Princess wears a pleased smirk as I tromp into the kitchen clad in leather. “Well, he was right about the fit, but you’re not burning up in that jacket?”
“In here, no. The guys keep this place like an icebox.” I gesture around at nothing in particular. “There’s no way I can wear it outside though. Mercenary said you were ordering me some tanks also?”
She nods, opening the oven to pull a casserole out and check the temp in the middle.
“I appreciate it.”
She waves me off. “It’s nothing girl. I practically live in them too. You know how this summer heat gets the end of August.”
“Miserable,” I mutter, and she hums in agreement.
“So, what’s up? The guys say you usually only cook when something’s going on.” We discussed this briefly the last time I was here too. I, in turn, burned her food, but not on purpose.
“What did Merc say before he left?”
“That he was going to help the club make it safer for me to be at The Pit.”
“Did he tell you anything else?”
I shake my head. “No, and come to think of it, he distracted me before I could get anything else out of him.”
“Sounds about right. Let’s just say it has potential to be really dangerous. I’m trying to keep myself busy so I can pretend that they’re fine and the cooking is keeping my mind occupied.”
“But the cooking’s really not?”
“No, not really.”
“I get it; I can lose myself in an engine and drown any outside shit out.”
“My best friend’s out in the bar with Jude; they’re getting drunk. That’s her way of drowning it out.”
“You don’t want to be with them?”
“When my ol’ man’s on a run? No. We all cope differently. This is my way.”
“That’s Nightmare’s ol’ lady, right?”
“Yeah, Bethany. Their son’s Maverick.”
“I saw him running around the other day when Nightmare brought him to the club with him. Cute kid.”
She smiles wide. “I know. I love that little boy as if he were my own.”
“What about you and Viking?”
She wraps foil over the casserole and sets it aside on a hot pad. “What about us?”
“No kids for you guys?”
She places something else that resembles lasagna into the oven and turns to me. “Not yet.”
I grow quiet, not sure what else there is to say about it. I don’t want to push her on it. Usually, when you bring this stuff up, chicks chat your ear off. I keep to myself a lot besides when I’m in “Pit Master mode,” so I’m not very good talking to women. They normally don’t care for me much.
She leans against the counter across from where I stand and breaks the silence. “I have a feeling I’m going to be seeing a lot of you around here, Chevelle, so I’ll share some back story with you.”
“You do?”
Princess nods. “Mercenary did put his patch on you,” she says, staring at me thoughtfully. I’m sure too many write her off as a pretty face and not realize she’s wise beyond her years. “The club that the brothers went after beat me up badly when they stormed our compound. They did the same to Bethany as well and stole Maverick. The bastards nearly killed Blaze and succeeded in killing two of the other members.”