Chapter 3
Colt
The metal door opened up and I heard the click of heels. My brow furrowed as I looked up from my lap, my hands locked and my forearms resting on the cold metal table. Were they sending some sort of woman to seduce me? Catch me off guard? Because that sure as hell wasn’t happening. No woman would be able to distract me from my number one goal until Duke could get me out of this shithole.
And that was protecting my brothers.
“Hello.”
A voice like velvet emanated from the doorway and I chanced a look up. Something I shouldn’t have done. There, in the doorway, stood a slender beauty unlike anything I’d ever seen. Her black hair was illuminated like a halo by the lights of the hallway and her emerald green eyes left me wanting to fucking swim in them. She was petite, but held a powerful look in her eye that shook me to my core.
Where the hell did they find this actress?
I’d heard it all with things like this. The police hiring hookers to pose as professional women to get information from men like me. Honestly, I’d heard it all. The Redding police stopped at nothing when it came to scum they felt was already guilty. And I knew they thought I was already guilty. After the night they arrested me, they hadn’t grilled me. Not once since they initially brought me into this shithole of a place. It didn’t take a genius to clue me in on the fact that they were searching for evidence to lock me up without ever having my damn testimony.
So, all I did was grunt and chuckle at their questions. No point in answering them, and I could use that stereotype to keep them off the scent of my boys.
The woman was dressed for business. High-waisted black pants with a white shirt tucked in. A blazer over her shoulders and heels on her feet. She had long legs. Long, luxurious legs I wouldn’t mind wrapping around my waist. And the perfect tits that would sit in small handfuls against my palms. Oh, if we had been in any other scenario, that woman would have been done for. She would have been mine, and I would have devoured her for the rest of the day and all throughout the night.
I’d make those petite hips of hers ache as the sunrise rose over our heads.
“My name is Olivia Banks. I work with the DEA,” she said.
I watched her slip herself into the cold metal chair in front of me before she sat back. Trying to be friendly with me. Trying to get on my good side. Like somehow, if she was open enough with me, I’d be open enough with her.
I wouldn’t be the one spreading my legs if this were a bar, sweet thing.
“It’s usually common courtesy to introduce yourself after someone does the same,” she said.
A slow grin crawled across my face as I narrowed my eyes slightly at her.
“President?” she asked.
My brow ticked with confusion.
“Vice President?” she asked.
My eye twitched.
“Treasurer?”
I licked my lips.
“Oh, are you the secretary? I always felt bad for the man that had to be the secretary,” she said.
I kept my eyes trained hard on her.
“Road Captain?” she asked.
And as I drew in a deep breath, I watched a smile slide across her cheeks.
“So, I’m sitting in front of the Road Captain. Interesting job, that position. You coordinate trips. Vacations. Weekend rides. And because of all that, it means you work close with the Secretary of your group. You know, to get money for those trips. Right?” she asked.
How the fuck did she know all that?
“Let me guess. Your buddy Duke would be the Treasurer,” she said.
I gritted my teeth, trying to keep my face stone cold. But it seemed as if every effort I made not to respond to her questions only solidified the fucking answers I would have given.
“Makes sense you would call him to try and bail you out. Whether he’s using personal money or club money, it means he’s good with numbers. Good with making deals. Good with pulling monetary strings,” she said.
I locked my eyes hard onto that woman’s face. She wasn’t getting a single piece of bullshit from me. Not if I had anything to do with it. I didn’t trust her. I didn’t trust anyone who could read someone that well. It meant she had been through some shit. Probably associated herself with shady characters of her own. For all I knew, she was a dirty agent. A dirty DEA agent coming in to try and clean up the fucking mess the cartel had left.
I wasn’t getting my boys wrapped up in that shit. I’d take the fall if it meant keeping them out of that bullshit.
“How long has the cartel been in the area?” Olivia asked.
I cocked my head off to the side, taking in the fierce green stare she had on her face.
“So, not very long,” she said.
What the absolute fuck?
“I know you’re shocked,” she said with a grin. “Don’t worry. It’s your involuntary reactions. Everyone has a tell when they talk, but everyone also has involuntary muscle twitches and reactions to questions that are asked of them. Certain involuntary twitches and responses give me the answers I need. Which is why I stick to ‘one or the other’ questions with people like you,” she said.
This woman was dangerous.
“I want you to know that at any point in time, you can stop this meeting. I’m here on behalf of the Redding police department, and it seems that their biggest concern right now is who killed one of their officers.”
“I’m not a fucking cop killer,” I said.
Her eyebrows rose. “So, you have a voice. Nice to know.”
“None of my men killed a damn cop. Why don’t you look into the cartel for that?”
“Trust me, I am. If you’re innocent, I’ll know, and you’ll be treated accordingly,” she said.
I snickered as I leaned back into my chair. Men like me weren’t treated accordingly. It was why we stayed outside of the grasp of the police. Always.
“So, can you tell me about that night?” Olivia asked.
“You mean the shootout?” I asked.
“Is there another night you’re talking about that I should be aware of?”
Shut your fucking mouth, Colt.
I rolled my lips over my teeth as she nodded slowly. The woman drew in a deep breath, her perfect little nostrils flaring. She crossed one languid leg over the other and locked her gaze with me. She read me. Studied me. I chewed on my cheek to keep from firing back at her. What the hell was she staring at? What the hell could she possibly read off my body?
“The few grays in your hair tells your age, though no one would ever know it on your face. That means you’ve attempted to diminish the stress you’re under even after signing up for a club like the Black Hornets. I’ve done a bit of research on you guys. Talked to some locals. Apparently, your specialty is protection. At all costs. Which means the shootout you guys were involved in was probably started by you, but with a reason anyone would shoot anyone else over,” she said.
My lips slowly unfurled as Olivia sat against the table. Her arms on top of it. Her hands clasped together. Her delicate fingers locking together as her eyes ran up and down what parts of me she could see.
“You might have started that shootout, judging by the testimonies of the witnesses, but you did it to protect someone. And judging by the age difference of your hair and your face, I’m thinking you did it to protect someone you shoved out of your life. People you pushed away in order to protect them from the choices you made.”
“How could you poss—”
I clamped my fucking jaw closed as Olivia grinned.
“I didn’t know, but I do now. Your leather vest is worn from years of use and some of the seams are coming apart. That tells me how long you’ve been with your crew and how intent you are at not changing things. You don’t like change. And judging by the bags underneath your eyes, you’ve undergone a lot of it in the past few days. Jail isn’t anything new to a man like you. But, something in your life has become new. Am I on the right path?” she asked.
“We’re done here,” I said.
“Trust me, I’m just getting started. You think you won’t give me the answers, but what you mean is you won’t say them verbally. You won’t give up your club. You’ll protect them at all costs. But your life is written on your body, Mr. Road Captain. The scuff marks on your shoes and the dirt caked around them tells me where you’ve been. The combination of gravel rocks stick in the treads of the soles of your shoes tell me where you were before you got to where you were going. The dust on your shirt. The grit underneath your fingernails. Your red nail beds. You’ve been chewing on them substantially since you’ve been held up here. You’re a nervous biter, and you’ve been very nervous over the past few days, haven’t you?”
“We’re done here!” I roared to the guard at the door.
“But, I know you’re not nervous because you killed a cop,” she said.
My eyes locked with hers and my entire body froze.
“I know you didn’t kill that cop. And I won’t let them pin that on you,” she said.
“Come on, Colt,” the guard spat.
I could have punched him in his throat as he came over and gripped my arm, wrenching me out of my seat. Olivia’s eyes were wild with happiness. Like she had just found the holy fucking grail.
“See you soon… Colt,” she said.