped my gaze from his, my anxiety growing. Would he? Or would some crazy scenario come up and he’d abandon me. I didn’t voice my concerns. Instead, I leaned up on my toes and kissed him quickly. “Stay safe.”
He brushed his knuckles over my face in response before returning to the kitchen table and picking up his bags, throwing one over each shoulder. As he got to the door, he hesitated before texting one last thing to me.
“You don’t have to stay up here the whole time. Club members know you’re with me and Lez. The building is yours toexplore. Anything from the kitchen or bar is yours to have. No one will bother you if you don’t want them to. You’re safe here.”
I smiled at his words, wanting so badly to believe them.
“Text me,” was all I answered. He nodded and I watched him slip out the door.
I didn’t go downstairs right away, opting to stay on the couch for a little while with my leg propped up and an icepack on my knee. I played on my phone for a bit, listening to the dull boom of music coming from below, worrying about Dom every minute. Scared that the Serpents were coming out of hiding to stir more shit up.
There was nothing I could do and I hated that. Hated that I felt so damn helpless. Just sitting and waiting around for something bad to happen.
I looked at the time on my phone and saw it was going on eleven. I had a feeling people would be downstairs for a while. The me from a year ago would have been down there in a heartbeat to join them, dancing the night away with a drink in my hand, making new friends. A lot had changed in eight months.
Trying to push my anxiety away, I turned on the TV and put on a movie instead—some cheesy horror film from the sixties. About twenty minutes in, I fell asleep and was woken up by the slamming of a door outside. Jolting upright, I heard the sounds of women’s laughter as their footsteps faded down the hall. Heart thumping, I glanced at the door but no one came knocking. The movie was rolling through the credits, and when I looked at the time again, I saw it was now one-thirty in the morning.
I let out a deep sigh, sinking back against the seat. The grogginess of sleep faded quickly as my tension returned. The music was still booming from downstairs, but I imagined the place had to have cleared out at least a little seeing as most bars in the city stopped serving at two. I heard a few cars loudly revving their engines and roaring away down the street, the sound disappearing within seconds.
Restlessness and curiosity drove me off the couch. I went over to the door and, resting the palm of my hand against it, I stretched my leg, feeling the tight stiffness in the muscle. When I didn’t hear any voices outside, I unlocked the door and crept into the hall.
I took the elevator down. As I stepped back into the club, I found it was a little less crowded than before. Most people were at the bar getting last-minute drinks. A few eyes turned my way as I approached, but I didn’t meet their gaze.
I ordered a coke from the bar, and a man slid in beside me. He smiled at me and I smiled back.
“Hey,” he said. “First time?”
“Huh?”
He leaned in and spoke louder over the music. “First time here?”
I turned toward him, shaking my head. “No,” I said. I wasn’t about to mention to a stranger that I was staying in one of the apartments above.
“Me neither. Haven’t seen you around, you here with anyone?”
I hesitated to answer. “Technically,” I said after a pause.
He gave me a funny look. “Technically?”
By anyone meaning Leslie, who I hadn’t seen yet and could be anywhere. I took a sip of my coke and set it down. “It’s complicated.”
He smirked. “Complicated,” he repeated. “Biker or driver?”
It was my turn to give him a weird look which made him chuckle.
