“I thought you were going to make dinner while I showered?”

“I did.” She grinned at him. “Voilà.” Taking a bite of the pizza, she kept her beer steady that she was holding in the center of crossed legs as he jumped and sat down on the bed.

“You’re looking rickety there, old man. You’re neck really is hurting, isn’t it? I thought you were joking.”

“Nope.” He slowly moved a pillow to place it behind his back before settling back with a slice of pizza.

She reached over to her side table to hand him a beer.

“How’s Gavin?” she asked.

He finished his bite of pizza before answering. “Not good. He eats, works out, and sleeps. He barely talks. I’m worried about him. Viper and Ton are constantly there, but it makes no difference; it’s as if he doesn’t see them.”

“I wish there was something I could do.” She chewed thoughtfully trying to think of something that would make a difference. She would go and see him, but thanks to the monitor, she wouldn’t be going anywhere until it was off. “Damn it, I just thought of something. I can’t search more clues until this monitor is off.”

“It’s not like were making any progress anyway. None of the teams have.”

Crazy Bitch stretched her arm out to grab a notebook from the drawer of her nightstand, setting it down next to him on the mattress.

“I started a notebook to keep the clues straight.”

Calder took the notebook, opening it to read the clues, concentrating on the page that had the last clue.

He read it aloud.

“The ground beneath me is frozen. No kings or queens live here. You can enter my gates, but unless you have an invitation, you won’t be allowed to stay and rescue the damsel.”

“We checked every floor of the castle we stayed in. I didn’t see any damsel in distress or how to save her.” Crazy Bitch handed Calder another slice of pizza before taking another for herself.

“Maybe we placed too much trust on the others in being able to recognize the clue. What if they missed it?”

“We could have, too,” Crazy Bitch agreed. “The only way of knowing is if we go back and actually go to the other castles. I’m game for a road trip.” She used her elbow to tap the ankle monitor. “But until it’s off, it will have to wait.”

“Or someone else finds the treasure.”

“Bite your tongue. I refuse to believe anyone else will win it before us.”

Calder stopped chewing. “What if someone else thinks the same thing? We’ve been ahead this whole game. Maybe someone doesn’t want us to get there first. Why would someone plant drugs in the car you were driving? There had to be a reason.”

“I have a reason for you. That sheriff was an asshole. You want another slice of pizza?”

“No thanks. I’m full.”

Crazy Bitch took her last bite, closing the pizza box as she finished her beer. Carrying the box and empty beer bottles into the kitchen, she then went to her bathroom to wash her hands and brush her teeth.

Leaving the water on to get hot, she filled a cup with hot water before turning it off. Opening her bathroom closet, she searched for a vial of massage oil, putting it in the cup of hot water to heat. Carrying it into the bedroom, she set it down on the bedside table next to Calder.

“Alexa, dim my lights.”

Her overhead light went to dim mode.

“If you can do that, why do you ask me to turn the light off?” Calder asked.

“I don’t want you to get lazy.” She gently took the pillow out from his back. “Now lie down on your stomach.” She kissed his cheek when he did. “I thought you would argue with me.”

“Any time you want me to lie down, all you have to do is ask.”

She broke the top off the massage oil, letting it spill into the palms of her hands. Working the oil into his neck muscles and shoulders, she felt the coiled tension under her fingertips.

“Sex Piston took my appointments today. I told her I’d take hers for the next two days. I also told her we would watch the kids if she and Stud want to check out the castles to double-check that we didn’t miss anything.”

“That feels amazing,” he groaned. “I was going to have a talk with Stud tomorrow. It can wait until he gets back.”

“About Star?”

“Yes.”

“I think it’s the right decision.”

“I’m going to talk to him, but I’m going to play it the way he wants.”

Crazy Bitch straddled him on the bed, putting her weight on her knees and not on him. She edged her hands down to his shoulder blades, then his sides, working the knots and tension out of him and letting the room go silent to put him in a peaceful frame of mind. She knew when he had fallen asleep; he sank deeper into the mattress and his body became heavier.

She carefully moved over him, not wanting to disturb his sleep. Then, going back to the bathroom, she silently closed the door then showered to remove the oil.

Her sheets would be a mess in the morning. She had already changed them after their lovemaking before the pizza had arrived. The ones on the bed now were her extra set. She hadn’t gone down to the basement to do laundry in a while. It gave her the fucking creeps, so she always made sure she did laundry during the day.

Yawning, she turned the water off then toweled off, thinking about how she would wash a load before going to work tomorrow.

Returning to the bedroom, she put on a clean nightshirt then went to the wall to turn the light off. She didn’t want the sound of her voice waking Calder. He was exhausted from the ride from Lexington, and she knew he hadn’t slept since being back in town. Crazy Bitch wanted to cuddle with him, but didn’t want to rouse him.

Her mind went over the clue that Calder had read out. He thought someone was trying to stop her from winning the bikes. She shook her head on her pillow, trying to become more comfortable. Someone was trying to stop her. What Calder didn’t know was she was trying to win something more valuable than a thousand bikes. She was trying to save a town.

* * *

She woke early the next morning. The morning sun peeking in the blinds had her looking toward Calder to see he hadn’t moved.

Dressing, she put on her least favorite stretchy leggings to hide the monitor and slipped on her sneakers she would change before going to work. Picking out a teal off-the-shoulder top, she finished dressing then picked up the laundry basket. Stopping at the hall closet, she plunked down the laundry detergent onto the clothes before carrying it outside to go down two flights of stairs to the laundry room.

The light was out when she opened the door. Turning it on, she walked around the room, making sure it was empty before she hurriedly separated her clothes and started the washers for a quick wash.

Turning toward the doorway, she nearly screamed when she saw a dark figure coming into the room. When he raised his face from underneath his hat, she gave a relieved sigh.

“You nearly caused me to have a fucking heart attack!”

Her sigh might have come too soon.

Lucky furiously strode toward her. “Have you lost your mind coming down here? How are we supposed to keep an eye on you if you keep doing stupid stunts?”

Crazy Bitch folded her hands over her chest. “I made the last man who talked to me that way regret it.”

“I’m already regretting your involvement. One more thing goes wrong, I’m pulling the plug.”

“You do it, and I’ll keep trying to bring that sheriff around myself.”

“What’s it going to take to make you stop? You going to prison, or worse, being dead?”

“I’m not going to be dead. Your narcotic buddies are watching out for me. I’m not stopping. I told you when my mother died from that OD that I was going to find who was responsible for supplying her with those pills. If I hadn’t screwed up by throwing that drink at Sam, we would have been able to use him.”

“That wasn’t the only way you screwed up. You going to his office had his boss taking another look at him when two women in the office got enough courage to complain about Sam.”

She shrugged. “I told you I didn’t trust that he wouldn’t try that shit on another woman. I wasn’t going to have that on my conscience, knowing we could have stopped it from happening.”

“The Narcotic Task Force was working on getting a search warrant.”

“They get one? Fat Louise said he quit.”

“He did. When his boss was looking into the complaints, he discovered numerous prescriptions to patients he hadn’t authorized. Sam had.”

“So, arrest him. Make him tell you that he’s paying the sheriff off, too. I told you when I found his burner phone in my back seat and gave it to Shade that I would do anything necessary to help, and I’ve done everything you wanted, except when I went to Sam’s office.”

“What you did was spook him when the doctor started digging, which was what the task force didn’t want. You’re no longer a credible witness.” Lucky moved to the side when the washer stopped to put the wet clothes into the dryer.

“Those weren’t my pills, and you know it was bullshit I was even pulled over.”

Lucky nodded. “They know, but the drugs were still found, and now you have a list of charges against you.”

“I guess your buddies on the task force need to make the charges disappear.”

“They can’t just make them disappear. It’s not that simple. They have to have proof he planted the drugs in your car.”

“Then find what you need and quit pussy-footing around. Jamestown is becoming a ghost town. More people are dying every day while the drug task force tries to build a case against the sheriff.”

“They’re trying. I’m trying. This isn’t the first time I’ve tried to take Eli down. I don’t want to lose him a second time.”

Crazy Bitch opened the dryers, dumping her clean laundry into her basket and setting the detergent on top.

“You’re wrinkling your clothes.”

She shrugged, unconcerned. “I need a favor for if anything happens to me. It’s a big one. I had to take several hits being an informant—”

“I heard. That must have hurt. We appreciate your dedication.”

She shot him a nasty look. “Calder couldn’t give a good spanking if he had a gun pointed at his head. It’s not in his DNA. Don’t make me regret letting you bug my living room to keep me safe.”

“So, what’s the favor?”

“When the shit goes down, I don’t want anyone to know I was the informant. The brothers in the club won’t understand.”

“That you’re not as hard as you pretend?”

“I’m not pretending.” Tired of holding her clothes, she set the basket on the laundry table. “I tell Sex Piston, T.A., Fat Louise, and Killyama everything. We even share the clues. I don’t want them in any danger. If anything happens to me, I want them protected. That’s why I haven’t told them anything.”

“I can do that.” Lucky nodded, starting to leave.

Crazy Bitch grabbed his arm. “Make sure. But that’s not the favor. I want you to personally make sure that Calder is protected, too. No handing it over to any of The Last Riders or any of your buddies on the task force to handle. I want you protecting him. Another thing—”

“Don’t you have to go to work?”

“I’m going. I need to get something off my chest. Gavin’s ex. She’s bad news.”

Lucky stiffened. “I personally know Taylor. This is a hard situation for her.”

“You know everything about me, don’t you?” She cocked an eyebrow at him.

He didn’t say jack shit in response.

“Who do you think is the better judge of character: you or me?”

He stared back at her. She could see the conflict in his expression.

“I’m saying outright that bitch is bad news. Take it however you want. I’m only giving Viper a heads-up because the Destructors are going to win our bet.”

“I’ll convey your concerns to Viper.”

“You do that.” She picked up her laundry basket. “You want to go first?” She motioned to the door.

“No, you go ahead.”

She waited until Lucky was at the back of the room before juggling her clothes to open the door.

“Crazy Bitch? Take care.”