“I haven’t. Let me get my boss.” Willow hurried back and spoke to Bogey. “You won’t believe this, but Jody’s mom is here.” Bogey’s eyes widened before he schooled his expression, and Willow noticed. “Did you call her or something?”
“No. I told you I don’t know her,” Bogey growled. “What is she doing here?”
“Asking for Jody,” Willow replied. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing. I haven’t seen Jody since the last time you saw her,” Bogey announced as he rose from his chair and grabbed the vest he wore when he rode his bike. “I’ve got to go.”
“She wants to talk to you,” Willow asserted, stepping in front of him.
“I just told you what she’s going to ask. I have to meet someone.” Bogey hurried out the back door without another word.
“Bogey, wait…” Willow stared after him, confused by his behavior. He’d been comfortable, relaxed even, in his chair, working on what looked like the accounting books. When she’d mentioned Jody’s mom, his attitude had shifted to tense and angry. His abrupt departure scared her, and his insistence that he hadn’t seen Jody seemed unnaturally forced.
Willow remembered the random money Bogey had given her, an indication of illegal activities. She’d assumed he was involved in something but had never questioned him. He was like a father to her. Now she wondered if Jody had found something and asked questions. Willow was well aware of Bogey’s past. He’d been in jail more than once, had told her about the assaults on his record. He was a member of a motorcycle gang, but that didn’t mean anything.
No, it’s not possible, Willow thought, discarding the idea that Bogey was guilty of anything having to do with Jody’s disappearance. She wouldn’t believe it. Refused to believe it.
She returned to the front and encouraged Jody’s mom to contact the police, promising her that Bogey said the same thing she’d said. Neither of them had seen Jody in a week. She promised to keep in touch and took her number, and the woman said the same after putting Willow’s number in her phone.
*****
Bogey jerked his bike to a stop, nearly toppling over with it, in front of Pablo’s place. He hurried past the man at the door, who smirked at him. The urge to punch that smirk off his face came and went as fast as he walked by him and inside. Several men inside called out to him, and he lifted a hand in recognition but didn’t stop to speak. He walked past the bar and directly to Pablo’s office. The door was open, so he stopped at the threshold and knocked.
Pablo lifted his head and sat back, opening his arms in a welcoming gesture. “Bogey! Welcome. Are we supposed to be meeting today?”
“No. I have a problem I need to discuss with you,” Bogey announced as he stepped in and closed the door behind him.
The smile fell off Pablo’s face, and he sat up and braced his elbows on his desk. “You seem serious.”
“Yeah, serious.” Bogey moved into the office and sat down. “That girl’s mother showed up at the shop today, asking about when we saw her last. Willow is asking questions as well.”
“Hmm. Has she contacted the police?”
“She hasn’t yet, but she will,” Bogey assured him.
“Can anybody prove she was with you that night?” Pablo asked. His frown had deepened.
“No one was there,” Bogey replied. “She was there to pick up some stuff, you know, so she may have told one of her junkie buddies where she was.”
Pablo scoffed and waved his hand. “No cop is gonna believe a junkie over a business owner.”
Bogey smirked. He wasn’t sure that was an accurate assessment. He’d had his run-ins with the cops and was a well-known member of a motorcycle gang. People assumed, cops included, he was involved in illegal activities, and they were right.
“So, we let this blow over?” Bogey asked.
“It will. She’s a small-time dealer, which they’ll find out about as they start asking questions, and the cops will assume she was killed in a drug deal gone bad.”
Bogey nodded. “That makes sense. But, uh, Willow might be a problem.”
Pablo tilted his head, a dangerous glint in his eye. “Why’s that?” His voice had changed, had deepened into the tone he used for enemies.
Bogey straightened his big body, a trickle of fear stealing down his spine for the first time since he’d been dealing with Pablo. “You don’t know her that well, but she won’t let this die. She’s been to her apartment, asked the neighbors about her.”
“So, she and the girl were friends?”
“Not really, but Willow has a soft heart. This will worry her for the rest of her life,” Bogey said.
“Unless they find the body,” Pablo mused. “Then she’ll know what happened to her, she’ll be sad for a while, and she’ll get over it.”
“The body? I thought her body was, you know, gone,” Bogey said with raised eyebrows. “The body can’t reappear. I’ll be at the top of the suspect list.”
“Don’t worry. It will be handled in such a way that you won’t be a suspect. Drug deal gone bad,” Pablo repeated, nodding his head as if the issue was settled. He picked up the phone and spoke in rapid Spanish when someone answered. The phone call lasted nearly a minute, none of which Bogey understood. When he ended the call, he smiled. “Taken care of. She’ll be found in the next day or so with a gunshot in her.”
Bogey frowned. He thought she was dead when the two Mexicans had come to pick her up. “Man, with all the forensics crap they got now, they’ll know she wasn’t killed by a bullet.”
Pablo shook his head, chuckling menacingly. “Bogey, the girl wasn’t dead when my boys picked her up.”
Bogey shifted in his chair. “Gotcha. So, this is the plan, then.”
“Willow will be satisfied, though sad, once she’s found.” He sat back, smiling. “My girl, such a good heart.”
“Yeah,” Bogey said as he rose. “I gotta go. You sure it’s handled?”
“Yes, Bogey. See you later,” Pablo said and waved him out the door.
Bogey left at a much slower pace, even considered having a beer with the guys before leaving. But his stomach clenched with nerves. Pablo thought he was safe, but Bogey knew he wasn’t. He watched those cop shows with all the forensics stuff. The experts would never believe she was killed by just a bullet. When she’d hit the wall, her skull had cracked, he was sure of it. The coroner would find that, raise questions, and a full blown investigation would bring the cops to his door.
“I can’t have that,” he murmured as he climbed on his bike.
*****
Willow was bent over Cameron working on his tattoo when Bogey returned. She looked up at him, pausing for a moment. The look she gave him was one of near disgust, and he quickly looked away from her. She was certain he knew she was angry at him, so she returned to her work.
Cameron had lifted his head when she’d paused. He saw Bogey but not the glances exchanged between the two of them. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, sorry,” Willow replied as she continued working on the waves. “We’ll have the waves finished tonight.”
“Great.” He grunted a little when she hit a sore spot, then chuckled. “Guess we won’t get to have any fun tonight.”
Willow chuckled. “Well, I certainly can’t run my nails down your back, or you’ll be screaming for a whole different reason.”
“I don’t like that idea at all.” He wanted to move his shoulders badly, but he didn’t want a slip up. He resisted the need and focused on her voice, which had shifted in tone when Bogey had walked in. “You okay?”
“What do you mean?” she asked. The needle brushed a nerve, and he hissed. “Sorry. A few more strokes and we’ll be done.” She used a gently cloth and wiped the area clean.
“You seem a little agitated since Bogey walked in,” he told her. He wished he could see her face while they talked so he could read her better.
“Hmm,” she replied as she sat up. “All done. But don’t get up. I need to put the ointment on so
it’ll heal.”
“Yes, ma’am.” As she moved in front of him to reach in the drawer, he touched her shoulder. “So, are you okay?”
She smiled at him. “We had a disagreement about the girl who works here.” She frowned and looked away. “Well, used to work here.”
“Did she get fired?” he asked as she rolled her stool back behind him.
“No, she just didn’t show up. Her mom came by today asking about her. She’s been gone for seven or eight days,” Willow said, her voice slipping into sadness.
Cameron’s mind began to whir. “I’m sorry to hear that. Is she the type to run off and show up later?”
“Not that I know of,” Willow said as her gentle fingers began to smooth the salve on the tattoo. He felt her shrug. “I don’t know. I know she had some sketchy friends,” her voice dropped to a whisper, “and once she let it slip that she sells drugs to make extra money.”
“Did you tell anybody?”
“Nah. Just marijuana, she said. No big deal,” Willow defended. “But she could have had a run-in with somebody that didn’t end well. I hope not.” She sighed.
“Me too,” Cameron answered. “What’s her name?”
“Jody.” She put the salve down. “I’m going to put a loose bandage on so you can wear your shirt. Unless you’d rather go topless. I know I wouldn’t mind.”
He chuckled. “I’ll go topless if you will.”
She scoffed and playfully slapped his ass. As she bandaged the area, he let the silence envelop them so he could think. The girl could be the key to Bogey’s downfall. She sold drugs for extra money. Where better to get them than from her boss? He made a mental note to check the girl’s finances as well as the finances of the tattoo parlor. Maybe the girl had pissed Bogey off, stole from him, and conveniently disappeared afterwards.
“All finished!” Willow announced happily.
Cameron sat up and smiled at her, stretching his shoulders slowly and carefully. “We might have to wait a few days to do the next section.”
“Why’s that?” she asked as she scooted closer to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, careful not to touch his back. She kissed one cheek, then the other, and let her lips brush his gently. She licked his lips with the tip of her tongue and tilted her head, waiting for his reply.
His eyes were clouded with desire. “Um. What was your question?” She giggled as his phone pinged with a new message. “I better check this. Might be work.”
“Sure. I need to wash my hands, and then you’re taking me to dinner,” she informed him.
“My pleasure, beautiful,” he replied. She wandered off, and he glanced down at his phone. Perfect. Coleman. He stepped outside to call. “Coleman, I have news.”
“Finally. What is it?”
“A girl who works here disappeared about a week ago. Willow told me she sold drugs on the side, and now she’s just gone.”
“And you think Bogey had something to do with it?” Coleman asked, excitement in his voice.
“I do. He and Willow argued this morning about it. She didn’t tell me what happened, but she suspects something,” Cameron said with a frown. “I don’t think she’s safe anymore, Coleman.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, things are escalating around her. If Bogey killed that girl, or had Pablo do it, that’s serious shit.”
Coleman was silent for a moment. “Leave her there. See what happens.”
Cameron cursed. “What the fuck, Coleman? What if Bogey kills her?”
“Pablo won’t let him. You sent me the report. He’s been sending her money since she was tiny, and I’d bet he still does. He’s taking care of his little girl,” Coleman sneered.
“You’re putting her life in danger,” Cameron growled. “On a hunch that her criminal father will protect her from another criminal.”
“I told you not to get close, Cameron,” Coleman replied, and Cameron could imagine the smirk on his face.
“And again, fuck you,” Cameron answered and hung up. He glanced back at the tattoo parlor and wondered if he should tell Willow the truth. The plan this evening after she got off was dinner and a night to themselves, as in she went to her place and he went to his. Plans were about to change, though. He didn’t want her alone.
*****
For the ten minutes Cameron was outside, Willow washed her hands and cleaned the instruments she’d used. While she worked, her thoughts returned to Jody, and she decided to confront Bogey again. Something wasn’t right there. He was lying about something.
“Bogey?” she called, and he answered from the backroom. She found him counting a load of cash she knew was from the weekend’s tattoos. Most people paid in cash, and though he didn’t declare it all to the IRS, she couldn’t blame him. She didn’t either.
“Bogey, I want to talk more about Jody.”
“What for? She ran off, her mom is going to the cops. Nothing much to say,” Bogey answered without looking up. But she’d seen his shoulders stiffen.
“Don’t you care that she’s missing? That she might be in danger?” Willow asked, exasperated as well as fearful. The man she’d known for five years was behaving like a stranger.
“I care. I just can’t do anything about it,” Bogey answered. “Did your little boyfriend leave?”
“Don’t change the subject! Why are you being so weird about this? You’ve never acted so heartless before,” Willow interrupted.
Bogey’s eyes widened briefly at her outburst, but his reaction changed in a heartbeat. “Willow, I never liked that girl. You didn’t either.”
“That doesn’t mean I want something bad to happen to her!” When he remained silent, Willow plunged on. “Did you fire her? Is that why she ran off?”
“The last time I saw her was the last time you saw her. And I left without speaking to her,” Bogey insisted. “Now drop it. We’re gonna have to talk to the damn cops about her eventually when I’d bet the shop she ran off with some dude.”
Willow stared at him, shaking her head. “Whatever. I’m going home.”
“Shop doesn’t close for another hour, and I’m busy back here,” he said gruffly. He turned as if dismissing her.
“I don’t give a shit. I’m leaving. I can’t deal with you right now,” she hissed. “I just can’t believe how heartless you’re being.” Willow waited for Bogey to answer her accusation, but he just huffed out a breath, rose, and began gathering the money he’d been counting.
“Guess I’ll be working out front.” He pushed past her. “Get the hell out of here. I don’t want to talk to you either.”
Willow watched him walk away from her as tears filled her eyes. She and Bogey had argued before, but his behavior was so out of character. He’d always been a caring man, even if only she and one or two others saw it. Again, her senses told her something was off about Bogey and the Jody issue, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. She couldn’t imagine him hurting Jody, or anyone else, but…
“Willow?” Cameron called to her from the front.
“Stop yelling in my shop,” Bogey growled at him.
Willow heard Cameron apologize as she stepped out front. She grabbed her bag and headed for the front door. “Come on, Cameron. I’m off now rather than later.”
Cameron looked from her to Bogey, frowning. Bogey glared at him from under his bushy eyebrows. “Good night, Bogey.”
Bogey didn’t answer. Willow grabbed his hand and yanked him out the door. She didn’t speak as she stomped to her car. After jerking the door open, she tossed her bag in and slammed the passenger door. She walked around to the driver’s side.
“I’ll follow you.” Her voice was icy cold. Cameron nodded and walked to his car slowly. He’d drive slowly too, so she had time to cool off.
Chapter 10
Cameron was in his car ready to back out when Bogey barreled through the front door, bellowing Willow’s name. Willow rolled down the window, and Cameron cracked his so he could listen. They spoke in quie
t voices, though, so he couldn’t hear their exact words. After what looked like a calm exchange, Willow climbed out of her car and walked to his while Bogey went back inside the shop.
“Hey, I have to handle this,” she mumbled.
“Are you gonna be okay? Do I need to come in?”
“No, no.” She shook her head. “I overreacted, he overreacted. You know how it is when you’re close with someone.”
“I do. My place after? I’ll order Chinese and pick it up on the way. It’ll be waiting for you,” Cameron offered, smiling at her.
She breathed a sigh of relief. “I won’t be long, I promise. Told him I wasn’t staying ‘til close.”
“Good.”
With a quick kiss goodbye, she turned and hurried inside the shop. Cameron watched her ass as she walked away, smiling to himself. The woman was fine from top to bottom. However, after her evening, he planned to make her a bubble bath with lighted candles all around, maybe a glass of wine if it didn’t contrast too much with the Chinese.
After she stepped inside, he pulled out of the parking lot, phone in hand to call the restaurant.
*****
“Okay, Bogey, what’s the deal? I want to go home,” Willow grumbled.
“I need to talk to you about this whole Jody thing,” Bogey answered.
“Okay…” she said, elongating the word and waving her hand at him to continue.
“I know where she is,” he told her, looking at the ground.
“You do?” she asked skeptically, staring at him. He was behaving so strangely, and he never avoided eye contact. “Why didn’t you just say that? You didn’t have to be so weird about it. Where is she?”
“I can’t tell you, but I can take you there,” Bogey said.
He’s still not meeting my eyes, Willow thought as her brow furrowed in confusion. “Take me there?”
“Yeah. She’s in trouble, so she asked me to hide her somewhere until she figured out what to do.”
“What kind of trouble?” she asked. Her voice clearly revealed her skepticism. “Like with the cops?”
“Not really. Jody was selling drugs, made some deals with shady people, and they’re looking for her,” Bogey revealed.
Undercover Lover (BWWM Romance Book 1) Page 10
