So he’d try something. I couldn’t guess what, but it would be something sly, something shady. It wouldn’t really hurt the club. Or maybe it would. I couldn’t tell how fucked up this guy was. But I wasn’t about to risk the club for my honor. That was long gone.
I’d showered, trying to get the echo of Edmond’s hands off me.
No way had I led a sheltered life since Ranger patched in. I’d seen some of the worst humanity had to offer, losing one of my good friends in the most brutal of ways. My husband too. But I’d never been hurt physically before. Never had a man touched me without my permission. Edmond’s casual violence, the possession in his touch, unnerved me. Left me more shaken than it should’ve.
Hence the shower. With all of the fancy, and I guessed very expensive bath and body products, thanks to Amy and Gwen. My plan was to put on my most expensive, sexiest lingerie—of which I had a lot, I loved it and Ranger appreciated the hell out of it—put on a badass outfit and make myself feel like the strong, confident woman I was pretending to be.
That plan went to shit when I opened my underwear drawer. There was no lace. Just cold, slithering, writhing snakes.
The blood curdling scream I let out kind of shot the strong, confident woman thing straight to hell.“That’s the last of them,” Lucky declared, shivering. “Fucking hate snakes.”
He looked even paler than I was. Then again, I’d been sitting in the living room with a bottle of tequila and Evie and Ashley by my side whereas Lucky, Gage and Kace had been in charge of getting rid of the snakes that were residing in my underwear drawer, and looking for places where others might’ve been.
Luckily for all of us, there weren’t any another cold-blooded creature of hell in my home. Nothing in the kid’s bedrooms, which I’d made them check twice.
Kace had been stone faced since he’d arrived minutes after I’d called him. I was pretty proud of the fact I hadn’t been as hysterical as I’d felt. Which was pretty fucking hysterical. I’d calmly told him about the situation, and he’d yelled at me to get out of the house and lock myself in the car until he got there.
He was likely afraid that whoever put the snakes in my underwear drawer was still in the house. But I wasn’t exactly worried about that, since if someone had been in there waiting to kill me, they would’ve done it while I was in the shower. No one was more vulnerable than when they were naked.
So I didn’t lock myself in the car. Didn’t let whatever this was shut me out of my own home. My children’s home. I’d poured myself a drink, sat on my couch—after I’d checked it for snakes with a broomstick—and waited. Granted, I didn’t have to wait long for Kace to arrive, then half the club.
He’d been most unhappy to find me sitting on the sofa instead of locked up in the car like he’d told me to be.
“What the fuck, Lizzie?” he hissed, rushing toward me, eyes raking over my body, looking for signs of mortal injury. He didn’t see the bruises on my arms because I’d managed to put on a big, fluffy robe since I couldn’t exactly greet everyone terrified and naked in only a towel.
That wasn’t Old Lady behavior. Well, Old Lady behavior would’ve been to get dressed in badass jeans, boots and a full face of makeup. But I wasn’t that brave. I also was pretty sure at least one snake had escaped, and I had no idea whether they were poisonous or not. I figured if someone went to all the trouble of filling my drawer with snakes, they weren’t going to do it with harmless ones.
“I told you to sit outside,” he gritted out.
“You might not know this about me, sweetheart, but I don’t do whatever a man commands me to do. I sure as shit don’t lock myself in a car, terrified of some cold worms with long teeth,” I snapped back.
“Tell him, sista,” Lucky muttered. “Though, I’d definitely lock myself in the car. Snakes.” He shivered. “Got any rubber gloves?”
“Get in the fucking bedroom,” Cade barked.
Lucky obeyed his president, but he did not look happy about it.
Kace looked like he really wanted to say more about the whole situation, but luckily Cade was there to save the day, meaning that he was the first to verbally ask if I was okay—because that was the kind of guy that Cade was.
After that, it was a blur of activity.
Evie arrived first.
Then Ashley.
I was sure that other women would’ve come if not for the fact that there was a chance of something bad lurking somewhere. But their husbands probably banned them from coming. Not that that would stop them, mind you. I sent a group text telling everyone I was fine and that we would debrief over cocktails the next day.