“Stevie was shot several times but should recover. Cher was shot, broke a dozen bones, and cracked her skull. She might never be the same.”
Exile rested his hat on the table and sighed. “I’m sorry. There’s only so much a person can do when ambushed like you were.”
“They killed the first team just fine, but I froze up. If I hadn’t panicked, they might be okay.”
“Or they might be dead. No way to know every end to every scenario once you start tugging on a what-if thread.”
“True, but I still feel guilty,” I said as my chest grew heavy with grief. “They’re collateral damage and doing the real suffering. I was the target yet walked away mostly unscathed.”
“You don’t have to explain your guilt to me,” Exile muttered as his jaw clenched. “My sister nearly died because of who I ride with. Can you imagine explaining that shit to her little girls? They just wanted their mom to come home. The guilt nearly ate right through me.”
Studying Exile’s handsome, scowling face, I asked, “Why do you think they targeted your sister?”
“Because Zodiac has no one to target. His only family is a foster mom who calls him ‘bitch’ all the time. Caren and Zodiac once had a drag-out fight in the street. No one’s going to take a shot at her to upset him.”
“And you’re close to your sister?”
“She’s my best friend,” he said instantly and then flinched like maybe he was sharing too much or coming off as weak. “She lives at my house. Well, it was supposed to be her place, and I planned to move out. That just never happened.”
“You don’t have to get squirrely over loving your family,” I said, grinning at how he looked embarrassed. “I live next door to my parents.”
Exile gave me a sheepish grin and finally tried the beer. I saw him working through his feelings about the drink.
Shrugging, he murmured, “Kinda fruity.”
“Like I told Pax, beer doesn’t have to taste like piss.”
Exile chuckled, making his handsome face extra inviting. I sighed wistfully and wished we had met under different circumstances. If I weren’t weighed down with guilt, I’d already be straddling him on the other end of the couch.
“I shouldn’t be here,” Exile said, frowning at his words. “I don’t know why I couldn’t stay away.”
“I’m a ruthless woman with a chip on her shoulder,” I said, and he scowled harder. “But I feel weak right now, so I’m glad you showed up.”
Exile’s scowl broke piece by piece as he considered my words. I knew plenty of guys like him. They went out of their way to avoid embarrassing themselves. Coming here couldn’t have been easy for Exile.
“Soon, maybe in only a minute or two, my dad will show up and act like you’re a fucking loser. He’ll thank you for saving me in one breath and make fun of your hat in the next. We won’t have a moment alone again for a while. With that said, I hope you’ll stick around town for a bit longer.”
“Zodiac’s going to think I’ve lost my mind.”
“No, he understands I’m hot,” I replied, winning a grin from Exile. “You just tell him how you want to fuck me, and I’ll tell people how I want to fuck you. We’ll make it seem uncomplicated, even if this thing between us might not be simple.”
Exile studied me and nodded. “No beer would ever be a deal breaker, but I would have probably thought less of you if this beer sucked,” he explained and took a long draw on the bottle. Swallowing, he gave me a little grin. “But it’s like you, I guess. Nothing I considered before, but deeply inviting.”
Sharing his grin, I poked his leg with my foot and let myself wonder if this thing between us could stick.
EXILE
Until Lula opened her door, I felt foolish showing up at her house. The woman remained a vision. Stripped of makeup and wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans, she looked better than anything I’d ever seen in my entire life.
By the time we sat on her lush leather couch, I was hooked on what she was offering. Lula drank her beer while poking me with her injured foot.
To keep myself from pinning her under my body and claiming a taste, I looked around the story-and-a-half family room with its pitched roof and wall of windows. The beige-and-pastel color scheme was beachy, but the walnut trim around the windows and doors kept it from feeling overly feminine.
“Did you design this house with your ex-husband?” I asked once I dared to meet her gaze.
“No. Jarred wouldn’t have survived living next door to my parents. Pax never hid his disdain.”
“What rubbed your dad the wrong way about your ex?”
