Rock Chick Revenge (Rock Chick #5)(76)

Then discovering that Ren found this amusing, I found I needed cookies. Therefore I asked Ren to detour to King Soopers so we could buy cookies.

Ren found this even more amusing.

While we were at King Soopers, I bought a whole bunch of other stuff, probably because I was stalling about going back to Luke’s. Ren seemed not to care even a little bit that we were grocery shopping at ten o’clock at night with our end destination being Luke’s.

This made me uncomfortable. Seeing as I was a dork, I again didn’t read the warning signs. When Ren parked outside of Luke’s and I got out and went for the bags, Ren came around to help me.

Not good.

“I’ve got it,” I said, struggling with five bags, two of which contained cookies.

“I’ll carry them.”

Oh no. No, no, no, no!

Ren was not walking into Luke’s loft with me.

He took the bags away from me firmly and started to walk into Luke’s building.

Crap!

Ren was walking into Luke’s loft with me.

Alert! Alert! Danger! Danger!

“Ren, really,” I said, catching up and beginning to sound desperate.

He turned to me and I stopped dead at the look in his eye. “I’m makin’ sure you’re safe in the building, Ava.”

And that, apparently, was that.

I couldn’t exactly get in a rip roarin’ on the sidewalk with him, not with Luke (maybe) upstairs. I had to be cool, calm and composed. I’d sworn off men. It was my decision and I was sticking to it.

So what? One hot guy who wanted to get in my pants was orchestrating a faceoff with another one. It didn’t touch me. I was immune. I was removed.

I’m a little scared, Good Ava was trembling, holding close to my neck.

I can’t WAIT to see what happens! Bad Ava was trembling with excitement.

I called the elevator and then used my key to the button to Luke’s floor. The whole time, even if I was immune and removed, I hoped that Luke was out doing scary shit (but not too scary) and not at home.

The elevator doors slid open and all hopes were dashed.

The loft was softly lit, Tom Petty was singing “American Girl” on the stereo and Luke was standing behind the semi-circle bar, phone to his ear.

His head snapped up when we entered. His eyes did a body scan of me, his mouth tightened then his eyes moved to Ren and his jaw clenched.

Shit.

I turned immediately to Ren. “I’ll take them now,” I said, grabbing the bags. “Thanks for helping me,” I went on, as if it was all my idea.

He let me take the bags (luckily cookies didn’t weigh that much in cookie form, their weight multiplied significantly once they’d processed themselves onto your ass).

Ren smiled down at me. “Nice night, Ava,” he said softly.

Don’t touch me, don’t touch me, don’t touch me, I thought.

“Thanks for dinner,” I replied.

His hand came up, I held my breath and he tucked my hair behind my ear. All the while he did this he was looking into my eyes, his carrying that look that made me feel like I was going to pass out.

Then he walked into the elevator, turned, his eyes moved to Luke then back to me, he smiled and the doors slid closed.

Alone again with Luke.

Shit.

I walked into the loft not looking at Luke and planning my defense.

He’d mostly touched my hair, not me. I was going to argue that hair didn’t count.

I put the bags on the counter at the back wall not looking at Luke and heard Luke say into the phone, “Call me when you have an update on his condition.”

At his words, I turned to him woodenly and heard him beep the phone off. My eyes moved to his and I wished they didn’t.

He was way pissed off. Super pissed. Ultra pissed.

Still, I had to know. “Bobby?” I asked.

“Found him,” Luke answered. “Fractured skull, major head trauma.”

I closed my eyes and opened them again. “Is he going to be okay?”

“We’ll know more tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry, Luke,” I said quietly, meaning every word.

“You didn’t smash him in the head.”

This was true. I still felt like shit, Bobby got hurt looking after Sissy and me.

“I don’t know what to say,” I told him.

“Nothin’ to say.”

He was likely right about that.

“You wanna tell me why you brought Ren Zano to my loft?” he asked, his voice had changed from matter-of-fact to lethal and I tried to find my immune and removed zone (and failed).

I turned away from him and started to unload cookies. “I told him about my troubles. He wanted to make sure I got in safely,” I tried to pretend it was nothing when I knew it was anything but.

“Ava, turn around and look at me.”

Not gonna happen. “I’m putting away the groceries. Some of it has to get in the freezer.” Like the three containers of ice cream.

“Ava, turn around.”

“Luke, no. I know you’re angry but you’re just going to have to get over it,” I shoved the ice cream in the freezer and slammed the door, all the while avoiding his eyes. “We just had dinner. We talked. Nothing more. That’s it. The end.”

I started unloading cookies. Double Stuff Oreos, Chips Ahoy, Nutter Butter, regular Milanos, Mint Milanos, orange-flavored Milanos…