Page 4 of Jinx
For a few seconds, none of us says a damn word. The Hyenas are definitely back. And this time they’re playing for keeps.
Chapter 2
Nora
At the door of Tipsy Spirits, I hold out my cell phone with my California digital driver’s license showing on the screen. The bouncer reaches out and tilts my phone from side to side, verifying the digital hologram is active. This is a dude who takes his job seriously and I can respect that, right up until his hand moves from my phone to my shoulder and he gives me a little shove through the door. I elbow his hand away and take a couple of steps forward to join Lena and Kassy. He mumbles a gruff apology and moves on to the next person.
Kassy’s eyes are wide, but Lena looks at me proudly. “You go, girl. Don’t let any man put his hands on you without permission.”
I roll my eyes, nervously glancing over my shoulder. “Let’s not make a big deal out of nothing. The last thing in the world I want is to draw a bunch of unnecessary attention to myself tonight.” Looking around the bar, I realize it’s a miracle that I’m even here.
“I see an open booth,” Kassy says, pointing. “It’s in the back corner. Let’s grab it before someone else gets to it first,” she adds, already moving.
We weave past a high-top with three guys drinking draft beer. One of them is slightly older and handsome. I avert my eyes because I’m here to have a girls’ night, not drool over hot guys.
The booth turns out to be perfect for us. It’s back to the wall and slightly elevated, giving us a bird’s eye view of the room. I wait for my friends to slide in and then take the outside seat, where I can get up without climbing over anyone.
A server comes by. Lena and Kassy order frozen margaritas with sugar on the rim. I order a bottle of beer.
“A bottle?” Lena asks. “I know you like being able to keep your hand over the top so nobody can slip anything into your drink.” She says it lightly.
I don’t care for her talking about my personal life out loud. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about either. My choice isn’t always from safety, I like to drink from a bottle so I can put my thumb over the end and pretend to drink. It’s my secret technique to avoid getting drunk when I’m among drinkers. Which, when I’m around my father and his friends, is a regular occurrence. “If so, it’s not your concern,” I tell her mildly.
“Now don’t be that way, girl. I’m just pointing out that you don’t have to be quite that on guard tonight.”
I shoot back, glancing around. “It pays to be careful.”
“Nobody in this bar will be slipping anything into your drink,” she tells me with a confident grin. “Do you want to know why?”
I finally loosen up a bit, shooting her a faint smile. “Because you’ve got eagle eyes, right?”
“Yes, that’s true. But also because your father is in South Dakota. They’re twelve hundred miles away. Him and yourbrothers and every last one of the Hyenas. They are going to be gone all weekend.”
“I know that. But men are men wherever we go. Like I said before, it pays to be vigilant.”
“Well, when you’re used to living around assholes, every man’s suspect, I guess.”
I don’t know why I’m getting mad at my best friend. She’s just saying what we both know is true. My father took his whole one percent club to Sturgis this morning. Watching them ride out, high on some victory against a rival club, was a relief. I’ve got the entire weekend to myself with no one looking over my shoulder.
“You’re right. It’s nineteen hours each way. He probably won’t even be in cell range for half of it.”
“For once in your entire life, Nora Rivers, there’s not a single person in this building who’s gonna report back to your family. Most of the community hates the Hyenas and actively avoids them.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s the reason I don’t want people knowing who my father is.” Taking a sip of my beer, I think it over. Lena’s right, no one here knows who I am. More importantly, no one cares. Here, I’m just another girl who goes to bars to get stupid drunk with her friends. Because that’s what I plan on doing tonight. Kicking my heels and living for a change.
Kassy finally chimes in, “Lena’s right. It’s time to live a little, my friend. If not now, when?”
“So, here’s the plan,” Lena says, gesturing for us to lean in closer. “We are gonna do every single thing you’ve never beenallowed to do. We’re gonna drink, dance, shoot pool, and flirt our asses off with hot guys. Then I’m gonna take you to that tattoo place down the street and we are getting matching ink. How does that sound?”
I laugh. “Ambitious.”
Kassy nods enthusiastically. “I’m all in.”
“We are absolutely not getting matching tattoos,” I tell them.
“Why not? Your dad’s an outlaw biker now. He’d probably love it.”
“That’s not how it works. Bikers are serious about their ink. Every piece is supposed to mean something.”
