Page 89 of Exile & Lula

“I had the security alarm on.”

“Oh, I turned that off,” Zodiac said and strolled into the room. “Do you have any pasta left over?”

“Yes, but you can’t have it, jackass,” I snarled as Skylar trembled in my arms.

“But I’m here to make your life better.”

Suspicious now, I asked, “How?”

“I think maybe moving you to Little Memphis would be a smart way to link clubs.”

“Oh, well, then, let me make you a plate,” Nova said and pulled out her chair for Zodiac. “Would you like a drink, too?”

My president sat down and smirked at Nova’s sudden helpfulness. Zodiac looked over the plate of buttered noodles and cold beer quickly set in front of him. Nova claimed Skylar’s empty seat and fed her still startled daughter.

“This thing with the lawyer is solid, right? You’re thinking marriage and kids, are you not?”

“Aw, a baby,” Nova said to me.

Offering her a little smile, I went stony-faced when I focused on Zodiac. “It’s been less than two weeks, but, yeah, I think she and I are the real deal.”

“I ask because sending you to Little Memphis to live would look fucking stupid on my part if you turned around and broke up in a few weeks.”

“Is that what you really want to do?”

“Yeah, I think the Jokers complicate matters, but Little Memphis is a solid place to have a foothold. Clint has ties to Rawlins, and I sense they’re planning to expand to Little Rock over the next decade.”

“Are we interested in Arkansas?”

“New Orleans is too mobbed up to take. Our club is plenty big enough to expand, and I like Clint. But this shit, where we can’t ride in Little Memphis, can’t stand. That’s why I want you to make a move up there.”

“Would I still be VP?”

“Of course,” Zodiac said and dug into his pasta. “You’d need to show up in Baton Rouge regularly to be seen and check on things. But you’d mostly be with Lula’s people.”

“Did you hash this out with Clint first?”

“No. I wanted to make sure you were on board before I brought an outsider into the conversation.”

Holding Skylar on my lap, I studied her. I felt Nova’s gaze on me. Lyric seemed overly focused on her food, even though she was no longer eating.

“What if we packed up and headed back to Little Memphis in the morning? Would that be too soon?”

Nova’s expression said it all. I hadn’t realized how lonely she was in Baton Rouge until we got back home today.

“I want to take my hats,” Lyric announced. “Dillon likes them.”

“I want to bring my dolls,” Skylar told me. “And my coloring books.”

Zodiac focused on his dinner until Nova and the girls were in their rooms, looking over what to pack.

“So, you’re selling this house?” Zodiac asked me and looked around. “Might want to see if one of the guys would like to spread out. Nova did a good job fixing up the place without making it too girly.”

“Do you want to move here?”

“God no. I’m not interested in suburbia.”

Studying him, I asked, “Are you still interested in Elle Reed?”