The Thunder Wolves MC - Lexie (Book #9)

4

Iron

My job within the club was one of the few that could be considered more of a normal job and one I could do outside the club and still make damn good money. However, the club paid me ten times better, along with having paid for my schooling. My job gave me the availability to be able to work where ever I wanted and live in any town the club occupied. The only downside was I was on call twenty-four seven. Not that I worked every day all the time. But it meant that if any of the clubs had any issues with their computer systems for the club itself or even any of the companies they owned, I was the one they called if none of their own guys couldn't figure out how to fix it. For the most part, all chapters had their own computer-smart people, and only for big issues did they ever call me. As for my own chapter, I was called for all issues, small and large.

Today's problem had me out at an animal rescue the chapter took on when I was still a kid. It wasn't exactly a business that the club expected to see a prophet come in from. It was more of something several of the old ladies were passionate about and took care of. The place had a couple of paid employees, but for the most part, the place was run by the old ladies and a couple of the daughters who volunteered their time. Among those daughters was one that I went to school with growing up. Her name was Cora, and she was the daughter of a member that went by the name of Buzz. He wasn't a real outgoing guy and tended to stick to himself and his family. He was a cool guy nonetheless. He and Tiny found Cora's crush on me to be funny even when both of us were kids. Her crush started the very first year my mom moved my sister and me to this town. Back then, she never outright flirted or anything. No, she would spend all of our recess time following me around. Never saying anything to me. Just follow me. I remember it used to creep me out. As we got older, she found other ways to make her feelings for me known. The only problem was I didn't share those feelings. She was nice and all. But I just didn't find her attractive. Don't get me wrong. She was pretty and all. She just didn't do anything for me. I have tried several times to let her down easy, but that never stopped her from still trying. So, in turn, I did my best to stay clear of her.

That was my plan for today as I worked on fixing the security cameras for the animal rescue. I am told a couple of the dogs got out of their kennels the night before and had chewed on some of the wires. At least, that is what I was told over the phone. When I arrived and got to looking, they had done more than simply chewed on a couple of the wires. Oh, no, they had gone to town on all the wires, even pulled one of the cameras down from the wall it was mounted on, and destroyed the camera itself. I was now in the process of replacing the camera and running all new wires through the whole building. This time making sure none of them were within reach of any animals that found their way out of the kennels.

When I got to the rescue, Cora wasn't there, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Her not being here would mean I didn't have to find another way to let her down. I could work in peace and not have to try and avoid her. Or so I thought. As I worked on installing the new camera and making sure I had it facing the right way, she walked in. I didn't see her at first as I focused on what I was doing. I had my phone set out on a table with the program open for the security system with the camera view open, so I could make sure the angle was correct. While I stood up on a ladder, adjusting the camera before I attached it to the wall. Getting that right, I went to work on mounting the camera and wasn't paying attention to who walked into the room with me. I also was no longer looking down at my phone as I worked. My full attention was on what I was doing. I was so focused I didn't bother looking down to see who was messaging me when the notification went off.

"Who's Lexie?" Cora's voice made me jump, nearly making me fall off the latter I was standing on.

"What?" Thankfully I was able to regain my balance quickly. My attention was no longer on the camera but now looking down at Cora, who stood looking up at me.

"Your message was from Jax. The small preview of the message said Lexie is trying to find you."

Honestly, I wasn't sure if I should be mad that she was looking at my phone or not. I mean, the message wasn't anything she didn't need to know. And if anything club-related needed to be talked about, it would never be sent over text like that. But at the same time, who does that and looks over someone else's phone, reading even the preview of an incoming text? I mean, maybe if she was my girlfriend, I could see that, but we weren't together. So even though I answered her question, in the end, I didn't really feel like it was any of her business. However, I didn't say that out loud.

"Lexie is a girl I hooked up with last time I was up visiting with Jax and them."

Cora's whole demeanor seemed to drop at my answer. But again, she and I were not a thing. I know she would like for us to be, but we weren't. That didn't really change the fact I felt slightly bad for obviously hurting her feelings by being honest with her. And as she walked off, obviously upset, I had to shake my head. Sighing, I went back to work, finishing up what I needed to before answering Jax's text, which had a phone number as well for Lexie. Thanking him for letting me know, I also told him I would see what she needed. Then sent her a message to find out why she was looking for me. I was kind of surprised she was even looking for me. It was over a month or so since she and I hooked up, and I left her in the middle of the night. Something I know, if my mom ever found out I did, she would kick my ass for doing. With that done, I went back to work replacing all the wires and ensuring they were out of reach of all animals.