Rock Chick Regret (Rock Chick #7)(145)

Everything.

From Hector’s demand I put on a tank, to the Fred and Wilma argument, to Natalie’s revelations, to Hector going berserk and finishing on the conversation by the bike.

When I was done, there was a moment of silence then she asked, “That all happened in one night?”

“Yes. One night. Not even a night, a few hours,” I told her. “You’re marrying one of them. I figure you have to be an expert. Is Eddie like this?”

She laughed then said, “Um… yes.”

Why was she laughing?

What, I must ask, was funny about this?

“Oh… my… God! How do you stand it?” I exclaimed.

“There’s a lot here, Sadie. Maybe we should break it down,” she suggested.

“Please do,” I agreed graciously.

“First off, I wear what I want but I don’t go over that line that would send a hot-blooded Mexican-American man over the edge. It’s just not worth it. A little cle**age, he has to get over it. The skirt you wore to Stella’s gig, unacceptable.”

“Hector told me to burn that skirt,” I informed her.

She let out another laugh. “I’m not surprised. If Eddie saw me in that skirt, his head would explode.”

I had to admit, the skirt was an eensy bit OTT.

Well then, one down.

“Next!” I cried.

I heard her laugh again then she said, “The girl at the bar –”

When she hesitated, I encouraged, “Go on.”

“Well, that’s harder. But, see, Indy told me Lee had a reputation, as did Eddie, both of them bad. Vance was considered a legend. Everyone knew he was a player. Luke even had a woman when he started with Ava, he blew her off the minute Ava came into his life. Hank, more discreet, but –”

I interrupted her impatiently, “You’re telling me this because…?”

“I’m telling you his because you know them now.”

Hmm.

This was a point to ponder.

They all seemed pretty devoted. In fact, if the stories were anything to go by, they’d gone above and beyond the call of duty to win the hearts of their respective Rock Chicks.

My foot stopped jerking and I decided it was time to get serious.

So I told her, “Jet, she was a nice girl, he didn’t even remember when he slept with her.”

I heard her sigh. “Duke explains this better but it has something to do with the kind of men they are, the dangerous work they do, knowing who they are and what they want, recognizing it when they find it and not f**king around in making it theirs. Or… something like that. Anyway, whoever this girl was, she obviously wasn’t the one because, Sadie, you are.”

Oh my.

I didn’t know what to say to that because, what, on earth, did you say to that?

Then, for some reason, I blurted, “I saw him.”

“What?” she asked.

I took in a deep breath and shared, “That night, when he brought me to the hospital, after I was raped. I passed out and when I woke up in the emergency room, I saw them force Hector out of my bay. He didn’t want to go. Luke told me tonight that Hector asked if he could stick around until I woke up, they said no and he lost it.” I waited for her reaction to this announcement and when none was forthcoming, I pushed, “Really, Jet, how bizarre is that?”

“It doesn’t sound at all bizarre to me,” she answered quietly.

I shook my head thinking she was not getting it and sat up, pulling a hand through my hair and then dropping it into my lap. “You don’t understand. We didn’t know each other. I mean, we were around each other a lot when he was undercover and, one night, we had a thing that didn’t end well. But other than that…” I stopped then went on, “I don’t get it.”

“I don’t either,” she told me. “It even happened to me. One second, I was minding my own business, trying to avoid Eddie, the next second he informed me he was making me his business and the next second after that, I was living with him. I watched it happen to Roxie, Jules, Ava, Stella and I knew it happened to Indy. I don’t know how these guys know, I don’t know how their minds work, it just happens, they just know. I’ve stopped trying to figure it out.”

Well.

It wasn’t an answer but it was one.

Still.

It was time to get to the heart of the matter.

“What do I do now?”

Jet answered instantly, “Do what they do. Go with your instincts. It’ll all work out in the end, I promise.”

That didn’t give me anything to go on.

“You okay now?” Jet asked.

I sighed then said, “No.”

“You will be, honey,” she replied softly. “It’s hard then, when you trust it’s for real, it gets a whole lot easier.”

I answered, “Okay,” but I didn’t mean it.

She changed the subject to a much better one. “We need to get you fitted for your bridesmaid’s dress. Can you do that tomorrow?”

At last. Something to look forward to.

“I think so. I’ll have to check with whatever bodyguard I have.”

She giggled. “Oh, I hope it’s Bobby. I bet he’ll love going to a bridal shop.”

I smiled into the phone even though I didn’t know Bobby, none of them were bridal shop type of men then I whispered, “Thanks Jet.”