by Jade Kuzma
Chapter 11
LACEY
I sliced at the steak and cut a piece off. Juicy. Tender. Moist. Examining it was just something I had to do.
“What are you doing?” he said.
“I just want to make sure it’s cooked properly.”
“There’s a better way of making sure it’s cooked properly.”
Ezra smirked. I grinned back and stuffed the piece into my mouth. I chewed on it, slowly nodding my head as the flavor came to me.
“How is it?” he asked.
“It’s… It’s good.”
“Just good?”
“Why does it matter if I think it’s good or not? You’re not the one eating it.”
“But you’re the one who’s going to be running my kitchen. I figure you should have a palate for everybody.”
“I don’t consider too much what customers want. People are picky. You can cook the best steak in the world just right and there’ll still be people who’ll find some reason to complain.”
“People can be assholes for any reason it seems.”
“They sure can.”
I smiled at Ezra then took another bite of steak.
Getting out of the diner was enough relief for me. Seeing Ezra again though was special. Every second I spent with him, he felt like less and less of a stranger. Now I was looking so forward to being around him that he was always in my thoughts when he wasn’t around.
We decided to meet tonight at a steakhouse. Ruth told me that apparently it was one of the nicer restaurants in Ivory. A small, family-owned business that’d been around for years. The atmosphere was nice and the crowd provided an ambiance that made me feel like I wasn’t totally alone with Ezra.
“You really did it,” I said. “You really scooped that place up.”
“I have a bit more paperwork to get through. But there’s nothing stopping me from getting the place outside of a few signatures.”
“Getting the place is one thing. Renovating the place entirely is something else. Not to mention—”
“Don’t forget who you’re talking to, Lacey. I’ve renovated places before. I know what it takes to turn a dump into something that people will want to spend their time inside of.”
“A home is one thing. But there’s more to it with something like a restaurant. You’re building a place for everybody. Not to mention the cost of everything…”
“I have more than enough to get the capital I need. It’ll all be done. There’s nothing that can stop it.”
Ezra’s confidence hadn’t wavered. Ever since I first met him, he was always so proud and sure of himself. If he was any other man, I would’ve thought that his idea was insane. I shook my head just thinking about it.
“You’re mad,” I said.
“I’m mad?”
“Yes. Opening a restaurant. Hiring some woman you met at a diner. This all seems like a bad idea.”
“Are you backing out of our agreement? Do you not want to work for me anymore?”
“No,” I said with a laugh. “It’s not that. I just… It’s crazy.”
“This is why you came to Ivory, isn’t it?”
I thought about it for a moment. So many thoughts were running through my mind. There was still a part of me that was trying to make sense of everything.
“It’s…”
“What is it?” he asked.
I shifted my eyes away from him, staring down at the floor. Even with Ezra’s reassurances, I couldn’t shake the feeling I had.
“It’s a risk,” I said. “A big risk. I just don’t want this to fail.”
“Neither of us wants this to fail.”
“I know. But you have more to lose. I don’t want to be the reason that things don’t work out. Maybe you should actually get someone who has more experience in the kitchen besides someone like me.”
“So…”
He leaned back in his seat and put his knife and fork down.
“…You are backing out of our agreement?”
“No, I’m not—”
“Lacey, you don’t have to worry about anything. You can tell me anything. It’ll be all right if you fall because I’ll be there to catch you.”
“And what about you? What if you fall? I don’t know if I’m strong enough to hold you up.”
“You’re stronger than you think.”
Just a sly little smirk on his face was enough to give me the reassurance I needed. Any confidence I lost came back to me. It was like he knew exactly what to say.
“Everything will be all right,” he said.
“I know. I also want you to know that I won’t let you down. I’m going to work hard. I’ve waited for this opportunity for a long time. I know how grateful I should be for this.”
“I don’t expect you to repay my gratitude. We’re both helping each other.”
“This is a bigger chance for me though. Especially from where I started.”
“What was it like?” he asked.
I didn’t have to think hard for the memories of the big city to come back to me.
“It was tough,” I said. “Working on a line. It’s so warm that you’re constantly sweating. Any mistake means you’re backed up and you have to find somewhere else to hopefully make up lost time. People are yelling and screaming at you. There are other people depending on you to do their job to make sure the food comes out right. Just one little mistake and a kitchen can turn into a disaster area.”
“But you made it.”
The way Ezra looked at me… The atmosphere in the restaurant was dark, which made his blue eyes even more striking than they already were. But there was something else. I believed what he said.
“Remember that,” he said.
“Remember what?”
“Remember how tough it was. No matter how hard it can get, it doesn’t make it impossible.”
“Are you speaking from personal experience?” I said as I raised an eyebrow at him. “Working those long hours on the farm must’ve taken a toll on you.”
“Working on the farm was nothing difficult,” he said with a laugh. “The hours were long but I got through it. It wasn’t until I got to the city that I faced an actual challenge.”
“Ha!”
Just like that, whatever nerves or anxiety I had about Ezra’s business plan were gone. Now I was laughing and smiling enough that I was looking forward to whatever was waiting for us.
“You must be used to things like this,” I said as I held a piece of steak up. “Fancy dinners. Fast cars. Lots of women.”
“I was never much for fancy dinners. I grew up on a farm. It doesn’t take much to satisfy me. The cars… Well, you see that I don’t drive one.”
“And the women?”
I raised an eyebrow in curiosity. He smirked and shrugged slightly.
“There were women,” he said.
“How many?”
“Oh… Are you going to play the numbers game now?”
“It’s not a game. I’m just wondering how many women a man like you has… encountered.”
Ezra ignored me, stuffing another piece of steak into his mouth and chewing it slowly as he stared at my chest.
“You’re a beautiful woman, Lacey.”
“Thank you,” I said, my grin growing even wider. “Stop trying to dodge the question.”
“I’m not dodging anything.”
“Then what’s the answer.”
“I’ll tell you what… you tell me first and I’ll give you my answer.”
“Oh, no!” I said as I waved my hands. “It doesn’t work like that. I asked you first. That means you answer first.”
“It doesn’t work like that.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Lacey… You care more about my number than I care about yours. I’m just as fine not saying anything.”
Dammit.
He’d gotten me. The way he chewed, his lips sealed with an obnoxious smirk…
“What’s it going to be?”
I sighed. “Tell you and you tell me or keep it a secret forever… Fine. I’ll tell you.”
“This should be interesting.”
Ezra’s sudden enthusiasm caught me off guard for a second. I widened my eyes and couldn’t stop myself from grinning.
“Go on,” he said. “I’m listening.”
“All right… Let’s see… There was the first guy in high school… Then there was…”
All of the memories started coming back. I immediately realized how embarrassed it was making me. I worked up enough guts to keep going but something stopped me.
I looked toward the entrance of the restaurant and saw a group of bikers walking in.
Is that…
I narrowed my eyes to make sure that I was seeing them right.
“Lacey?”
It was them. The same bikers from the other night at the bar.
“It’s them,” I said. “Those guys who were staring at us the other night.”
“Who?”
Ezra turned his head and spotted them. The smile left his face quickly as soon as he saw them. I knew something was wrong but I kept trying to keep my composure. If anything, I had to keep Ezra calm.
“That’s them, isn’t it?” I asked. “What was their name again—”
“Desert Rebels.”
“Right… Maybe it’s just a coincidence. Maybe they’re here to have dinner. This seems like a popular place—”
“Wait here.”
Ezra jumped up out of his seat before I could stop him.
“Ezra!”
I quickly followed after him and caught up just as he reached the front entrance.
“What are you doing here?” Ezra confronted the man standing in front of the other four bikers.
“Grant,” the man said. “What are the chances? First we’re having a drink together and now we’re having dinner—”
Ezra had never looked as intense as he did. He took a step forward until he was right in front of the biker. His jaw clenched and his fists balled, Ezra stood his ground.
“I know you’re up to something,” he said. “Don’t even think about it.”
I wanted to reach out and pull him away. There was no telling what either man was capable of. The tension in the entire restaurant built to the point that everybody else had turned their attention to the scene.
The biker smirked even though nobody else was smiling.
“Just wanted to have a nice steak with my friends. I guess we’ll find somewhere else to eat.”
“Yeah, you do that,” Ezra said.
“Let’s go, boys. It looks like we’re not wanted here.”
The man snapped his fingers and backed out of the restaurant. I watched through the window as they all got onto their bikes and rode away.
“Ezra.”
I grabbed him by the arm.
“Come on. Let’s go finish dinner.”
He sighed a soft breath through his nose and gave me a nod.
We went back to our meal but the scene had changed the mood. Ezra had his head down as he looked at the steak in front of him. I thought twice about asking him but I knew I couldn’t hold it back.
“What was that?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug.
“He said your name. How does he know your name—”
“I don’t know.”
Ezra looked up at me. The way he stared, all of the confidence was still there but it was no longer as unbroken as it was before. I genuinely believed that it was something that even he didn’t understand.
“They must be up to something,” I said. “If they know your name.”
“Lacey… I…”
“What is it?”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“You’ll take care of it. What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means exactly what I said. I’ll take care of it.”
“But—”
“Please. Don’t concern yourself with it. Where were we? That’s right, you were telling me about all of the men you’d slept with.”
His smile was enough to make me forget about the incident that just happened. It was still at the back of my mind but for now, all I wanted to do was enjoy his company.
“You know what,” I said. “I don’t really care about the women you’ve been with.”
“Now you understand.”
“Be honest though. You did want to know who I’ve slept with, didn’t you?”
He shook his head.
“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t care what happened as long as I’m the only one fucking you now.”
The grin slowly formed on his lips. I couldn’t stop myself from doing the same.
“Now?” I said. “No, you’re not fucking me now. But later tonight… We’ll see about that.”
Chapter 12
EZRA
I didn’t have a chance to indulge in Lacey as much as I wanted to. Not with all of the shit distracting me.
We had our fun. Another night of hard fucking that left both of us drained. Seeing her lying in bed that night… Skin pale and sweaty… Eyes closed… Chest rising and falling as she took deep breaths… Ink on her arm that reminded me of just who she was… She was fucking gorgeous.
And I knew I had business to take care of. That’s how I knew that this was some shit I had to handle.
I left Lacey that night and spent time with myself back at my hotel room. I went over the details in my mind.
What are my options?
It was obvious that the Desert Rebels were up to some shit. I could take it up with them personally. It wasn’t some shit that I couldn’t handle. But it was the concern on Lacey’s face that made me wanna take care of this as quick as I could.
I knew I didn’t have any options.
It was around noon when I showed up back to Hades the next day.
“Hey!” the bartender greeted me. “Rich man in the suit. What are you having today?”
“I’m not drinking. Not right now.”
“What are you—”
“I’m here to see Cain.”
“Cain… Right…”
The bartender looked me up and down for a second. Couldn’t blame him. You never let just anybody talk to a club president.
“…Gimme a second.”
The bartender disappeared into the backroom and a few seconds later, he walked out and pointed at me.
“That’s the guy,” he said.
Cain walked out and held his arms out.
“Well, well, well,” he said. “If it isn’t Grant. My man says here you wanted to talk to me.”
“That’s right.”
“What do you got to say?”
“It’s not just for you. It’s for the rest of your club, too.”
“Oh?” he said, raising an eyebrow. “This sounds important.”
“It is. Business.”
Cain gave me a confident smirk then nodded.
“I’ll get the boys,” he said. “Step into my office.”
I followed him into the back of the clubhouse and into a room where two other men were already waiting. Cain closed the door behind me.
“Have a seat,” he said.
They were staring at me but it didn’t make me uncomfortable. I’d been stared at my entire life. A couple of bikers weren’t gonna change things.
“This man right here is Roman Rock,” he said as he pointed at one man. “My VP.”
Roman gave me a nod. Dark hair. Tattoos all over his arms and all the way down to his fingers. His demeanor was calm but I knew he was capable of anything. The kind of motherfucker who could snap at any moment. I’d met guys like him before.
“And this here is Joker,” Cain said.
“Hunter,” the other man said.
Hunter certainly looked like a Joker. A confident grin on his lips like he was better than everybody else. I guess you had to be cocky to be in an MC. I didn’t judge him one way or another. The motherfucker looked like he knew how to h
andle himself.
“All right,” Cain said as he held his hands out. “What do you want us to do with the Desert Rebels?”
I turned to Cain and gave him a blank stare. He smirked and shook his head as he chuckled.
“What?” I said.
“The Desert Rebels,” he said. “Those guys that were here the other day. That’s what this is about, isn’t it?”
“I—”
“I’ve lived in Ivory all my life,” Cain said. “I’ve got people. Little birdies telling me who’s who and what’s what. Even if I didn’t, that incident you had with them would’ve been enough for a blind man to see.”
I looked at the other two men. Roman was staring at me, his eyebrows raised as he waited for my response. Hunter kept eyeballing me with the same grin he’d had this entire time.
“What do you know about them?” I said.
“They’re not from around Ivory,” Cain explained. “Information on new MCs that show up from out of town is hard to come by.”
“Then am I in the wrong place—”
“I didn’t say that. It’s only a matter of time until I get my intel. What I do know is the motherfucker in charge is Daniel Ellis.”
“Am I suppose to know who that is?”
“No. All you need to know is that he’s a piece of work. Assault and battery. Armed robbery.”
“The usual rap sheet for a thug like him,” Hunter said. “Nothing unusual in a town like Ivory.”
“Him and his crew are a bunch of nomads,” Cain said. “The kind of assholes who never make a home for themselves because they’re too busy fucking up every place they go to.”
“Now they’re in Ivory,” I said. “You can’t be too happy about that.”
“I don’t give a shit one way or another what MC comes or goes to this town. It only matters when it’s my business.”
Cain leaned forward and raised his eyebrows at me.
“Tell me something, Grant. Is this my business?”
It was obvious what he was getting at. There was no point in trying to hide it.
“I got money—”
“Oh, that’s what I like to hear!” Hunter interrupted me.
The other two members of the club eyeballed him and he sank in his seat.
“Ignore them,” Hunter said to me. “These motherfuckers wouldn’t know a good business deal if it hit ‘em in the face.”
Roman rolled his eyes and Cain chuckled.
