Gathering my jacket and my phone, I headed out to the long maze of hallways, smiling at each guard I passed.
It took me five minutes, three hallways, eight locked gates, and nine guards to get there.
At some point I’d heard Bayou talking, and my heart rate had started to speed.
It wasn’t until I realized he was following behind me, but at a much more sedate pace, that I realized I was starting to slow myself to allow him the possibility of catching up.
But, when his voice started to fade despite my slowing down, I decided to stop being a loser and go to my car already.
I smiled at the last guard I saw, though this one wasn’t actually working, but likely coming into work.
“Hey, Rome!” I called out, waving crazily.
Rome, a member of the Bear Bottom Guardians MC, looked up and grinned at me.
“Hello, Fancy.”
I blushed profusely. “Hey…where did you hear that?”
“Bayou,” he said. “And don’t tell him I called you that.”
I frowned. “What? Why?”
Rome opened his mouth to reply when something caught his attention behind me.
I sighed. “I better let you get to work. Have a good night.”
Rome nodded once. “You, too.”
I was halfway across the parking lot, at least eight car lengths from Rome when I heard it.
“Hey,” Bayou called out to me. “Wait.”
I looked up to see Bayou jogging toward me, a white bag in his hands.
Frowning, I came to a stop next to my truck and waited expectantly.
He gestured to me with a tilt of his head. “Sorry, I was trying to catch you before you left, but I was stopped by someone each time I tried to speed up.”
I grinned and shrugged. “No biggie. What’s this?”
He thrust the bag into my direction.
“I couldn’t find your pen,” he answered.
That was when I realized that his eyes were squarely on mine, and he was watching me with an intensity that would’ve been unsettling had it not been this particular man.
I opened the bag and stared at the box of pens—my favorites—that were practically impossible to find.
My eyes flicked up to his. “Wow…thank you.”
“I couldn’t find your pen,” he repeated. “So I got you those, and then I decided that it was a good present for you to have on your first day, even though you can’t take them into the infirmary with you.”
Before I could ask him how he knew what the pen looked like, I dismissed it. The man missed nothing.
Absolutely nothing. There was a possibility that he knew exactly what I’d had with me that day, and what I’d been wearing, all the way to the color of my eyeshadow.
“Do you want to go grab something to eat? Talk about my first day?” I asked hopefully.
Bayou blinked, opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again.
I felt my lips kick up at one corner as I waited for him to come to a decision.
“I have to go back inside and get my shit,” he finally said. “I can meet you in about twenty minutes.”
I smiled. “Deal. How about Fancy’s?”
It seemed fitting…right?Chapter 4If you can’t handle me at my worst, you probably can’t handle me at my best. My best is just me with brushed hair and mascara.
-Phoebe’s secret thoughts
Phoebe
We were both sitting in a diner—Fancy’s—waiting for the waitress to walk away after taking our drink order before we spoke.
It took her a few long seconds before she could make her feet move, and that was all due to the man that was sitting across from me.
He was easy on the eyes, and hard to look away from.
Formidable and intimidating, he was a presence in a room that you couldn’t help being drawn to. Young or old, man or woman, everyone had a hard time keeping their eyes away.
I swallowed hard and bit my lip as I waited for the girl to get with the program.
Finally, she did, leaving Bayou and me alone.
His eyes were scanning the menu in front of him while mine were studying him.
“So, what was the deal with Diane?” I asked, unable to help myself. “She looked like she was pissed way the hell off when you left.”
Bayou leaned back in his side of the booth and stretched his long legs out in front of him, which put them on either side of mine. I felt pinned in, and I liked it.
“Diane is like rainwater,” he said. “You can’t control her at all. You can try to funnel her into a path that’ll be less destructive, but ultimately, she’s going to do what she wants and damned the consequences. If I had a choice, you would not be working with her. Though she’s quiet and seems innocent, she’s uncaring about those around her. She doesn’t give a shit that by doing what she did today, she put not just herself, but you and the guard in danger as well.”