My Hotshot, page 4
“I’ll buy you the turtle,” I offered, “and you can still get your license.”
Lottie turned toward me, already mid-eye-roll, ready to scold me for bribing her again. But then she paused and blinked like she’d misheard me.
“Really?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
I was trying. I really was. She was growing up whether I liked it or not, and pushing against it wasn’t doing either of us any favors. She deserved her freedom—her license, her nights with friends—and I needed to let go… a little.
“Can I get the same deal?”
The voice came from behind us, and Lottie and I both turned. A woman with shoulder-length dark hair and a mischievous grin stood beside us, eyes sparkling with amusement.
“I want the snail, dog, cat, dolphin, and the T-Rex,” she said as she counted each one with a finger. “Pretty sure Aero’s not going to be cool with that many.”
“Can I get that many?” Lottie asked, eyes wide and hopeful.
I laughed and shook my head. “The turtle or nothing.”
The woman laughed too. “Fair.”
I nodded toward her. “And you might want to butter up your husband before you bring home a whole zoo.”
Before she could answer, a tall man joined her—jeans, dark tee, tattoos, and a worn leather cut with patches on the front and back. My heart dropped into my stomach.
Iron Fiends.
The name patch read Aero.
He was one of Dice’s brothers.
My breath caught. I swallowed it down and tried to keep my face neutral.
“One, Sloane,” he said, eyeing the table full of crochet chaos.
Sloane wrinkled her nose. “Three.”
Aero arched an eyebrow. “One.”
“Four,” Sloane countered smoothly.
“You know how to negotiate, woman?” he drawled.
Sloane tilted her head. “Yes. Do you not know that we’re buying four?”
Lottie and I exchanged glances as they volleyed back and forth. Their rhythm was comfortable, practiced. Married.
“One,” Aero repeated.
Sloane grabbed the snail, dog, dolphin, and T-Rex in one swoop. “Say one, one more time, and I’m getting the cat too.”
Aero scowled at her but didn’t speak.
“Wise choice,” Sloane murmured as she turned to the vendor.
“That’ll be one hundred,” the vendor said, placing the chosen creatures into a plastic bag.
Sloane held out her hand toward Aero expectantly.
He slapped a hundred-dollar bill into her palm. “You do know we have real dogs back at the clubhouse that you can play with instead of buying a stuffed one.”
Sloane passed the cash to the vendor and grabbed the bag. “Yes, which is why we need to find the stall that’s selling homemade dog treats.”
“Fucking hell,” Aero muttered, but there was no heat in it.
Sloane linked her arm through his. “Don’t act like you don’t enjoy this.”
“My wallet sure doesn’t,” he grumbled.
Sloane turned back and smiled at us. “Bye!”
We watched them wander off toward a jewelry booth.
“She was cool,” Lottie said, still watching them. “The guy was scary. But, like, hot scary.”
“Lottie!” I gasped.
She rolled her eyes. “I know I’m a teenager, but I’m not blind, Mom.”
I sighed. There it was again. Her rapid climb toward adulthood. My never-ending descent into denial.
“That guy is your father’s age,” I muttered, and handed the vendor a twenty and a five as Lottie passed her the turtle.
Lottie shrugged and grabbed the bag. “Still hot.”
We moved on to the next stall—handmade journals—and, thankfully, Lottie didn’t insist on buying one. After that, donuts.
This stall was dangerous.
We settled on a half-dozen: two glazed, two chocolate-frosted, and two cinnamon cake. While I paid, Lottie’s phone dinged. She checked it quickly and frowned.
“Are we almost done?” she asked, typing quickly.
“I mean, there are maybe ten stalls left,” I said, glancing down the aisle.
She wrinkled her nose. “Tiff’s wondering if I can come over soon. Like… twenty minutes soon. They want to do a double feature.”
“Twenty minutes?” I asked, surprised. “That’s three hours earlier than you told me this morning.”
“I know, but a double feature sounds fun.”
I opened the donut box and grabbed a chocolate-frosted one, biting in with a dramatic groan. “You’re killing me, Lottie. I am trying to be the cool mom who goes with the flow, but you’re still my baby.”
Lottie groaned. “I’m not a baby, Mom. I’ll be gone for twenty-four hours. Just a full day. Please, please, please can we go now?”
I chewed slowly.
Then sighed, swallowed, and dropped the rest of my donut back in the box. “Fine. But you’re not getting a single donut. I need them to fill the void of you not being home tonight.”
Lottie grinned wide. “I am more than fine with that.”
“We need to go home so you can grab your overnight bag.”
She looped her arm through mine and leaned into me. “Actually, we don’t. It’s in the backseat.”
I looked at her. “What?”
“I brought it just in case. You’re the one who taught me to always be prepared.”
I stared at her, a little stunned and a lot annoyed.
“Well,” I muttered. “Lesson learned.”
It was my own advice biting me in the ass. I had taught her to think ahead, to be ready, to anticipate. She had learned all of it. And now she was using it to spring her independence on me before I was ready.
“You’ll still be home by noon tomorrow?” I asked, just to be sure.
Lottie nodded. “Yup. I promise.”
We made our way back to the car, weaving through the crowd of shoppers with overflowing bags and kids tugging on parents’ sleeves. The sun was high now, warming the back of my neck, but I felt a little colder inside than I had at the beginning of the morning.
Not only was Lottie in a hurry to spend less time with me, but I had just run into people from Dice’s world. Aero and Sloane had no clue who I was, but that wasn’t the part that had my chest tight.
If I ran into them, that meant it was only a matter of time before I ran into him.
And I didn’t know what I wanted when that happened.
Lottie slid into the passenger seat and held her hand out to me. “I’ll put Tiff’s address in the GPS.”
I nodded and said nothing as I handed her my phone.
As I pulled out of the parking lot, I glanced at Lottie.
I knew she loved me. That would never change, no matter how old she got, but it still stung a bit that she was so excited to hang out with friends.
Yes, I was being dramatic.
I focused on the road in front of me and sighed. She would be back tomorrow.
She would have fun with her friends, and I would…
I could order Chinese and finally figure out what color I wanted to paint the walls while I popped open a bottle of wine.
And I also had five and a half donuts that were all mine.
Not exactly the most thrilling Saturday night, but it was better than being back in Oklahoma, married to Lee.
“Do I want to know why you’re suddenly smiling?” Lottie asked.
I glanced at her. “Just thinking about how different our life is now.”
“Without Dad?” Lottie asked.
Lottie was smart.
Lee had treated her well, but then she saw how he treated me.
I felt bad for her that she had to wrestle between her dad being good, but then him treating me badly. I had tried to shield her from it, but I knew she still saw it.
“Do you miss him?” I asked.
She shrugged and looked out the window. “I miss him, but I don’t miss Stephanie at all. She was just… too much.”
Ha, that was an understatement. “Have you talked to him about visiting?”
She glanced at me. “I don’t want him coming here. Can I go there to visit him?”
“Why don’t you want him coming here?” That was surprising.
She wrinkled her nose. “Because this is home now for you and me. I don’t want him coming here and making… not good memories with you.”
I reached over and squeezed her hand. “You don’t have to do things because of me, honey. I will be fine if you want your dad to come here.”
“I don’t want him here. I’ll go there when I want to see him. Besides, for now, I’m good with just FaceTiming him. I’m busy with school and getting my learner’s permit.”
I groaned. “You have to mention that all the time, don’t you?” I laughed.
A big grin spread across her lips. “I can’t let you forget about it.”
I squeezed her hand again. “I want you to have a relationship with your dad, Lottie, and not worry about it affecting me.”
She leveled her gaze on me. “I love the man, Mom, but I don’t love how he treated you… ever.” She sighed. “So, that is why he’s not coming here, and I won’t change my mind about that. I’m old enough to tell him what I want, and that’s that.”
“Have I told you how much I love you lately?”
“This morning,” she laughed.
“Well, I love you.” Lottie was my whole heart, and that would never change.
“I love you, too, Mom.”
In half a mile, turn left. The GPS droned.
“Oh, we’re close!” Lottie exclaimed.
And just like that, I was thrust back into reality. Lottie was running off with her friends for the night, and I was picking paint colors and pigging out on Chinese food.
Boring to some people, but for me, it was going to be perfect.
Chapter Seven
Dice
“You’re not going anywhere. My nerves are shot from you four galivanting around the damn farmers market today.”
Poppy plopped herself on the couch with her bottom lip poked out like a kicked puppy. “We were pretty good at the market. You still have money left in your pocket.”
Yarder grumbled. “Barely.”
“How about we have a fire outside?” Olive suggested and was already standing like the decision had been made.
“S’mores,” Adalee chirped and snapped her fingers. “I’ve got everything in the kitchen to do them.”
“I’m down,” Rocky called from the kitchen.
“Are you in there lookin’ for food again?” Olive hollered. “We ate half an hour ago!”
Rocky came into the room rubbing his stomach like he hadn’t eaten in days. “I’m growing. What do you expect?”
“I expect I’ll have to get a second job to feed you,” Olive muttered.
Cue Ball slung his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “The kid’s grown three inches this month, babe. Let the boy eat.”
“As long as he leaves food for the rest of us,” Saylor laughed.
“I can call Stan and see if he’ll bring some of those new cheeses I ordered for samples,” Dani offered and pulled her phone out of her back pocket.
“Oh, yeah—cheese!” Fallon cheered like it was the second coming.
The room erupted into motion. People got up, chairs scraped, someone knocked over a soda can, and Adalee headed toward the kitchen with Rocky trailing her like a shadow.
I was about to follow when my phone buzzed in my pocket.
One new message. No name.
123 W Palm Trail
I stared at it. Just an address. No other words. No punctuation. Just… that.
“Everything good?” Smoke asked as he was halfway out the door.
I didn’t answer right away. My stomach tightened.
“I just got a text,” I finally said.
“And?” Smoke laughed like I’d told him a joke.
“Who’s it from?” Dani asked, already typing away on her phone to Stan.
“I don’t know.” I held up the screen. “No contact saved. Just the address.”
“What’s the area code?” Adalee called from the kitchen, her voice muffled by cabinets opening and closing.
“Is it the number you have for Stretch?” Smoke asked and leaned in to look over my shoulder.
Fade stuck his head back in through the open door. “Babe, you coming?”
“As soon as we figure out who just texted Dice!” Adalee called back.
“Area code,” she demanded again. “What is it?”
I tapped the number. “508.”
“Address is nine minutes away,” Smoke said. He was already pulling up maps on his phone.
“Oklahoma,” Adalee shouted. “508 is from Oklahoma.”
And just like that—it clicked.
“It’s not Stretch,” I said, everything inside me going still. “It’s… it’s not Stretch.”
“Then who is it?” Dani asked.
Smoke, Dani, Adalee, Fade, and Rocky were all looking at me now like I had the damn answer to the universe written across my forehead.
I did. Sort of.
This had to be Lainey.
Problem was, no one here knew about Lainey. I hadn’t said a word since I ran into her. I didn’t know what we were. A spark reignited? A mistake waiting to happen?
“What the fuck are we doing?” Yarder barked from outside.
“Dice got an address texted to him,” Rocky yelled back.
“What?” Yarder marched back in, eyes already narrowed. “What is going on?”
Shit.
I was already in hot water for not telling him about my phone call with Stretch. One more slip-up and he might decide I didn’t need to be involved in anything club-related anymore.
“It’s probably…” I tried, but the words stuck in my throat.
“Probably who?” Smoke smirked. “Santa? The Boogeyman? Who, Dice?”
“Lainey.” I let the name out on a breath. “She’s a girl I used to date. High school. We… we ran into each other a week ago. I gave her my number. Guess she finally texted.”
“But it’s just an address,” Dani pointed out. “How do you know it’s her?”
“I don’t,” I admitted. I started typing. Who is this?
“Even if you know it’s Lainey,” Yarder snapped, “you’re not going alone. Take Smoke.”
“I’ll make a snack list!” Adalee shouted cheerfully from the kitchen like we weren’t potentially walking into a trap. “You can stop at the store on your way back.”
“Did they reply?” Smoke asked and glanced at my phone.
“Who cares?” Yarder barked. “You’re taking Smoke. Whoever’s on the other end of that number could say they’re the damn Easter Bunny. The only way you’re gonna find out is by going to the address.”
“Jesus,” Smoke muttered. “This is what I get for not hauling ass outside faster. Aero, Throttle, and Compass didn’t get stuck on your booty-call patrol.”
“I can go alone. I can—”
Yarder’s glare shut me up. “Smoke goes with, or you don’t go at all,” he said low. The kind of quiet that came before someone got shot or promoted—maybe both.
“Stan said he’ll be here in half an hour,” Dani announced. “You’ll be back in time for cheese.”
“Fine,” Smoke grumbled. He leaned over, gave Dani a kiss, then dug his keys from his pocket. “Let’s go.”
“Anything looks off, you two stand down and call me,” Yarder ordered with his eyes locking with mine like he could read the doubt in me.
Because now that I had a second to breathe… yeah. There was doubt.
If it was Lainey, why didn’t she say more?
And if it wasn’t Lainey… who the hell knew I was close enough to her that a text with just an address would make me jump?
Smoke and I walked out of the clubhouse. The laughter and noise of getting the fire started in the backyard prep echoed, but I was already in another headspace.
One where this ended with either relief—or blood.
Our bikes were parked side by side, like they always were. I watched Smoke swing a leg over his ride, and his expression was unreadable.
I straddled my bike and started the engine. The growl felt good in my chest. Familiar. Like armor.
We pulled out of the lot and onto the road.
Smoke hung just behind me, letting me lead. The wind hit my face, and I forced myself not to overthink.
It was nine minutes.
Just nine minutes.
In nine minutes, I was either going to see Lainey again… or we were going to walk right into a trap.
And I wasn’t sure which one scared me more.
Chapter Eight
Lainey
Beep.
I froze mid-step, a half-eaten fortune cookie in one hand and a blank stare aimed at the carpet. That sound—like a little robotic hiccup—meant I had a text message. Or maybe a missed call. Hell, maybe it was just the battery telling me it had five minutes left to live.
But I needed to find it.
Silence.
“Why does my phone only beep every five minutes when I have a text?” I whispered to the empty living room.
I was in a bind, and the only way I could solve it was to play the world’s slowest game of hide and seek with my own damn phone. I turned in a slow circle, the hem of my T-shirt brushing my bare thighs as I scanned the room like I expected it to suddenly jump up and wave at me.
On the coffee table sat my sad, ice-cold Chinese takeout with a chopstick stabbed in the middle like it had lost the will to live. The Goonies was on the TV, muted, which only made it weirder—Sloth had bellowed something dramatic five minutes ago just as my phone beeped, and I’d gotten distracted, thinking maybe the two things were connected.
They weren’t. Obviously.
“Where did I put you?” I asked the room like I was a detective in a crime show, and the missing phone was the dead body. I crouched beside the couch and peered underneath. Dust bunnies and a rogue sock stared back.
