Page 30 of Wicked Games

“Then you know how serious it is.”

I nod. “I do. But I also think they need to be smart about how they handle all of this. Whoever this guy is keeps winning because they are all wound so damn tight and scared of the next thing that is going to happen.”

“You’re preaching to the choir, girl, but all we can do is try to help them chill out and think clearly. Which is why this dinner is so important… well, and we have an ulterior motive…”

“You do? What is it?”

She smiles. “The girls all want to be able to go out and celebrate Piper’s bachelorette party but we need to butter the guys up and convince them of that.”

“Good fucking luck,” I shoot back with a laugh. I’m new here but even I know this is a damn long shot and that’s putting it mildly. Hell, when Tate, Emma, and I ran to the store earlier for supplies, Blaze insisted on driving there so he could protect us. I considered protesting but, after the mood in the clubhouse over the past two days, I decided against it. She shakes her head.

“No, listen…we have a plan.”

“Well, I hope it’s something at the clubhouse because that is all the guys are going to agree to,” I tell her and she shakes her head as a smile stretches across her face.

“That’s why we’re going to suggest that we all go, even the guys. How can they say no when they will all be there to protect us?”

I roll my eyes. “Like this, ‘absolutely fucking not’.”

“That was actually pretty good. If I didn’t know better, I might start looking around for Lincoln.” She laughs and I join her, nodding.

“It better be. I’ve been practicing my Lincoln impression since I was old enough to speak.”

“Rowan, are those vegetables ready?” Ali calls and I nod, grabbing my cutting board and holding it up. Tate and I are apparently “useless” in the kitchen so we were both assigned chopping duties which hasn’t been all that bad considering the craziness on the other side of the kitchen. “Throw them all in that bowl there and then y’all can go relax until dinner.”

I carry my cutting board over to the bowl she pointed out, scraping them all inside before I turn back to her. “Are you sure you don’t need help with anything else?”

“Um… maybe if you get the tables put together and set. I think this will all be ready in about fifteen to twenty minutes.”

Tate nods and loops her arm through mine. “We’re on it.”

We walk out of the kitchen and stop when we see the tables all laid out in one long line with plates and silverware already set up. Blaze looks up from the bar and follows our gaze before nodding. “Figured if y’all were doing the cooking, the least we could do is set up and clean up.”

“Aw, Blaze,” Tate coos, smacking his arm. “You shouldn’t have.”

He laughs. “I didn’t. I made the boys do it.”

“Well, in that case, you definitely should have,” I tell him and he laughs again before nodding toward the stairs,, where all the guys are presumably holed up in their rooms.

“Y’all go relax until dinner and I’ll deal with anything else that needs to be taken care of.”

As Tate and I nod and start walking toward the stairs, I lean in and whisper, “You think he’s on to our plan?”

“No,” she whispers back before glancing over her shoulder again. Blaze smiles at us and there is something about the look in his eyes that makes me think he knows exactly what is going on. But, let’s just hope that he doesn’t ruin it by saying anything to the rest of the guys. I don’t think he will, though. He’s been trying to keep this club together just as much as anyone else and he knows that besides our little plot, this dinner will be good for everyone. Tate and I walk up the stairs before she releases my arm. “I’m gonna go hunt down my husband.”

I nod. “Yeah, have fun with that.”

“I will,” she answers with a grin before her expression turns serious and she points a finger at me. “You let me know if that fucker calls you again.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She smiles before ducking into the room she shares with my brother and when the door closes, I look down the hallway, wondering where I should go even as my feet start carrying me forward toward Travis’s door. I don’t know if he wants to see me since he’s been locked away up here for so long but the truth is, I miss him. Sucking in a breath, I stop in front of his door and knock.

“What?” he snarls from the other side and I arch a brow as my lips part in a silent gasp. Opening the door, I step inside and cross my arms over my chest.

“Wow. Rude, much?”

“Row,” he breathes as he glances up at me and sighs, his body deflating in his office chair before he holds his hand out to me. “Come here.”