Corrupting Cinderella (27 page)

It’s obvious she’s not sure what to make of Hope’s eagerness to be friends. I figure they’ll work it out over time. Hope can be persistent that way.

Even though I’m happy about their budding friendship, it doesn’t mean I’m thrilled about them running around downtown Empire together for their girls’ night out. Adding Lilly and Sophie to the mix doesn’t make me any more confident.

But I didn’t run a strip club in Empire for years without making a few friends. One of those friends now manages the company that provides security for the arena the girls are going to for their show. After I make that phone call, it’s a lot easier to pretend to be the laid-back boyfriend eager to send his girl off for a night of rowdiness with her friends.

The girls have been back and forth all afternoon getting ready for their evening out. Fed up and chased from Trinity’s room, Wrath throws himself onto the couch. “I can’t believe you’re letting them do this.”

Adam’s words drift into my head, and I chuckle. “One doesn’t
let
Hope do anything, brother. And I don’t think you have much say over Trinny, either,” I remind him with a pointed look.

“Fuck off,” he growls. Pointing to his cast, he grinds out another concern. “It’s kinda soon after this bullshit to be letting them run around unprotected.”

Okay, he’s got a point there.

“Z and I took care of those fucks.”

Wrath’s jaw ticks, but he nods.

Music drifts out from the back of the house. Wrath rolls his eyes at me. “It’s like backstage at a fashion show down there. Why couldn’t they do that shit in your room?”

I shrug. “Who’s coming up tonight?” I ask to change the subject.

“Fuck if I know,” Wrath grumbles, surprising me, since he’s usually on top of every person who comes through our gate.

“You worried about something else?”

He glances at me with a pained expression, and understanding dawns on me. Brother’s hating this so much, I almost manage not to laugh. “They’re not going out to pick up guys.”

“I know Hope isn’t. But those other two you told me about…” he trails off.

I elbow him in the ribs. “I called Blue. He’ll make sure they’re protected at the show, and Birch will be on their tail. They’ll be fine.”

That didn’t exactly address his concerns, but he relaxes a little. “Whatever,” he mumbles as he swipes up the remote and flicks the television on.

Sparky wanders up long enough to grab something from the kitchen and head back downstairs to his plants. Shaking my head, I go into the war room to work on some stuff that came up during the week.

Loud giggles pull me back into the main room. “We’re almost ready to go,” Hope shouts.

“Oh, hey,” she says, hurrying over when I come out of the war room.

Fuck me. Nope. Not okay letting her go out at all now.

Wrath gives me a smug look that I interpret as “still cool with this, bro?”

As far as dresses go, I’m sure it’s tame compared to what her friends will be wearing. It’s black and has a tight top held together with laces all the way up. The swinging skirt stops way too far above her knees for my taste. Her legs are covered in black stockings with some sort of lacy, flowery pattern. I swear my girl has given me some sort of fucking pantyhose fetish, because all I can think about is ripping right through them and fucking her hard. My filthy thoughts must be plastered all over my face because suddenly her cheeks are bright pink.

Clearing my throat, I ask, “Aren’t you going to be cold?”

She holds up a bright blue leather jacket that I recognize as Trinity’s. My eyes skip down to the black, knee-high boots her legs are encased in, and I stifle a groan.

Soft clicking announces Trinity’s arrival. Wrath’s smug face turns downright deadly when he gets a look at her. Royal blue, equally tight and short, Trinity’s dress makes her blonde hair seem even brighter. She’s also wearing black tights and boots. The two of them make quite a pair. Wrath pushes himself off the couch and hobbles over.

“Jacket?” I cough out.

She holds up a black leather jacket that I’m pretty sure is actually Hope’s. “Yes, Dad.”

“Very funny.” Pulling out my phone, I snap a picture. “Just in case you go missing, so I have something to give the police.” I meant it as a joke, but it came out kind of strained.

“Very funny,” Hope teases me with my own words. Grabbing hold of Trinity’s hand, she drags her to the door. “Let’s go. I don’t like the bossy caveman faces I’m seeing.”

Trinity chuckles nervously.

“Hey, wait a sec,” I call. Hope turns, and I crook my finger at her. Smiling, she saunters over.

“Have fun, but be careful?”

“Of course.”

“Where you going first?”

“We’re meeting up at the Red Room for drinks, then walking to the arena. Sophie has parking passes for her firm’s garage we can use.”

“Okay. Just be careful walking around down there.”

She smiles, but I can tell she’s fighting the urge to tell me to fuck off. “I will.” She tilts her head in Trinity’s direction. “I’ve got the little blonde badass with me. We’ll be fine.”

I snort at that. My eyes skip to Trinity and Wrath. He’s bent over whispering something in her ear. She’s blushing and smiling, so at least he’s not giving her a hard time. Laughing, she pushes him away and grabs Hope’s hand.

“Let’s run before they change their minds.” Trinity giggles, hauling Hope out the door.

I paste on a smile as I walk the girls out. My gimpy brother doesn’t share my lazy grin as we send the girls off in Trinity’s jeep.

As soon as they’re out of sight, he storms back in the house. “When did we turn into such whipped pussies?” he snaps. “No way should we be letting our women out dressed like that.”

Oh boy. I’m laughing so hard, I can’t even respond. “Something you want to share?”

Realizing what he’s said, he clams up and grabs a bottle of Jack from behind the bar. He points at the couch. “I’ll be over there until they get back.
You
better stay sober in case they need anything. Not like I can drive anywhere.”

Christ, this is good. I smile at the distraction, then head back into the war room to finish up what I was working on before the clubhouse gets too noisy.

I’m not good at being a girly-girl. Never have been. Neither is Trinity, but I think that’s why we’re having so much fun together. After chasing Wrath out of her room, we rifled through her closet until we found a royal blue dress she had hanging in the back.

Holding it up against her, I smile. “This is it. Makes your eyes pop.”

She slides her fingers over the material, almost reverently. “I haven’t worn it in years. I hope it still fits.”

She ducks into the bathroom to try it on and shyly comes back out. “You think it’s okay?”

“Yeah, you look great.”

Glancing down at her legs, she lets out a curse. “It’s kinda cold for bare legs. I don’t have any stockings. I never dress up.”

“I’ve got plenty.” After discovering Rock’s fascination with my legwear, I’ve been hoarding tights like a squirrel stocks up on nuts for the winter. I dash upstairs and grab an unopened pair. Thinking she might want to wear boots, I grab both pairs I keep stashed here.

We spend some more time fixing our hair, and Trinity helps me throw on some makeup. By the time we’re ready to leave, I’m buzzing with excitement. Sophie has sent me about a half dozen texts telling me to hurry my butt downtown.

Seeing the looks on the guys’ faces when we enter the main room is worth all the time we spent getting ready. It takes some effort not to laugh my ass off. Then I get nervous that they might try to stop us from leaving. As much as it offends my independence streak, I recognize it’s a possibility.

Trinity and I breathe sighs of relief when we’re finally in the jeep, bouncing down the road. Her jeep is badass. Bright, shiny blue with a matching hard top, four doors, and big knobby tires. “This thing is awesome, Trinity.”

She glances over at me with a shy smile. “It’s really the club’s. Rock wanted me to have four-wheel drive when I moved up here. He makes sure I get a new one every couple of years.” Then she adds quickly, “Since I do the shopping and stuff for the club.”

Turning that over in my head, I’m not sure how I feel about it. Basically, she’s saying my boyfriend buys her a new car every couple years. It’s a little fucking weird, honestly. I’m not exactly jealous, but once again, I’m reminded of my outsider status. Damn, I didn’t want things to be awkward between us, and now we’ve kind of run out of things to talk about.

“Tell me how you met Sophie and Lilly,” Trinity asks.

Smiling at the memory, I tell Trinity about the first week of law school when Sophie and I met.

After a while, I’m afraid I’m boring her, so I wind up.

Glancing in her rear view, Trinity’s mouth quirks. “We have an escort.”

“What?” I ask, twisting in my seat to look out the back window.

“It’s probably Birch or Hoot just making sure we’re okay. You didn’t honestly think prez would let us wander around downtown by ourselves?”

Well, yeah, I did.

A few months ago I might have been outraged, but I understand Rock’s hyper-protectiveness better now. Especially after the epic crash we took. Honestly, given the crap I suspect his club is involved in, I should probably
demand
an escort everywhere I go. A question forms in my mind. It’s not fair to ask Trinity, but it pops out anyway.

“Do you know what kind of stuff the club is involved in?” Even though my voice is soft, the question seems to boom inside the quiet interior.

A pained look flashes over Trinity’s face, and I feel like a jerk for putting her in an awkward position. While we might be becoming friends, I know damn well her loyalty is to the club first. They’ve taken care of her for a long time. Even if she knows something, she’s not going to share it with me. By asking, I may have just squelched our budding friendship.

“Club doesn’t share stuff like that with me, Hope. You should ask Rock.”

I have asked. Indirectly. Here and there.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you.”

“It’s okay. You’re not the typical biker’s ol’ lady.”

“Yeah, I know,” I sigh, and want to pinch myself for sounding so pathetic.

She glances at me. “I don’t mean it in a bad way. Rock’s not the typical MC President. You’re good for him.”

“Thanks.”

We move onto less serious topics for the rest of the drive. I direct Trinity to the parking lot Sophie told us to use right off the highway. As planned, we meet up with Sophie and Lilly on the top level.

“Finally!” Sophie screeches while pulling me into a tight hug. A pang of guilt taps my belly for keeping them waiting.

Lilly gives me a quick hug. Trinity hangs back watching us, so I grab her hand and pull her forward to make the introductions. She seems surprised when I introduce her as my friend.

Lilly takes in Trinity with narrowed eyes but doesn’t say anything other than hello. I wonder what that’s about, but figure I’ll let it go for now. Trin may know how to handle herself at the MC and during a gunfight, but she seems a little out of place here, so I feel protective of her.

No one followed us to the top of the garage, so I wonder where our escort disappeared to. Not wanting to alert Lilly and Sophie, I don’t ask Trinity. As we walk, I take out my phone and send Rock a quick text letting him know we made it downtown safe.

When I slip my phone back into my purse, I catch Trinity’s eye and she gives me a nod.

The Red Room is packed. People like us, who stopped in before the show. Groupies hoping to run into band members. The way we’re dressed, we fit right in.

Sliding into a corner stool at the bar, Sophie orders a round of tequila shots.

“No fucking way. You know what that shit does to me,” Lilly grumbles.

After throwing her head back and laughing, Sophie answers. “Who said any of them were for you?”

Oh boy. It’s going to be that kind of night.

Trinity is quiet. Assessing my friends, I guess. A table near the back opens up, and we snag it.