“Unbelievable.” She throws up her hands. “Please, for the love of God, tell me no one saw you?” She shakes her head.
Ox smirks and lowers the phone. “How much longer?”
“Hours. Go away,” she snaps, grabbing my arm. “We need to get you waxed.”
A phone rings, interrupting the madness that seems to happen in this shop.
“Dolly, it’s Eve,” Jenny states flatly, almost gloating as she reapplies her lipstick using the screen on the laptop for a mirror. “She said she’s been calling your cell. It’s important.”
Dolly glares at Jenny who peeks over the laptop screen and smirks. “You get yourself in all this drama.” She holds out a cell phone to Dolly.
Doug walks over and takes the cell, looking at it. “Text her and tell her that Julianna made a guest appearance.” He hands Dolly her phone.
“You do it,” Dolly says over her shoulder.
“Can’t. I’m Switzerland.” He looks at his client in the mirror.
Dolly rolls her eyes. “Don’t even. You can’t be Switzerland. That’s not how it works.”
“I have to be. Robert and I spend a lot of time with…” His eyes get big and I know they’re talking about Cindy.
After following Doug to the seat in his station, I settle in and look out the window. The best way to handle this is to actually ask Ryder. And if he says that he’s still involved with her, then I’ll decide what to do. After all, I just showed up.
I lean down to grab my phone out of my purse so that I can surf TikTok and ignore their hushed whispering while Jenny dabs oil around my face.
“How long have Doug and Dolly known each other?” I say, glancing up at Jenny who’s chewing gum. Her lips look normal again.
“Years. They’re like brother and sister. This thing with Cindy is stupid. Ryder hasn’t been into her for years, but they are terrified of upsetting her.” She shakes her head. I’m about to ask her more since I’m liking what she’s saying, when Doug walks up carrying the bowl filled with my new color.
“Okay, gorgeous. You ready to be fierce?” His dark eyes search my face as if he’s trying to decide whether I’m up for the task.
I smile back at him in the mirror. “I can’t wait.”
RYDER
Present
Disciples’ clubhouse
Burbank, CA
Not gonna lie, today never got better. Pulling into the clubhouse, I think about the meeting with the president of the Sinners. It went fine. I watched him. Saw every single expression he tried to hide when Blade told him his daughter left a week ago, and that the stepdad was a degenerate gambler. There’s always that moment when you look into a man’s eyes, and you can see if this fucked-up world has sucked the life out of him. They’ll be dead, soulless. Rex’s held pain—that can make him dangerous, another fucking headache. We don’t need the Sinners coming in and tearing up Los Angeles. Although, talking with Rex did solidify my belief that the Sinners are not involved in any of my mess, which should have made me feel better.
It didn’t.
Ox interrupted me three times with texts asking questions about Julianna, the last one letting me know Rip’s nose was broken. I texted back he’s lucky I didn’t put a bullet in his skull. After that, Ox went silent.
All I want is a bottle of Jack and Julianna. Maybe I’ll go easy on her. After all, she had no idea how big a betrayal that is for me. Christ, to be honest, I’m more pissed off that Julianna was on the back of Rip’s bike than when she married the fucking gay guy.
Irrational, yeah, but I’m far from perfect. Thinking about it again makes me angry. I’m not going easy on her.
Julianna broke the rules. She’ll either be a hundred percent on board, or she’ll be gone tomorrow. Either way, we’ll be on the same page. I swing the screen door open, going straight for the bar area.
Ox sits in the corner with Roxy. Fosters and Needles are playing pool, laughing. Most of the other brothers are relaxing and drinking. They nod, giving me my respect as I pass.
I grab a bottle and head toward the kitchen. I need to apologize to Amy. Laughter stops me at the entrance.
“Motherfucker,” I say as my heart pounds. I know that voice. I know both of those voices.
“God, remember, Rip? Gia blamed it on some nonexistent girl who confused everyone so much they ended up dropping everything.” Laughter fills the room as my eyes take in the kitchen. Edge stands, arm slung around Dolly’s neck, as they all laugh at whatever the woman whose back is to me is saying. This woman has long red hair, like a sparkling bag of rubies, and she’s laughing so hard that she grabs Rip’s arm.
“Remember? You were freakin’ thinking Axel was gonna kill you.”