“When he comes out, he'll more than likely come straight through here. If you want, you can keep me company and wait him out.”
With a sigh I climb onto the barstool and settle in for a long wait. My laptop, iPad, and all my work papers are in the truck. I swung by my place on the way here, but didn't bother to change, thinking that if I rushed out here that Royal would at least have the courtesy of giving me a few minutes of his time.
You look so fucking hot in my jacket, babe.
I groan and bury my face in my hands. Now that I'm sitting here, in a place with rules as foreign as any distant country, what happened last night is really starting to sink in. I spent the night with an outlaw. The thought gives me the chills, but not in the way it used to, when I would've been repulsed by the idea. Now, I'm just … turned on.
I adjust myself on the stool, the leather of my pants creaking against the seat.
“You sure you don't want a drink?” Fauna asks, putting her hands on her hips and giving me a look that says she thinks I could use one.
“It's not even four o'clock,” I say and Fauna sighs, grabbing me a beer and opening the top on the edge of the counter.
“Don't be so uptight, Deputy Mayor. Your job is to woo us all, right? Make us see the wisdom in partnering up with you? When in Rome …” She gestures at the bottle and I pick it up, the cool glass comforting against my sweaty palms. Am I nervous about seeing Royal? No. No, that's not it at all. Why would I be nervous? Last night was as much of a business transaction as today. Everything is perfectly normal.
Yeah right.
I lift the bottle to my mouth and take a swig.
I'm on my fourth one by the time the back door opens and a group of men filter through at different paces, all of them wearing leather vests or jackets covered in patches, none of them Royal. One of the guys, an older man with a thick black beard and a headful of hair that's just starting to go gray, pauses at the edge of the bar and exchanges a quick kiss and a smile with Fauna.
“My husband, Jack,” she says, gesturing with her chin as he leaves the common area with the rest of them. “He's the club treasurer,” she tells me proudly, wiping a glass down with a clean, white cloth. “Patched in right out of high school, one of the youngest members in Alpha Wolves history.”
“That's impressive,” I say with a smile, even though I pretty much have zero idea what she's talking about. My eyes wander to the back door again as I continue nursing my beer. I feel a little better now, a little looser. Of course I do, drinking in the middle of the afternoon. I stare down at the brown bottle and wrinkle my nose. Fuck it.
I tip back my drink and slam it on the counter with a sigh.
Fauna grins back at me.
“That's the spirit, Deputy Mayor. Relax. Live a little.”
She puts the glass away and then pats down her pockets until she comes up with a cigarette. Fauna lights up and then checks her watch.
“I'm gonna step into the little girl's room for a minute. You okay by yourself out here?”
“I'm fine,” I say, even though I've been waiting for Royal for over two hours now. I make myself smile as an idea comes to me. “Take your time. I'm just going to finish this up and take another look around outside.”
“Sounds good, cupcake,” she says, letting herself out from behind the bar and giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze. “It was good to see you again.”
“You, too,” I say, keeping my smile in place until Fauna disappears into the bathroom, the heavy wood door swinging shut behind her.
“Women aren't allowed in the clubhouse,” I snort, pushing my beer away and hopping off the bar stool. “What happens? Do we burst into flames?” Once upon a time, women weren't allowed in politics either, but somebody made it happen, now didn't they?
I take one last look around and let myself out the back door.
There's a gorgeous garden behind the clubhouse, like something out of a magazine. Somebody with a hell of a lot knowledge, time, and care has put this place in order. There are red brick flower beds filled to bursting, even though it's still winter, as well as an emerald green lawn, a small pond and several benches. In the back, I spot a white gazebo covered in the same red and purple flowers that are hanging above me, creating a tunnel between this building and the one in the back. Two big, healthy rhododendron bushes frame the doorway and the windowed sun porch.
“This is the chapel?” I ask aloud, cringing and then glancing around to make sure there's nobody around. I almost expect a big, bearded biker to jump out and say boo! But nothing happens and I don't hear any footsteps or voices.
I take a deep breath and walk along the cement path under the pergola, pulling open the door to the porch and finding a sea of potted plants and a set of wood doors with wolf heads carved into them. Hmm.