“What’s up with the chick you were with last night?”
I arrived just in time to hear the conversation between D and Jack Knife. I hesitated, holding my plate from the breakfast buffet they served at the casino in one hand and debating what to do with myself. I didn’t want to interrupt. In fact, I wanted to hear what was said. I was just afraid to be noticed eavesdropping.
“The new girl? Janessa? She’s hot. Very cool. We had a nice chat.”
“Chatting? Is that what you call it these days?”
“Yeah.”
Jack Knife laughed and glanced up, seeing me frozen nearby. He smiled at me and motioned me over.
“Come on, babe. You aren’t bothering anything.”
D turned just as I took a step forward, his eyes narrowing. Jack Knife might have taken my hesitation as just being uncertain whether to interrupt, but it was clear from the look on D’s face that he suspected more was afoot. He was no fool, and I couldn’t help but be afraid that I was way out of my league in thinking I could take him down.
“Didn’t realize you were standing there.”
“I was just bringing my food to the table. I didn’t want to interrupt, so I waited.”
“Looks that way, anyway.”
The implication wasn’t missed as I met his gaze. Looking away would only make me look guilty of something, and I had hardly gathered enough information about anything at all to get yanked out of here so quickly.
“We met in the hallway earlier. I’m Janessa.”
“I know who you are. No one comes in this club without my say so. Just do what you were hired to do and don’t give me, or you, a reason to regret my letting you in.”
“Come on, D. She just got here yesterday. Give her a minute or two to settle in before you bust her chops.”
D smiled slowly and looked over at him before turning back toward me. He gave me a once over, taking in my body as if he was assessing my worth at a cattle auction. To men like D, I was a commodity to be traded or used.
“Sit down. Eat your food. Welcome to the Black Aces.”
“Thank you.”
I sat down across from Jack Knife with my plate as D wordlessly left, exiting into a backroom where I noted he often went. I could only assume it was the private quarters the club kept in the casino for doing the real business that the casino masked. My hope was to make it into that inner sanctum very soon.
“I’m going to head up to the bay after we eat. I need to handle some club business. I’ll drop you off at your place on the way and then see you back for your shift tonight.”
I noted that it wasn’t a question, but a statement. It seemed that I was already becoming the property of Jack Knife, and I still wasn’t certain that it was a good idea. Then again, it might be a great one. This was all too new to me to know if I was doing it right. Jack Knife was close to D and that just might get me close to him too. Whether it be directly or just by virtue of knowing what Jack Knife knew once I gained his trust.
“Sounds good.”
“There are some important people coming in tonight. People D wants to have a really good time. I’m going to give you some party favors for them, but they can go to the other girls if they want to get laid. I’ve got plans for you.”
“What sort of plans?”
“The kind that are putting that huge smile on your face right now. I thought we would skip the room tonight and go back to my place. I have a few things there you’re going to really enjoy.”
“I’ll just bet you have.”
I was a little frightened at the prospect of being outside the casino with him, but I told myself it would be fine. There seemed to be a thoughtful side to him, despite his dominant proclivities in the bedroom and his brutish work habits. I really didn’t think I had to worry about him hurting me. We finished our breakfast making small talk and then left together on his hog.
“This is where you live?”
He was surveying the tiny little house I had rented for next to nothing. The paint was peeling and most of the fence was on the ground or in disrepair.
“Yeah. It’s not much, but it will do until I get on my feet.”
“Rough neighborhood.”
“It can be. Thanks for the lift. I will see you later this evening.”
“You sure will.”
I had rented the house more than a year ago when I first started planning my infiltration of the Black Aces MC. I couldn’t risk it being found out that I lived in a suburb on the nicer side of town. I’d gone through some rather seedy channels to get fake identification and rented the place with cash. Anyone checking into my background would hit some dead ends that I planned to explain with a violent ex. Oldest story in the books to be hiding out from some maniac you used to bang.
I suspected that D had already checked out my story to a large extent, and I had covered my tracks just as far as possible in hopes that he wouldn’t take it too far. There was only so much I could do without full police backing. I had one DEA officer in my corner who wanted the Black Aces as much as I did. He was my sole contact and hadn’t been very thrilled about what I insisted upon doing either, but he would do what he could to help me as needed.
The first thing I did was take the longest shower of my life. Though a part of me had enjoyed the sexual encounter with Jack Knife, I still felt like some sort of whore that had taken up work in a local brothel. I supposed it was something I’d have to get used to in order to get through this, but I just didn’t see how I ever could. The worst of it was that I knew I might well have to sleep with more than just him to fit in.
After my shower, I went into my closet and pulled loose a board beneath a stack of shoe boxes that hid it from sight. I removed the journal there and made some notes about my observances from my first day. There wasn’t a lot to say of any worth just yet, but I didn’t want to forget anything. Perhaps something that didn’t seem important now might be at a later time. I felt exhausted from a lack of sleep and didn’t see getting any tonight either, so I headed to my bed. I woke up to the sound of someone beating on the door.
“Janessa?”
His voice sounded angry. I glanced at my clock. I had only been asleep for an hour and Jack Knife was already back. Immediately I was on edge. Something was wrong. My instinct was to run, just get out the back door and keep going. It took all of my will power to walk to the door and open it without showing the panic that I felt.
“What’s going on? I wasn’t expecting you back until time to go to work.”
“Get in. Close the door.”
I did as he said, watching as he pushed the door closed and locked it. Now, I was really scared. This didn’t feel good at all. Had he found me out somehow? Perhaps he or D had done a little more digging than I had expected. I braced myself for the worst.
“I thought you had business to take care of.”
“I did take care of it. Now, I need to lay low for a bit. My bike is parked around back in the alley, so it can’t be seen from the street.”
“Okay. I was sleeping. I didn’t get much of that last night.”
I looked at him suggestively, playing my cards the way I needed to. He smirked and ran a single finger down the side of my face, letting it trace softly along the tops of my breasts that were exposed above the spaghetti strapped pajama top I was wearing.
“I didn’t get much sleep either. Some little vixen kept me awake most of the night.”
“I suppose you could take a nap with me, then.”
“Best idea I’ve heard all day.”
He followed me to the bedroom, stripping down to just his boxer briefs as I climbed into bed. Slipping beneath the covers beside me, I expected that he would make a move to have sex again, instead he kissed me on the cheek and pulled me close, letting me lay my head on his shoulder. I fell back asleep almost immediately.