King(8)

Chapter 4




“That was all he said?” Shade’s enigmatic gaze rested on her, waiting for her response.

“Yes, I think he knows about the club.”

“Perhaps. It wouldn’t be difficult with Kaley telling everyone in town.”

“You think that’s all?”

“No, I think he’s checked us out. I’m sure he has the resources to find out what he wants.”

“It doesn’t bother you?”

“No, Lily knows the truth about the club. He’s not going to tell her anything I haven’t.”

“You’ve told her everything?” Evie was shocked, her heart beating rapidly at his statement.

“Not everything, no. Just the parts King can use against me. The rest about my jobs with the military, no.”

“Did you tell her about me?” Evie licked her dry lips.

“No.”

“Thank you. So, what are you going to do?”

“Nothing. I’m going to let him make his move.”

“You don’t think he can come between you and Lily?” she asked hesitantly.

“No. I’m really not worried about some bullshit he thinks he's going to pull out of the closet. If he does, Lily and I will deal with it.”

“Cool. I could just picture you beating the shit out of him with Lily watching. That’s why I accepted his dinner invitation.”

“When I deal with King, Lily won’t be around. I can deal with him, man to man, whatever he pulls. It’s the garbage that could get Lily killed that concerns me.”

“When is Penni going back to Queen City?”

“The week after next. The same week Lily and I leave for Alaska. I told her last night.”

“Is she excited?”

“That’s putting it mildly.” A smile lit his face briefly. It never failed to stun Evie when she saw that look on his face. Shade had loved Lily since he had seen her as a senior in high school; however, he had waited until she had finished college before marrying her.

“You finished for the day?”

“Yeah, I just have to lock up.” When they walked out of the office, Evie stood by his side as he locked the factory door before going up to the clubhouse together. Dinner was already starting when she turned to go upstairs. Shade paused.

“You're not going to eat?”

“No, I’m not hungry. I’m going to have an early night. See you in the morning.”

“Night.”

Evie went upstairs to her room, taking a shower before she lay down on her bed to watch television. She heard Raci and Jewell in the bedroom next door with Cash. A knock came at her door, which she ignored before whomever it was went away.

Sitting up in bed, she ran her hands through her hair. She didn’t know what was wrong with her lately. She hopped off the bed, going to the mini-fridge and taking out a beer before climbing back on the bed.

It was late before she turned off her TV to go to sleep. Her body was restless, but she wasn’t in the mood to fuck. As a picture of the man she really wanted flashed through her mind, Evie flung her arm over her eyes, trying to shut out his image. It wouldn’t do any good, though; it never did.

* * *

The next day, Evie was the first one at the factory. She had already started filling an order when the other workers began coming in. Jewell and Raci came in the door together, coming to a stop when they saw her already at work.

“What got you out of bed so early?” Jewell asked as she took the workstation next to hers.

“Went to bed early. Besides, I saw the orders were beginning to back up with Lily working fulltime at the church store and Georgia in jail.” Shade had given Georgia’s brother a job to replace Georgia, but he’d had to start at the entry-level position, not floor supervisor like his sister. They had also hired another worker to fill Lily’s spot, but he was still training; it took time to learn where everything was in the factory.

They could actually hire more workers, but they wanted to be careful with the ones they hired, preferring to give fewer workers better pay and keeping the company stable. Orders could dry up, and they didn’t want to lay off workers who were already well acquainted with layoffs.

“Can I get you something, Evie?”

She glanced up from taping her package closed. “No. Thanks, Charlie.” He was overly anxious to please. Charlie had been hired when Lily had asked Shade. With two kids and a sweet wife, their situation had tugged at Lily’s heart. It had been hard to find another job in construction when he had hurt his back and was unable to do the strenuous work.

“Jewell?”

“I got it covered.” He turned away, pulling his own order.

“He’s a nice guy.”