“Thanks,” I say as I close my eyes and take a deep breath, opening them back up to find Glacier staring at me with those creepy ass blue eyes of his. They're like chips of ice or something, almost colorless. “Anything else?”
“Mile Wide was already watching your new girlfriend, looking at her as possible leverage to use against the mayor. Brent Gilman was helping them keep tabs on her in case they needed some bargaining chips in their corner. I have no idea who, but someone was tailing her already.” Glacier smacks his gum and smiles tightly at me. “Now that you're fucking her, man, she's seriously screwed.”
Oh dear Jesus.
I slam my laptop closed and fold my hands together on top of it. Looking up motorcycle clubs and old ladies and … wow. What have I gotten myself into? I rake my fingers over the smooth slickness of my hair and adjust my bun before I stand up from my desk and grab my purse.
“Are you leaving already?” Kailey asks me, materializing in front of my desk with her blond hair curled and hanging perfectly around her shoulders. The way she's staring at me, well, let's just say it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Her green eyes sparkle as she blinks those long, thick lashes of hers, caked with mascara and black as coal. “You're usually the last one out of the office. Do you have somewhere to be?”
“I'm just tired. It's been a long day.” And it really, really has been. With Brent's death, this new agreement with the Alpha Wolves, and my father's re-election all happening at the same time, I feel mentally and emotionally drained. Or maybe you're just tired because you got virtually zero sleep last night?
Fucking Royal McBride.
“Want to tell me why you weren't at home last night?” Kailey asks with a smirk as I try to brush past her and head down the stairs. She trails after me, clearly enjoying the hunt as I take the steps as fast as my heels will allow. My hand slides along the smooth, polished surface of the banister as I hit the first floor and head for the glass doors that lead into the foyer. “I stopped by—twice. Once before I hit the bar and once after. You were gone late.”
“That's your business how?” I sniff as I keep moving, hoping she'll fade away and disappear. My sister hasn't been known to have the best attention span. “And should you really have been driving after you hit the bar? I don't think Mom could handle another DUI in the family.”
Kailey waves me off and doesn't stop, like a dog that's caught the scent. She curls her fingers around my car door and leans in, her mouth pink and perfect like a doll's. I was always jealous of that mouth, thicker and fuller and more shapely than my own. Today, I just sort of want to slap it off her face.
My heart is beating frantically, and I feel like I've gotten caught with my hand in the cookie jar. Then I remember once again that I'm twenty-eight years old, an adult, and perfectly capable.
“I had a date,” I say, one leg inside the car, the other out. I look up at Kailey and find her raising her eyebrows at me, pink nails tapping against the inside of the glass as she contemplates that statement. I haven't had a date in like two years.
“It's that biker, isn't it?” she asks and I scoff. “That one, what's his name? Prince? King?”
“It's Royal,” I say and then cringe as Kailey grins at me.
“You're fucking a motorcycle club president? O. M. G. I knew it.”
“I'm not …” I start and then realize this is probably pointless. I'm a crap liar, and Kailey is like a bulldog. Once she's got something in her mouth, she's not about to let it go without a fight. I stare up at her tall, slender frame and narrow my eyes. “Look, does it matter who I went out with last night?”
“Oh, it matters,” Kailey says as she stands up and releases my door. She got what she came out here for, so she's happy. At least I know that she'll hold onto that information, tuck it close and save it for later. It'll probably come out at the worst possible moment, but at least it's not an immediate concern. “It matters. He is hot though. I mean, I was kind of wondering when you'd go through your slut phase.”
“I am not going through a slut phase,” I snap through gritted teeth, turning the car on and hoping she'll walk away before I decide to run over her foot. She's wearing Prada today, so I know that'd really piss her off.
“For a quick fuck, he's the perfect bad boy. Have fun with that, just don't kiss him in the front yard again.”
“Can you please go away?” I ask as I pull my leg inside and move to shut the door. Kailey grabs it again and looks down at me, her eyebrows pinching together as she stares at me, really stares at me. It takes me a second to realize what it is she's doing. She's looking right at my nose, at the bruise on my face that I spent almost an hour covering up with makeup this morning. Oh, and then moving down to look at the hickeys that Royal left on my neck while I was doing it. I tried to cover those up, too, but I'm not exactly a makeup artist. “I really have to go.”