Page 190 of Nyx

The name really isn't that important. I know the guys will make a point of doing better at making others feel welcome, with each interaction customized to their personality, just like they have done for me.

I've never felt excluded from anything, and since they know my personality well, they have openly asked me to be part of it, too. It's always an open invitation, no matter what event might be going on at the clubhouse.

"Tonight will probably be a barbecue or something," Legend says. "Hound had mentioned smoking some meat."

"Not trying to get you to change your mind," Thumper begins. "But if there's smoked meat, then that means that Emmalyn will make potato salad, and that shit is life-changing."

"It is good," I interject, hoping I'm in the room when Juliet tastes it for the first time.

I know she's going to make that little noise she makes that drives me insane.

"I'll let the other guys know," Signal says. "But I think Recon and Mischief are on the prowl."

"They headed to Jake's?" Legend asks as he finishes up with the last piece I just re-cut.

"I think so," Signal answers.

"Then they need to be told about Leona Clark," Legend says. "The woman is a bloodhound when it comes to sniffing out men connected to the club."

I recognize the name. She's been to Juniper House before, a case manager for CYFD.

"Rumor has it she's been trying her best to snag a member of the club for years," Thumper adds.

"Went so far as to try to get one of the guys to cheat on their wife with her," Legend says.

I scrunch my nose, knowing full well that predatory women exist right alongside their male counterparts.

"If Misty didn't have so much class, she might claw the woman's eyes out," Thumper says.

"I'll warn them," Signal assures them.

"Please do. I don't think hooking up with her would mean they'd be out of Cerberus, but Misty wouldn't be happy," Legend adds.

"Don't piss off the OG wives," Thumper says. "It's not, but it should be a part of the Cerberus Mission statement."

Chapter 46

Juliet

"I wanted to apologize," Kayla says as she steps up beside me at the counter.

I wanted a distraction from my thoughts, but this particular person wasn't very high on my list of people I wanted to distract me.

I haven't exactly avoided Nyx, but I have stayed to myself most of the day, keeping busy with meal prep since Andrea decided to take a different job that didn't force her to travel so far outside of town.

"About last night," she says, her head hung low between her shoulders.

I could easily take her words at face value, but I learned early on just how easily manipulation comes to those who have been manipulated. Women in those situations learn to read the room very quickly because it could mean the difference between going to bed at night or heading to the hospital.

"What happened last night?" I ask, not wanting her to think I gave her behavior any more thought.

I don't want her questioning anything about Nyx and me. I've already spent some of today watching people and gauging their looks in my direction, trying to determine whether they have any suspicions about what we did last night or possibly saw me sneaking out of his room like we'd done something wrong.

"I was rude," she mutters, sounding genuinely guilty and a little embarrassed about her behavior.

"Being here is a lot to adapt to," I say diplomatically.

"I was trying to distract myself," she says as she turns her phone over and over in her hands nervously.