Page 23

I can’t handle the suspense any longer, so ignoring Dev’s warning, I head straight to the diner after school, grab the bag from my locker, and make my way to the club.

I haven’t heard anything from Dev since he brought this money to me and told me to leave town.

I have no idea if he’s okay, and I need to know for sure that he is.

Returning this money and telling him I’m not going anywhere gives me the perfect excuse to visit the club.

The gates are closed, and there’s a guy I don’t recognize sitting on a plastic white chair behind them, smoking a joint.

“Hey.” I smile at him through the mesh. “Any chance you could let me inside?”

“Depends, what’s ya business?” He stands up, looking me up and down.

“I, erm…” I have to think fast and show no hesitation, and when I read the guy’s cut and see the Nevada patch instead of the Long Beach one, it makes the situation a whole lot easier.

“I’m a friend of Peyton's, she said it would be okay for me to hang out.” I try to come across as confident while I lie. .

“Okay.” Balancing his joint between his lips, he opens up the gate to let me through, and I thank him as I make my way through the arch.

There are hardly any bikes or cages parked in the parking lot.

There's not even any sign of the mean girls hanging around the ground level of the motel. I move on and open the door to the club, and I’m shocked when I don’t hear any music.

“Millie, what are you doing here?” Freya spots me first and greets me with a welcoming smile.

“I came to check in on Dev.” I look around, wondering where everyone is. The girls are all gathered around the same table they were at the last time I was here, and every one of them is looking worried.

“What happened?” I ask, stepping closer toward them and taking a seat between Lettie and Eden.

“Nothing yet.” Eden's eyes lift up to the clock on the wall as she takes a long, steady breath.

“So, where is everyone?” The atmosphere is so different from the last time I was here.

“They left to raid the shipyard,” Peyton explains.

“All of them?” I check.

“Vex has stayed behind; he’s over at the motel. But all the rest of them have gone, including some members from Nevada. Raze wasn’t taking any chances with this one. Which is why we all need to stay positive.” Alicia tries her best to lift everyone's spirits.

“How long ago did they leave?” I feel myself starting to panic, and I don’t know why. Dev is petrifying. I can't imagine anyone ever being able to hurt him.

“Half an hour ago,” Lettie informs me, trying to stop her little boy from grabbing at my hair.

“Is that all?” Freya looks defeated. “I can’t stand this.” She gets up and makes her way to the bar, gripping its edge and inhaling deeply.

“We just have to stay positive, you saw how they were when they left here. Every one of them was focused and ready for a fight. Those men working for Quinnell are in some serious trouble,” Alicia explains, getting up from her chair so she can comfort Freya.

“Alicia’s right.” Peyton backs her up. “Our guys all have something pretty special to come home to. We just need to pass the tim–.”

The door opening interrupts her, and a girl I’ve never seen before rolls in like a hurricane.

“What's with all the sad faces?” she asks, lifting her sunglasses up into her brightly colored hair and dumping a pink straw bag right in the middle of the table. “The sun is hot and the sea is cool.” She strips off the scrubs she’s wearing right in the middle of the club, revealing a bright pink bikini beneath them.

“Come on, I came here to have some fun. Work’s been dead .” She rolls her eyes and nudges Anita as if we’re supposed to find something funny.

“We’re not really up for fun right now, Quinn,” Peyton explains. “The guys just rode out to the shipyard.”

“Why do you think I’m here? Raze asked me to come over when my shift ended to be on standby.”

“So why are you so…happy?” Eden asks, looking ready to get up from her chair and knock the sunshine right out of her.

“Because sitting around here and being mopey about it ain’t gonna do any good. When your men walk through those doors, which they will, they don’t want to find you like this…Polly, where’s the tequila?” She steps over to the bar, and Freya stares at her, stunned, as she grabs some shot glasses.

“Come on, Blondie, you look as though you could do with one of these.”

“Shouldn’t you stay sober? The guys may need you,” Freya reminds her.

“A few to steady my nerves will help, Dev taught me that. I’m getting a head start before they arrive.

“Dev?” I turn around when I hear his name.

“Right, you came here to check in with him.” Peyton shakes her head and gets us back to the reason I’m here. “You might as well stick around and wait it out with us. I’m sure he’ll be fine. They all will.” Peyton looks around the table to assure everyone.

“Right, has anyone else here gone down with that pregnancy thing that's going around before I pour these out?” Quinn asks, after locating the tequila. I notice the way Eden looks at Peyton and smiles awkwardly.

“I’m not, but I have this one to watch.” Lettie gets up to strap her little boy in his buggy. “You girls go at it, though. I agree with Quinn. Having some fun will make the time pass faster.”

“Perfect.” Quinn carries a tray of shots over to the table and hands one to me.

“You're brand new.” She looks me up and down as if I’m some kind of impostor. “Which one of them do you belong to?”

“None of them, actually.” I smile awkwardly before necking the shot right back. It burns, but I need something to take the edge off.

“Amen to that girl.” She clinks her full glass against my empty one. “Here's to hoping persistence pays off.” I have no idea what she’s talking about, but I smile anyway.

“What are you doing over here by yourself?” Freya comes to join me where I’m sitting on the sand.

Peyton and Lettie had enough swimsuits for us all to borrow.

While Lettie and Alicia are dipping Rory’s toes in the water, Eden, Peyton, Polly, and Anita all watch and clap their hands each time a wave breaks around his little chubby feet.

“I’m just thinking,” I admit, staring out at the ocean and hoping that Dev is okay.

“Wanna talk about it?” she asks, leaning back and lifting up her face toward the sun.

“I wouldn’t know where to start.” I laugh at how pathetic my life is.

What am I even doing here? When Dev gets back, he’s not going to be pleased to see me; he’ll be furious.

I don’t even think using the excuse of returning the money to him is an excuse.

I touch the bag beside me, hating the burden of carrying around so much cash.

“You could start by telling me how long you’ve been crushing on Dev.” Freya looks at me knowingly, and I feel my cheeks instantly heat up.

“Is it that obvious?” I decide not to even attempt to deny it. I need someone to talk to about this, and although we’ve only met once, I feel comfortable enough around Freya to bare my soul.

“I don’t know, a year, maybe?” I shrug my shoulders and bite my lip, waiting to be judged for crushing on my boyfriend's older brother while we were together. “I didn't realize what it was at first, and I tried to ignore it. Really, I did. But I can’t stop thinking about him. Even at times when I shouldn’t. I know it’s wrong, it’s the whole reason I broke things off with Corey, but–”

“Hey, you don’t have to explain yourself to me. The heart wants what it wants.”

“Yeah, and Dev doesn’t want mine.” I sigh, looking back out to the ocean and feeling sorry for myself.

“Look, Millie, I don’t know Dev all that well, but I don’t think relationships have ever been up there with his priorities. You have to be a certain kinda person to do what he does for the club.” She tries to skirt around it without causing alarm.

“I know what he does, I also know your brother does it, too,” I point out, reminding her that it’s possible for someone to be that dark-minded and still capable of love.

Corey used to spend hours talking about the club; he always boasted that he’d make a good enforcer himself, though I wasn’t very convinced.

“I’m not stupid, Freya, I get that me and Dev will never be a thing.

He knows how I feel, and he’s made it very clear how much it disgusts him.

But it still doesn’t stop me from caring about him.

He even gave me this to get rid of me.” I lift the heavy bag up from the sand and dump it between us.

“Apparently, he’d been saving up for Corey to go to college, and he wanted me to have it so I could get out of town. ”

“ Millie, there are thousands in here! ” Freya looks gobsmacked when she unzips the bag and sees what's inside.

“I know, right? I brought it here to return it.”

“You know, this suggests to me that Dev cares about you, too.” Freya zips it back up and smiles.

“I don’t think so. He made it clear that he wants me as far away from him as he can get me.” I give her the more realistic scenario.

“These Soul men are very complex creatures; you can never guess what’s going on inside their heads.” She nudges my shoulder and laughs.

“Here we go, ladies, this is a little one I call the Bone Rattler.” Quinn carefully makes her way down the stairs from the balcony, carrying a tray of cocktails.

She hands one to me and Freya before moving on to the others.

“ I made mocktail versions for you two,” she assures Alicia and Eden.

handing them one that's a slightly different color from the rest.

“Are you sure we should be doing this? I feel kinda bad,” Freya admits, though her eyes light up as she takes a sip from her straw.

“Come on, are you telling me that your men don’t enjoy what they’re doing right now? They’re out there getting their kicks, and this is how we get ours,” she assures us.