Page 33 of Temptation
“So what? Goddammit,” he cursed. “Are you one of those ‘if it’s textable, don’t call me’ types? Because we have one person here like that, and lemme tell you, I wanna smack him at least three times per day.”
“No.” I laughed. “I’m not. Though, now that you’ve mentioned it—”
“No. Don’t even think about it, kid. You gave me a heart attack. I thought you were going to call me three days ago?”
“I was supposed to, but shit happened.”
“What shit?”
“I’m not sure if I want to tell you,” I murmured, not ready for his level of anger. The last time we spoke, he specifically warned me not to do anything stupid. Going into the catacombs after Judah Blackwood cornered me, definitely counted as something stupid.
“What the fuck did you do?”
“I—”
“Please tell me you didn’t kill anybody,” he groaned. “I swear to God, Ash, if you killed somebody and you didn’t call me, I’ll be so fucking—”
“No!” Why did everybody think that I either killed somebody or that I was about to. “Nobody died.”
“Then what is it? Don’t make me come up there? Did you break your nail? Is that what this is about?”
“For fuck’s sake, Indigo.” I rubbed my forehead. “I didn’t break a nail, and I didn’t kill anybody. If you let me speak, maybe I’ll be able to tell you what happened.”
Silence descended between us, and after a couple of seconds, I could hear people talking in the background.
“Who is that?” I asked.
“Uh, that’s my prez.”
“Your what?”
“My president, kid. President of our club.”
“Oh…” I trailed off. “I thought he—”
“Yeah, well. Bastard is tougher than he looks. But listen, don’t tell me now. I’m actually concerned about some other things, and we need to talk. In person.”
“Why?”
“To braid each other’s hair. Why do you think? Jesus Christ, it’s not like you’re in the middle of some shady-ass shit up there. Stop asking me stupid questions and meet me in Emercroft Lake in three days.”
“Emercroft Lake? But that’s—”
“It’s not too far away. Don’t be a menace now and write down the address. I won’t repeat it twice. And, kid?”
“Yes.” I rolled my eyes.
“Answer your fucking phone next time I’m calling. Trust me, you don’t want the entire Sons of Hades riding up to Winworth. Judah Blackwood won’t like it.”
Oh, he wouldn’t like it at all, and some part of me was tempted to do just that. I would pay to see his face if all of them drove up here.
Indigo barked more than he spoke, but I managed to catch the address.
Paraphernalia Club, Emercroft Lake. I stared down at what I wrote in the notes on my phone, and then moved to Maps, typing in the name. It would take me one hour to drive up there, but if Indigo wanted to meet me outside of Winworth, then I had to go.
He was my only connection to Lars.
I was crossing the mostly empty parking lot when the ugly sensation of being watched unfurled inside of me. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and the awareness that somebody was following me sent a shudder over my body.
