EM: Hey-thinking of you. Hope everything is okay. I'm sorry you had to go. Also sorry I had to finish by myself ...

And there went my d.i.c.k again-so much for the morning head. I pulled on my pants and took a quick p.i.s.s across the hall. Then I dug out a burner phone and called Burke.

"What's up?" I asked him, hoping to h.e.l.l it wasn't war with the Reapers. "This about Toke? Was that us?"

"Nope," Burke said. "That's a mystery hit. I wish we had that kind of pull up there. Not that I was upset to get the news ... But we got a bigger problem. Someone took a couple potshots at Mason last night, at his old lady's house."

"f.u.c.k," I muttered. This was serious. "He okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine," Burke said. "But it's the tipping point-he's done. Says he's held on as long as he can, but that he wants to die with his family, not in the middle of a war."

"s.h.i.t." Mason stepping down meant that Burke-as VP-would take over as national president. But not an elected president. Throw in the fact that the club was divided about the Reaper truce and what direction we should be moving ...

"I wonder if it's an inside job," I mused. "Puts you in a tough spot. Things are already weird with the Toke situation, Reapers are trigger happy. Now you have to take over right as we're lookin' at a war. No vote means you're weak."

"Could be," Burke said. "Hate to think of one of our own doing this. Unfortunately, some of our brothers aren't worth much these days."

"Yup," I said. d.a.m.n club was falling apart around our ears. "Of course, it could be the cartel."

"Or the Reapers."

Silence fell for a minute.

"Drake will step up as VP," Burke said. "That means I'll need a sergeant at arms. I know we wanted to wait for elections, but consider this your call, son. I'll need you in Salem tomorrow. Officers are gathering, we'll put you in place then."

I felt myself sway.

I'd been waiting for this a h.e.l.l of a long time ... but s.h.i.t. Things were so up in the air with Em right now, on top of everything else.

"Okay," I said slowly. "And after that?"

"You're with me," he said. "We'll keep Skid and the boys in Portland for now. I still want a presence there, even more important now. Pack your s.h.i.t, we'll be traveling light. I figure the next few weeks'll get interesting. Bring Skid with you when you come down, got me?"

"Yeah," I said, trying to wrap my head around it. I hung up the burner and sighed, flopping back down on my bed. I needed more sleep. Sleep, and then I'd figure out what the h.e.l.l I was doing.

I didn't text Em back.

No idea what I'd say to her anyway.

EM.

Water hit me in the face.

I screamed, falling out of bed to find my witch of a sister standing over me, laughing her a.s.s off.

Note to self: Tell Cookie to never let Kit in the house again.

"You're a b.i.t.c.h," I muttered, wiping off my face with the sheet.

"True," she said thoughtfully. "But I'm the b.i.t.c.h who's here to take you shopping. I need a new purse."

"They don't have stores in Olympia?"

"They have stores," she said. "But they don't have my sister. I'm so excited to have you close-it's like we're back in high school again!"

"You were a b.i.t.c.h then, too."

She picked up my phone.

"Oohhh," she said. "What happened last night? I see a long phone call to Hunter and then a text saying you finished alone? You want to tell me what that's all about?"

I climbed out of bed and pulled off my cami, flinging it at her. It landed on her head and dripped water into her hair, but she didn't even seem to notice.

"We talked for a while," I said. "Then he had to go. What time is it?"

"Almost noon," she said absently. "So you can't really blame me for throwing water on you. How else would I wake you up?"

"Some people use words."

"Boring people. You want to shower before we go? I really do need a purse. We'll go shopping, then come back here and fix dinner for Cookie. Then Kelsey and I are taking you dancing."

"Kelsey?"

"Hunter's sister," she said. "We've been in touch. No offense, but I think me and her have way more in common than me and you. She's in touch with her inner b.i.t.c.h, and she's not afraid to go after what she wants."

"I'm not afraid."

"I see that," she said, holding up the phone with a wicked grin. "I'm really proud of you. You should try calling him now."

She hit a b.u.t.ton and handed me the phone already ringing. I glared at her, but it was too late to hang up. He'd know I called, so might as well play it through. Unfortunately, he didn't answer.

"Hey, it's me," I said, glaring at Kit. "Just wanted to make sure you're okay. I'll talk to you later."

I hung up.

"Good," Kit said. "You've made a move. Now you're going to leave your phone here while we shop, so you can't answer if he calls back."

"Why?"

"Don't want to sound too eager," she said thoughtfully. "You not only talked to him last night, but you've already texted and called, too."

"I didn't call," I said pointedly.

"He doesn't know that. You want to shower before we go? No offense, but you look like s.h.i.t."

"I'm not sure I like living closer to you."

"You love me and you know it."

Unfortunately, I did.

Six hours later we pulled back into Cookie's driveway, the car full of Chinese carryout and three new purses. Two for Kit and one for me. Not that I needed a new bag, but it would've been rude not to buy anything at all, right?

"Sorry we aren't cooking," I apologized as I walked in the door. "We sort of lost track of time. Hope takeaway is all right?"

Cookie glanced up from the couch, where she sat reading with Silvie.

"If I don't have to cook it, I don't care where it comes from," she said. "Silvie, help me clear off the coffee table. Let's have a picnic out here, sound good?"

Silvie loved that idea, and after another five minutes we were opening boxes of hot, steaming food.

"Where are you girls going tonight?" Cookie asked.

"Just downtown," Kit said. "Meeting up with a friend, doing some dancing. That kind of thing."

"Be careful," Cookie said. "Deke tells me things are a little unsettled."

"He give any details?" I asked.

"No," she said. "But if it was serious, they'd let us know. Just don't get too drunk, okay?"

We promised, finishing our dinner. Then we got s.l.u.tted up in my room and I realized I'd gone all afternoon without my phone. I searched through my covers, turning it on hopefully.

Hunter hadn't called, though.

Nope, just a quick text.

HUNTER: Sorry I had to go last night. I'll catch up with you later. Lot going on "That's not very exciting," Kit said, biting her lip thoughtfully. "He should be all over you by now."

"Well, he said he was busy."

"No man is too busy to get laid," she replied, her voice knowing. "Speaking of, that's what you'll be doing tonight. I've made up my mind."

"What?"

"Getting laid. Before we leave the club tonight, we're finding someone for you to sleep with. Hunter wants a piece of your a.s.s, he'll have to stand in line."

"Do I get a vote in this?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Do you ever?"

Kit made good on her threat. Ten minutes after we walked into the club, she'd scoped out six different guys she'd decided might be worthy of my bed. I flipped her off and bought myself a beer. I wasn't interested in sleeping with some random a.s.shole in a bar.

Still, as the night progressed and no word from Hunter, I got a little annoyed. I'd had phone s.e.x with him just the night before, and now nothing? Not that he owed me anything. I knew that. But the fact that I didn't have the right to be annoyed was even more annoying.

I drank another beer.

An hour later Kelsey joined us at the club. She was definitely a little rough around the edges, but I decided I liked her. She and Kit really were alike in so many ways it was scary. Put them together on the dance floor and the men didn't have a chance.

Not that I did too poorly myself.

I had no intention of bringing anyone home, but after a while I found a cute guy to hang out with. His name was Devon, he was tall and somewhat built, and he smelled pretty good when he wrapped his arms around me. He had clean-cut looks, the total opposite of Hunter in every way. Kit gave me a silent thumbs-up in approval. Kelsey told me pointedly that her brother could kick his a.s.s without even noticing.

I told Kelsey that Hunter wasn't around, so he couldn't kick anyone's a.s.s. She flipped me off and I decided she could go screw herself, along with her stupid brother who couldn't call me back after hanging up mid-phone-s.e.x. Fortunately, Devon was a great distraction. We alternated dancing, talking, and drinking, and gradually I learned that he was in as f.u.c.ked-up a nonrelationship as mine.

Well, maybe not quite as f.u.c.ked-up. I didn't ask, but so far as I could tell, he hadn't actually been involved in a kidnapping.

But other than that, things were about the same.

It made him the perfect partner for the evening, and it got Kit off my back, too. Of course, Kelsey continued to scowl at me, but I didn't give a s.h.i.t about her. I might like her all right, but I wasn't looking for a new best friend. Anyway, once I established Devon as "safe," I let myself go and enjoyed his company, leaving Ms. Grumpy scowling behind me. We danced to almost every song, and nothing I did was too dorky for Devon.

To be fair, he was kind of dorky himself, and so funny I got to the point where I couldn't stop laughing. Seriously. I had this giant laughing fit and I couldn't stop and he kept doing weirder dance moves and it was insane.

"Make it end," I gasped, clutching my stomach. "I'm gonna puke if you don't stop."

He stopped. Abruptly.

"Oh my G.o.d, I can't believe how weird you are," I giggled, but he didn't laugh back or smile or anything. I c.o.c.ked my head.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Your friend is going home now," a deep, familiar voice said behind me. "Right?"

Devon nodded, then took off without even saying good-bye. Rude. I turned slowly to find Hunter behind me, his sister standing next to him, smirking.

"What the h.e.l.l are you doing here?"

"I've been looking for you," he said. "I tried calling but you never answered. Then I happened to talk to Kelsey and she mentioned you were here."

I narrowed my eyes at Kelsey, who didn't even bother trying to look innocent.

"You had all day to get in touch with me," I told Hunter, bracing my hands on my hips. "Now I've made other plans. I'm hanging out with my sister tonight. Family first."

"Kit took off with some guy half an hour ago," Kelsey said smugly. "She texted you a heads-up and made me promise to make sure you got home safe."

My eyes widened, and I whipped out my phone. Sure enough, there was a missed call and a text from Kit. There were also three missed calls and two texts from Hunter.

Oops.

Guess I'd silenced it completely, instead of just putting it on vibrate.