A Very Venom Christmas - Kristine Allen Page 0,37
and anything else you need delivered to you,” he told me after I cried when they told me my phone and purse had been a loss.
All I could do was nod. They weren’t happy, but I insisted on notifying my employers. I borrowed a phone from them to call Mel to tell him what had happened and that I was leaving town. I also notified the two businesses where I did after-hours cleaning on Saturday nights.
“Hey, doll. I heard about your stuff, and Soap asked if I had anything for you to wear,” Tash said from the doorway to the kitchen where we were all sitting at the table discussing plans. I stood up and went to her. We both stepped out into the common area so the guys could keep talking.
“Thank you,” I said, sniffling at the emotion elicited by her kindness.
“Don’t thank me until you try them on. I didn’t know what your style was, but I didn’t figure stripper-deluxe was it. So I tried to find my most conservative things.” Her cheeks flamed, and her gaze dropped to the clothes in her arms. “It’s not much. I figured leggings would fit, since we’re close in size, then I had a T-shirt and a hoodie. Oh, the panties are brand-new. Just took them out of the package.”
If I thought her cheeks were pink before, at the discussion about underwear, she positively reddened. It made me wonder how this girl got on a stage and stripped if she was so easily embarrassed. To ease her discomfort, I teased her. “I’d say beggars can’t be choosers, but again, thank you. You’re too kind.”
We found out that her shoes were too big, but I had an old pair of running shoes in my truck that I used on the nights I cleaned. Once I was dressed, I left the room with my dirty clothes in a bag.
“Really?” Decker asked Snow and Tash when he saw the hoodie I had on. I wasn’t sure what the big deal was. I looked down at the SYLDS and frowned in confusion.
“What’s wrong? What’s this mean?” Belatedly thinking to ask, I glanced at everyone chuckling or smiling as Decker damn near growled.
Tash giggled and explained, “It stands for Support Your Local Demented Sons. I think Venom would prefer it said something else.”
Still confused, I looked to him for clarification. He huffed and said, “I’ll get you a new one when we get to Ankeny.”
That had everyone laughing.
I was still lost.
It was midafternoon by the time we got on the road toward Ankeny via Storm Lake. Everyone was quiet and on edge—constantly checking the mirrors. I tried to entertain myself looking out the window, but there wasn’t much to see. I’d been to Storm Lake, but never to Ankeny or Des Moines, so I had no idea what to expect when we arrived.
The men who met us in Storm Lake tried not to stare, but I caught them shooting me curious glances several times. As they greeted Snow and his club, I tried to stay out of the way.
“I can’t thank you enough,” Decker said to Snow as they shook hands, then embraced. I winced as Decker did at the movement of his injured shoulder. I saw a dark-haired man duck his head as he spoke quietly to Decker, who shook his head. The dark-haired man looked like he didn’t like Decker’s response.
Snow cast a look around the area we’d met up at, then spoke to Decker. “You all better get back on the road.”
“Agreed,” the man they called Voodoo said. They dropped the trailer with Decker’s truck on it, and Voodoo hooked it up to the truck they’d arrived in.
They offered me the chance to use the bathroom, but I declined, suddenly anxious to get back on the road. The men all said their goodbyes, and we headed down the highway as Snow and his guy headed back to my former home.
“Loralei? This is Voodoo.” Decker officially introduced me as he motioned to the guy driving, who met my eyes in the rearview and gave me a slight chin lift. “And that guy is Angel,” he said as he pointed to the dark-haired guy I’d noticed speaking to him earlier. If anyone had a name that didn’t fit him, it was Angel.
He was dark and seemed angry at Decker for some reason. Voodoo wasn’t much different, except maybe a little more scary intense.
Angel continued to study me curiously before he returned his attention to Decker.