I smiled because that did, indeed, say celebration.
“Excellent. Can I dress up?”
His arms gave me another squeeze, his face dipped closer and his voice was low and super rumbly when he said, “You can do whatever you want.”
“Awesome,” I whispered, his eyes smiled into mine and I liked that so much, I leaned up and pressed my lips to his.
When I moved back, his eyes went over my shoulder and then started to come back to me but then they shot back over my shoulder and I felt the entirety of his frame freeze solid.
I didn’t like that or the expression on his face… no, I really didn’t like the expression on his face which almost looked like he was in pain so I pressed closer but looked over my shoulder to see a dark red SUV driving up to the office.
“Who’s that?” I asked.
“The Keatons,” he rumbled low and that was when my body froze so I was stuck in position as the SUV parked and out of each side came a body.
Driver’s side was the man. Tall, straight, lean, dark blonde hair. Good-looking if you didn’t happen to be married to Ty Walker and Ty Walker didn’t happen to have friends the likes of Tate and Wood. Jeans, heavy, silver, Western-style belt buckle, cowboy boots, nice sports coat, chambray shirt.
Passenger side was the woman.
Misty.
Bitch-face Misty.
My eyes narrowed on her as I vaguely noticed Wood and a couple of other guys moving out of the bays and Stella coming out of the office and if I hadn’t vaguely noticed this I would have realized they did it because they knew cowboy guy and Misty, they knew they’d fucked over Ty and they were positioning, should something happen, to take Ty’s back.
But I only had eyes for and a mind to bitch-face Misty.
She had lots of everything. Lots of leg. Lots of tits. Lots of ass. Lots of hair.
Ty’s type, definitely.
She was wearing much what I was wearing. Platform sandals (though not wedges). Short skirt. Three steps up from a normal t-shirt.
But mine was better.
I wasn’t wearing a skirt but cream-colored, tailored, low-rider, cuffed short-shorts. My tee was blousy, a soft orchid color and one side hung off my shoulder. I’d sleeked out my hair, my belt was awesome, my jewelry understated and even more awesome than the belt. And, at that moment, I was really fucking glad I spent extra time on my hair after cleaning the house and before going into town.
Her stuff was good quality. What could I say? I was a buyer. I could see it even from far away.
But her skirt was just on the wrong side of too short, her top just on the wrong side of too clingy and way the wrong side of too much cleavage, her hair was massive and her sandals leaped over the boundary of acceptable straight into the land of slut shoes.
Looking at her, she didn’t work with Ty, no way. And she also didn’t work with the fake straight-arrow (seeing as he was a dirty cop) Colorado cowboy guy with his precise haircut, jeans that weren’t faded even a little bit and, clearly visible even through his clothes, a body fat count that stated he spent almost as much time at the gym as Ty. And I felt I could say this coming from Texas. I knew cowboys and I knew their women.
She was just a skanky, white ‘ho trying to be something else.
This made me feel way better. Of course, I still hated her and wanted to rush across the tarmac and rip her hair out. But Ty said I was class and beauty and now I knew why. Because, in comparison to Misty Keaton, I fucking was, top-to-toe.
I turned back to Ty, pressed deep and when I did, I got his eyes.
“Dude, I am way more that than her,” I informed him, he blinked then I felt his body start shaking.
“Think I already told you that, mama,” he replied in his soft voice that was better than his normal soft voice considering it was soft and amused.
Must be said, I was liking this mama thing.
I held his eyes and asked quietly, “You okay?”
He gave me a shallow chin dip of affirmative before answering, “Pullin’ out my .38 and gunnin’ ‘em down in broad daylight with witnesses kinda fucks with my grand plan o’ vengeance.”
I started giggling and slid my arms from around his neck to rest them on the wide wall of his chest.
“Yeah, being present at the incident, I probably wouldn’t be very convincing as an alibi.”
His lips tipped up. “Probably not.”
I allowed myself to enjoy his small grin. Then I sighed.
Then I asked, “This the first time you’ve seen them?”
“Yep.”
“Sorry, honey,” I whispered.
“Gonna happen.”
“Right,” I muttered, my eyes sliding to his throat.
His arms gave me a squeeze and my eyes slid back.
“Got work to do. I’ll call The Rooster, text you with a time. You good with that?”
I smiled at him. “Way good, hubby.”
He shook his head once then dropped it to touch his mouth to mine.
Then he murmured, “Go. See you later.”
“Later,” I agreed then I slid my hand up to his neck and curled my fingers around, holding his eyes and giving him something I hoped would carry him through having those two even close to his space. “You’re far and away the most beautiful man I’ve met and it isn’t just that you have the looks and the body but it’s a whole lot more, Ty Walker.”
Then I got up on tiptoe, kissed his jaw and avoided his eyes as I pulled out of his arms by turning and moving away.
As I strolled to my car, I smiled at the two gray-blue coverall covered men, my eyes moved to Wood and I called, “Hey, Wood.”
“Lexie,” he said, jerked his chin up and smiled at me.
I walked by him and to the car, my eyes on Stella to see her head turned to the Keatons but her eyes slid to the side more than once. Detective Chace Keaton was talking to her. Misty Keaton’s head was shifting quickly back and forth and back again between Ty and me, she had sunglasses on so I couldn’t see her eyes but the rest of her face I didn’t get. Surprise, maybe. Hesitation, definitely. But also I detected fear.
I hoped I detected right. I wanted the bitch afraid. She deserved fear and lots of it.
I got to the driver’s side of the Charger and Stella’s head turned my way so I smiled and waved.
“Hey, Stella!” I called.
“Hey, Lexie. How’s it goin’?”
“Awesome! Life is sweet,” I replied and she grinned.
“Good to hear, babe.”
My eyes moved to the Keatons who were both now looking at me and I gave them a friendly wave and a, “Hey!”
Chace Keaton’s eyes did a head-to-toe. Misty didn’t move a muscle. Neither of them gave me a “hey�� back.
Whatever. So they were dirty, skanky and rude. Not a surprise.
I turned around, opened my door, looked over the hood of the Charger and saw Ty disappearing into a bay. I got in, fired my baby up, backed out and resisted the urge to run down the Keatons. I might hit Stella and she was cool so that would be uncool.
Then I drove to the entrance of the garage, looked right then left then right again then something made me look left and I saw Bubba’s, the bar Tate and Krystal owned a few blocks down. I stared at it a second that slid to three. Then I turned right and headed home. I had groceries in the car I needed to unpack and put away because some of them needed the fridge.
But for some reason all I could think of was Bubba’s, Tate, the Keatons and my man forced to endure painful, bitter history delivering a sucker punch whenever Lady Luck was feeling sassy.
I drove home, parked in the garage, lugged up the groceries and put them away and still couldn’t quit thinking of Bubba’s. So I looked at the clock on the microwave over the stove and considered my wardrobe options, made a selection, calculated the time I’d need to gussy up and made a decision.
It might be stupid. It might be smart. It might piss off Lady Luck who’d make me pay the hard way.
But I had to try.
So I got in the car and drove back into town straight to Bubba’s. I parked out front and saw a line of bikes, about six of them and several other cars including a supremely beat up pickup truck. It was after three in the afternoon, not prime time drinking hours but Bubba’s looked relatively busy.
Good news for Tate and Krystal. Not so good for me. If Tate was there I didn’t want him to be busy and if I got an opening to do what I needed to do, I didn’t want anyone to hear.
I walked through the door to Bubba’s for the first time seeing immediately it was a biker bar. I knew this not because I was intimately acquainted with biker bars, in fact, this was the first one I’d ever been in. I knew this was because there were a bevy of biker-looking dudes in it. There were also wood floors, a long bar at the back surrounded by stools, tables and chairs in front and two big rooms off either side with two pool tables each. And I was correct, it was relatively busy.
Krystal was behind the bar, down at one end, gabbing with some patrons. Tate was also behind the bar, down at the other end, leaned into his hands on the bar and talking to Jim-Billy who looked surgically attached to his stool and was sitting at a corner and Deke who was standing at the opposite corner to Jim-Billy.
All eyes came to me when I came in.
“Hey, y’all,” I called and got a bunch of greetings back.
I moved to Tate’s side of the bar and slid on the stool next to Jim-Billy, putting my purse on the stool beside me.
“Good to see you, Lexie,” Tate said and I smiled at him.
“Yeah, you too,” I replied then slid my eyes around taking in Deke and Jim-Billy. “You guys been good?”
“Can’t complain,” Jim-Billy answered.
“Yeah, babe, things are good,” Tate answered.
Deke just stared at me. Deke was a communicator of the Taciturn Ty variety so I didn’t take offense.
“You drinkin’?” Tate asked.
“Yeah, though I’ll be doing it tonight at the celebration dinner Ty and I are having at The Rooster. I got a job at Carnal Spa today.”
“Good news, darlin’,” Jim-Billy grinned at me.
“Thanks,” I said to him then looked at Tate. “So, how about a celebratory Diet Coke with cherries in and I’ll buy the boys a round?”
“How about you let me cover your diet as a congratulatory gesture?” Tate returned.
“How about you let me buy a round considering you’ve already made a big gesture?” I suggested then pointed out, “It’s my turn.”
“’Preciate that, Lexie, but I got a bar that does a fuckload of turnover and this is a world where idiots jump bond frequently. You and Ty are gettin’ your feet under you so I’ll cover the round,” Tate rejected my suggestion and I knew this could go on and on and in the end one person was going to get their way and that would not be me.
“Do you guys take nice pills in the morning or is this natural?” I asked at the same time giving in.
He knew I was giving in so he grabbed a glass, dunked it in the ice, put it on the bar, aimed the soda gun at it and let fly while saying, “It’s a pop, babe, not givin’ you the deed to my house.”
“And a beer,” Jim-Billy put in.
“And a whiskey,” Deke added.
Tate’s eyes went to them in turn as they spoke then came to me when he said, “And a beer and a whiskey.”
I grinned at him.
He tossed three cherries in my drink, shoved in a thin, red straw, threw a bar mat in front of me and set the drink on it. Then he opened a bottle of brew for Jim-Billy and poured a measure of bourbon for Deke and himself.
When Deke got his drink, I lifted my glass and toasted, “To me, the new receptionist at Carnal Spa.”
I got grins, a couple of glasses and a bottle pointed my way then we all sucked back some beverage.
I put my glass down.
And, pleasantries and bullshit excuses for showing at his bar over, fortunately, Tate took me off the hook and went straight to it.
“How’re you settlin’ in?”
This had two meanings and I knew it. He and Ty were tight and he was concerned about his friend. And he had beautiful eyes but they were also intelligent. He knew I didn’t mosey into his bar to share good news when I hadn’t seen any of them since the party. He knew I had a reason to be there.
I took another sip and tried to suck up courage.
Then my eyes locked with his and I told him, “I love it here.”
“Good,” he muttered, his gaze not leaving mine and him not missing I talked about me but didn’t mention my husband then, “Ty?”
“He’s good,” I said slowly, took another sip of drink to suck up more courage then went on, “Adjusting.”
“How’s that goin’?” Jim-Billy asked quietly and I looked to him.
“He’s a very strong man,” I said softly. “If he wasn’t…” I let that hang and looked to my glass. Then I tipped my head back, looked right into Tate’s eyes and asked straight out, “You know how I can get in touch with a guy named Tambo?”
The air around me went wired.
Tate leaned in. Jim-Billy leaned in. Deke’s body went alert. And Krystal, maybe feeling the vibe, started to drift down the bar.
But it was Tate who spoke. “Lexie –”
I cut him off by whispering, “I’m worried about him.”
“Why?” Tate asked quietly, sharply and swiftly.
“I can’t say.” And I couldn’t.
“He thinkin’ of doin’ somethin’ stupid?” This was Krystal who either had super-powered ears or the gift of mind reading.
My eyes moved to hers. “He’s not stupid. But he’s angry.”
“Would be too,” Deke grunted.
“Deke,” Jim-Billy muttered.
Deke’s eyes sliced to Jim-Billy. “You would be too.”
Jim-Billy looked at his beer. He would be too. Anyone would be.
“You two tight?” Tate asked and I looked to him. He’d seen the way Ty was at the party, there and holding me close but at the same time not there. He’d clocked it and wondered about it. I knew this. He hadn’t seen us together since. He couldn’t know how it was before Ty shut down and after Ty let me in.
“Yes,” I told him and hoped that he’d trust that.
“How much sway you got?” Tate asked.
“Not enough,” I shook my head, “not enough for this.”
“Let the man do what he’s gotta do,” Deke advised and my eyes went to him.
“He had five years stolen from him.”
“Yeah,” Deke agreed on a grunt. “So let the man do what he’s gotta do.”
I held Deke’s eyes. Then I said firmly, “He couldn’t take more.” I looked to Tate and stated, “He shouldn’t have to take more.” My gaze went to Krystal. “They’ve taken enough.”
I felt all their eyes then I saw Tate’s head turn and tip down to look at Krystal. She looked up at him. Then she looked at Jim-Billy and Tate looked at Deke.
“I have to do something,” I whispered into their eye communication exchange. I looked all around them then declared, “Someone has to do something. I’ve been living in Carnal eight days and even I know enough’s enough.” I leaned into the bar and whispered, “What’s happening has to be stopped. Not just for Ty but for whoever else is getting railroaded by these assholes.” I leaned back and kept talking, “Someone has to do something and that someone is going to be me. And the only thing I have to start with is this Tambo guy.”
Tate’s gaze cut back to me. “I’ll talk to Tambo.”
My heart leaped. “You will?”
He jerked his chin up. “I will. I’ll also talk to the boys I trust in the Department. Feel them out. See if one of ‘em’s a whistleblower or might be willin’ to nose around.”
My heart started racing then it stuttered when Krystal hissed quietly, “Tate, you could get jacked just like Ty.”
“I could also clear his name, get him restitution at the same time
this town learns how to live with a Force that they can count on rather than question and fear,” Tate returned and, not done making his point, continued. “You got tits, you get pulled over for speeding, you don’t gotta get on your knees to give a blowjob to get outta some jacked up charge just so a man in a uniform with a little authority can get his rocks off. You got problems with kids stealin’ shit from your shelves, you don’t have to pass an envelope of cash over the counter to pay for protection you’re already payin’ for with your taxes. Your husband’s beatin’ the shit outta you, you don’t have to put up with it ‘cause he’s got a badge and you got no one clean you can turn to. You make food for a living, you serve a plate to a man with a badge, you don’t gotta look the other way when he walks out without payin’ the bill. A uniform is shitfaced in his cruiser on duty, he crashes that cruiser, totals it and it needs to be replaced and his hospital bills need to be paid and they are, on the citizen’s dime, he gets stripped of his badge not a fuckin’ commendation.”
Wow, seemed like things were worse than I thought and they were already really fucking bad.
And I made a mental note not to have a heavy foot in the Charger like I had a tendency to have.
And last, it was apparent Tate had been burying this for awhile and it was equally apparent he was very done doing that.
“You tried that shit before,” Krystal fired back.
“And Ty pulled me back,” Tate reminded her.
“He pulled you back because it was getting hot,” she reminded him right back and Tate turned his body to her and the way he did made me shrink back a bit because I didn’t know him all that well but I knew he was serious and his serious was a bit scary.
“Yeah, Krys, and it was gettin’ hot because I was gettin’ close.”
I felt my eyes get big, so hopeful I was no longer scared of big, handsome, well-built, serious Tate Jackson, I leaned in and whispered, “To what?”
Tate turned to me and answered, “Don’t know. Somethin’. Victim was shot but the murder weapon never found, more than one source told me the victim was known to Gene Fuller and Eugene Fuller makes Arnie Fuller look like a fuckin’ Boy Scout.”
“How was the victim known to Fuller?” I asked.
“Dealer and, word is, Fuller likes his blow,” Tate answered.
Lady Luck Page 22
