Diamond turned and climbed into bed, not wanting him to see her expression. She had been worried he would take her home now, and she hadn’t wanted to leave him yet. Knox turned off the light, getting in bed beside her with his hand on her stomach as he pressed her back against his naked body.
Diamond sighed, relaxing against him.
“What?” Knox asked, half-asleep by the sound of his voice.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Go ahead.” From the tone of his voice, Diamond knew he was aware of what question she wanted answered.
“I thought Shade had a thing for Lily.”
“He does.”
“Then why all the women?”
“Do you think Lily has a thing for Shade?”
Diamond knew that Shade was Knox’s friend, but she wanted to be honest. “No.”
“That’s why all the women. He knows Beth and Lily both want her to finish school.”
“So he’s waiting?”
“Yeah, he’s waiting.”
“What was he talking about when we were at the table?”
“He wants you to keep your mouth shut about seeing him with the other women. If you do, he’s willing to give you his marker if you decide to become a Last Rider.”
“What does that mean?”
“That you’ll get his vote without having to fuck him.”
Diamond mumbled under her breath.
“What did you say?”
“Tell him I’ll keep my mouth shut.” Diamond’s fingers laced through his on her stomach. “This feels good.”
She wouldn’t have said anything anyway, she had learnt from her father’s club that certain things weren’t to be talked about. Inevitably, sticking your nose where it didn’t belong could get you in trouble, and Diamond didn’t want trouble with Shade. She had seen how he had looked at Lily and was smart enough to know Lily was going to have to fight that battle on her own.
Chapter Twenty-two
“Can I have one of these?” Diamond asked, picking up the tiny flashlight no bigger than her forefinger with a beam which was remarkably strong.
“No.” Knox put one in the package they were putting together for a customer.
“Why not?” Diamond asked, clenching and unclenching the flashlight in her hand.
“Because you already have two other flashlights,” Knox said, checking for the next item on the packing list.
“But this one charges when I squeeze it,” Diamond said. “The other one is solar powered and the other one takes batteries. What if we lose power and there’s no sunlight and I don’t have batteries?”
“I’ll get you one,” Knox relented.
“Cool.” Diamond helped him fill two more orders. Then, collecting the items for another order, she sat down on the stool at the table looking through the items.
“Can I have one of these?”
Knox didn’t bother to look at what she had in her hand. “No.”
“Why not?” Diamond asked. “I really need one of these.” Knox looked sideways at the backpack in her hand.
“No, you don’t. I already bought you one last week. Why do you need another one?”
“I already made my bug-out bag, but I have to make yours now.”
“You can have it. Now let’s finish getting these orders out.” Knox gave her an exasperated look, which she ignored. The Last Riders’ survival business was more than successful, it was booming. He had volunteered for a couple of extra shifts while Viper and Winter interviewed new employees. Diamond had begun sitting with him while he filled the orders over the last month, but she often was more of a distraction than help.
“I have everything we need now except, Knox, I think we need to buy a small island,” she said, picking up a pocketknife.
“A small island?” Knox turned toward her, taking the knife out of her hand.
“Yes.” Diamond nodded enthusiastically. “Did you know that you can buy small islands? They’re kind of expensive, but if we save, we could buy one in a few years.”
“Diamond…” Knox started to say something, but closed his mouth. “Why an island?
“Because zombies can’t swim,” she answered, placing another item in the box.
Knox just stared at her. “They can’t?” Knox tried his hardest not to laugh when he saw she was serious.
“Can they?” she asked, looking at him with a quizzical expression.
“I don’t know, but no more zombie movies for you for a while.” Knox checked the list before taping the packaging closed and then taping the address onto the large box.
“Can I have...?” Diamond began.
Knox took the small tube tent from her hand. His hand going to her hair and tugging her head back for a soft kiss.
“Diamond,” Knox growled.
“What?” she asked, returning his kiss.
“I think Sex Piston isn’t the only nut in your family.”
*