Arsen groaned as his phone rang. He and Quinn had gone way too late into the night last night. They had made love until after two, fallen asleep for an hour, then ended up making love again until nearly six this morning.
“Don’t answer it,” Quinn muttered, curled up snug and tight in the crook of his arm.
“I have to. It’s Zane,” he mumbled, recognizing the ring tone. He picked up the phone, glancing at the time then groaned again. It was 8:03. “What?” he muttered into the phone.
“You need to get over here. That sergeant from the other day is crawling up our ass.”
“Fuck,” he muttered. He expected something like this, but why did it have to be so fucking early in the morning? “I’ll be there in thirty minutes.” He pressed the button on the phone and placed it on the table.
“What?” she mumbled.
“The cops are at the clubhouse.”
She sighed. She was aching in the most pleasant of ways, so completely satisfied by their love making she didn’t think she would ever need to move from this spot, but she knew he would have to deal with this, and she wanted to be there to back him up and swear he was at the park the entire time.
With a groan she sat up and scrubbed at her face. “Let’s deal with this, then come back here and finish what we started last night.”
He stretched with a groan. “You want more?” he teased.
“Don’t you?”
He pulled her down into a kiss. “Always.”
***
“So, Sergeant Tamprone, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” Arsen asked as he and Quinn dismounted from his Indian.
“Did you hear about what happened to the Chrome Horsemen last night?”
“No, what?”
“Somebody shot their place up and set it on fire. Sixty-one dead, seventeen wounded.”
“Really? I wish I could say I was sorry to hear that, but after what happened here the other day, I can’t say that I am. I guess they bit off more than they could chew and choked on it.”
“And nobody here knows anything about it?”
Arsen looked at Zane and Phil. “Do you guys know anything about this?”
“First we heard of it was when Officer Tamprone arrived,” Zane replied.
“Phil, go find out if anyone knows anything about this, okay?” Arsen ordered. Phil nodded, then turned and sauntered away.
“Want to come in and have a drink? We can talk about this inside, out of the heat.”
“I’m on duty,” Tamprone growled.
“We have water, pops, plenty of non-alcoholic beverages, Officer.”
“Where were you between eight and ten last night?”
“The entire club was at Udall Park having a barbecue.”
“Have any witnesses?”
“Well, the club,” Arsen suggested.
“Besides them?”
“We checked in at the counter when we reserved our pavilion.”
“The guy came out and said to move the motorcycle,” Quinn added helpfully.
Arsen snapped his fingers. “That’s right. I don’t know the guy’s name, but the park can probably track him down.”
“We all went into the Safeway,” Zane supplied.
“And don’t forget, they came out and told us the park was closing,” Quinn added with a smile.
Tamprone’s eyes flicked between the three of them as they spoke. “Mind if I check that out?”
Arsen grinned. “Would it matter if I did?”
“No.”
“Then be my guest. We got there about, what, four? Then we left about eleven, as the park closed.”
“Long barbecue.”
“Hey, we know how to have a good time,” Arsen said with a grin. “Leave me your number and I’ll invite you next time.”
“Did anybody leave during that time?”
“Nope. Not unless you count us wandering away to take a leak. Ask the park officials. Once he made us move the motorcycle back into the parking lot, we didn’t start them again until we left.”
Tamprone nodded. “If I find even a hint that you’ve lied to me, I’m going to bust your ass.”
Arsen shrugged. “How’d your wife like the soap?”
“This isn’t over, Kyle.”
“Officer Tamprone, I’m confused why you’re so upset with us. We have complied with every legal order you’ve given. We’ve let you search our facility, and we’ve cooperated in every way we could. I don’t understand why you seem to have it in for us. You don’t like motorcycles, or what?”
“What I don’t like are people who think they are above the law. People who think they are smarter than everyone else.”
Arsen smiled. “Not everyone else. Only a few. If you have some proof we are involved in the manufacturing and distribution of illegal narcotics, or we are somehow connected to what happened to the Horsemen, then go get an arrest warrant. Otherwise, you’re no longer welcome here. We are an upstanding member of the Tucson business community, and I don’t appreciate you coming in here and accusing us of murder and dealing drugs.”
“I’m going to check your story out,” Tamprone growled.
“Knock yourself out, but if you keep harassing us and making these false allegation, then I’m going to file an ethics complaint with the city.”
“Do what you have to, Kyle.”
“Same to you, Officer. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a business to run.” Arsen turned on his toe and walked away without a backwards glance, Zane and Quinn falling in step with him. They paused at the clubhouse door as Phil stepped out, all of them watching as the cruiser roared off down the road.
“You think he knows?” Quinn asked.
“Not a chance. If he knew, he’d have shown up with handcuffs,” Arsen said.
“Now we’ll find out if anyone spotted us leaving. That guy’s a bulldog. If someone saw us, he’ll find them,” Zane said softly.
“Nobody saw us,” Phil said, shaking his head as he forced the corner of his lips down and pursed his lips. “We knew the cops were going to show up, and they did. It’s why we when through all this shit. Don’t go getting your panties in a wad, woman,” he teased.
Arsen chuckled then glanced at Quinn. He smiled softly at her. “Don’t worry. We took every precaution. The chances anyone saw us leave is almost zero. If they did, the chances they’ll remember is even smaller. And the chances Officer Tampon can find them is lower still. You add all that together, and the chances he can find something is one in a million.”
She nodded as Arsen pulled the door open and ushered everyone inside. She knew there was a risk, and she also knew they had done everything they could to cover their tracks, but that didn’t mean she liked having the cops snooping around.