by Karen Renee
I swallowed the bite of chicken I had in my mouth. “Can I plead the fifth?”
She shook her head and a gust of wind caught her strawberry-blonde hair, which forced her to shake her head harder to get it out of her eyes. “Not applicable, Trixie. You’re not married to him and this isn’t a court of law. Let’s hear it. If he’s anything like Liar, then I’m kinda eager to hear what kind of idiocy he got up to. Don’t get me wrong. Liar’s a great guy and has more than made up for what he did. I like him too, but these bikers and their alpha macho stuff,” she paused to wave a finger in the air, “nope.”
I shook my head and chuckled. “You don’t know the half of it with their bossiness. Well, the short version is, he finally claimed me to the brothers, but hasn’t put a property cut on my shoulders, so claiming me to his brothers isn’t enough.”
She put down a plucked-clean chicken wing. “Forgive my ignorance, but why isn’t it enough?”
I tilted my head a little. “Because it’s not public. It’s basically keeping that info within the family. I guess you might compare it to a car. If you tell your family your car is for work and that’s it, nobody else should drive it, then the only people who know are your family. But if you put a magnet or whatever kinda sign on the door of that car, it tells everyone that’s your company car.”
Janie nodded, but still looked a touch confused. “I get your analogy, but why do you need to advertise that you belong to Roll?”
I scoffed. “Honestly, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The fact is Roll was forced into claiming me to his brothers, because I was attacked.”
“Did he say that?”
“Essentially,” I muttered and took a swig of my beer.
She took a sip of her wine and set the glass down. “Essentially?”
“He didn’t realize I was in the room, but he told his brothers that the Devil Lancers, the group that attacked me, don’t know that he was forced to claim me because I got attacked,” I paused for a fortifying sip of beer. “So, that all means that for maybe half a day I felt like I was Roll’s, but in reality, not a damn thing really changed. He didn’t want to claim me, he just had no other choice in the matter. Not if he wanted the club to take action as a whole.”
Picking up her wine glass again, Janie turned her gaze to the river. She stared at the view in thought for a long while before she looked at me. “I can probably guess the answer to this, but I’ll ask it anyway. Do you really care if Roll was forced into claiming you? I know I haven’t met him, but from what you and Andrea have told me about him, he just doesn’t strike me as someone who does something he doesn’t actually want to do.”
“It’s crazy we’ve known each other for such a short amount of time, but I still feel like I have to tell you to get out of my head.”
She giggled. “So, what’s the problem then? If you don’t think he gets forced into things, then it doesn’t seem like you have an issue.”
I rolled my eyes, and decided I was done with this interrogation. “Whatever. Your ass hung up on me before I could tell you this on the phone, but,” I swiveled my head as I made big eyes at my surroundings. “This is not a run-of-the-mill investment property. Is your Daddy just gonna put you up here, like rent-free or what? If so, does he feel like adopting a daughter late in life?”
Janie’s face scrunched up as she laughed outright. “No, he’s not letting me stay rent-free. And depending on how my job search goes, I might be looking for a roomie, so I’ll keep you in mind. But, really, I’m hoping this is just temporary. Now, before you think you pulled off a subject change, I’ll say we can change the subject, but I reserve the right to come back to it later, because I know there’s something you’re not telling me. And something tells me that missing piece is pretty damn juicy.”
I smiled with my mouth closed because otherwise I was likely to tell her she was not wrong at all about that!
Roll
Roaring down Blanding Boulevard, Roll couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen the first sign of Trixie’s candy-apple red Camaro. He could see Har gaining on him in his side mirror, but he had to ignore him. Congested traffic on Blanding was never limited to normal times of rush hour. Roll debated splitting the lanes, but instead pulled to a stop at the area near the interstate. Har pulled up right next to him.
“We should split up. Where do you think she went?” he shouted his question at Roll.
That was the question of the hour, and the hell of it was, he had no damn idea. Under any other circumstances, Roll would not blink at sending Har to Trixie’s apartment but the look on Har’s face when he heard Roll was forced to claim Trixie had not gone unnoticed. Not a chance he’d send another man to her place who also wanted Trixie the way Roll wanted her.
Before Roll could answer, Rage pulled up on Roll’s other side. “I’m headed to her place. You goin’ to her pop’s?”
He might be too full of himself, but he was downright certain she wouldn’t go to her father’s place. Shaking his head at Rage, he shouted, “No. I followed her there already. No way she’ll do that again. She’s at her place, text me. Headed to her work.”
Har was watching this go down. When the light turned green, Rage shot forward and cut-off four vehicles as he executed illegal maneuvers to get onto the interstate. Roll gave Har a chin jerk toward the right, and the two of them drove onto the on-ramp headed the opposite direction. They stayed on the on-ramp since it connected to the western end of Collins Road where the Walmart was located.
Walking into the store, his irritation and impatience must have been written all over his face, because customers and staff alike got out of his way. Roll kept scanning each side of the store as he ambled through, looking for anyone who might be a manager, but as luck had it, the putz who took Trixie to lunch came out of an aisle nearby.
“Forrest, right?” Roll rumbled.
The scrawny man stopped dead in his tracks. Roll didn’t think it was possible, but the man’s pale face drained of what little color it had.
“Uh, yeah. Do I know you?”
Har took a step beyond Roll. “You seen Trixie today, bud?”
Roll couldn’t imagine why the man bothered with the ‘bud’ because nothing about his tone was friendly.
Forrest shifted his gaze to Har, and for some reason found backbone. “Who are you?” he demanded.
Har shot Roll an annoyed look.
“Who he is doesn’t matter. We’re friends of Trixie’s. You seen her today?” Roll repeated Har’s question.
Suddenly Forrest took in the cuts Roll and Har were wearing and that backbone grew some more. “No, I haven’t. And for some reason, I don’t think you need to see her today, either.”
Har made a low noise in his throat, but Roll clamped a hand on Har’s shoulder. “Not worth it, Prez. He hasn’t seen her, then she probably isn’t here.”
Forrest shook his head like they were crazy. “Of course she isn’t. It’s her day off. Who would come in on their day off?”
From the corner of his eye, Roll saw Har give three short shakes of his head. Then to Roll’s surprise, Har asked, “She dated this guy?”
Roll bit back his chuckle. “Nah. They’re just friends. Trix doesn’t dip in the company pool.”
In a supreme display of his stupidity, Forrest supplied, “Yeah, she’s an expensive date. If we were serious, I’d have to tell her drinking at lunch isn’t acceptable.”
Roll couldn’t stop himself from setting the asshole straight. “Quarter to fuckin’ four isn’t lunch.” Knowing this conversation would get him nowhere, Roll turned on his heel, and was surprised to see Har follow suit.
When they were a good ten feet away, Har asked, “Was that fucker serious?”
This entire situation kept getting stranger, but Roll said, “Sounded like it. Sucks to be him, that’s all I know.”
“Damn straight, Roll.”
***
Roll sat astride his bike as Har called Brute. He was wracking his brain for places Trixie might
have gone to blow off steam, but he was coming up empty. Truth be told, he didn’t expect her to come to her workplace, but it was close-by and well worth a shot. It bothered him that she had gotten away and he hadn’t even caught a glimpse of her vehicle. The fact was, his bike wasn’t far from where he was standing when she parked her car. The moment she cleared the gate, he was moving to his bike. Volt and Blood, though, had held him up, which he could not wrap his head around. Someone should’ve been right on her tail, but he’d lost precious time listening to Volt and Blood try to tell him to let someone else go after her. Hell, even Rage hadn’t been close to his bike in order to follow her.
Concentrating on what had already happened, Roll realized maybe she had gone somewhere close by. Then he remembered Mallory offering up her friend Natasha’s home when Trixie was first injured. He yanked his phone from his belt, and called Cal.
“You find her, brother?” Cal greeted.
“No. You got a contact number for Natasha?”
There was a heavy beat of silence. “What the fuck would Tasha have to do with this?”
“Mal offered to take Trix to Natasha’s house when she was attacked. She ain’t at work; Rage is headed to her place. I can’t think of a damn place she might be otherwise.”
“Call you back, man.”
Roll took the phone from his ear, but didn’t put it away. Another thought was pushing through, but it was so far out there, he nearly dismissed it. At this point though, he had to leave no stone unturned, so he called Major.
“Got your woman back, yet?” Major asked.
“No,” Roll growled. “Need you to do me a solid. Can you hit the Golden Anchor and let me know if she’s there tying one on?”
“She ain’t ever been there, far’s I know.”
“Which might make it a fuckin’ great place to hide out.”
Major sighed. “I’ll head over there now. She’s there, I’ll call. She’s not, I’ll text.”
“’Preciate it, brother.”
Just as Roll was going to put his cell in the holster, it rang. “Yeah, Cal.”
“Natasha ain’t heard from Trixie, and there’s no way she’s at their house, since it’s locked up tight.”
“Not surprised, but thanks for lookin’ into it, man.”
“You want me to hit the roads?”
Roll knew Cal was on a jobsite today, and he felt bad enough asking him to check-in with Mallory about Trixie. “No, but thanks, man. Rather you keep the clients happy so the club has some decent income from that business.”
“Whatever,” Cal chided, then added, “Later.”
At that, Roll stowed his phone and saw Har was finished with his call. “Nobody’s got any leads on where she might be. We’ll head down to her place in Green Cove, but if she were there, we’d have heard from Rage by now.”
Har lifted his chin and started his Harley. Roll powered up his bike and led the way.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Trixie
When they say time flies when you’re having fun, I had to wonder if those people had been drinking, because time didn’t just fly, it went to mach-3. That meant, when Janie’s doorbell rang, I went ramrod straight, thinking it was Roll.
Janie put her hand on top of mine. “Chill, Trixie. How would they know you’re even here?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know, but I damn sure wouldn’t put anything past them!”
She shook her head. “It’s either my dad or possibly Andrea.”
That didn’t help my anxiety, but Janie had moved into the living area before she noticed my discomfort. I liked Andrea, but she was nearly as close to Jackie as she was Janie, and on top of that, she was living with Liar. Having not been around her much, I wasn’t sure I could trust her to keep my secrets.
“Nothin’ you can do about it at this point, Trix,” I said out loud to myself. I finished my second beer and went into the kitchen to find Andrea and Janie hugging. Janie let go and pulled the cheese and cracker tray and the other bottle of wine from the fridge.
Andrea looked at me cautiously. “Um, Trixie, right? I’m terrible with names, but I know you were at Jackie’s shower.”
With a small smile, I nodded. “Yeah. Good to see you again, Andrea. How’re things?”
She turned her head a touch and narrowed one eye at me. “Something isn’t right. What’s going on?”
Janie giggled and I was suspecting she hadn’t eaten enough to offset her white wine. “She’s hiding out from Roll and other members of the Riot MC.”
I gave Janie a hard look, but she ignored it. Had she not told me she’d not met Roll yet, I’d have to wonder, because she was as good as Roll at ignoring my look.
I looked back to Andrea when she spoke. “Why are you hiding from Roll? You mentioned taking yourself away from the Riot at Jackie’s shower, but just last week Liar mentioned Roll had officially claimed you. So what gives?”
I took in a very deep breath. “It’s a long story.”
“That’s no excuse, Trixie. I got another bottle of vino, there’s plenty of sunshine, and we’ve got more than enough time to hear your long story.”
Ditching the hard look, I glared at Janie outright, but she beamed in response. I shook my head. “Lead the way, drunk girl.”
Janie scoffed and it was almost funny. “What? I’m not drunk. Trent wouldn’t like it…Oh hell, if I’m not drunk, I’m gonna get that way. That fucker be damned.”
I didn’t laugh out loud, but my torso shook with my humor and I repeated, “Lead the way.”
She led us back to the balcony and I nearly suggested we move things inside instead. Turned out there was more to Janie’s balcony than met the eye. It was like something from a swanky apartment in New York City. I had noticed a narrow walkway off to the right of the balcony, but I figured it was just some weird way a rich fuddy-duddy wanted their balcony to be designed.
She handed the cheese and cracker tray to Andrea, and grabbed the puffy Cheetos. Then she said, “Follow me.”
We traversed that narrow walkway only to come to a staircase that opened up to a small rooftop deck. There were three chaise lounges, and a small tempered-glass table between two of them.
“What the hell, Janie? We shoulda been eatin’ up here, not in the damn shade.”
She set the wine and Cheetos down, took the cheese tray from Andrea, putting it on the table. Then she shook her head at me. “No way. Just because you live hard and love it doesn’t mean you need to live hard and show it.”
Technically that was true for most of the Riot MC old ladies, but it wasn’t something that was true for me. I must not have steeled my features enough because Janie’s hand caught my bicep, “Honey, I’m not—”
“I know. It’s just, I’m not like the rest of you.”
She crossed her arms on her chest. “Now that’s bullshit.”
At the same time, Andrea asked, “What do you mean by that?”
I put my ass on a chaise lounge, and they both sat on the lounger opposite me.
Andrea listened to down-tempo techno music. That chill-out vibe permeated her personality. It stood to reason Janie would be the same way, but she had a bit more spunk. Either way, these two wouldn’t understand the bitter hardness in my core.
After I looked at them for a moment, I decided to give it to them straight. “I mean, it doesn’t matter if I look like I live hard. My life’s been nothing but hard knocks from a very early age.”
Janie opened her mouth to say something, but Andrea put a hand on her thigh to stop her, and I told them about my uncle.
Janie shook her head. “How is that even possible? I mean, didn’t your father catch on?”
I sighed as quietly as I could. “Uncle Derrick was there before I came home from school. Consoling or checking up on Daddy. I stopped coming home right after school. I’d traipse around the woods by our trailer catching frogs and the occasional lizard. An older girl from the neighborhood and two boys would be around sometimes and they off
ered me smokes. Roundaboutly, I suppose Uncle Derrick gave me my addiction to nicotine. And, you two probably don’t know this, but no amount of Oil of Olay is gonna keep my mouth from havin’ those fine lines around the edges from the cancer sticks.”
Andrea pursed her lips to the side for a moment. “I’m not so sure about that. There are a lot of side effects of smoking that the body starts to reverse when you quit. However, that’s not the point, Trixie. Have you spoken to anyone about this? Besides us?”
“You mean like a counselor?” I asked in a flat voice.
She nodded.
I shook my head. “Not doin’ that. Definitely not doin’ that.”
Silence surrounded us, but for whatever reason it didn’t feel heavy. Janie broke it when she blurted, “So you think it’s your due to be used and never respected.”
My head reared back and I couldn’t keep from gasping. I had never thought of it that way.
Andrea misunderstood my gasp. “Janie! That was borderline rude.”
“No, no,” I said, leaning forward. “It’s actually good, seeing as how I never thought of it that way. She might be right, but I’m not sure yet. And she wasn’t rude at all, because we talked about quite a bit of shit before you got here.”
Andrea raised her chin as her eyes communicated she could imagine we had. “Speaking of that, aren’t the Riot brothers supposed to be protecting you? I can’t imagine they’re very happy you’re not on their property.”
“Yeah, about that. It’s not cool of me to ask this, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell Liar that you know where I am. When I leave here, that’ll be one thing, but you know, I wanna lay low for a little longer.”
Andrea smiled and I couldn’t help but admire her gleaming chompers. “No worries. I spoke to him before I came over here, and I had no idea you were here until Janie let me in. Besides, when we spoke, he didn’t mention anything about where you might be or whatever.”
Janie poured Andrea a glass of wine, and passed around some cheese and crackers.
