Risky and Wild(23)

I look up at her kind eyes, the laugh lines around her mouth, the streak of color in her hair. It's as blue as her eyes. I have no idea what I'm 'allowed' to talk about, so I just shrug my shoulders and shake my head.

“You have no idea,” I say as I tip the glass back and feel my throat constrict against the burn. My lips tingle when I set it down, watching Fauna as she studies my face. “And I still have to get up and go to work in the morning.”

“That's club life for ya,” she says as she pours another drink and comes around the bar to sit with me. “By the way, you got a little blood on your skirt,” she adds once she's settled, poking a long manicured fingernail at a few dark spots on the gray fabric. I look down with a shiver and then flick my gaze back up when Glacier appears in the doorway. He winks and salutes us before breezing through and disappearing out the back.

What did he do with those guys? I wonder as I take another sip of my drink and let the alcohol curl warm and heavy in my stomach. I can already feel the shaking in my hands subsiding. Where are they? With the guy from the hijack? Is he even still alive?

“You want to borrow some clothes or something? I always bring extras with me to work. You have no idea how rowdy it can get around here.”

I smile tightly.

“I can only imagine,” I say as I take a deep breath and stare into my drink, wondering what it is that I'm supposed to be doing right now. I'm not used to waiting around like this. When something needs to be taken care of, I deal with it. Mile Wide represents a danger to my family, to myself, my career, so I'm willing and ready to do whatever I need to get rid of them. The first step would be to talk to Sully, see exactly how deeply he's involved in all of this, how much he knows.

The thing is, I don't have my car with me, have no cell phone, and it's the dead of night.

I'm officially stuck in the middle of a boys' club.

“I'd love a change of clothes, thank you.” Fauna nods and stands up, tossing her drink back before she goes. I sit there and stare at the motorcycle trapped in glass by my feet. It's old and rusty, some relic from times past. I stare it for a while, but my brain is somewhere else entirely, with Royal in that chapel, wondering what he's saying about my sister, about me, if he'll tell me about any of it later.

“Here we go,” Fauna says, sizing me up as she passes over a pair of black leggings with skulls and crossbones all over them along with a lace trimmed blank tank. “My daughter left a bag of laundry for me to deal with, so they're freshly washed. I think you're a little closer to her size than you are to mine.”

“Thank you,” I say, taking the clothes and sliding off the stool. The sooner I get out of the bloodstained clothes, the better I'll feel. “Is there a place I can change?”

Fauna shows me to the women's bathroom and leaves me there to switch out my clothes and splash some cool water on my face. One glance in the mirror and I know I look ridiculous in some teenager's clothes. They're tight in all the wrong places, pulling at my breasts, my hips, emphasizing my curves in the worst way.

I sigh and kick off my shoes. Those work appropriate kitten heels with the skull leggings? Eh. I'd rather go barefoot. Heading back into the bar, I drop my clothes on an empty bar stool and sit back down to another full glass of whisky, watching as Fauna finishes cleaning up across from me.

“Thanks for the clean clothes,” I say. “I'll wash and return them as soon as possible.”

“No rush,” Fauna tells me, dropping a rag in the sink and scooping her blond hair into a ponytail. “My girl's got enough clothes to fill three closets. She won't even miss 'em. Now.” Fauna levels a look on me that reminds me of the night of the party, like she's baiting a lure and tossing it out to sea. “Tell me, why's a deputy mayor playing around with the Alpha Wolves in the middle of a Tuesday night?”

I force myself to sit still and keep my gaze on Fauna's. Her question isn't a completely unexpected one, but it is a difficult thing to answer.

“Royal and I,” I start, but that's about all I need to say before Fauna's whistling and shaking her head.

“I knew it,” she says, more to herself than to me, glancing down and away before she lets her gaze fall back on mine, a wall of glass bottles climbing up the wall behind her. Each of the shelves is lit from beneath with a red glow that reflects back off the mirrored wall and into my face. “So you're sleeping with him then?”

“I think I'm …” I take a deep breath. “Dating him.”

Fauna's brows shoot up to her hairline as she leans over and looks straight at me.

“You crazy, girl?” she asks, but I think the answer to that question is yes, and we both know it. “What do you want to get all wrapped up in this for? I'm not saying I don't love my husband, or the life, but it sure as hell isn't for everyone.”