This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons--living or dead--is entirely coincidental.
Thief copyright 2016 by Heather West. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission.
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Killer
Mason
Crush
Shadow
Prologue
Sarah
“Shit!” I cursed loudly, and banged my fist against the door. Pain shot through my arm and I winced, but the tears that were forming in my eyes were of frustration, not pain. Somewhere, behind a door, a dog started barking loudly. “Shut up,” I muttered under my breath. The dog kept barking. I wanted to kick it, but I had no idea which one of my neighbors would be pissed off at me now.
Ms. Graham,
Please note that due to your failure to pay your rent on time, you face eviction. If you’re unable to come up with the $1395 that you owe monthly by next Wednesday (3/17), we’ll be forced to evacuate you from the premises. If there are any questions about the matter at hand, please call your manager.
Best,
Morningside Apartments
Crumpling the notice into a tiny ball, I threw it over my shoulder and wiped the tears from my tired eyes. My key got stuck in the lock and I had to lean down and breathe on it to melt some of the frost away. As I banged and thumped and eventually got the door open, the dog started barking again and I menacingly glared out into the hallway. Looking around, I shook my head in disbelief. I couldn’t think of what was more rich: the fact that I was about to get evicted from this shithole, or that this shithole cost almost fifteen hundred dollars a month.
My limbs were sore and I plopped down in my favorite chair, yanking my heels off and massaging the life back into my calves. Today had been a real fucking winner of a day. It was one of those mornings where I’d felt like everything was going to be great, and then everything turned out to be the opposite.
I’d woken up in the morning feeling renewed enthusiasm about everything. I’d been having a great hair day, my old jeans finally fit again, and I was excited about my new bartending gig. I’d only been working at The Silk Aria for a couple of months now, but I really liked the place. And there were some cute guys there, too.
But as soon as I’d shown up at work, the manager had pulled me aside.
“Sarah, you’re great,” he said without enthusiasm. “But times are tough for the bar, and we have to make some cuts. I hope this is only temporary. I hope we’ll be able to figure something out and bring you back on board. I know this really isn’t fair to you, dear.”
I’d blinked back tears when he’d told me. Yeah, it wasn’t ideal. I was thirty, and still bartending. But that was what happened when acting work was tough. Thinking about it now made me blush with shame. I was a thirty-year-old woman, unable to get her shit together. I couldn’t keep a job. I couldn’t get a man. And now, I was able to get kicked out of the one apartment where I’d ever lived without a roommate.
Tony, the manager, had let me work the rest of my shift. I hadn’t felt so bad about it at first, but every time I waited on a table and got a compliment for my service, I felt bad. I wanted to throw the tips back in the faces of all the guys who leered at my tits, but I knew that this money was going to have to last me for a long time.
Now, at home, I felt more wired than ever. It was close to five in the morning and the sun was beginning to come up, but I couldn’t sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw my apartment being razed by the management people. I burned with shame when I thought about what I’d have to do in order to stay afloat. It wasn’t like being rejected from acting. At least with that, I knew where I stood all the time. Acting had been a tough gig, and I hadn’t ever been that good at it. But since I loved it, I’d always kept trying. And now it seemed like I’d just wasted my time. I tried to think about what I’d be doing now if I hadn’t caught the drama bug in high school. Shit. I probably could have gone to college, or become an accountant. Or even worked at a steady job I hated and still made enough to save for the occasional vacation. It was depressing to realize just how far I’d fallen from my dream.
In high school, acting had seemed like the only thing for me. I’d been the lead in all of the school plays, and it had been one of the only things that I felt like I was really, naturally good at. But all of that changed as soon as I started trying to make it in the real world. No matter how much of a star I’d been in my younger days, now there was always someone younger than me. Or prettier than me. Or richer than me, with family who were willing to pay in order to help them get famous. Thinking it over made me feel ridiculous, and old. For an industry that didn’t love women over the age of twenty-four, the fact that I’d still been trying at thirty said it all.
I was pathetic. I’d never been in this much trouble before in my entire life. And I had no idea how I was going to manage my way out of this.
Chapter One
Blake
“What’s good, brother?” Jimmy clapped me on the back and slammed a glass of beer into my hand. The liquid sloshed over the edges of the cup and I yanked my hand away, shaking it off and laughing. “You gotta have better reflexes, man,” Jimmy said. “Seriously, you can’t expect me to clean up after you!”
Jimmy and Red threw their heads back and roared. After a minute, I joined in, wiping my sticky hand on my jeans and reaching down for the beer.
“I’m great,” I told both of them. “Spent a day checking out some of the most delicious babes.” I grinned. “They closed Tinder’s down for a bachelorette party. Can you believe that shit? It was like being on the set of a porno.”
Jimmy grinned, exposing a mouth full of yellowing teeth. “That’s rich, man,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “You want to do some shooters? There are some pretty ladies in here tonight,” he said, sniffing the air. “Smells like good pussy to me!”
Red and Jimmy started laughing so hard that one of the bartenders looked in our direction. I’d never seen her before; she was on the short, curvy side with long red hair in a braid that snaked over one shoulder and piercing green eyes. She was wearing a low-cut corset-style top that corralled her tits into a savage cleavage, and I could almost be sure that she winked at me before she turned around. Damn, I thought to myself. She is smokin’!
“Yo, Blake,” Jimmy said, clapping me on the back. “Did you not fuckin’ hear me, man? I asked you a question!”
“He’s got puss on the brain,” Red said with a snicker. “Can’t say I blame him!” He swung a fist out in front of his body and thrust into the air, back and forth, miming sex. “It’s been a long time for me too, brother,” he said with a laugh.
I rolled my eyes. “Sorry,” I muttered. “What’s up?”
Jimmy leaned in. “You got any dirt on the Aztecs? I hear we’re in some deep shit with them.”
I shook my head. “Nah,” I said. “The intel never showed up. I was waiting for an hour. Didn’t get a call or nothing!”
“Them’s the breaks, man,” Red said.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the redhead again. She was leaning over the bar and wiping down the surface with a dirty rag. Her tits were practically spilling out of her top. I imagined pulling her on my lap and sticking my tongue down her top, lavishing her nipples with rough strokes until she cried out. In my jeans, my cock twitched and stirred.
“She’s rich,” Red said under his breath. “I love it when she ha
s her tits out like that.”
“Hi, guys,” Jeanne said. She sidled up to our table and poked me in the ribs. I glared down at her. “How y’all doing tonight?”
“Real good,” I said with a grin, pulling her closer and nuzzling her neck. Jeanne pushed me away with the expertise of a cocktail waitress, but she was laughing as she did it.
“I’m good, too,” she chirped. ”Can I bring y’all a round? Shots? Tequila?”
“That’d be great, hon,” I told her. “Hey, who’s that smokin’ redhead behind the bar? I haven’t seen her before.”
Jeanne leaned in close and grinned. “That’s Sarah,” she said. “She just started a little while ago, but she’s real good, don’t you think?”
I growled under my breath. “She’s a babe and a half,” I said. “Is she single?”
Jeanne shrugged and walked backwards towards the bar. “Ask her yourself,” she called. “She doesn’t normally work Fridays, this might be your only chance.”
Downing the last of my beer, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and walked closer. Up close, Sarah was a little older than I’d first pegged her, maybe in her late twenties. She was pretty in a tough way, the kind of girl who looks like a wildcat in bed. And on the streets—the way her green eyes gleamed, I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed.
“I’d ask what you want, but you already have a drink,” Sarah said. She pointed to my table and I turned around to see Red and Jimmy downing shots. “Can I get you something else?”
“Besides your number?” I smirked. Sarah rolled her eyes and turned away. As she whirled around, I caught a sniff of her perfume: spicy vanilla and chili. A shudder ran through me, I instinctively knew that her hair would smell exactly like that.
“Not supposed to go out with customers,” she said smoothly. “What about a drink, though?”
I laughed shortly. “If you’re asking me, sure,” I said.
Sarah rolled her eyes. “You’re impossible,” she said. “I have to work now,” she finished. “Later!”
I watched her heart-shaped ass walk away and felt another twinge in my cock. Damn, I thought. After a long week of work, she would have been a sweet little girl to have in my bed. Then again, maybe it was for the best. Running into my one-night stands after the fact wasn’t usually pleasant, and if she worked here, chances were that I’d see her again.
“Blake, get your ass over here!” Red called, and Jimmy started hooting. I rolled my eyes and walked back towards my friends. They were goofs, but they meant well most of the time.
“You guys can’t wait a fuckin’ second?” I complained. “Didn’t you see I was trying to talk to her?”
Jimmy laughed shortly. “Tonight’s not about pussy” he said in a quiet voice. “We gotta talk about our future, the future of the club! Man, I can’t believe this kinda shit’s been going on!”
“I know,” I said in a conspiratorial tone as I leaned in closer, Sarah almost forgotten. “Over the past couple months, we’ve had two Aztec run-ins.”
Red nodded. “And I have intel saying that they’re planning something,” he said quietly, running a hand through his dark hair. “I don’t know when, but I heard something about a string of arsons.”
I frowned. “Arson is fuckin’ serious,” I said quietly. “We can’t get tangled up in that. Not while we’re using so many resources on this turf war.”
“I know,” Jimmy said patiently. “But we don’t know the whole story yet. We can’t make any decisions. We’re gonna vote on it tomorrow,” he said. “You going to the clubhouse?”
I nodded. I always spent my weekends at the clubhouse. Drinking, fucking, gambling, sometimes taking care of a fallen brother. Ever since I’d been patched to Devil’s Own, the club had been my life. Jimmy was the VP, and he and I had grown up together. Red was a friend of his from way back—crazy and violent, but not a bad dude. None of us were bad dudes, really. Maybe unethical and cruel sometimes, and maybe mixed up in some bad shit, but not really bad.
“Blake,” Jimmy said, “you gotta have my back on this. You know Abel doesn’t always agree with us,” he said in a low whisper. “Things ain’t goin’ the way he wants them to. He wants us to get back into running guns, you know that?”
I shrugged. “It’s better than the dope,” I said finally. “But everyone knows that we won’t be able to kick any Aztec ass until we’re really done with that. They have too much of a share on the dope market. We’re not going to break in without incident.”
Jimmy looked at me, his black eyes blazing. “I know that,” he said finally. “I’m just so fuckin’ nervous about this.”
“Get your panties out of a twist,” Red hissed. “You know Abel knows what’s best for the club.”
I looked at Jimmy. “I’m gonna get another drink,” I said. “You boys want shots?”
Jimmy and Red hollered and whooped, forgetting that the moment had been tense. I breathed a sigh of relief as I went up to the bar. Sarah was still there, and she eyed me with interest this time.
“Can I help you, sugar?” she asked. “And no, I still can’t give you my number.”
“She’s busy,” some thin, reedy guy said. He stepped closer. “And bar’s closing, maybe you and your gang want to go somewhere else.”
I stepped closer to him and looked down at him. He was shorter than me, but with no less cockiness. I sensed a coldness emanating from his thin form. “We’re a club,” I said smartly. “Not a gang. And it’s only midnight. Closing up so early on a Friday? When Abel gives y’all so much?”
The guy eyed me and finally turned away. “Fine,” he muttered. To Sarah, he leaned across the bar and stroked her bare forearm with his greasy fingers. “Think about it, honey,” he told her. “You don’t wanna be left out in the cold, do you?”
“I’m fine,” she muttered. Seeming to only just then remember that I was standing in front of her, Sarah turned to me with a fake grin on her face. Even when she was faking it, she was still breathtakingly pretty. “Can I help you?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Is that jerk bothering you?” I asked. “I can get rid of him, no big.”
She shook her head. “Forget it,” she told me. “He works here. Friend of the owner.”
“Ah,” I said, leaning back and crossing my arms over my chest. “So you’re fine with him bossing you around, too?”
She flushed. “It’s not like that,” she said. “And I’m fine, I swear.”
I gave her a hard look. “Sure,” I said casually. “How about grabbing me a beer?”
When she returned with my bottle of Heineken, I was just about to ask her out when that drip appeared again.
“Roger,” Sarah said with irritation. “What is it? I told you, I’ll be right there.”
“You know how particular Tony is about getting the back room cleaned,” Roger said snidely. He stared up at me and I had the rotten feeling that he was just messing with her to get to me. “You better go get cleaning, girl!”
Sarah blushed and stepped out from behind the bar. Roger gave her a patronizing smile that made my blood boil. When she was about to walk past, I turned to Roger.
“Look, you fuck,” I said slowly. “How many times do I have to tell you: don’t bother the lady! She obviously doesn’t want to talk to you, and there’s no need to get butthurt because she doesn’t wanna be around you!”
Sarah turned to me, her green eyes blazing. “Hey,” she said shortly. “I can take care of myself!”
Just as I was about to defend myself, Roger leaned in my face. “You be real careful around here, thug,” he said in a smarmy tone. “You know who runs the show? I do, motherfucker,” he added under his breath. “Now, you and your gang should shoo.”
Throwing my hands up in the air, I walked back to the table. Jimmy and Red looked bleary-eyed, and I called a couple of prospects from the Devil’s to come escort us home.
But when I went back to look for Sarah, she was already gone.
Chapter Two
Sa
rah
I spent the whole night curled up on the couch, crying and beating my fists against the material. It wasn’t fair; why was this happening to me? I tried to go through my apartment and make a list of everything I could sell. But I didn’t have a lot left, except for some DVDs and furniture that no one would pay for. I’d sold my TV last month to pay for concert tickets, and now I was kicking myself. The concert had been fun, but there was no way I was going to be able to scrape by now.
With tears in my eyes, I glanced around. Sure the apartment was a shithole, it was drafty in the winter and hot in the summer, but I loved it. This was my place. It was a place where I could be alone and be safe, and bring people home if I wanted to. It wasn’t like having a roommate and fighting about missing clothes. Or worse, drugs. Before I’d moved in here, I’d lived with my best friend, Julia. She’d had a kid a couple of years ago, and that had been pretty awful. The second time her daughter, Hailey, had skipped into my room with a silk thong, Julia had kicked me out.
Thief: Devil's Own MC Page 1
