it came to their women and kids, and by extension all other kids in the club. Well, maybe not Farrah. She’d terrorized so many people, I’d been surprised they hadn’t thrown a party when she’d decided to strike out on her own. If her dad hadn’t been the VP, they very well might have done just that.
After being on the run from Tony, I felt like warmed-over crap. I didn’t know where Beast would want me to stay. The duffle in my hand didn’t hold a lot. Just enough to get me through a few days. I dropped it on his bedroom floor and pulled out my sleep shorts and a tank. I hadn’t slept in two days and knew it wouldn’t be long before I crashed. Hard. At first, I hadn’t wanted to come here. I’d hoped when I got on the road, I could lose the asshole. But every time I’d stopped, he’d quickly caught up to me. Finding the Reckless Kings had been a last-ditch effort.
I pulled the ends of my hair up to my nose and grimaced. I hadn’t planned to wash it, but there was no way I was going to bed smelling like cigarettes. I got into the shower, marveling at the luxury of Beast’s home. The shower was big enough for four or five people, with a bench seat along one of the shorter walls. It had three showerheads and a solid glass wall with a door that was so seamless it was damn near hidden. Steam billowed into the bathroom from the stall and I sighed in pleasure as the water beat down on me.
Picking up the green bar of soap, I took a quick sniff and smiled when I realized it was Irish Spring. What were the odds he’d like the same soap as me? I’d never cared for the girly shit. Simple, clean scents were my favorite. My perfume, which I seldom wore, had a warm spicy smell. If anyone gave me floral shit, or worse -- vanilla, I’d throat punch them. That crap was just nasty and gave me a damn headache.
I grabbed his two-in-one shampoo, trying not to cringe at the thought of what it would do to my hair, and washed the long tresses. Anything was better than nothing at this point. I rinsed the suds and shut off the water.
I stepped out onto the bathmat and dried off with a towel I found under the sink and pulled on my pajamas. Not a hair dryer in sight. Going to bed with wet hair was another thing I disliked, but it couldn’t be helped for the moment. Yawning so wide my jaw cracked, I made my way into Beast’s bedroom. I gave the covers a yank, then collapsed face first, not even bothering to pull the blankets back over me. My eyes were closed before my head hit the pillow and exhaustion weighed me down.
I heard a scratching noise and hoped like hell he didn’t have rats. There were a lot of things I could handle, but rats weren’t one of them. The bed covers tugged and jerked underneath my feet and I opened my eyes only to realize I was face to face with a weasel. I screamed and jerked upright, sitting on my knees as two of them jumped around me on the bed.
Not weasels. Ferrets. What the hell? Beast let these things roam free in his house?
I cautiously held out my hand for them to sniff me. I’d never seen any running free. The pet store I’d always begged Mom to take me to had them for sale, and I’d thought they were cute. After a moment, they seemed to lose interest and scampered back down, only to disappear through the bedroom door. I’d have to remember to ask him about them later. Once I knew I was alone, and my visitors weren’t returning, I lay down and closed my eyes again.
A beep from the alarm system I’d spotted in the hall told me someone had opened a door. With everything going on, I should have been more concerned, but I was too tired to run anymore. I sighed and refused to budge. If someone scary came through the door, I’d find the energy to fight back. Until then, I planned to give my best impression of a corpse. Maybe they’d think I’d died and leave me alone. It worked for possums.
Footsteps came up the stairs and down the hallway. I only heard one