“Then what’s the problem? He’s hit on you like a million times, and you treat him like a leper or something,” Skylar pushed.
Tink huffed out a breath. “Okay, fine. It’s not that I don’t find him sexy as hell. I do. I’d do him in a minute. But—” Tink hesitated. Once she spilled this information, she couldn’t take it back.
“But what, Tink?” Skylar frowned.
“Did he do something to you? Piss you off? Hurt you in some way?” Jessie asked softly.
“Ha, you could say that,” Sherry mumbled.
Skylar pounced. “What did he do? I’ll punch him in his solar plexus!”
Jessie snorted. “Like that would have any effect. You’d bounce off like a fly.”
“Then I’ll hit him where it hurts,” Skylar joked.
“Tell them, Tink,” Sherry urged.
Tink rubbed her arm and looked out over the lake, then up to Shades’ and Skylar’s house, wondering if this would get back to the men. “Will the guys be back soon?”
Skylar shook her head. “I don’t expect them until late tonight.”
“Where’d they go?” Tink asked, stalling.
“Some business in Talladega, that’s all I know. Now spill,” Skylar insisted.
She shrugged, as if it didn’t matter to her, and dropped the bomb. “I want a man my sister can’t take from me. One who hasn’t already been with her.”
“Wait. What? I don’t understand.” Jessie frowned. “What are you saying?”
“He slept with my sister, that’s all.”
“That’s all?” Jessie’s mouth dropped open.
“What?” Skylar snapped. “When?”
“It was a while ago, okay. When he started hitting on me—I just didn’t want to go there. I mean, who would after that?”
“Are you sure about it—your sister and Hammer, I mean?” Skylar frowned, her head pulling to the side. “Has she ever even been around the clubhouse? I’ve never met her.”
Tink shook her head. “No, she’s never been to the clubhouse.”
“Did she tell you she hooked up with him?”
“I saw them together.”
“Where?” Jessie asked, leaning forward.
“At the gym. I was meeting her there. I walked in and saw them talking. She’d been bragging about this guy at the gym she goes to, some big muscular guy with tattoos and a sexy smile. When I saw them together, I knew she’d been talking about Hammer.”
“Did she say they’d slept together?” Skylar frowned.
“She bragged about it.”
“What did Hammer say when you walked up?” Jessie asked.
“Nothing. I mean, I never approached them. I was so surprised to see them together that I walked back out.”
“Fled, you mean,” Sherry corrected.
“Sherry!” Skylar admonished.
“It’s true. I’m sorry, Tink, but you were devastated. You still are. I don’t know how you’ve handled coming to his house the past two weeks to help with Ethan. Not with the way I know you feel about him. And you can deny it all you want, but you were into him.”
“I was. Past tense. Not anymore. He knows I’m not interested.”
“But wait. I don’t get it. If he’s seeing your sister, why is he hitting on you?”
“He’s not seeing her. They hooked up the one time. The next week she met William and was involved with him until just recently.”
“And now she’s back in town and available. Tink’s afraid they’ll hook up again,” Sherry elaborated.
“I am not,” Tink defended.
“Your sister would do that to you?”
“They don’t get along. Her sister’s a bitch. Tink can’t stand her.”
“Is that true?” Skylar asked.
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Tell them,” Sherry prodded.
“Tell them what?”
“About Raven. About how she’s always treated you.” Sherry looked into her eyes.
Tink sighed. “She’s always seen me as competition. If I’ve got something, Raven wants it. Starting in high school, if a boy ever showed any interest in me, she made sure to take him. It was a game to her. After a while I just stopped trying to compete with her. Every guy I ever dated left me for her.” Tink swatted a fly away. “I refuse to have my sister’s leftovers. So—”
Skylar finished the sentence for her. “So Hammer has no chance.”
“None. He’s officially in the no-chance-in-hell column.”
Jessie huffed out a laugh. “There’s a column?”
Tink smiled and made quotation marks with her fingers. “The guys-who’ve fucked-my-sister column.”
Skylar almost spit out her drink. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh. It’s not funny.”
“Have you ever confronted Hammer with this? Gotten his side of the story?” Jessie asked.
Tink shook her head. “I don’t plan to either.”
“Why not?”
“What’s the point? Damage is done.”
“I’m sorry,” Skylar said softly. “I like Hammer. I think the two of you would have been so cute together. I’ve seen the way he looks at you when he thinks no one is watching. He would have adored you.”
“Adored me?”
She nodded. “Yes, adored you. Worshiped and cherished you.”
Sherry studied Tink. “I agree. Hell, he’s grateful when you throw him a smile. That boy is hooked.”
“Is he still hitting on you?”
“Not since he’s had Ethan.”
Sherry agreed. “I think he’s afraid if he does, you’ll walk out on this deal, and he needs your help.” She looked at the others. “He’s been so sweet to us, making sure we have everything we need, making sure the fridge is stocked with everything imaginable, checking on us constantly. It’s really been eye-opening. I guess I never realized what a good guy he is, and he’s really taking the responsibility of Ethan seriously.” She chuckled. “I mean, he’s clueless, but it’s sweet how he tries.”
Skylar looked at Jessie. Tink didn’t miss the exchange. “Don’t even think about it,” she warned.
“What?” Skylar asked, innocently.
“I see that matchmaker look in your eyes. Nope. No way. I don’t care how great a guy he is; he’s off-limits. Understand?”
They both nodded, but their gaze drifted to each other once again. Tink rolled her eyes. “Soon it won’t be a problem. His sister will come back, and this will all be over.”
“How long has she been gone?” Jessie asked.
“A couple of weeks,” Tink replied. “He’s been trying to track her down. Said he’s got some of the guys in the club working on it.”
“They’ll find her. They’re good at that. Tracking down people who don’t want to be found is one of their specialties,” Skylar advised. She put her finger to her mouth. “Shh. I’m not supposed to know that.”
The girls laughed.
Tink raised her red Solo cup. “To stuff we’re not supposed to know about.”
“Amen, sista.” Sherry tapped her cup to Tink’s.
CHAPTER TEN
Thousand-watt lights illuminated the red southern clay of the Talladega Short Track oval.
Hammer, Ghost, Shades, Griz, Gator, Boot, Slick, and JJ sat on the metal bleachers on the east side of the dirt track next to the gravel parking lot, on the opposite side from the start/finish line. It was not as crowded and had easy access to the back exit. Their eight bikes sat parked in a row, chrome gleaming under the bright lights.
Hammer leaned his elbows on his knees and watched the modified street stocks tear around the oval track.
JJ nudged his shoulder and pointed down to the chain link fence that protected the crowd. “See that little cutie in the cut-offs? Bet I can get her to shuck those shorts off behind the concession stand.”
Hammer gazed toward the girl in question, a teenager who probably didn’t have her driver’s license yet. “Right, like that’s not a felony.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Buzz killer.”
Hammer glared at him. “You are aware of your surroundings and why we’re here, right?”
“I happen to have perfect situational awareness.”
“Oh, Jesus Christ.” Hammer looked over at Grizz. “Switch seats with me.”
Grizz leaned forward and looked at the brother on Hammer’s right before replying. “Hell, no. You’re on your own.”
“Dick,” Hammer muttered at him.
Grizz just grinned.
JJ shrugged, pinning Hammer with a look. “So, I like redheads. So what?”
Hammer nodded. “The first step is admitting it, son.”
Grizz snorted.
Shades sat on the other side of Griz. When his cell chimed, Hammer straightened. Shades put it to his ear. “Talk.”
Hammer knew Spider and Heavy sat near the gate, and 12Guage waited hidden from sight behind a dumpster at a gas station just off exit 93 from I20, less than two miles east—a ride the DKs could make in under three minutes. It was a three-minute warning they counted on.
The Georgia club’s progression had been watched and marked from the moment they hit the state line. Shades had gotten the report about a half hour ago. Six bikes had crossed into his state.
Hammer waited while his VP got the word on whether there were still only six bikes coming off the exit from I20 or if they’d picked up more patches along the way.
Shades disconnected, and his thumb moved over his screen before he returned it to his ear to update the boys at the gate. “We got six rollin’ in.”
It was a clear night with a cool breeze. Perfect weather actually, and a great night to ride. Hammer couldn’t wait to finish this business and be on his way home.
The cars on the track made a full-out run to the finish line on the last lap of the race.
“Dirt trackin’ Southern style!” Ghost yelled.
Griz rubbed his hand over his beard. “I was up at a dirt track in Ohio once. Nothin’ like here where the clay retains moisture and reduces the dust. Shit, I had to pull my bandana over my face just to damn breathe. Cars were slidin’ all over the place, not like this good ol’ southern clay that provides the street stocks more grip.”
Hammer quirked a brow. “Okay, Richard Petty, thanks for the track analysis.”
“Blow me,” Griz replied.
“Speakin’ of blow…” JJ put in.
“No, I ain’t got any, so quit askin’,” Hammer snapped.
“Pay attention, boys,” Shades growled.
Over the noise of the track, the rumble of the Harleys couldn’t be heard, but the line of single headlights rolling up Speedway Boulevard were visible. They slowed to make the turn under the entrance sign.
Hammer watched them wrap around behind the bleachers on the far side by the start/finish line and roll around turn three and four of the short track oval. They pulled into the gravel lot, a plume of dust rising from their tires.
Shades stood and jerked a finger at Ghost, Grizz, and Hammer. “You’re with me. Boot, Slick, Gator… you’ve got our backs.”
They nodded.
“What about me?” JJ asked.
“You wait here.” Shades brushed past him. Ghost and Griz followed.
JJ took a hit off his cigarette. “I was born to be on team wait here.”
Hammer rolled his eyes and moved to the end of the row, jumping from the bleachers to the dirt. He followed his brothers to the parking lot. The DKs parked one row behind the Evil Dead’s bikes.
The two MCs met in the middle.
The DKs’ VP was a weasel named Rat. His pointed face, scraggly Foo Manchu mustache, beady eyes, and yellow teeth lived up to his name.
Looks aside, he was a mean son-of-a-bitch. Hammer remembered him well. With him was Rusty, the patch Skylar had been in a relationship with years ago. He was a good-looking man with dark hair and a beard. Another patch named Reno, who Hammer knew by reputation as one bad motherfucker, was the third man. He was tall and muscular and dark headed.
Out of respect, the DKs had left the other three members standing back at the bikes.
Rat extended his hand to Shades. “Thanks for agreeing to this meet with us.”
Shades shook his hand, locking eyes with him. “You wanted to talk, so talk.”
Rat nodded, the smile sliding from his face. Hammer imagined the man wasn’t used to being talked to like that. He jerked his head to Rusty, who stepped forward with the details.
“We’ve got a member with a daughter attending University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa this year. We want to be able to keep an eye on her for him.”
Shades chin lifted at the unusual request. “Must be an important member for you to go to the trouble of setting this pow-wow up.”
“She is,” growled Rat.
Shades eyes cut to him. “What exactly are you asking for?”
“We want to be able to send a few boys over to check on her when necessary.”
“And how often is necessary?”
Rusty shrugged, his eyes flashing to Rat for a moment before continuing. “Hard to say with this girl. She has a mind of her own. Wants to join a sorority of all goddamn things. Who knows what trouble she’s gonna get into.”
“That’s a whole lot of vague.”
Rusty ran a hand over his jaw. “We’d be appreciative of your cooperation.”
“What you’d be is indebted,” Shades corrected.
“What are your terms?” Rusty asked.
“What do you have to offer?” Shades countered.
Rusty glanced at Rat, who bit out, “Five hundred a month, and you stay out of it.”
Shades pinned Rat with a glacial stare. “I’m not throwing my borders open carte blanche for this. And no one tells me what to stay out of in my own goddamn turf. So, here are my terms.” He pointed at Rusty and Reno. “You and you. That’s it. I don’t want to see another DK patch in my state. I see anyone who isn’t these two, deal’s off.”
Rat stared at him a long moment before finally nodding once. He held his hand out. “Deal.”
Shades shook it and lifted his chin at Rusty and Reno, his eyes still on Rat. “They come by my clubhouse first weekend of the month with the payment.”
Rat nodded once.
“Thank you for working with us on this,” Rusty said, attempting to smooth things over.
Shades lifted his chin. “Don’t make me regret it.”
Rusty gave a short dip of his chin in response.
Shades eyes slid to Reno. Hammer followed his VP’s gaze. The man didn’t nod or show any reaction. It was obvious he was an MC soldier who did what he was ordered to do with no objections.
“We’ll be watching you. Understand?”
“There won’t be any trouble.” Rusty smirked. “Well, except what the girl stirs up.”
The corner of Shades’ mouth lifted at Rusty’s attempt at a joke. “Find your way home before midnight, or you may turn into a pumpkin.”
Rusty grinned and lifted his chin. “Say hi to Skylar for me.”
Shades eyes narrowed. Rat turned back to the bikes and the other two men followed.
Hammer pulled a pen out of his inside vest pocket and wrote JDLR on his palm.
Shades saw it and met his eyes, then nodded. All the boys in the club were familiar with the term. It was something cops wrote on a report when something just doesn’t look right.
The Evil Dead MC stood, arms folded, watching the other club mount up and roll out.
When they were gone, Hammer leaned toward Shades. “Somethin’ about this just doesn’t add up, VP. There’s more to it than what they’re claiming.” He turned to Ghost. “Can you make sense of it?”
Ghost’s brow shot up. “A DK plan make sense? Let’s not get our hopes up.”
Shades grinned. “One way to keep an eye on them is to have ‘em under our noses.”
“True.”
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“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” Ghost elaborated.
“So, we’re still enemies?” Hammer asked his VP.
“Let’s just say this truce is fragile. Just because we’re not at war doesn’t mean I trust ‘em. They’re up to something. I just don’t have a clue what.”
“I wonder if this girl in Tuscaloosa is just misdirection or if she’s somehow key to something bigger,” Ghost mused.
Shades ran his hand over his jaw. “Yeah.”
“What are you thinkin’, VP?” Hammer asked.
“I’m thinkin’ we keep an eye on ‘em.”
“Maybe it’s exactly what they claim,” Griz suggested.
Shades huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, sure, let’s go with that.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Jessie and Skylar were on the deck, watching the moonlight dance on the lake when the boys rode up.
Shades trudged up the steps and across the decking with tired movements. He kissed Skylar, then dropped exhausted into the chair next to her. He reached over and took her hand, squeezing it. “How’s Rebel?”
Skylar smiled and picked the baby monitor off the floor next to her. “Your little girl is sleeping peacefully. Snoring like her papa.”
“I don’t snore; that’s a dirty rumor.”
“Right.” Skylar huffed out a laugh.
Shades grinned, then his eyes hit Jessie. “Haven’t seen you in a while. What have you been up to, girl?”
“I have to be up to something?”
“Well, it’s you, so…yeah.”
Jessie rolled her eyes and shook her head.
Shades’ brows rose. “Hey, I’ve still got a boarded up clubhouse window ‘cause of you, so don’t give me that look.”
“Hey, I only cracked it; Ghost broke it. Where is he by the way?”
“He’s comin’. I lost him at a red light.”
They heard his pipes rumbling up from a distance, and a few moments later he pulled in. The bike shut off, and he came up the steps.
Stopping next to Jessie’s chair, he put his hand on her head, pulling her close and bending to press a kiss to the crown . “How are you, sweetheart?”
“Little Mama is fine,” Skylar answered for her, letting Ghost know the cat was out of the bag.
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