Chapter 11
Chloe
I slept with Saint.
I repeated the words to myself, over and over again, until they slowly sank in.
Holy crap. I might regret this soon, but it wouldn’t be today.
We laid in my bed, and my head was on Saint’s chest, listening to the thump, thump, thump of his heart. I’d lost track of how many times we’d made love last night.
I was sore, deliciously so.
He’d been here for hours and it was nearly daylight. I couldn’t tell if it was a good sign, or not. Saint was still a one and done kind of guy and he hadn’t made me any promises. He might just be protecting me, and I was too much of a fraidy cat to ask him for an explanation.
“What are you thinkin’ so hard about, Little Bit?” he asked. His voice was rumbly from sleep and it did wicked things to me, making my nipples pebble, and my pussy wet.
“Nothing.”
“Is that right? Then, I’ll give you somethin’ to consider.”
Saint slowly squeezed my breasts, palming them, weighing the roundness in his hands. He pinched my nipples, making them fully stand at attention for him, as if they were saluting.
And then he spread my legs apart, ran his hands up and down my ankles and calves. Any shyness had evaporated overnight. I’d laid myself bare to him in so many ways.
Saint played with my pussy, running his fingertips between my swollen lips, taking his time. Exploring. He was never in a hurry, always leisurely stroking me, getting a response.
This was what sex was supposed to be like—sensual, deliberate. Mind-blowing.
He rubbed my clit, edging me. When I surged against his hand, Saint leaned down and tongued my pussy, careful gentle licks, occasionally glancing up at my face to gauge my reaction.
With a grin, he pushed a finger inside me.
I gasped, moaning. It was only a tease. I wanted his cock inside me again and we both knew it.
“Is this what you need?” Saint asked.
I shook my head. “No, I need more.”
“Then take it.” He leaned back, so I could touch him.
So, I worked his cock, stroking up and down. Saint threw his head back, hips thrusting in time with my movements.
And then I got on my knees, perched between his splayed thighs and tasted him. I swirled my tongue over the head, twirling up and down, gulping him down.
Saint shuddered as he slipped in and out of my mouth.
I couldn’t get enough of Saint, loved kneeling in front of him, worshipping his cock with my wide-open mouth. I craved the salty slick feel of him—the grunts he made, the way his hips bucked, trying to get deeper down my throat.
With a growl, Saint flipped our positions.
And then he pushed inside me once more.
He’s stretched my pussy open, going deep. Once more, he rubbed his thumb over my clit, as he fucked me.
I whimpered, as he pushed me closer and closer to the edge of climax. He was the best lover I’d ever had, though I had next to nothing to compare him to. But I got the sense Saint would seem exceptional, no matter how many men I’d been with.
I clutched the sheets. “Saint, please!”
“No.”
Once more, he manhandled me, flipping me over. Saint got behind me, and we were both on all fours.
His cock slid into me and his big hands tightened on my waist, clutching me.
A low throaty sound escaped my mouth. I lifted my ass higher in the air. He made me feel like a cat in heat, wanting to be mounted.
Saint moved faster and faster until I came with a low, noisy wail, like I was breaking apart inside, lost to him.
And maybe I am.
“Fuck yes,” Saint growled.
He slammed into me again and again, until he groaned, flooding me with his cum. I could feel it slipping down my thigh. I’d given up on asking him to pull out a long time ago.
Saint tugged me into his arms and I rested my head against his chest once more. Strangely enough, I felt like I belonged here, in this moment, with him. I felt marked, claimed.
Yet relaxed, peaceful somehow. We belonged together.
Abruptly, his phone buzzed. Saint frowned as he glanced at the screen. He must’ve gotten a text message.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Sorry, but I can’t tell you. I have to go.” Saint shifted away, and the loss of contact made me ache.
My heart seized and to my shame, my lower lip trembled. I blinked back tears.
Stop it. You knew what you were getting into. I forced myself to smile, but it felt like my skin was stretched tightly over my face, a mask.
“Right. Okay.”
Saint bent over the bed, taking my chin in his palm, so I was forced to look him in the eye.
“No, I don't mean it that way. It's club business and I can't tell you more about it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Honestly, you don’t have to invent—”
“I didn’t, Little Bit.” He kissed my forehead, my nose, and then my mouth. “I have to go, but I want you to stay right here.” Saint waggled his brows. “In bed. Preferably naked.”
“Are you sure? We didn’t really talk about this.”
“No, I haven’t made you any promises yet, but I intend to.”
“What does that mean?” Saint had my full attention.
Just then, his phone vibrated again, and he checked it.
“Sorry, gotta go. We’ll talk later.” He threw on his clothes, already rushing to the door, but he turned around at the last second. “Just remember, the naked part.”
With a grin, he strutted out the door.
***
Saint didn’t make it back to my place before I had to go to work.
So, I got dressed and headed back to Carrefore for my shift. I wish Saint hadn’t been so cryptic this morning. I wanted to know what he meant about promises.
And where the hell did he go? Whatever the club was up to, it couldn’t be good.
Even if Saint and I decided to give an actual relationship a try, I wasn’t sure how I felt about being a biker’s girl. No, old lady. You’d be an old lady, like Nettie. Ugh. They really need a better term.
As luck, or maybe fate, would have it, my first customer of the day was Jed. And he was alone.
Hot damn. I had my chance to ask him about Mamie. I squared my shoulders, preparing to head over when Maya snagged my arm.
“Where do you think you’re goin’?”
“To wait on a customer.” I pried my arm free, but she stepped into my path.
“I don’t think so. He’s sittin’ in my section.”
“I’ll take his order instead. No big deal.” I shuffled through the menus, trying to find one that wasn’t sticky. I made a mental note to wipe them down later.
“Along with the tip.” She lifted her chin. “Jeb’s very generous.”
Oh. Now, I see the problem.
“You can have a table of mine to make up for it.” I waved a hand around the room. That’s when I noticed there were no bikers here, which was odd. And it could only mean they were up to something terrible. Maybe illegal?
Plenty of locals filled the seats, so Maya could get the tip she wanted. “Take your pick.”
“Why do you want to wait on Jed so damn bad, anyway?” she asked shrewdly.
I lifted my chin. “None of your business.”
She smirked. “Tell you what, Chloe. You can take his order, but you’ll split the tip with me.”
“Seriously? You’re trying to shake me down.”
“Succeeding, not trying.” Maya grinned. “We both know you’ll agree.”
She was right. “You’re kind of a bitch.”
“I know.” Maya stepped back and looked me up and down, as if truly seeing me for the first time. “What’s up? You’re all…different this morning. What happened?”
“Nothing.” I rubbed the back of my neck, self-consciously.
Maya laughed. “Oh my God. You boned Saint, didn’t you?”
“Shut your mouth,” I hissed.
“Ha! I’m right,” Maya crowed. “Well, I’m happy for you, girl. Get you some.”
“Eww. Let’s never talk about this again.”
“Fine, be a prude.” She stepped out of my way, and I hurried over to Jeb’s table, ready to make my move.
“Hello there, Mr. Jackson.” I set a coffee cup on the table. “Can I get you some joe?” I lifted the carafe in my other hand. We carried one with us during the breakfast shift, giving refills as we went.
His gaze shifted to the wooden table. Was he afraid to meet my eyes? Guilty conscience, huh?
“Sure, thanks.”
I filled his cup. “Do you know what you want? Or would you like to look at the menu?”
“I’ll have a couple of beignets.”
“Excellent choice.” I’d had a couple for breakfast myself, along with some turkey sausage on the side, because I’d worked up quite an appetite this morning.
When I didn’t walk away, he finally looked up at me. We both stared at one another. I suppose Jeb was handsome, for a man in his age bracket. He was probably in his late fifties with silver hair and wintery blue eyes.
I started to ask him about Mamie and then chickened out.
“I’ll put your order in.” I walked over to the bar and handed the slip to Nettie.
“What do you think you’re doin’?” Nettie asked.
“I already told you. Getting to the bottom of this, once and for all.”
She sighed. “Sweet Lord. You ain’t got the good sense God gave a goose. Someone hexed you last night, and here you are, fixin’ to put your neck on the line again.”
“Hexed?” Now, she had my full attention.
“Yes, and some stains don’t wash away. That’s why she…or he used blood for the veve to summon Maman Brigitte.”
“Maman Brigitte?” This loa was new to me.
“She’s a death loa, and some practitioners call on her to exact retribution.”
Woah. What? “But I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Whoever cursed you, seems to think you did.” Nettie grasped my hand and fastened a leather strap with a bright blue stone around my wrist. There were strange markings all over the rock.
“What’s that?” I asked, when she was finished.
“A protection gris-gris to keep you safe.”
“You know I’m not a believer.”
Nettie lifted her chin. “Well, I am, and I’ll do anythin’ in my power to protect you.”
I knew the gesture came from a place of love, so I nodded. “Thank you.” Besides, the bracelet was pretty. I decided to just think of it as a present. Not a supernatural shield.
“And you should leave him alone.” Nettie pointed to Jeb.
“Sorry, but I can’t. I’m just gonna ask him a question.” Eventually. I decided to change the subject. “Hey, do you know where the brothers went?”
“No, I’m an old lady, not a member.” Nettie said this quickly. Too quickly. Hmm. Nettie knew a lot more than she was saying.
“You’re a crappy liar.”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” With that, she disappeared into the kitchen once more and emerged with the donuts.
“Take him these, and then get out of there.”
I dutifully took them over to Jeb’s table and then loitered for a minute, gathering up my courage.
Jed took a bite.
“Good?”
“Yes,” he mumbled around a mouth full of beignet.
Oh hell. Just do it. I couldn’t wait any longer, so I sat across from him.
Might as well just put it all out on main street. “You know who I am, don’t you?”
Jeb lowered his head. “Yes.”
“Well, I know you were having an affair with my grandmother.”
He nearly choked and pounded his chest. A half-eaten blob of mangled donut plopped out onto his plate.
Eww.
“This isn’t the time, nor the place,” he whispered, glancing over at Nettie who watched us from behind the bar, like a proverbial hawk.
“Yeah, I don’t care about being proper. I need answers. What happened between you two?”
Jeb didn’t answer for the longest time, and when he spoke, he murmured the words so low, I almost couldn’t hear him.
“We…fell in love.”
“Love? So, it wasn’t just an affair?”
Jeb swallowed, and tears filled his eyes. “No, I loved your grandmother. Never doubt that.” His head tilted to one side. “You remind me of her, you know.”
“Um, thanks.” I braced myself. “But did you…”
“Kill her?” Jeb shook his head. “Of course not. I would never hurt her, under any circumstances.”
I stared at him, not knowing what to believe. He looked heartbroken, but she’d been murdered in cold blood. If Jed was capable of slitting someone’s throat, he could sit there and lie to my face without a problem.
“I swear, I didn’t harm her.” Jed looked into my eyes.
Somehow, I believed him.
His pain and grief were palpable, and if he was acting, then the man deserved an Oscar. Dammit. Yet another dead end.
And then he glanced away, all shifty-eyed and twitchy.
“You didn’t hurt Mamie, but you know who did, don’t you?” I seized his hand, my fingernails digging into his palm. “Who?” When I thought about it, only one other suspect made any sort of sense. “Your wife?”
“Trust me. Stay away from her.” With that, he yanked his fingers free of my grip, slapped a twenty-dollar bill on the table and almost ran out the door.
Oh my God. Viola Jackson killed Mamie. I was sure of it.
“What the fuck was that about?” Maya asked, as she came up behind me.
“I don’t know, but I’m gonna find out.”
***
After I finished my shift, I still hadn’t heard from Saint. Or any of the other bikers.
None of them had stepped foot in Carrefore all damn day, which felt like a bad omen. He hadn’t even responded to my text messages, but I didn’t think Saint was blowing me off. He was no-doubt knee-deep in something nefarious, with his brothers.
So, I walked back to my place.
But when I passed by the Jacksons, I stopped, standing there in the middle of the road. Surely, it wouldn’t hurt to knock on the door, and see if Viola was home, right? I just wanted to talk to her, see if she looked guilty.
I promised myself, I wouldn’t confront her.
When Saint got back, I’d tell him what I’d found out. And the club would handle it. Vigilante justice would be served. I preferred to work within the confines of the law, but the police had let me down and I wouldn’t give them the chance to screw this up, too.
One way or the other, Mamie’s killer would pay.
Before I could think better of it, I walked up the long, winding driveway. The Jackson’s house was in better shape than mine, but not as opulent as Xav’s.
After climbing the veranda stairs, I stood on the welcome mat and rang the doorbell.
There was no response.
So, I walked to the other side of the house and checked the driveway, but it was empty. Maybe Jeb hadn’t gone straight home?
I headed around to the back of the property and came to their fenced-in corral, where two horses grazed, one black and one white. In the distance, stood the hideous she shed, in all its pink and purple glory, right by the wooded acres Xav had been talking about.
What an eyesore.
I turned my attention to the horses, because I couldn’t resist. “Hey, fellas. Where’s the lady of the house?”
Of course, they didn’t respond to the question. But they whickered and headed over to me. I spotted a sassafras tree along the fence line and I plucked a few young, tender branches from it. I petted their muzzles as they chomped away on the green, leafy snack.
Suddenly, the horses started rearing. Snorting.
“What’s wrong guys?”
Their ears pricked up, and their nostrils flared, on high alert. Okay, that’s not normal.
Now, I was starting to get spooked.
“It’s all right, I’m here.” I kept my tone light and even, trying to calm them down.
And then I heard footsteps behind me.
I’m not alone.
Before I could turn, a heavy object struck the base of my skull.
And then I tumbled to the ground, falling into oblivion.