Chapter Four

Mick

As reluctant as I felt to leave Talon, I had spent all day in bed with her, and there was something else occupying my mind other than the sexy raven-haired beauty. The shit I saw my first night with Talon on the overlook just wouldn’t go away. The club—my club—was involved in some shady shit. and I wanted to know what. Hell, I needed to know.

No one had said anything about a recent score, and there certainly hadn’t been any money sent my way like usual. We got a score and split the proceeds. Every damn time. That was how it went. The fact that more than a week had gone by with nothing told me everything I needed to know. CAOS—at least some of the guys—were nowhere near as lily white as they pretended to be.

So I got up and gave Talon two orgasms in the shower before hopping on my bike to meet Cash at the overlook. Just the idea of that place now gave me a silly ass grin.

“What, or should I say who put that smile on your face?”

“Nothing. Have you noticed anything weird around here lately?” Cash had only been patched for about a year, so he knew the inner workings of the club, though not as well as I did.

“You mean like a few guys more flush than the rest?” Cash saw more than anyone gave him credit for. It had made him an asset in the military and now it would, too.

But fuck, if he noticed, I wondered if anyone else had. “Yeah.” I noticed at the clubhouse a few days ago, and I wanted to believe it was just that I didn’t know them all that well so they were easy to suspect. CAOS was like any other organization with small cliques within it. Roddick, the Prez, was a cool guy, but I was hard pressed to believe any of this shit could go down without his say so. The penalty was too severe to act without the approval of the club. That shit was sewn into the bylaws.

“What are you thinking?”

I blew out a breath trying to decide how much I wanted to share with Cash. I trusted him with my life because he’d earned it, but I wasn’t sure if I should lay this shit on his shoulders yet. But I had to tell someone to see if I was losing my mind or if there was trouble. “I was here with Talon recently and saw a deal go down. I’m pretty sure one of the bikes belonged to Dagger.”

“Shit!” He kicked at the ground in restless frustration that I understood. “What are we gonna do, man?”

I grinned and pulled at my beard. Once a SEAL always a fucking SEAL. I was glad Cash was willing to dig into this with me, knowing the risks. “We’re gonna find out what the fuck is going on, who we can trust and then, brother, we’re gonna fucking take care of it. Just like old times.”

Cash grinned that schoolboy smile of his that caused a lot of shit in the navy. “Fuck yeah. I’ll see what I can find out.” He stared out into the dark desert night, seemingly lost in thought. “You think this shit has anything to do with Magnus’ death?”

I frowned and turned to Cash. “What do you mean?”

“Seriously?” He sighed and shook his head. “There was supposedly this big ass shootout with the Mexicans, and no one was even injured but the best shooter in the club—Mag—and he’s the only fucker who took a bullet? I ain’t buying that even with someone else’s money.” His final look said, Are you?

“Shit, me either. I didn’t think anyone else had doubts.” As refreshing as it felt to hear I wasn’t alone in my suspicions, all I wanted to do was crawl back into bed with the ebony-haired vixen who had me under her spell.

***

“Don’t tell the hot little owner of Black Betty, but I went over to Creston to get some Chinese takeout.” I held up a white bag with some Asian characters on the front and smiled when Talon opened the door.

She crossed her arms over her chest and kicked her hip to the side, sending me a saucy grin. “I’m sure you can work something out with her.”

She turned and walked away, and my jaw clenched at the sight of her ass in a pair of tight pink shorts that hugged her cheeks and offered up a glimpse of shadow just below. And fuck, she wasn’t wearing a bra in that loose-fitting tee. “Name your price.” In that outfit with her girl next door grin, I would give her whatever the fuck she wanted.

She blushed and took the bag from me, setting the cartons on the patio table. “Thanks for bringing dinner. I really didn’t feel like cooking tonight.” She went back for plates, silverware, and beers, and I knew in that moment I could love her. Just like that.

“Then maybe you owe me.” I winked at her, taking full pleasure in the shiver she couldn’t hide if she wanted to. Laughing, she muttered something about me being incorrigible and pointed a half-eaten eggroll in my direction. “I need to talk to you about something, babe.”

She froze but quickly recovered. “Sounds ominous.”

I knew what she was thinking, but now was not the time to tell her just how wrong she was. That talk would come later. After I figured this club shit out. “We’re solid, babe. This is about Magnus.”

Swallowing her eggroll, she took a long pull from her beer and looked at me. “Okay, hit me with it.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her resilience. She looked like a delicate rose petal, soft and fragile, but she wasn’t. After what her asshole ex and her so-called best friend had done, despite being denied a lifetime with her father, she was still bright and sunny and ready to face life head on. She was fucking perfect. “I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just gonna say it. I’m not sure your father’s death was what it appeared.” By the time I explained my suspicions, all the color had drained from her already pale face.

“You think your club was involved?”

I gave a short nod. “I think what I know so far leans that way. But until I get things figured out, you can’t get involved in this. Don’t try to investigate on your own, and don’t go asking questions. I mean it. Please.”

The look she gave me was part trust and part defiance. Her eyes never left mine as she weighed her options, coming to a decision minutes later. “Okay, I won’t say anything. But please don’t keep me in the dark. I promise to be safe and smart and not at all one of those armchair detective women. As long as I know what’s happening and what you find out.” She looked deep into my eyes as though she could make me understand how important it was that she could trust me, so I decided to make it easy on her.

“You can trust me. I want you safe, and I promise you I will find out what happened.”

She stood and straddled my hips, wrapping her arms around my neck so we were eye to eye again. “I trust you. I don’t know about the guys in your club, but I feel like I know you. Don’t make me regret it, yeah?”

Damn, I really could love this woman. “I promise the only thing you’ll regret is not taking advantage of this hard on and those little shorts.”

She snorted a laugh and covered her face in embarrassment. “Is one eggroll enough fuel for all that?”

“Only one way to find out, darlin’.”