I laughed. “Thank you. Hopefully, she’ll believe you.”
“You two are having fun over here,” said Vanda, walking over to us after ringing up her couple. “I like that.”
“A happy customer is a return customer,” said Mrs. Jacobs. “And you know, I keep coming back.”
“And we are thrilled that you do,” she replied and then looked down at the earrings. “Ah, you’re getting them. The ones you’ve been eyeing for weeks. I just marked them down, too. Perfect timing.”
My eyes widened. “You did?”
“Yes,” she replied. “I took twenty-percent off last night.”
“So, I’m getting forty-percent off of the original price?” raved Mrs. Jacobs, grinning. “My goodness. This is really my day!”
My mother’s eyebrows shot up and she looked at me.
I laughed nervously. “I promised her twenty-percent off the current price. Sorry, I didn’t know you’d already lowered it.”
I could tell by the look in her eyes that she wasn’t too happy with me, but she faked it for Mrs. Jacobs. “It’s quite all right.” She winked at the older woman. “I guess this is your lucky day, isn’t it? Well, I don’t know who deserves it more than you. I really do appreciate all of the business you’ve given me, Mrs. Jacobs. All of us do.”
“Call me Mary.”
“Mary. Thank you, Mary,” she replied.
The phone in the store rang and Tim answered it.
“Adriana, it’s for you,” he said, putting the caller on hold.
“I’m with a customer,” I said. “Can you take a message?”
“It’s okay. I’ll ring her up,” said my mother. “Take your call.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Enjoy your earrings, Mary. They look lovely on your ears.”
She touched her ears. “Thank you, Adriana.”
Smiling, I walked over and grabbed the phone.
“Hello?”
The caller didn’t say anything.
“Hello? This is Adriana. Can I help you?”
I heard the distinct sound of a lighter being flicked. Then someone inhaled what I could only imagine to be a cigarette. Then they blew it out.
“Hello?” I said, getting frustrated. “I’m going to hang up if you’ve got nothing to say to me.”
The sound of man’s deep laughter made my blood turn cold.
I gripped the phone tightly. “Who is this?”
The person hung up.
My hand was shaking when I placed the phone back on the receiver. I knew who it was. I could tell by his coarse, evil laughter.
Breaker.
“Who was that?” asked Tim, looking concerned.
I forced a smile. “Wrong number.”
“That’s strange because the man actually asked for you.”
“Huh,” I said, moving around the counter and toward the front of the shop.
“Where you going?” called my mom.
I didn’t reply. I walked to the front door and glanced outside, terrified of what I’d find.
“Is there something wrong?” asked Jim Evans, our security guard.
“I don’t know,” I said, looking around the parking lot. There were six cars, including mine, but no menacing black truck. I relaxed a little.
Jim stood up. “You’re worrying me, Adriana,” he said, looking out the window himself. “Is there something we should know?”
He was like a hawk. He noticed everything and trusted nobody, outside of my mother and me. He even had a hard time trusting Tim and Gerald. It made him an excellent security guard. “No,” I replied, turning to him. “Everything is fine. Really.”
At least I hoped.
Vanda approached us. “What’s wrong?” she whispered frantically. “Why didn’t you answer me?”
“I’m sorry and nothing is wrong, Mom.”
She didn’t look like she believed me. “Who was on the phone? Tim said you looked like you’d seen a ghost.”
I managed a smile. “Oh, well that was just a crank call. Some punk kid. Where is Mrs. Jacobs?” I asked, looking behind her.
“Bathroom. I think she’s used it more than me,” said Vanda, chuckling.
“That’s what happens when you get old,” said Jim, who was pushing fifty himself. “Leaky faucets and rusty pipes.”
“You’re not old,” replied Mom. “And I’m sure your pipes are working just fine.”
His face turned red and he smiled. “Easy for you to say. You look like Adriana’s sister, not mother.”
“Flattery will get you ten-percent over cost on something for your own mother,” she replied, grinning. “Come Mother’s Day.”
He laughed. “I’ll hold you to it.”
Vanda chuckled.
“I’m going into the back for a quick cup of coffee. Would either of you ladies like me to grab you any?” he asked.
“No,” I replied. “I’m fine.”
“No, thank you, Jim,” said Vanda. “I’ve had enough cups myself today.”
“Let me know if you change your mind,” he said, walking away.
Vanda watched him leave and then turned to me. “Oh,” she said, reaching over to my necklace. She lifted up the sapphire. “You wore your father’s necklace. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it.”
I looked down. “I guess I couldn’t stop thinking about Dad this morning.”
Her eyes grew moist and she smiled. “He was such a good man.”
“He was. The best.”
She looked outside again and then back to my necklace. “I must admit, it makes me a little nervous – you wearing it out in the open. It’s very expensive and not exactly… subtle.”
“I know. I probably shouldn’t have,” I admitted. “It’s just… I wanted to feel close to him today.”
“I understand,” she replied, glancing down at her wedding band that she refused to remove, even though he’d been gone for the last seven years. “I wouldn’t dream of taking this off.”
“I’m sure if you did, though, Dad would be okay with it.”
Her eyes widened. “Why would I ever take it off?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know… I mean, you’re only forty-seven. You might fall in love again.”
“I’ve been in love. I don’t need to replace your father.”
“Don’t you get lonely?” I asked.
She patted me on the shoulder and turned to walk away. “I have you, Adriana. I’m never lonely.”
“I know, but –”
“Let it rest,” she interrupted. “We’ve been through this conversation before. I’m content with my life.”
I sighed. We had been through it before and she was always so stubborn. I knew if she opened her eyes, she’d see that Jim had a thing for her. But, that was Vanda. She was so obstinate.
The phone rang again and I jumped. This time, fortunately, it was for Tim.
Chapter Twenty
When I arrived home, I left my bike in the driveway, unlocked the door, and went inside. When I reached the kitchen, a man was waiting for me at the table. He was dressed in a long, black leather overcoat and wore gloves.
“You Raptor?” he asked pointing his nine millimeter at me.
“Yeah, who the fuck are you?”
He put the gun down on the table. “You’re smart. Figure it out.”
“Jesus Christ, how the fuck did you get in here?” I snapped, not too happy that he’d made himself at home and was drinking one of my beers.
The Judge, who had dark hair and light blue eyes, smirked. “Back door. Used the key hidden under the pot with the dead Begonias. Did anyone ever tell you to water your flowers?”
I frowned. “I didn’t hide a spare key there.”
“Then you’d better figure out who did.”
Brandy.
It had to be her. It was even her flower pot.
“I need to change my fucking locks,” I said, staring at him, trying to find some kind of resemblance. From what I could see, there wasn’t anythin
g other than maybe the eye color.
“That mine?” he asked, nodding to the package in my arm.
“Yeah.” I handed it to him. “It’s all there.”
He opened it up and pulled out the folder with Breaker’s information. “I don’t need this,” he said, tossing it aside. Then he pulled out the bundles of money and counted them. “Looks like it’s all here,” he said before standing up.
“So, when are you going to do it?”
“Do what?” he asked, walking toward the kitchen door.
“Kill the fucker?”
He stopped abruptly and then turned around to face me. His smile was cold. “Don’t know what you’re talking about. Murder is a crime, kid. You should know that.”
“I’m not your fucking ‘kid’,” I said, not appreciating his condescending bullshit.
“Relax, brother,” he said, smirking again. “Didn’t your daddy ever teach you the importance of self-control?”
“My old man’s idea of self-control was waiting until seven a.m. for his first shot of whiskey,” I said. “From what I hear, your old man wasn’t much better, Jordan.”
I thought he’d be pissed, but instead, he surprised me. “See, that’s where you’re wrong,” he replied, removing one of his gloves. He lifted his right hand and even I had to wince at the scars. “He demanded self-control. As you can see, I learned it early on.”
“That’s from acid, isn’t it?”
“Oh yeah,” he said. “Looks like ‘Dear Old Ma’ sure knew how to pick ‘em.”
I smirked. “No shit. Have you met her?”
“No,” he said, putting the glove back on. “And I really don’t care to.”
“I haven’t seen her in years myself.”
“Lucky you,” he said, walking out of the kitchen.
I followed him. “What happens now?”
“I leave,” he said, turning around. There was a look of mirth in his eyes. “Why?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Did you want to ask me anything?”
“About what?”
“We’re brothers. Thought you’d be curious.”
“It’s only blood, kid,” he said, heading down the steps. “Don’t get hung up on it.”
I didn’t know what else to say. It was obvious that he wasn’t interested in shooting the shit, but that didn’t stop me from being curious. “See you around?”
He grunted. “In my occupation, you’d better hope that you don’t.”
I stared at him.
He grinned and then left.
I pulled out my cell phone. “He’s paid,” I told Slammer.
“He say when it’s going to happen?”
“No. In fact, he acted like he didn’t know what the fuck I was even talking about when I asked him the same thing.”
“That’s the way he is. Okay, get your ass to the chapel. Meeting is going to start in thirty minutes.”
“I’ll be there.”
He hung up.
I put my phone away and went around the house, checking the locks. Then I went outside and found the key he’d replaced under the flower pot. I stuck it in my pocket, threw the flower pot away, and left for the clubhouse.
***
Slammer smacked the gavel and called the meeting to order. There were nineteen of us in the Jensen Chapter, plus three prospects hoping to be patched. The prospects were absent, as they weren’t allowed at the meetings for obvious reasons.
It was most of the same stuff, with the treasurer going over our finances, new correspondences, and then us voting on prospects. When that was finished, Slammer made a surprising announcement.
“You all have heard by now what happened to my Old Lady’s daughter,” he said, staring down at his folded hands. “And about my meeting with Mud last night.”
“How did that go?” asked Horse.
“Actually, it didn’t go very well. But, that’s already old news.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, wondering where he was going with this.
He grinned. “Well, today, we talked and I think we’ve cleared up our issues. We even called a truce.”
“No shit?” said Chopper.
“That’s right,” he replied, smiling around at everyone. I had to give him credit, he was smooth when he wanted to be. “The shit between us is all smoothed over. We’re good.”
“What about Breaker?” asked Horse.
His smile faltered. “Well, as usual, my fucking temper got the best of me when I first found out about the incident. But we all know that you can’t go pointing fingers without evidence. Truth is, we have no proof that Breaker is the one who attacked Jessica. Could have been a number of fuckers. Hell, she’s not even sure herself who did it.”
“But they were wearing a cut that matched the Devil’s Rangers,” said Chopper, looking frustrated. “Come one, Prez. You know one of them did it. You fucking know they did.”
“I have to agree with Slammer,” said Buck. “Unless we know for sure who did it, we can’t go killing people without proof. Can’t kill an innocent man for another man’s sins.”
“Yeah, but, he’s the only one who’s done time for rape,” said Chopper.
“You know this, how?” asked Slammer.
Chopper grunted. “I’m your Intelligence Officer, come on. It didn’t take me long to find this shit out.”
“No, I suppose it wouldn’t,” he replied.
“You sure you want to let this go?” asked Horse.
“Like I said before, no proof. Plus, I gave Mud my word that none of the Gold Vipers would touch Breaker,” he replied. He looked at me and then the others. “And I plan on keeping my word. There will be no retaliation. No revenge, no nothing. Understood?”
We all agreed.
Chapter Twenty-One
Fortunately, the rest of the day was uneventful at the shop and there were no more calls from that freak, Breaker. Trevor didn’t call me back, either. Nor did he show up at the store, which was kind of a relief. My mom would have flipped her lid.
When six o’clock rolled around, we locked the doors and began doing inventory. Jim stuck around, which I was grateful for, since being alone at a jewelry store at night was disconcerting. After we checked off each piece of jewelry, Jim carefully placed them into the large walk-in safe, where they’d stay until morning. By the time nine o’clock rolled around, we’d finished with all one-hundred-and ninety-two pieces, and I couldn’t wait leave. Reading all the item numbers on the tiny tags was exhausting.
“There has got to be an easier way of doing inventory,” I told her.
“There is, but I like doing it this way.”
“But they have these scanners you can use, now, Mom. You’d keep much better track of each piece.”
“It’s far too expensive to set that up,” she said and then smiled. “Our way is already paid for.”
She was so frugal and old fashioned at times it was aggravating. “Fine. If you like doing things the hard way.”
“It’s easy with your help. Now, let’s go to Sicily’s,” my mother said, as we were locking up the shop. “My treat for making you do things the hard way. You too, Jim.”
“Sure, if you insist,” said Jim, his eyes twinkling. “I love Italian food.”
“Mom, I’m sorry, I just can’t,” I replied, grabbing the car keys out of my purse. “I’m meeting up with Krystal.”
She stopped in her tracks. “Again? I thought you celebrated her birthday last night,” she replied, frowning.
“I know. This is just us, though. Last night was crazy and we didn’t get much of a chance to talk.”
“Didn’t you have enough time to talk when you spent the night at her house?”
“No. We crashed pretty quickly,” I lied.
“I’ll meet you at the restaurant,” said Jim, heading toward his car. I could tell he didn’t want any part of the conversation.
“Goodbye,” I called.
Jim turned around and waved as he reached his Toyota. “Have
a good night, Adriana,” he replied and then looked at Mom. “I’ll see you soon?”
“Yes,” she said, smiling. “Very soon.”
He smiled back and got into his car.
She turned back to me. “You’re not going to meet that man on the motorcycle afterward, are you?”
“Mom, would you just give it up,” I said, frustrated. “I know what I’m doing.”
“No, Adriana, I don’t think you do. You’re only twenty-one and I’m sure bad boys like that seem sexy, but –”
“Bad boys? Mom, please,” I interrupted as I began walking to my car, which was parked next to hers. “It’s not like that.”
“It sure looked like that way to me earlier,” she said, coming up behind me. “The way you two were attacking each other in the driveway.”
“It was just a couple of kisses,” I said, getting into the car. “Really, you don’t need to worry about me.”
Her eyes softened. “I can’t help it. You’re my daughter.”
Your grown daughter,” I reminded her. “Look, take Jim out to dinner and enjoy yourself.” I lowered my voice. “It’s obvious the man is crazy about you.”
She looked shocked. “What? No. No, he isn’t.”
I glanced back over at Jim, who was sitting in his car, waiting for her. “Oh yes, he is. You just don’t see it. Quit worrying about me and think about yourself for a change. Go on a date, have some fun.”
She looked over her shoulder at him and then sighed. “A date?”
“Yes. Pretend it’s a date.”
“I can’t do that to your father’s memory. I still love him and it wouldn’t be right.”
“Mom, you don’t have to stop loving Dad,” I said softly. “But don’t deny yourself companionship with someone who adores you. Someone like Jim, who’s nice and is always there for you.”
She chewed on her lower lip. “You really think he adores me?”
“I guess you haven’t noticed the way he looks at you. He definitely has a crush.”
“A crush?” Her cheeks flushed. “Really?”
“Yes, really. Aren’t you attracted to him?”
“I guess… I haven’t thought about it. I mean, he’s nice looking.”
Taming The Biker (MC Biker / Bad Boy Romance) Page 25
