Kristen Ashley - Rock Chick Revolution

“Yeah, I know what you like, honey,” I murmured.

“Gotta go. Shit to do,” Ren stated.

“Okay, but just an FYI, I got fired today so we have time to talk tonight.”

This got me nothing.

So I called, “Zano?”

“You were fired?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“From Brother’s?” he requested further details.

“Well, Indy’s not going to fire me,” I noted.

“Babe, your apartment just blew up,” he reminded me.

“Zano, that isn’t something I’ll forget.”

“There’s eyes on you. New Mexican lunatics after you. We don’t know the fallout from your activities in the mountains. Your apartment is rubble. And you tellin’ me you just lost your job is an FYI?”

“It isn’t like I don’t have another one,” I told him.

Or two.

“Fuck, does anything shake you?” he asked.

“Not really,” I answered.

A beat of silence before he shared, “Right now, I don’t know what to do with that.”

“Admire it?” I suggested.

It was then his voice went sweet.

“Baby, I do admire it. And that is no lie. It’s one of the many things I love about you. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need to keep sharp, and nothing keeps you sharper than you bein’ smart enough to be freaked.”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t freaked,” I told him. “I just said nothing shakes me.”

“We’ll get into the nuances of what the fuck is the difference between those two things over Chinese,” Ren said, and although a long sentence, the whole of it sounded like it was uttered on a sigh. “Now, I gotta go.”

“Okay, but I want your promise that you’ll enumerate the other many things you love about me over Chinese,” I said.

“Only if you return the favor,” he replied.

Instantly, don’t ask me why, I launched in.

“Your hair. Your eyes. Your body on the whole, incidentally. Though, if pressed, I could pinpoint a top ten of your anatomy. The way you wear a suit. Actually, the way you dress in its entirety. The way you cook. The way you make sure to cook enough for me. You having tater tots for breakfast. Your voice normally, but more when it gets sweet. The things you do to me in bed. The fact my nighties are appreciated. The fact you’re a maximum contact sleeper. Your ability to give perfect presents. You’ve only given me one, but it was the most perfect present I ever received. You’re taller than me. You think I’m funny. You admire me being unshakable. You love your family. You say I love tough and stubborn, and I like that you think that of me. You pay attention. And you never gave up on me.” I took in a deep breath and asked, “Did I mention the suits?”

Ren said nothing.

“Zano?”

More nothing.

Just in case I hadn’t given him enough, I informed him, “That wasn’t exhaustive list. You said you had to go. Those were just the highlights.”

“Shut up, baby.”

My entire body went still at his tone. It was one I’d never heard. One that slid through me, and if I thought he’d made me feel warm with his sweet, that tone, even using it to say those words, gave me a new kind of warm. The kind of warm that settled in and made you feel found and safe and loved in a way you knew you would never lose any of those things.

Not ever.

For the rest of your life.

“Ren,” I whispered.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve a whispered Ren, honey, but you can explain that to me later, too. Call me when you’re headin’ home and I’ll do what I can to wrap shit up and get there when you do.”

“’Kay,” I replied just as a shadow blocked out the sun, and I looked up to see Hank standing there, scowling at me.

Another unhappy member of the Hot Bunch, but one that was in my space.

Shit.

“I have to go,” I said to Ren.

“Later, babe.’

“’Bye, Zano.”

I did not take it as a good sign that Hank’s jaw got tight when I said Ren’s name.

I shoved my phone in my pocket and held my brother’s eyes.

“What?” I asked when he said nothing.

“You think it’s a good idea, you standin’ out here on the sidewalk?”

I pointed across the street where Santo had eyes on me and a hand to his mouth, working his teeth with a toothpick.

“Fuck, Zano put his goon squad on you?” Hank asked, studying Santo with a look on his face that stated what I’d previously thought of Santo and Lucky, and that was that he wasn’t quite certain if they were idiots or brilliant at playing them.

“Apparently,” I answered.

Hank’s eyes tipped down to me. “How ‘bout you do your brother a favor and get your ass inside?”

“I’ll do you that favor, but only because you asked,” I answered magnanimously.

Hank looked to the sky.

I sashayed to the door.

I was caught just inside when Hank’s fingers curled around my bicep to stop me. But before I stopped, I saw that not only had Vance and Luke joined the party, Hector and Marcus were there as well.

No one looked happy.

Except Tod and Shirleen. And it appeared Roxie was fighting a smile. And I couldn’t tell because I had her profile, but it looked like Ava was giggling behind her hand.

I wondered what they’d think if they knew they were “coming soon.”

This thought exited my head when my brother said into my ear. “Dad wants a family meeting.”

This was not a surprise. When Ren and I made it official, I didn’t figure Dad would delay.

I pulled away, but not too far, and told Hank, “I’ll call him. Set it up.”

“He won’t want Zano there,” Hank told me.

“That might not be his choice,” I stated.

“Ally, you want this, you gotta play it smart,” he warned.

“Hank,” I leaned in and said quietly, “I want this and I don’t have to play at anything. You would no sooner ask for approval of the woman you chose to be in your bed than Lee would. Or Dad would. And I will not be happy if that’s expected of me. I get your concerns. Totally. What I will not get is if you make a decision before you give Ren a chance.”

“We know this guy, Ally, we know his family,” Hank replied.

“You don’t know how he is with me,” I returned. “And you all knew Darius and Shirleen. And when they turned to the dark side, not one of you turned your back on them. Deep down, you got exactly who they were and you accepted how they had to be. You didn’t like it. I know it, Hank. Especially you. But you didn’t wash your hands of people who mattered because you cast judgment on them. You may know Ren, but you don’t know him, and all I’ll ask of you and everyone is to give him the chance to get to know him. If that doesn’t swing my way, so be it. It’ll be then I’ll ask you to trust in the fact that I know him better than you and I know he matters.”

Hank held my gaze before he gave in (in a macho alpha way) by jerking up his chin.

Then he declared, “There’s more to talk about.”

“There is,” I agreed.

“We’re worried,” he stated.

He was talking about my soon-to-be legit business.

“You’ve no need to be,” I assured him.

“Ally—”

I leaned in further and got up on my toes to get (kind of) eye to eye (my brother was seriously tall; then again, so was everyone in our family). “Hank, babe, love you, you know it. And I love it that you’re worried. Says a lot. But we’ll talk about it later. Okay?”

Another macho alpha chin jerk, which meant okay.

Jeez. These guys.

“Now,” I continued, deciding to let that go and rocking back to my heels. “Tell me what’s happening with Rosie.”

This got me a clenched jaw, complete with muscle jumping in his cheek.

Not good.

“Hank?” I prompted.

“By the time Mace got to Kevin’s, Rosie had bailed,” Hank shared.

I felt my gut get tight.

Not again.

“You’re shitting me,” I snapped.

“We got a BOLO on him, and Ally,” he got close, “you lay low. We also called down to New Mexico. These guys who want his action, they’re not good guys.”

“I kinda put that together, bro,” I replied.

“No, I mean, these guys are not your garden variety assholes,” Hank returned.

“Wiring a bomb to a detonator to take out a woman who’s an undetermined threat told me that already.”

Hank nodded, then informed me, “Darius is on that. And you let him work that without your help. You deal with all the other shit that’s going down.”

Bossy.

Gack.

It was all around me.

Before I could call him on it, we saw movement and turned to watch a stony-faced Lee approach and yank open the door. The bell over it rang and I knew attention came to us, but I didn’t take my eyes off Lee.

“You okay?” I asked, and he tore his gaze from where it was pointed in the store, and without turning to see if I was accurate I knew he was looking at Indy, before he looked down at me.

“Fuck no.”

Well, that didn’t leave any room for interpretation.

“So I’m not in the mood for you to piss me off,” he went on then finished, “More.”

I lifted my hands, palms out. “Dude, I’m just standing here.”

He scowled at me. Then he looked at Hank.

Then he prowled into the store.

Hank and I watched him, and then I called Hank’s attention back to me.

“You know you and Roxie are volume three.”

“I know. Brody found the website and sent the word out.”

“Is he looking into a hack of the feeds?” I asked.

“As we speak,” Hank answered.

I studied him. He didn’t look happy. I didn’t like my brothers unhappy so I leaned into him, bumping his arm with my shoulder and staying close.

“You know,” I said softly. “It might be a good idea to adopt Tod’s attitude. He thinks it’s hilarious.”

“Not sure I can get there, honey,” Hank said softly back.

I nodded. I was with him.

“Oh my God!” Tod yelled and Hank and I both looked his way. “Cherry and the Chinese restaurant!” He kept yelling, his book open in front of him, his face lit up with humor, his lips smiling and his eyes on Indy. “Your outfit that night, girlie… lush. Too bad it got covered in hot and sour soup and fried rice.”

My eyes slid to Lee, who was not smiling. Then to Indy, who was glaring at Tod.

But my mind went to Girls Night Out two years ago when Indy got in a catfight with Lee’s ex, Cherry.

Her outfit was lush (Indy’s, not Cherry’s; I hated Cherry, she was a lying, bitchy skank, though it was kinda harsh she nearly exploded in a car bomb—karma, totally a bitch).

Indy’s outfit did get covered in soup.

That had been a good night.

The best.

Or, as it was with the Rock Chicks, one of many bests.

And now it was laid out on pages for all the world to read.

And I couldn’t stop that small part of me thinking that wasn’t such a bad thing.

Because it wasn’t perfect, none of it.

But it was a fairytale.

And people needed to believe in fairytales. Even flawed ones.

Maybe especially flawed ones.

And they needed to believe always.

I put the plates on the dining room table and adjusted the cutlery.

I’d called Ren ten minutes earlier and lied to him that I was heading home with food. This was a lie since I called when I was already at his place.

It’s important to point out it was a little white lie. One I forgave myself for because I needed time to do all I needed to do (not that I didn’t forgive myself for all of them). And all I needed to do was get the champagne and the chocolate candles I bought from Pasquini’s in the fridge, set the table and arrange the bouquet of flowers and candles there and wash the champagne flutes I also bought.

I’d timed it so all would be ready, but the food would not be cold and I hoped he could wrap things up at work and get home in time to fit in with my plan.

It was a bummer that I didn’t have a fabulous dress and heels he hadn’t already seen to change into. But after leaving the Rock Chick Powwow, I only had enough time to deal with my plans for dinner and not enough time to do some shopping.

The good news was, I’d taxed Roxie, Tod and Stevie with the mission to kit me out with clothes and other items any girl needed to exist and they were all over it. So I suspected I’d have way more than two pairs of jeans tomorrow.