Ryder pointed his finger in the interloper’s face. “Shut the fuck up. You’re being a distraction, and we don’t need that right now.”
Ace’s hand came out hard and fast around the surly biker’s arm. “You okay, brother? You’re more tightly wound than I’ve seen you in a while.”
“My fucking best friend stumbled on another club’s fucking dump site. Do you know what that means?”
“No, but I’m pretty sure you’re going to tell me.”
The surly biker’s eyes narrowed. “The police are going to try every which way to stick this on you. If you end up back in prison, you ain’t gonna last long.”
Ace was already shaking his head. “Calm the fuck down. The cops were actually decent to me and didn’t jump to conclusions.”
“Fuck the cops. I don’t trust the lazy shit heads any farther than I can throw ‘em. Most of them are grossly incompetent, and the minute they cross everyone off their list, they’ll be circling back around to you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“It’s my job to know shit like that and to use that knowledge to keep my brothers out of danger. Which brings me to my second issue: we don’t know who the other club is, if they’re still active, how dangerous they really are, or how long they’ve been dumping at that site. The one thing I’m damn sure of is that they’re gonna come gunning for you, my friend.”
Looking from the dark-haired woman rubbing the man’s back soothingly then to Ace, Barbara tried to figure out if what the man was saying was true.
When Ace spoke again, his voice was low-key and almost playful. “Miss Tiffany, I do believe this is what a mental breakdown looks like on your old man. He’s referred to me as his friend twice in the same conversation. That’s pretty fucking weird, since I’m usually referred to as the stupid fucker he doesn’t even claim as a brother.”
“Stop antagonizing the love of my life,” Tiffany said with an indulgent smile. “He’s been obsessing about this all afternoon.”
Jack interjected at exactly the wrong time, saying the last thing the angry biker probably wanted to hear. “This reminds me of a movie I saw one time, where the two guys had some kind of bromance going and—”
The angry biker’s fist came out in a burst of fury aimed straight at Jack’s face. Ace palm-smacked the punch to the side before it made contact, and he grumbled, “Hey, you stupid fucker, pick on someone your own size.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Ryder said with a devilish smile that made Barbara’s arm hairs stand on end.
Tiffany spoke up. “Take it out back, boys. We’re trying to eat here.”
A deep, somber voice said from behind them, “I’ll put fifty bucks on my son.”
The gothic kid jerked his head around. “I’ll take that bet, Ven.” Glancing at Ryder, he intoned, “Before you start harping about sending me back to the hole, Cork’s got it covered, and I’m in the middle of running facial recognition software on the faces of those bodies. It’s gotta run its course.”
Ace looked down at Barbara, tugging her closer. “Do you mind if I leave you in Tiffany’s capable hands and have a word with my friend?”
“Not at all,” she said, forcing her voice to remain steady. “I could actually use a few minutes of downtime.”
Ace grinned. “Catch you in a bit, angel.”
Dropping a kiss on her temple, he headed off with a growing circle of men clustering around him and his friend as they walked behind the building. Jack ran to catch up, taking to the young kid called Peb.
Tiffany smiled apologetically. “Sorry about that. Those two like to spar. It’s their way of working off anxiety. Ace will come back in one piece, I promise.”
“I honestly don’t know what to think,” Barbara admitted. “Do you all really keep that teenager in a hole?”
Shaking her head, Tiffany replied lightly, “No. That’s secret code for the security office, which also functions as the server room.”
“I don’t know why I’m so relieved to find that out.”
“I was really overwhelmed when I first arrived as well. Almost nothing is what it seems, except everything kind of is what it seems.” She scrunched her nose. “Come on over to the tables. We’ll get some food and talk about all the strangeness.”
An older man who looked like someone’s father or grandfather approached them. “Now, you ladies find yourself a seat, and I’ll bring you something to eat. Go on, now.”
Tiffany flashed him a dazing smile. “Thanks, Earnest, you were a good find.”
The older man blushed and hurried away.
Rubbing her hands on her pants, Barbara quickly introduced herself as they walked. “My name’s Barbara and…”
“I know who you are. I’m the one who paid for Ace to take your class.” Reaching out to shake her hand, Tiffany continued. “My name’s Tiffany. As you’ve probably surmised, I’m Ryder’s fiancée. I even have a shiny new rock to prove it.” Wiggling her fingers, Barbara was momentarily sidetracked by the beautiful ring.
“Now that’s what I call a diamond.”
“I’m quite shameless about shoving it in everyone’s face.” Laughing lightly, Tiffany added, “My mother says I’m no longer a class act, and I gotta admit that she’s right about that.”
“You bagged a guy with good taste, I’ll give you that much,” Barbara said, still admiring the flashy diamond that had to cost Ryder a small fortune.
Grabbing a seat at a table with a couple of other women, Tiffany tried not to look as thrilled as she clearly was. “Ryder insisted on a big one, and before you ask, he’s not overcompensating for anything.”
Considering the guy was practically a giant, Barbara wasn’t going to argue that point. She’d take the woman’s word for it.
~ Barbara ~
Something about that tired, silly joke shattered the strangely morose aura surrounding her day and catapulted her back to reality. Laughing, Barbara dropped down into the seat beside Tiffany. “You have no idea how much I needed that laugh.”
“I heard about the bodies. I have to say, even though I’m a nurse, stuff like that is hard to cope with.”
“You see dead bodies in a hospital or the morgue, not partially decomposed ones spilling out of—”
An older woman at the far end of the table interrupted. “We are trying to eat, dear, so maybe you save the gory details for after dinner or some other time entirely.”
Cringing, Barbara murmured, “I’m not usually so socially inept. I do apologize, ma’am.”
Tiffany spoke up again. “I was just getting ready to introduce you to everyone, when my mother chimed in. Barbara, this is my mother, Sarah. Mother, this is Barbra.”
“Now don’t go getting snippy with your mother, Tiff. She’s just trying to keep us straight.”
The woman smiled. “And this is Hickory. He’s the club’s Vice President. I’m unclear on why he’s here, instead of watching the sparring match out back with the rest of the brothers.”
Earnest put plates down for Tiffany and Barbara and shot the other man an annoyed look. “It’s because he haunts Ms. Sarah’s every step these days like an old vulture. It makes it damn hard for ladies to have girl time, with him always hovering around.”
“You’re one to talk,” Hickory spoke up. “Even though the poor woman’s got no love for the homeless, you just won’t go away.”
Sarah said, “Oh leave him alone, Hickory. I think Earnest is a real gentleman. He reminds me of my husband in a lot of ways, may he rest in peace.”
Grabbing her empty glass of tea, Earnest murmured shyly, “Why thank you, Ms. Sarah. I’ll just fetch you a nice fresh glass of tea with extra ice, just like you love.”
One of the other women was leaning on the palm of her upturned hand, taking it all in. “Why don’t you and Earnest settle your little ongoing vendetta the old-fashioned way. The winner gets Ms. Sarah, and the rest of us don’t have to listen to the two of you going at it constantly.”
The older woman
looked positively mortified, but Tiffany just laughed. “Now, Alyssa, you’re just stirring up trouble today.”
Waggling her eyebrows, she quipped, “I’m just saying what everyone else is thinking.”
Hickory jumped to his feet and followed the other man. They were clearly arguing, but Barb couldn’t make out what they were saying.
A quiet, older woman spoke up. “I’m all kinds of interested in this story about bodies. That’s something that doesn’t happen around these parts. Just let me get my food down, and then I’ll be all ears.”
Tiffany grinned. “This is Ryder’s mother, Lily. Lilly’s really nice. You can talk to her about pretty much anything. She’s been involved with the club her whole life.” Turning to the woman who’d set the men off, Tiffany smiled warmly. Turning to the younger blonde, she said playfully, “The instigator is our friend, Alyssa. Everyone, this is Barbara Reynolds. She’ll be here with Ace and the new college kids for a few days. No embarrassing questions until she has a chance to settle in.” The playful tone of Tiffany’s voice helped her calm down.
Looking down at her plate, Barbara noticed that the food was fresh. Picking up a thin wafer that looked kind of like a homemade potato chip, she asked, “Do you mind if I ask what this is?”
“Earnest makes them from Idaho baking potatoes. They’re called potato flats. They’re really tasty, ‘cause he sprinkles hand-ground sea salt on them the minute they come out of the fryer.”
Alyssa chimed in, “He’s giving a class on cooking them the evening after next. You should come.”
Holding one up in front of her face, Barbara could see the fading sunlight showing through it and smell the delicious aroma. She began thinking the thing she always did when she was about to be bad.
Tiffany spoke up. “In case you’re wondering, it takes about sixty minutes of brisk walking or thirty minutes of running to burn off the four hundred calories in the portion sitting on your plate.”
Shifting her gaze from the chip to Tiffany, Barbara slowly nodded. “You nailed it. That’s exactly what was running through my mind. How’d you do that?”
Shrugging, she replied cheerfully, “It’s a high-calorie food and you look like someone who makes a real effort to stay in shape.” She shrugged. “It wasn’t a gigantic leap.”
“Somehow, talking about regular stuff instead of the extraordinary events of my day is helping me calm down.”
“Yeah, I thought it might. You’re looking at an expert on compartmentalizing. I used to simply toss the really scary shit in a little box in the back of my mind and shut the door. It was the only way to get through the day.”
“Didn’t it build up and cause a breakdown or an explosion?”
“Almost. I did an about-face and slammed into my problems head on. Strangely enough, after years of running and learning to survive on my own, I found out I was a lot tougher than I thought.”
“Yeah, about that. I’m a little soft around the edges,” Barbara admitted. “The most courageous thing I’ve ever done is divorce my ex.”
“Alyssa and I work for him,” Tiffany pointed out. “You know that, right?”
“I’ve never seen you there, but then again, I haven’t been hanging around his office much since the divorce.”
“His father’s a nice man and an amazing doctor. David’s just kind of there, bringing up the rear.”
Tossing a chip in to her mouth, Barbara realized her appetite had come back with a vengeance. “I must be a little slow on the uptake. It took me forever to see what a cheating fool he is.”
“He’s about as opposite from Ace as a person could be,” Tiffany said, confirming what Barbara had already been thinking.
“I noticed that. So these boys are honest to goodness outlaw bikers?”
“They don’t like to be called boys, but yes, they are. Lily could tell you more, but it seems to me that they’ve got more legitimate business interests going on than most clubs.”
A deep, rough voice cut through their conversation. “This is what always happens when bitches get together. My club gets dragged into their little conversations.”
Tiffany shot the man who just called them all bitches an indulgent smile. “As tight-lipped as the brothers are about club business, it’ll be a short conversation for lack of information.”
“Don’t do that to me, Tiff. I’m not susceptible to having my anger managed by any bitch, much less someone else’s old lady.”
“Have you been drinking caffeine again, Darkness?”
“What I drink or don’t drink is none of your fuckin’ business.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
For some godforsaken reason, and against her better judgment, Barbara found her lips moving. “Just to be clear, I’m not a bitch.”
The man’s head swiveled around in her direction. “Who the fuck are you?” A moment after the words flew out of his mouth, awareness clicked onto his face.
“My name’s Barbara Reynolds.”
“I can’t believe you kept the stupid fucker’s name after the divorce.”
Frowning at the large man, she realized where she’d seen him before. “You were with Ace when he was injured.”
“God, you’re fucking naïve.”
She scowled at the jackass. “What do you mean by that?”
“We get injured all the damn time. I’m usually front and center when one of us is down.”
“Who the heck are you?”
A dark smile curved up the corners of his mouth, making him look more malevolent than friendly. “I’m Darkness, and I kind of run the show around here.”
Tiffany chimed in, “Darkness is the Blind Jack’s club president. Unlike his father before him, he runs a tight ship.”
“I can speak for my fuckin’ self, Tiff. I don’t need you explaining my shit for me.”
“I’ll tell Earnest to switch the coffee to decaf for the rest of the evening,” she said, clearly suggesting that the coffee was to blame for his cantankerous attitude.
“Do not act like you know me,” Darkness barked. “You may be good people and Ryder’s old lady, but until he puts a ring on your finger, you ain’t family.”
Turning her back to the man, Tiffany held up her hand over her shoulder and wiggled her big, fat, new diamond at the man.
He huffed out an exasperated breath. “Fine, you are family. But you need to remember that bitches don’t speak for me.”
A hard, feminine voice said behind the man, “That’s enough mixing it up with old ladies for you today, Dark.”
Spinning around, he intoned seriously, “Do not tell me what to do, Savage.”
“That’s what sisters are for. If you’re in a foul mood and spoiling for a fight, go punch up a brother.”
“We don’t punch each other up. We spar,” he clarified.
Making the little go-away gesture with one hand, Barbara noticed she cradled a tiny baby in the other arm. “You’re being loud. Unless you want to wake your little one up, calm down for a blasted minute.”
The older lady that Tiffany had introduced as Ryder’s mother offered, “If you want me to take the baby inside, I will. That way, Darkness can stomp all around like a mad bull.”
Throwing up his hands, he grumbled bitterly, “Fine, gang the fuck up on me.”
Tiffany replied cheerfully as she stood, “Sorry about that, my friend.” Gesturing to the back, she explained smoothly, “On the upside, Ryder and Ace are sparring again out back. If you hurry, you might be able to catch the tail end of that action. And if you’re really nice, they might let you shoot coke cans off the fence.”
Stalking up to her, Darkness pointed his abnormally large finger in Tiffany’s face. “I can’t believe we traded in perfectly good club whores for a bunch of condescending bitches who don’t know their place.”
Tiffany grinned at him, proving once again that her perception of the disagreement they were having was miles away from his. “We can call them all back if you like. I hear Precious has
been asking about you.”
“Even I can see that bitch is trouble. I don’t want her within yelling distance of my kid.”
“Good call. Want me to make you a plate?”
“Fuck no,” he sneered. “I’m gonna go put some cash down on Ace before the fight… sparring is over with.”
“If you think betting against my old man is hurting my feelings, you don’t know me very well.”
Tilting his head, Darkness’s expression morphed into one resembling happiness. “Bitch, don’t go there. I know you better than you know yourself.”
“Says you.”
Shaking his head, he mumbled, “Ryder’s right. I ain’t never gonna win an argument with you, am I?”
Shrugging, she dropped back into her seat. “Probably not, but it sure is fun trying, right?”
“Yeah, I guess. Catch you bitches later.” Doing an about-face, he strolled off behind the building.
The woman with the baby walked over. “Sorry about my brother. He’s always been a little high-strung.”
“We love Darkness around these parts,” Tiffany offered. “So you’re Savage. He talks about you all the time.”
Smothering back a smile, the woman with the baby in her arms sat down. “I don’t want to even think about the stories he probably tells.”
Laughing merrily, Tiffany replied, “There is one about you being terrified of a ferret, one about him beating up an attendant at a carnival to get him to let you ride the monster roller coaster, and—”
“That will about do for now. Thanks, Tiffany. It’s nice to know my brother’s not totally making stuff up.” The woman’s voice was wry but friendly.
Wrinkling her nose, Barbara mumbled, “This is so weird. I had to really work at feeling comfortable around my ex when we first got married, but I feel like I’ve known you all my whole life.”
That comment earned her the warm regard from the diverse group of women. Miss Lily spoke up timidly, “I think Ace did real good picking you, dear.”
“He seems like a man who’s been through a lot in life. He doesn’t deserve to have to deal with this situation I dragged him into. I’m sorry to bring trouble down on your MC,” Barbara apologized. “I know you must be protective of your men.”
Ace of Hearts (Blind Jacks MC Book 3) Page 9
