Tab looked down at Raff, grinning at him and grabbing his little hand to shake it. “Not thinkin’ that’s gonna be hard.”
“Right, that’s done,” Elvira declared, and all eyes went to her. “You pissed at us?” she asked me.
I looked at Tyra and Lanie, who both looked anxious. So I smiled at them so they’d stop being that way and looked back to Elvira.
“No,” I answered.
“Good, ’cause that woman you sent me to to plan my wedding is not gonna work out,” she announced. “You got a pretty office. Your office is da bomb. She don’t have a pretty office. How’s she gonna plan the most romantic wedding of the century if she don’t even have a pretty office?”
“Well—” I started, but that was as far as I got.
“She’s not,” Elvira decreed. “And even if her office wasn’t god-awful, she wears flats. I don’t trust no woman who wears flats. Not at all but definitely not to plan my wedding.”
“I wear flats,” Kellie stated, then finished, “Essentially.”
Elvira looked her up and down. “You wear biker chick boots. You get a pass.”
Dottie looked to me, prompting an introduction. “Do you know these people?”
“I—” I began again, and again that was as far as I got.
“I’m Elvira. This here’s Tyra, Tack’s woman, Lanie, Hop’s woman, Carissa, Joker’s woman. You know Tab. What you don’t know is she’s Shy’s.”
I looked at Carissa.
She looked like a grown-up cheerleader.
I didn’t know him that well but I still knew somehow that she was perfect for Joker.
“So, Chaos,” Dot noted.
“Yes,” Tyra finally got a word in.
“Whose woman are you?” Justine asked Elvira a question that I had.
“I don’t belong to a biker. I belong to a cop. But I been adopted,” Elvira explained.
At the mention of a cop in the same breath as Chaos, in unison, Dot, Justine, and Kellie all looked to me.
“Chaos has changed,” I muttered.
“You said it,” Elvira chimed in. “Vigilante bikers who ride out now to keep their turf clean of bad folk doin’ bad things.”
Again, Dot, Justine, and Kellie in unison looked to me.
“It’s a long story,” I muttered.
“It sho’ is,” Elvira confirmed. “And it’s Chaos and their shit stays tight. Don’t mean we won’t be sharin’ some beverages and wearin’ some little black dresses this Saturday night, communin’ and building the biker bitch bond at the same time me and Millie here lay down some tentative plans about my wedding of the century.” She focused on me. “I’m thinkin’ peonies but I could be talked down from that. I want soft and bling and I don’t care if those two don’t go together. It’s your job to make ’em.”
I’d heard it all when it came to weddings.
But soft and...
Bling?
“Elvira, your mouth,” Tabby said. “There’s a kid present.”
Elvira looked to Rafferty and asked, “You speak English?”
“Gah, goo, dee,” Rafferty replied.
She looked to Tabby. “Got more to say?”
Tabby looked to the ceiling.
Lanie started giggling.
Tyra mouthed to me, “I’m so sorry.”
“Club,” Elvira announced. “Not the biker kind, the Cherry Creek cocktail place kind. Eight thirty. Saturday night. All you all better be there,” she ended, circling her hand through the room. She then turned to Tyra. “Now I gotta get back to Hawk. He’s got three things goin’ down and has his calls forwarded to me. Luckily, no one has called and I wanna keep it that way. Dealin’ with Hawk’s shit not at my desk is a headache. So I need to get back.” She looked to the room. “Awesome to meet you. You.” She pointed at Kellie. “Heels, Saturday, girl.”
On that, she walked out.
“Elvira’s kind of a... character,” Lanie said when she was gone.
“I like her,” Kellie declared.
“Can my wife come?” Justine asked, then added hastily, “We both wear heels.”
“Wear what you want,” Tabby replied. “Elvira’s Elvira but we’re Chaos. Anything goes.”
“Awesome,” Justine said, and put a hand to Rafferty’s back. “Did you hear that, Raffy? Your mommies get a night out.”
He reached out, smacked her face, and giggled.
Everyone giggled with him.
Tyra moved deeper into the room and my eyes went to her to see she was looking at me.
“This isn’t trial by fire, honey,” she promised. “This is the welcoming committee.”
I knew that. I’d done this before.
I didn’t remind her of that. She was queen bee now.
Crank’s old lady had minions. I didn’t get into that kind of thing because Logan protected me from it, but Crank switched her out before Logan and I had ended anyway.
I had a feeling Tyra was not that kind of Chaos queen but one that was a lot different.
“Thanks,” I replied.
“We got off on the wrong foot,” Lanie said. “And Hop was—”
“We talked and I’m good with Hop,” I told her quickly so she wouldn’t worry. “I’m just...” I grinned. “Good.”
She grinned back. “Good.”
I took her in, liking what I saw. She was beautiful. She was classy. Hop was rough. He was a biker. The same could be said for Tyra and Tack.