No more hanging out with Gwen if she was with any of the guys from the clubhouse. (Besides Gambler.)
I was only going to work, Rose’s and the grocery store. Three places I was guaranteed to not see Demon.
So, from now on, I was going to be a hermit.
Oh, Jesus, this was going to be ridiculous.
__________
Chapter 3
Demon
“You wanna tell him he’s not in his room, or should we just let him sleep?”
I cracked one eye open, trying to figure out who the hell was talking to me. I looked around the room and realized I had no idea where the fuck I was.
“Does he do this often?”
My head was pounding, and it felt like I was laying on a brick wall. Where in the fuck was I?
“This would have to be a first, babe.” King, I knew that was King’s voice, and I had to assume he was talking to Meg.
“Laying on that table has to be uncomfortable. I mean, Demon is older than I am, and I know I couldn’t sleep on a table like that all night.”
“I’m thirty-five,” I mumbled. I rolled to the right a little, careful not to roll off the table and pulled my arm out from under me that was pinned to the table.
“What?!” Meg gasped. “How in the hell am I older than all of you?”
“Babe, does it matter?”
“No, well, yes, I mean no,” Meg sputtered.
I opened both eyes, taking a good look around and realized I was in church, laid out on the big ass table we sat around. How in the fuck did I get here? I reached out, grasping for the edge of the table and managed to roll over without throwing myself over the ledge of the table. Meg and King were standing at the head of the table looking down at me. “You’re not older than all of the guys.”
“Don’t do it,” King warned.
He knew exactly what I was thinking, and I was too hungover to realize that saying it was not the best idea. “I don’t believe that you're older than Gravel.”
Meg gasped, threw her hands up in the air and stormed out of the room, but not before she walked by me and slugged me in the shoulder. “Ass,” she hissed.
I closed my eyes and ran my fingers through my hair. “What the hell time is it?” The last I could remember was falling into bed after finishing the bottle of vodka. Which again led me to the question, what in the hell was I doing on the table?
“Half past twelve. Meg and I were headed out for our little honeymoon when she spotted you in here. I figured I should make sure you weren’t dead.” King pulled the chair at the head of the table and sat down. “You mind telling my why the hell you’re in here and not in your room?”
“I don’t have a fucking clue how the hell I got in here. The last I remember; I was in my room.”
“How fucking drunk did you get last night?” King laughed.
“Apparently too drunk.” I slowly sat up and felt my head swimming and the room slowly spun.
“You getting wasted wouldn’t have anything to do with Paige, would it?”
Fucking King. I knew when I had spotted him last night after talking to Paige that he had seen shit he shouldn’t have. “Who the hell is Paige?” I was going to play stupid, because honestly, I was too hungover to do anything but.
“Something tells me you know exactly who Paige is, but since I’ve known you ten years, Demon, I’m going to let you wallow in your own self-pity for a bit longer.” King stood up and pushed the chair back under the table. “I’m taking Meg away for a couple of days. Sober the fuck up and then maybe you’ll tell me what the hell is going on when we get back.”
“Not likely,” I mumbled.
“We’ll see about that. You’re in charge, you already fucking know that. Call me if you have any problems. We’ll only be an hour away.” King walked out the door, and I was left alone with the pounding in my head.
I swung my legs over the side of the table and looked down at the floor, willing it to stop spinning before I stood up. It had only taken me twenty minutes to finish that bottle of vodka, and that was the last thing I remembered.
“Well, if it isn’t sleeping beauty.”
Ugh, fucking Rigid and Gambler. The last two assholes I wanted to talk to right now. All I wanted to do was find a gallon of coffee and crawl into the shower. “Fuck off,” I growled. I stood up and closed my eyes as the spinning of the room picked up.
“I think he’s more like Goldilocks, Rigid. I think he came into my bedroom first, trying to crawl into bed with Gwen before I kicked his ass out and then he wandered into your room.” I opened my eyes as Gambler leaned against the wall by the door and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Ah, so it was you who gave him the black eye.”
I reached up, touching my eye that I had noticed was throbbing but figured it was from the roaring headache I had. “You fucking punched me?”
Gambler shrugged his shoulders. “You climbed into bed with Gwen while I was in the bathroom.”
“Now see, I have to believe that he really didn’t know what the hell he was doing because when he came into my room, Cyn was standing in front of the TV trying to find a movie to watch when he climbed into bed with me and tried to fucking spoon me.”
“He spooned you?” Gambler wailed. He busted out laughing while Rigid flipped him off and sat down in the chair next to the one King had just sat in.
“Are you fuckers done?” I was always up for a good ribbing except when I was the one taking it. “I don’t even remember what the fuck happened last night, assholes, so yuck it up and leave me the hell alone.”
“Oh, but where would be the fun in that, Demon. You give us shit all the time, it’s time the tables have turned.” Rigid leaned back, propping his feet up on the table. “Plus, we came in here to find out what the hell was going on with you and Paige last night.”
“I don’t know who the hell you’re talking about.” Time to act stupid again.
“See, now that is where I think you actually are lying. Now, I know that you think Rigid and I get all of our info from Meg and the girls, but when in reality, everything we heard came straight from your mouth. Paige’s too, although she does speak rather quiet so we had to fill in the blanks in some parts.” Gambler pushed off the wall and stood in front of me. “You forgot to look at who was behind you, brother.”
Son of a bitch. I didn’t even think that these two assholes would hear everything that Paige and I said. “It’s nothing, and you’d do best to forget about everything you heard.”
“I don’t think you’re right, Demon. I think what we heard is a whole lot more than nothing.” Gambler crossed his arms over his chest and glanced at Rigid, a smirk on his lips. “I’m pretty sure if I let it slip to Gwen that you know Paige, I’d find out real quick what exactly what it is you’re hiding.”
I scrubbed my hand down my face. “I thought we were fucking brothers, Gambler.”
“Oh, we are. I have no intention of telling Gwen because I know she would fillet you like a fish. I’m just interested in one thing.”
Lord knew what the hell Gambler wanted to know. Fuck, Paige and I had nothing to do with him. When I was with Paige, I was still only a prospect. Paige barely even knew the name of the club when she and I were dating. “Spit it the fuck out, and if you’re lucky, I’ll tell you what you want to know.”
Gambler eyed me up and down. “Is she the one you always talk about? The one you let get away?”
I glanced at Rigid who looked as eager as Gambler to hear my answer. Paige was definitely the one who got away. “Yes,” I bit off.
Gambler reached out, resting his hand on my shoulder. “In that case, Rigid and I are here to help you get her back.”
Oh fuck me.
_________
Chapter 4
Paige
“Do you want to tell me why you’ve been avoiding me like the plague since Meg and King’s wedding?”
I was at work on my lunch break, my phone pressed to my ear while Gwen sco
lded me for barely talking to her for the past two weeks. I had been doing an impressive job of avoiding anything that would bring me into contact with Demon, but I was utterly exhausted from constantly worrying about running into him. “I’m not avoiding you. We just got a new shipment of books in and I’ve been helping Rose put together a new puzzle.” Jesus, even my excuse sounded lame to me.
“Books and a puzzle are the reason you can’t talk to your sister?”
I shoved the last bite of my sandwich into my mouth and crumpled up the empty brown paper lunch bag. I was going to gain fifty pounds if I continued to get lunch from the deli down the street every day. One had to think that having a huge roast beef sandwich every day wasn’t good for my waistline. “Yes and no.”
“I don’t care what you say, Paige. Gambler and I are coming over tonight.”
Shit. Although I had to admit, Gwen and Gambler coming over was better than all the other things she had suggested. First, she wanted me to come over to the clubhouse and watch a movie with her, and you better believe I shot that one down right away. “Fine. I’ll grab something on the way home for dinner.”
“No, I’ll bring something. Gambler and I won’t be over until six, and you get off of work at five. It’ll be cold by the time we get there.”
“I need to stop at the store anyway, Gwen. I’ll just pick up a rotisserie chicken and some salads from the deli.” From the weather reports I had been hearing, there was a huge storm blowing in that was supposed to dump over sixteen inches of snow over the next three days.
“Fine, but probably get two chickens. Gambler can finish one off by himself.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, he is a growing boy.”
“Yeah, a growing boy at the age of thirty-three. We’ll be over at six.” She hung up before I could protest again and I set my phone on the small table in the breakroom.
I ended up getting a job at the bookstore that was only four blocks away from my apartment. Finding this job was another thing that made me feel like moving here was the right thing to do. The only thing that didn’t scream that was Demon.
“All done with your break already?” Marg, the owner of the bookstore and an all-around awesome lady, walked into the break room and opened the fridge. “I brought lunch from home, trying to make sure I didn’t go to the deli but wouldn’t you know their tuna on rye is calling to me.” She slammed the door shut and looked down at the crumpled paper bag in my hand. “Looks like I’m not the only one who can’t stay away from there.”
I couldn’t help but smile. Marg talked a mile a minute and typically I just tried to keep up. “The roast beef is going to be the death of me. It’s addictive.”
“Same with the tuna.” Marg sat down in the chair next to me and kicked her feet out in front of her. “Any plans for the weekend?”
Thankfully today was Thursday, and I was fortunate to have the whole weekend off. “Nope. I just need to run over to Rose’s house, check up on her before the storm hits and then I plan on being snowed in.” Yes, I was one of those freaks who absolutely loved winter and snow. If it would snow every day, I would be happy.
“Hmmm, sounds good except I think you need a man to be snowed in with. I can still remember the first time Rod and I were snowed in together.” Marg got a dazed look on her face, and I could only imagine what she was thinking about.
I stood up and tossed my trash in the garbage. “Well, from the sounds of the weather report, you and Rod can relive that memory this weekend. Are you heading out to get lunch?”
“Yeah, I think I’ll text Rod and see if he can sneak out for a nooner.” Marg pulled her phone out of her pocket and sent a message off to her husband.
A month ago, I would have been shocked by what Marg had just said, but now that I’ve been around her and know that there isn’t a filter from her brain to mouth, all I could do was giggle and head back to the front counter.
I looked up and down the aisles, making sure there weren’t any customers who needed help, and then plopped on the stool behind the counter and picked up the book I had been reading. Working at Read Your Ass Off definitely had its perks.
Marg ran a traditional bookstore, but where she actually made money was in her online store where she catered to any and every book request that was thrown at her. Generally, only a handful of people came into the store every day, and the rest was all over the good ole’ internet which was what Marg took care of. Before I moved to town, she took care of both ends of the business and was burning out quickly.
Now that I was here taking care of the actual customers that came in, most of the time she spent her time in back or some days she didn’t even come in, working from home. I glanced on the wall on the clock, seeing I had over four hours of work left and opened my book.
At least I’d have good company until it was time to go home.
__________
“That’ll be twenty-seven fifty-two, ma'am.” I fished my money out of my wallet and handed it over to the cashier.
Two chickens, a pound of pasta salad, garlic rolls, and an angel food cake later, I was ready to get home and relax. I hadn’t done a lot at work today besides read and do a quick inventory, but I was completely exhausted. I had tried calling Gwen to tell her I was too tired for her and Gambler to come over tonight, but she didn’t answer her phone or the five text messages I had sent her.
“Hey, beautiful, Paige is here.” Rigid and Cyn walked through the doors of the store, and I couldn’t help but cringe a little at the fact that I wasn’t going to be home as soon as I had hoped.
“Hey,” Cyn chirped. I had never seen a more beautiful and happy pregnant woman in my life before. Add in Rigid who was always fawning over and watching her, I was a tad bit jealous.
“Hey, guys!” I grabbed my change from the cashier, shoving it into my wallet then picked up the two bags.
“Whoa, two chickens?” Cyn laughed as she looked into my bags.
“Gambler and Gwen are coming over tonight. I was advised that Gambler had the appetite of a growing teenager.”
“So does this one,” Rigid laughed, pointing at Cyn.
“Hey,” Cyn whined, smacking Rigid. “I’m growing your damn baby right now.”
“Yeah, apparently growing babies need caesar salad, pickle flavored sunflower seeds, and lemon bars.”
Pickle flavored sunflower seeds? I couldn’t help but cringe at that combination. “That sounds interesting.”
“Speaking of lemon bars,” Cyn said, rubbing her belly. “Meg told me she’ll be over in twenty minutes with a pan fresh from the oven. We better grab the salad and seeds and get home.” Cyn grabbed one of the red shopping baskets, put it over her arm and grabbed Rigid’s hand.
Rigid nodded to me as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and they headed into the depths of the store. “I’ll talk to you later, Paige,” Cyn hollered over her shoulder.
I walked out of the store, thankful Cyn was too occupied with her cravings to want to talk much and headed down the street to my apartment.
Now I only hope Gambler and Gwen didn’t want to stay long and then I could pass out.
__________
Chapter 5
Demon
“You think you could not look at your phone right now and help me pull this god damn engine out?”
I shoved my phone back in my pocket and cranked on the hoist to raise the motor out of the Buick Gravel and I were working on. Rigid had just texted me saying he had just seen Paige at the grocery store. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was jealous as hell that Rigid had just seen Paige.
It had been over two weeks since I had seen her at the wedding, but it felt like years. “Cool your jets, old man. This car doesn’t have to be done for another three days.” This morning King had a meeting with all the shop employees telling us with the storm coming we needed to get all of the work done as soon as possible. Gravel must have taken his words to heart because he had been working his ass off all day.
“
The way I see it, we get this done, and we ain’t gotta work until Tuesday.” Gravel guided the engine out of the car, and I lowered it down to the floor.
“Yeah right. We get this done today, and King will give us two other things to work on Monday.” I grabbed a rag out of my back pocket and wiped my hands. “It’s almost six o’clock. Can’t we finish this shit tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I suppose. But your ass better be here bright and fucking early.” Gravel walked out of the shop grumbling under his breath about God knows what.
I leaned up against the car and crossed my arms over my chest.
Paige. Fucking Paige Lawson. Just seeing her had brought back so many fucking feelings. Feelings that I had no idea what to do with. When I had left her, I hated her. In my own grief, I blamed her for everything that had happened. But it also brought back feelings I never thought I would have about her again.
I knew now that everything that had happened wasn’t Paige’s fault, that we just weren’t meant to be parents then. But it was what had happened after that I was afraid that we weren’t going to be able to come back from.
“Where are you?” I barked into the phone. I was sitting outside of Paige’s apartment wondering why the hell her door was locked to her room, and she wasn’t anywhere to be found.
“I’m at the library studying for my finals next week.”
“Fucking bullshit,” I mumbled into the phone. This, this right here was what Paige was doing after losing my baby a week ago. “I thought we were going to have dinner tonight.”
“I forgot. I’m leaving right now. I’ll be home in twenty minutes.” I could hear her frantically shoving books and shit into her bag.
“Fucking forget about it, Paige. I’ll find someone else who wants to spend time with me.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?” She trembled into the phone.
“It means if you don’t want to spend time with me, I’ll just go pick one of the girls out at the club who love to fucking eat dinner with me.” All I had to do was walk in the clubhouse, and I would have bitches hanging all over me.
Fighting Demon: Devil's Knights Series Page 2
