Under Locke (19 page)

"Where'd you live at before?”

It was Dex who'd asked the question. Dex who suddenly looked very intent across the table, an unlit cigarette nestled between his fingers mindlessly. And Dex who hadn't paid any attention to the paperwork I'd filled out when he'd given me the job. Of course.

“Fort Lauderdale.”

“And you drove all the way over here by yourself?” he asked in that low drawl.

Oh God. “Yes.”

“Babe, that’s fuckin’ stupid. Why?”

I thought for a moment about giving them some vague reason, but what was the point? "I couldn't find another job after I got laid off and my lease had ended."

“Your other family?” Dex asked, leaning forward in his seat as he planted his elbows on the table.

My non-WMC family, he meant. I guess.
A certain part of me wasn’t surprised he didn’t know the answer though he was friends with Sonny.

“My little brother’s in the Army. He's stationed in Japan.”

My boss did that slow blink again, those eyes sucking me forward like a vortex. He looked from one side to the other, as if he was thinking about whether or not to ask the next question. “Your ma?”

The iceberg that lived permanently in my chest moved an inch. Shouldn't he know that by now? There were times when I went to Mayhem with Sonny that made me feel like everyone in the club knew all of my history. Then again, why would Dex care enough to wonder and ask? Or heck, even listen if someone mentioned it. Half the time he was wrapped up in his own lonesome world.

My voice was lower than usual, tender tissue paper in a wind storm. "She passed away a few years ago
.
"

Slim, who had talked to me and asked me things, didn’t know that specifically, so I wasn’t surprised when he reached over and patted my hand. “Sorry, Iris.”

Dex did this gradual nod in agreement. There was something about his face that looked stricken. Maybe I was imagining it though. “Sorry to hear about your ma, babe.”

I did what I always did when someone found out about her, I shrugged. Not that I told very many people because I didn’t. Over the years, I’d only met a handful that I had any reason to share that information with. Most never asked because so many people took their families for granted, but these guys had. “It happened a while ago but thank you.”

The silence that followed was a little too thick. A little too long. It made me a little too uncomfortable.

“So…” I forced a smile onto my face. “Who really
spilled the mayonnaise
in Seattle?”

~ * ~ *

“I did not!”

Slim had his forehead to the table. “Yeah, yeah, you did.”

“You’re such a liar.”

Dex was sitting directly across from me and on his fourth or fifth beer, I’d lost count after the awkward second one, and he was laughing. Laughing from deep within his chest, the richness of it vibrating from every pore in a way that had me swinging my eyes to him each chance I got. This Dex, the one who had been joking around with our group, messing with the guys was just… a completely different person from the one I’d seen at Pins night after night.

The good mood in the booth was so contagious, I couldn't find it in me to be the quiet vibe kill. They'd pulled me out of the normally reserved nature I had around them, and had me relaxed. I felt like normal Iris—the Iris I was around Sonny, Will, and Lanie—for once while in Pins' shadowy hands.

“You were, Ritz,” he agreed with Slim. “I thought you were gonna pass out.”

I guffawed, tossing back the Shirley Temple he’d ordered for me on the waitress’ last trip. “My face turned red, but I didn’t friggin’ gasp when I saw it.” We were referring to the penis piercing incident earlier. The incident that pulled us through the last topic the guys had been laughing at: the customers who cried or screamed when they got something pierced.

Blake shook his head in denial. “No, ma’am. Your face went red right after you gasped. I thought for sure you were gonna faint."

“Whatever,” I scowled at all of them except Blue who was sitting back smiling. “I don’t even understand why the hell you guys would show me that. You did it on purpose to embarrass me.”

None of them denied it, confirming that I was right.

“
My virgin eyes are scarred for life," I added. Why? Because I was a
moron
.

Also because I was an idiot, I glanced over in Dex's direction immediately after the words came out of my mouth.

"You serious?" And of course, he would say something now of all times.

I flashed a grin. "Just joking." Liar, liar, pants on fire. God, Austin was ruining me.

He raised
a
thick, black eyebrow but the look in his eyes made me feel like he could smell my lies a mile away.

"You're blushing," Blake chuckled.  "Blue, why don't you ever blush?"

Blue, who was sitting on the same seat as me, shrugged.

"Either way, your face turned red when you saw the cock on the screen," Slim reminded everyone of the conversation we'd been having just moments before.

I grunted and waved him off. “No offense, but you
three
kind of suck,” I said but I said
it
with a smile.
“Just a wee bit.”

Dex looked at Blake over his shoulder, one side of his mouth curled up. “She says no offense before she says we suck, can you believe that?”

I rolled my eyes at them. “I have manners.”

Slim patted my hand like he had when I’d told them about my parents. “That you do.”

The sound of a cell phone ringing faintly over the music in the pub had each of us fishing to look at our phones. It was Blake who pulled his up to his ear, frowning at the screen. It was close to two in the morning already and the bartender had already
announced
last call, so I couldn’t blame him for looking confused when his phone rang
unexpectedly.
A second later he was pushing Blue out of the booth and stepping outside.

“I think it’s his baby mama,” Slim suggested in a hushed tone.

The mood shifted in those moments that Blake was gone. None of us said anything until he came back in, looking somber and flustered. He stopped at the end of the table, jaw tight. “I need to get going. Seth is in the emergency room. He’s been running a high fever that his mom hasn’t been able to keep down,” he explained quickly, already taking a step back.

“Go, man.”

Blake nodded, taking another step back before looking at Dex. “I’ll call you in case something happens.”

I forgot that they were supposed to be leaving the next day for Houston.

“Hope your son is okay!” I called out before Blake left. He shot me a grateful smile, tilted his head at the guys and took off.

Almost immediately, we all unanimously got up. Dex waved down the waitress and spoke to her briefly before handing a card over. Guilt washed through me as the waitress took off with his card. I reached into my wallet and pulled out a twenty dollar bill, folding it neatly while we waited around.

Before the waitress came back, I closed the distance between us, watching him focus in on one of the screens mounted over the bar that was showing a baseball game from earlier in the day.

“Here you go,” I told him, handing him the bill as discreetly as possible.

Dex’s gaze flickered from the screen to mine in a second, eyes widening as he looked down to see what I was trying to pass him.

“Here,” I whispered.

He just kept looking at me, making me feel awkward for holding the money in my hand. Money he wasn’t taking.

“Take it.”

Dex did that slow blink again, the one that consumed planets entirely. “No,” he said simply.

“I’m serious,” I whispered, shoving the bill closer to him.

“No, babe. I said it was on me.”

That was exactly what he’d said, but I felt bad. He’d drank anywhere from four to five beers. The other guys probably had as many, and there weren’t friggin’ happy hour specials going on. The bill had to be more than what I made in a day.

“Just take it,” I insisted.

Dex plucked the bill away, holding it between his middle and ring finger, keeping those bright blue eyes on mine. “You serious?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Dex,
c
an you sign here for me?” the waitress asked walking up to us with his receipt and card.

Relief flooded through me that he’d at least taken the money to cover something. Not like I thought he was hurting for it. He'd accidentally left the business' online
checking
account open a few days back, and I'd taken a peep before logging out. Needless to say, the figure in the checking account was impressive.

The moment I took a step away to head back where Slim and Blue stood, I felt a faint pressure on my butt and turned to look over my shoulder to find Dex’s fingers creeping out of my back pocket.

Uh... what?

His fingers were in and out of my pant pocket so fast I almost wasn’t sure whether it actually happened or not, and before I could complain about him giving me back my money—and sticking his hand where it didn’t belong—he leaned his chest into me.

“Thanks for offerin’, babe,” he whispered, all hot breath on my skin.

It was unavoidable for me to shiver but at least I think I did it discreetly. Damn it, this laid-back Dex was something I didn’t know how to handle. It was almost possible for me to forget the shit he said and did on a daily basis.

It was right there, I could feel it. I could sense that draw in him that made people put up with him and his insane mood swings and temper.

Looking up at him towering over me all relaxed, face loose, tension gone, I nodded. “Well, you’re welcome at least. Thanks for inviting me.”

And he smiled at me while we made our way out with Slim and silent Blue.

I had to mentally tell myself to stop looking at the strange man I didn’t seem to understand, to focus on my slightly drunk coworkers. I had to physically shake myself awake to survive the next hour. Inspecting all three of them, I sighed with just a hint of exhaustion nipping at my shoulders and neck. “You suckers need a ride?”

Chapter Eleven

The last thing I expected to do
the next day
was to go to Costco.

With Dex.

In my car.

I mean, Costco, Dex, and my car shouldn't even belong in the same sentence, right? Dex and Costco? 

But somehow that's where I found myself at five in the afternoon. Following Dex around the massive store, stocking up on toilet paper, paper towels, and random stuff like plastic utensils for Pins.

I'd shown up to work fifteen minutes early to find Dex outside—smoking. Gag. He'd given me that long, leisurely look that I didn't quite understand and tipped his head back, blowing a thick cloud of smoke from his lips in the opposite direction of where I stood. "We're openin' late," was exactly what he'd said before dropping the bomb on me.

Like I was going to complain. "Okay."

Dex had pushed off from the wall, dropping his cigarette to the ground and crushing it with the toe of his boot. "Is your trunk big enough for a Costco run?"