When Jack staggered out of bed the next morning, slightly groggy from the lack of sleep, he went in search of Tina. The lounge area was spotless, but there was no sign of Tina. His stomach sank and he hurried into the warehouse for a quick inventory. The cars and bikes all appeared to be there. While he stood there in relief, she stepped out of the lounge.
“Good morning!” she said brightly
Jack took a deep, cleansing breath as he turned to make sure his voice would be neutral when he spoke. He didn’t want her to realize that he thought she had run … and probably taken something in the bargain.
“Good morning. What are you up to this morning?”
“The sun shines right in those windows in the morning and it woke me up. So I got started cleaning. The men’s bathroom was a shit hole. Why can’t guys aim?”
Jack chuckled in relief. “We’re not firing at point-blank range like women are. Cut us some slack.”
“Whatever. It’s clean now.”
“Ready for breakfast?” Jack asked with a yawn.
“I can clean, but I can’t cook … much. So I hope you’re doing the cooking.”
Jack smiled. “Yeah. Eggs and sausage or French toast. You pick.”
“Whatever. Either of those is better than the Pop-Tart I would have had for breakfast if I were home.”
After a breakfast of eggs and sausage, Jack set Tina to work sweeping out the clubhouse while he cleaned his own apartment. While he wouldn’t say he trusted her with his life, she had shown that she didn’t have to be watched every moment.
The clubhouse wasn’t a pig sty, and she went about efficiently sweeping the place out with a large push broom. In a back corner, by a large, enclosed, three-axle trailer, she found several large plastic bins chock-full of odds and ends: dozens of tennis rackets, clothes, GPS’s, and even an empty pistol holster.
“Hey, Jack!” she called.
“What?” came his voice from inside his apartment.
“What’s all this stuff? The clothes and tennis rackets and stuff.”
After a moment, Jack appeared. “Oh, that. Just some stuff that was left here when we bought the place. If you want to dig through it, you might find some more clothes that fit.”
Tina looked at Jack dubiously. Something about the statement didn’t ring quite true. What it looked like to her was stuff you might find in a car. Just like when she had first broken in, she got the feeling that this place was a breaker, but she said nothing, not wanting to offend Jack if she was wrong.
“Okay, thanks. Maybe I will. Why don’t you sell this stuff? I see, three, four, six GPS’s in there. And what is that, twenty tennis rackets? This stuff has to be worth a few bucks.”
Jack shrugged. “Just haven’t gotten around to it. But you are welcome to take whatever you can find that you need.”
Tina debated claiming the lot. She should be able to get at least a couple hundred bucks at a pawn shop for the stuff, but she didn’t want to appear greedy. “Thanks, Jack. I will see if some of the clothes will fit to give me another set.”
“Help yourself,” Jack said with a smile. He looked around the clubhouse. Except for this corner, the place hadn’t looked this good in a long time. Tina had obviously worked her ass off this morning. “When you get finished here, we’re done for the day. The rest of the Sons will be here a couple of hours. I’ll introduce you.”
“You have a son?” Tina asked in surprise.
Jack chuckled. “No. The Desert Sons, the motorcycle club I belong too. This is our clubhouse. Those are some of the guys’ bikes over there, those that don’t have a place to keep them. I live here and take care of the place.”
“Ah!” Tina breathed as so many questions were answered. “So what do the Desert Sons do?”
“Nothing. We hang out. Go on rides. Drink, fight, and fuck. The normal stuff motorcycle clubs do,” Jack said with a big grin.
“Yeah … I saw the fucking part the first night.”
Jack laughed. “Actually, we’re just a group of friends that get together on Saturdays and shoot the shit. Once a month or so we go for a ride as a club. We’re just normal guys, doing what we do.”
“What do you do, Jack, when you aren’t taking care of the clubhouse? You haven’t had to go to work these last couple of days.”
“I work for myself. I sell used cars. The Audi is mine, but the BMW and the Jag, those are cars I am getting ready to sell.”
“Pretty high end stuff. That Jag can’t be more than six months old.”
“That’s what I do. I find almost new cars that someone bought but doesn’t want anymore. In over their head on payments or whatever. I buy it, then flip it.”
“Pretty good work, if you can find it.”
“It’s not a bad living. People around here know me. Most of the time they come to me.”
Tina grunted. “When did you say the Sons would be here?”
Jack looked at his watch … or would have if it were still on his wrist. He looked up to see Tina’s smiling face as she dangled his watch in front of him. Jack made a big production out of feeling for his wallet, finding it securely in his pocket. “Goddammit. Would you stop it?” he teased good naturedly as he puts his watch back on, then looked at it. “They start arriving at about noon, so in about an hour.”
“Okay, I’ll finish this up and see if anything in here fits. May I use your shower when I’m done?”
“Sure.”
“Okay. Thanks.” As Jack turned and walked away, Tina let him take three steps before she called to him. “Jack! Don’t forget this,” she said as she tossed him his wallet.
He caught it, his surprise clear on his face as he felt his now empty pocket. “Am I going to have to handcuff you?” he grinned, stuffing the wallet into his pocket as he walked away.
Tina looked at the floor and smiled as she started sweeping again. Being handcuffed by Jack … to a bed … might not be so bad, she thought.
***
When Tina stepped out of Jack’s apartment, dressed in another set of clothes that almost fit, if didn’t coordinate, she saw a half dozen additional bikes sitting just inside the big roll up door, and perhaps a dozen men and four or five women milling about in the lounge. Loud music mixed with the sounds of happy people.
Tina swallowed hard and made her way toward the group. She really didn’t want to mingle, but she didn’t want to hide in Jack’s apartment either, afraid of how that might look. She had always been a bit of a loner, and there was no possible way to put a positive spin on why she was here.
As she approached, all eyes turned to her and the babble of voices fell silent. Jack turned the music down a little before he approached her. “Sons, this is Tina.” She got a reserved welcome. “She is here working off a little debt to me.”
“I bet she is,” needled a guy lounging on the couch which caused the rest of the group, including Jack, to laugh.
“She’s down on her luck and she broke in…”
As Jack talked, Tina felt herself flush furiously. Here it came…
“... to find something eat and a place to sleep.”
Tina was surprised that Jack ended the tale there, but the Sons still stared at her coldly. “She broke in and you let her stay? How did she get in?”
“She came in through one of those windows,” Jack said with a nod of his head at the three window along the wall of the lounge.
Everyone turned and looked, then looked back to Tina. “She came through one of those? Are you sure?” another man asked.
“That’s why she is still here,” Jack explained. “She has agreed to stay and work off the replacement cost of the window.”
“Doing what?” a woman asked with a smirk.
Jack grinned. “Not that, Michelle. She helped me put the window in, and I’m sure you noticed how clean the place is. Tomorrow I will find something else for her to do.”
“Can you trust her?”
“I think so. She has stood by her word so far. And she has quite a party trick too, if anyone is interested in seeing it.”
The rest of the Sons looked at each other. “Sure, why not. What is it?”
“Ah, ah, ah. If I told you it would give it away. We’ll show you a little later.” Jack grinned down at her. “You up for this?”
“Jack … I don’t know. I don’t want to make anyone, you know, mad,” Tina muttered under her breath.
“They will be okay with it. And if not, they can be mad at me because I want you to do it.”
Tina took a deep breath. “Okay. If you want me to.”
“I do,” Jack said before he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “We normally break up about eight, after dinner. Mingle, then right after dinner, we will reveal what you took. I want you to take everything you can. The more, the better.”
“Why, Jack?”
“Trust me,” he said before he kissed on her head.
***
Tina began to mingle. Everyone was awkward around her at first, but she turned on the charm and slowly everyone began to relax around her. She didn’t go fishing until the Sons started breaking out the grills. While everyone was busy and distracted, she began to work. She took keys, wallets, watches, sunglasses, cell phones, a package of condoms and a couple of rings. It took her a couple of tries, but she even managed to lift a pistol and a wallet chained to a belt.
She hid the items she took in a basket she found behind the bar. The best part of the day was when she saw Jack look at his watch, only to realize it was no longer on his arm, then feel for his wallet, only to find it missing as well. When he caught her eye, his grin and wink gave her a warm glow.
During dinner, she sat between two women that she had become especially friendly with, and she managed to get one’s St. Christopher necklace and the other’s sunglasses from the place they had been all evening, the top of her head.
“Are you done?” Jack asked her as the meal began to break up.
“I think I have gotten all that I can. I wanted those dangly earrings of Rachel’s, but I can’t get them.”
“Let’s see what you have taken. I notice that a few people are acting like they are looking for something,” Jack said. “Sons! You guys ready to see what Tina can do?”
“Sure. But has anyone seen my cell phone? I don’t know what I did with it,” Greg asked.
“Where’s the stuff?” Jack asked.
“Under the bar, behind the towels.”
Jack found the overflowing basket, and he felt his eyes widen in surprise as he broke into a huge grin. Oh, she’s good. She’s very good, Jack mused. He set the basket on the bar, reaching back under the bar to pull out a few items that had fallen out when he moved the booty.
“Nic, I believe these are yours,” Jack said, handing the woman the sunglasses, her hand flying to the top of her head to feel for her missing glasses.
“Here is my wallet, and my watch,” Jack said, retrieving his items and putting them away. “And my cell.”
While Jack began to distribute the take, everyone felt their person, realizing just what had happened. “Whose phone is this?” Jack asked holding a phone up.
“That’s mine!” called a man from a back as he strode up and took the phone. “And my sunglasses. Fuck! There’s my wallet. And watch. Shit! How did she get my ring?” he asked, laying claim to each item as he recognized it.
“Brett, you need to keep a better eye on this,” Jack said as he handed the pistol back to its owner.
As the items were distributed, the growing irritation began to give away to good natured ribbing, and Tina began to relax.
After all the lifted items had been distributed to their owners, Tina demonstrated how she was able to take their wallets, watches, and rings. Like Jack, each person was amazed that she could do it while they watched, and almost not feel a thing. Michelle, the woman whose St. Christopher medal she took, was especially impressed and wanted Tina to show her how to do it.
“Michelle, why don’t you, Tina, and Nic go shoot some pool, or have Tina show you how to steal Seth’s wallet for when you want to go shopping.”
Michelle and Nicole got the hint. “What a great idea. Will you do that, Tina? Please,” Michelle asked.
“Alright, Jack. What the hell is going on?” demanded Seth, the president of the Desert Sons.
“Just what I told you. I just left out the part that after I caught her, she took my wallet. Anyway, that got me to thinking. The most sketchy part of the deal is the getting in, agreed?”
Seth and Marshall, the Sergeant at Arms of the club, nodded in agreement.
“What if we had the keys to the building?”
“Okay. I see where you are going with this. But how do you know you can trust her?” Marshall asked.
Jack grinned at his best friend. “I don’t. That’s why I haven’t breathed a word to her about this. But if we can, imagine how much easier this will be.”
“I don’t know, Jack. We have a plan, and it’s a good one. Kind of late to be changing it around, isn’t it?” Seth asked.
“That’s the beauty of it. We don’t have to change anything except how we get into the building. The rest of the plan goes as we planned it.”
“I agree. But how do we know we can trust her? That’s a big unknown,” Marshall pointed out.
“I know. But I have given her several chances to cross me, and she hasn’t yet. I’m not ready to fully trust her, but if you two are agreeable, I will bring her in if I think I can. I think the risk of using her is less than the risk of not using her.”
***
Tina knew that Marshall, Seth, and Jack were talking about her from the way they kept looking in her direction as she showed Michelle how to distract Nic while reaching into her pocket. Something was going on, but she couldn’t figure out what.
“Tell me about Jack,” Tina said as Michelle practiced dipping into Nicole's pockets.
“Not much to tell. He’s the vice president of the Desert Sons. It’s his club, even if he is just the vice president. He said he doesn’t want to be president. ‘Too many headaches’ he says,” Nic said.
“Any idea why would he give me a second chance like he did?”
Michelle and Nicole twittered. “You’re really not sleeping with him?”
“No, why?”
“That’s a surprise,” Michelle said. “He’s a real ladies’ man. Rumor is that he’s quite the stud, too. I’m surprised you haven’t fallen under his spell. Lord knows if I weren’t married, I would fuck the shit out of him.”
“Michelle! I can’t believe you just said that!” Nic scolded playfully. “You and Seth are perfect for each other. Hell, you even do those body builder competition things together.”
“Oh, please, save it. You would do the same, and you know it.”
Nic opened her mouth as if to deny it. “Okay, you’re right. I would. But Marshall and Jack are best friends, and I couldn’t do that to Marshall even if I wanted to.”
“The night he caught me, there was a woman here,” Tina said quietly. She didn’t know what Michelle and Nicole were bitching about. Yes, Jack was good looking, but Seth and Marshall weren’t exactly frogs. Especially Seth. He filled out a shirt nicely.
“Just one?” Nic asked, then laughed. “Sorry, that wasn’t nice. I’m not surprised. He picks up two or three different women a week sometimes. A few have tried to tie him down, but he’s not going to be tied to just one woman.”
“Have you known him long?” Tina asked Nic.
“About ten years. He and Marshall were friends when I met him. They grew up together.”
“He said he buys and sells cars.”
“Jack? Yeah, something like that. He’s too much a free spirit to be tied to a desk job.”
“What’s Marshall do? Or you, for that matter?”
“I work at the DMV. Marshall, he works at the Harley dealership. He’s the customer finance guy there. Seth works there too as the sale manager.”
“Sweet!” Tina teased. “Seth sells them, Marshall makes sure they can afford them, and you make sure they can ride them.”
Nic laughs. “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but yeah.”
“What about you, Michelle?”
“Me? Nothing so exciting. I work at Walmart. Assistant store manager. What about you, Tina? How did you end up breaking in?”
Tina grimaced and gave them an abbreviated story. “I nearly pissed myself when I heard that gun being cocked,” she finished.
“Yeah. I can imagine. I’ve been with Jack and Marshall when they have gone shooting. Jack, he just doesn’t miss. You’re lucky you’re still alive,” Nic said.
“I know. I will always be grateful to Jack for … well … taking the time to help me. So he can shoot, and according to rumor, fuck. What else is he good at?” Tina asked as she tried to fill in the blank spots in her picture of her benefactor.
“I haven’t seen it myself, but according to Marshall, he can handle a car like a stunt driver,” Nic said.
Tina mulled over all the new information. “Jack sounds like an interesting guy,” she finally said.