by Marla Monroe
“Irish and I will walk you to your car.” Turk placed one hand at the small of her back as the two men escorted her around the back of the building.
They walked her over to where her car sat parked under one of the light poles. Despite it not yet being fully dark, the light was on and illuminated her beat-up old automobile as if it were on a stage. She couldn’t help the embarrassed burn in her cheeks that they’d see the piece of crap she drove. It got her where she needed to be even if it didn’t look like much.
“You going to be okay to drive home?” Turk asked her.
“Yeah. I only had two beers, and I ate, so I’m fine.” Piper started to reach for the door handle, but Irish beat her to it.
When he opened the door, she slid behind the wheel and looked up at the two men standing over her. Both were amazing to look at. Hell, all of the men in The Ghost Riders were hot looking. These two were just more. More intense, more amazing, more tempting.
No. Not tempting. I’ve got too much going on to even think about one of them. I sure can’t start mooning over a man while I’ve got Mr. MacCreepy hounding me.
“Be careful going home, Piper. Keep your doors locked until you get there,” Turk said.
“Give me your cell phone,” Irish said out of the blue.
“What?”
“Give me your cell. I’m going to program our numbers in it so you can text us when you get home and are safely inside. That way we know you’re okay.”
She started to argue, but when Irish’s brows bunched, she sighed and dug her phone out of her little purse. She handed it up to him then took it back when he’d finished.
“You heard Irish. When you’re back home and have the door locked, text us that you’re there. Otherwise we’ll be coming over to check on you. You matter to Jessie, so you matter to us.” Turk stepped back as Irish closed her door.
Piper shivered at the way they seemed to stare right into her soul. She drove home thinking about them and how attracted to them she’d been. Nothing could come of it since she wasn’t interested in twisting the sheets with them for a one-time deal. She wanted a long-term relationship once she’d gotten rid of her stalker. But Piper knew she’d be dreaming of them when she went to bed that night.
* * * *
“I can’t get that pretty redhead off my mind.” Irish admitted to Turk the next day.
“Piper? Neither can I. She’s a cute little thing. Love those curves, and that husky voice got me hard as a fucking rock,” Turk said.
“Hell, all of that red hair that she had pulled back in a ponytail looks like heaven to me. I bet it almost reaches her ass. I’ve imagined it falling over her shoulders as she rides me.”
“Are you seriously thinking about her or just curious?”
“Yeah, I’m serious. I never dreamed Jessie’s friend would be someone I’d want to get to know, but she’s hot, Turk. I love those light blue eyes and the way she licks her lips when she’s nervous. She’d fit perfectly between us, man.”
Turk cocked his head. “You are serious. Yeah. I like her. I’m just not holding my breath that she’ll give us the time of day. She’s a college graduate. Neither of us really went to college. I don’t think a few classes will count.”
“You both talked the same language when you were talking about web pages and computers and crap. I don’t think she’s the least bit snooty, Turk.”
“Neither do I, but there’s something about her that gave me the feeling she isn’t looking for a boyfriend.
“Hell, we aren’t boyfriend material. We’re hardcore. She isn’t going to want a boyfriend. She’s going to want a man to take care of her. Where do you get that boyfriend shit?” Irish asked.
Turk sighed. “It felt like she was holding herself back for some reason is all I’m saying.”
“Do you think she’s really a prostitute and doesn’t want to get serious about anyone because of it?” Irish asked.
“I don’t know. She didn’t dress like one, but then she wasn’t looking for a john. Maybe we’ve got that part all wrong, but something feels off about her.”
“Fuck. I was hoping it was just me. I got the same idea. She flinched around us too much. Either she was nervous because of the whole biker thing, or she’s got a reason to be nervous around men in general. That bothers me.”
“Me, too. Think Jessie will know anything about what has Piper so on edge?” Turk asked.
“I don’t know. If it’s something bad, I’d think she’d have told her men to take care of it. That makes me believe that she doesn’t know.”
“You’re right. She wouldn’t let a friend suffer if she could do something about it. That leaves us at square one.”
Irish drew in a deep breath then let it out in a whoosh. “How do you feel about her if she is a prostitute?”
“Is it any different than Cindy or Kelly? No, they don’t charge us, but they are available to us all the time,” Turk said.
“I don’t know. It bothers me, but maybe not to the point that it’s a deal breaker. I like her. She’s interesting and relaxing all at the same time.” Irish cocked his head. “How ’bout you use your computer skills and find out more about her for us?”
“That’s right along the line of what I was thinking, man. Let’s see what she might be hiding.”
“What do we know about her? She just finished earning her degree, so she has a college record somewhere. She used to live in Dallas before she moved back here. Oh, and she drives a shitty car. Not much to go on,” Turk murmured as his fingers flew across the keys.
Irish watched his cousin hack into one system after another gathering information about Piper. He should feel guilty about doing it, but all he could think about was how she’d cringed or jerked away from them when they got too close to her or asked too many personal questions. Her pretty blue eyes had grown as wide as saucers and her hands trembled like a junkie needing a fix. It bothered him more than he liked to admit.
Was she afraid of them, of bikers, or of men in general? Was she being abused or had she been in the past? That idea had his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. No woman should ever have to fear what a man could do to them. They should be cared for and protected from all the dangers in the world. A real man would do that.
“You know I work better when you’re not crowding me, man. Go work on the books or something and stop staring over my shoulder.” Turk’s voice sounded distracted as his fingers raced across the keys.
“Yeah, okay.” He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly before walking across the room to plop down behind his desk.
He wanted to be doing something to find out more about Piper, but he had to leave that up to Turk. The man was a genius when it came to digging with his computer. If there was anything to learn, he’d pull it out of the keyboard sooner or later. He’d once worked for the U.S. government when they’d recruited him for his hacker skills despite not having the education their other recruits had, but he’d had retired early after he’d uncovered some information that jaded him concerning his government. He hadn’t been naive enough to think they were always on the up and up, but whatever he’d learned had made him bitter. Irish never asked him about it.
He’d joined Irish a month later offering his killer computer skills to The Ghost Riders, and he and Turk had been inseparable ever since. It ran deeper than the fact that they were cousins. He ran the business side of the club, keeping the books and handling the day-to-day operations, and Turk handled all the rest.
Irish concentrated on updating the books with the last few days’ activities, but thoughts of the pretty redhead kept creeping into his head. While he and Turk dated separately most of the time, they’d bedded women together occasionally, as well. They wanted a permanent woman between them one day, but so far, they hadn’t found one who spoke to both of them.
They knew sharing a woman could work long term since several of the other men in their club did it, including their president and vice president, Reese and
Dominic. They shared Raven, who happened to write romance novels. Jessie, Ginger, River, and Delta all lived with two men. Each of the triads had built a home on The Ghost Rider land, and now Raven and Jessie were pregnant. Raven was due the next month.
He looked up when Turk sighed and cursed under his breath.
“Find anything yet?” he asked.
“Fucking firewalls at the university are taking longer to get through than I planned. I’ll get it. So far, I haven’t found where her money is coming from, but I have a program working on that. She gets various amounts credited to her account every week from a shell corporation called Isis Entertainment Group. It’s a good bit of money, but it barely covers her bills. She’s got student loans that are draining the majority of her finances.”
“So, she’s handling web stuff for this company, sounds reasonable.”
“Except that it’s only a front for another company,” Turk explained.
“So, you think there’s something to hide?”
“Most smaller corporations have holding companies, but there’s a direct connection that you can easily see with the parent company. There isn’t one with this Isis Entertainment Group.”
“You’re right. There must be a reason why they’re trying to hide behind another company.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll figure them out. While that program is running, I’m trying to research Piper’s education to see what that shows.”
“It took her several years longer than the standard four years for her to graduate. That means she worked and went to school. Any idea how she earned her money while she was in school?” Irish asked.
“Working on that, too. So far, the money she’s getting now has been entering her account for the last four and a half years. Before that she was barely making ends meet. Whatever it is she’s doing now made it possible for her to pay her bills while she took classes. Now back off, man. I’m busy, and you trying to tell me what to do is just slowing me down.”
“Sorry. I’m going to get a beer. When you find something, come get me.”
“Fine. Go.”
Irish pushed off from the desk and stalked across the room and out into the main part of the building. He walked over to the bar, and Gill, one of their prospects, opened a bottle and handed it to him without a word. He knew what Irish wanted.
“Hey, Irish. Want to sit by me?” Cindy, one of the club’s women, called out.
“Hey, Cindy. Not right now.” He didn’t feel like messing around with the woman when Piper was on his mind. It didn’t seem fair to Cindy and didn’t sit well in his gut since he was jonesing over Piper.
He decided to wander out into the garage to see what they were working on. Vernon had mentioned that they’d started working on a custom bike for some movie star in California. He’d sent them the requirements and asked for an estimate. Irish had worked up a proposal based on parts costs and time needed to build it, and they’d won the contract.
Vernon and Rhodes looked up when he walked into the garage.
“Slumming?” Rhodes asked with a grin.
“Right. Just wanted to make sure you jack-offs were actually working.”
“Got the framework pretty much finished. Gonna start on the motor once we finish this.”
“Why are you really out here other than to jerk our chain?” Vernon asked.
“Has Jessie talked about Piper much?”
Vernon exchanged glances with Rhodes. Irish should have kept his mouth shut. They’d ride him about it now.
“You interested in her or just passing time?” Rhodes asked.
“She’s pretty. A little skittish, but all that red hair and those blue eyes are hard to resist.” He turned up the bottle and drained it before tossing it in a garbage can.
“She’s Jessie’s friend. I don’t think she’d like it if you mess around with her,” Vernon pointed out.
“I’m not planning on just messing around with her. Turk and I both are interested in her. What do you know about her?”
“Fuck, man. This won’t go well.” Rhodes stood and planted his hands on his hips. “She just graduated from college with a degree in something related to computers. She works a lot because she has student loans to pay back. Jessie’s been talking with her off and on since she got together with us but hadn’t spoken to her before that because of Tussler. He’d forbidden her to have anything to do with Piper because the woman was urging Jessie to leave, just pick up and walk away.”
“I pretty much already know all of that. What don’t I know?” Irish asked.
“That’s about all we know. Jessie said she was shy around men and hadn’t dated much according to what Piper told her.”
“Just shy around men, or is she afraid of them?” Irish pushed.
“Shy as far as I know. Why? Did you pick up on something?” Rhodes asked.
“Turk and I both felt like she was nervous around us. More so than just shy. It might be because we’re members of The Ghost Riders and she’s nervous around bikers in general. Can’t say as I blame her considering Tussler, but it seemed like more. If she hasn’t dated much, then I’m not sure what it is.”
“More than likely it’s the whole biker thing since Tussler hassled her so much and even threatened her a few times. He didn’t rough her up any, but Jessie said he was pretty graphic about what he’d do to her if she continued to talk to Jessie.” Vernon tossed a grease rag into a pile before standing. “If you guys are serious about her, you’re going to have to go slow and give her some space. I don’t want Jessie upset now that she’s pregnant.”
“I hear you. We won’t do anything to upset your woman. Just thinking right now.”
“Give us a heads-up if you plan to do more than think about her,” Rhodes told him.
“Will do.”
Irish hoped Turk turned up something about her soon. The itchy feeling between his shoulder blades wouldn’t go away. Something was up with Piper, and he had a feeling he wouldn’t like it once they learned what it was.
Chapter Five
“What do you think? She does that sort of thing. It couldn’t hurt to see if she’s any good since we’re looking for someone to take over the pages. All the companies I’ve found either flat refuse to work on them or charge an arm and a leg. I’m sick of dealing with that ass-wipe we’re using for a webmaster.” Turk leaned his elbows on the desk as he looked over the monitors at Irish.
“I’m all for it, but you better ask Reese and Dom to be sure they’re okay with it. That means that someone from town but outside the club will know about the business.”
Turk sighed. Irish was right, but he was sick of the mess the site had gotten in with no answer from the asshole who was supposed to be keeping it going for them.
“My programs didn’t find anything hinky about her. I still can’t figure out that shell corporation, but I’m working on it. Whatever she does for them, she’s still doing it and has been for the last four years.” Turk leaned back in the chair.
“She’s probably working on a website for them as the webmaster and that’s why the steady influx of money. You said it’s never the same amount, so it probably depends on how much time she spends on the site.”
“If she works for us, we’ll see her more often,” Turk pointed out.
“There is that.”
“We can spend time with her and get her used to both of us that way.”
“I said I was all for it.”
“I’ll talk to Dom about it.”
“You going to tell him we’re interested in her?”
“Might sway him if I do.
“Or it might backfire and he says no.”
“Well fuck.”
“Ask him. We’ve got nothing to lose if he says no. We’ll just have to figure out another way to spend time with her. The girls are planning to do spa day out on Saturday. Maybe we can talk Reese into letting us take them.”
“I can’t imagine one of them not going with Raven so far along in the pregnancy.”
“Yeah, you’re right. At least one of us should be able to go. Ask after you’ve asked him about the web page shit.”
“How did it become my job to ask him everything?” Turk asked.
“The website is your baby,” Irish pointed out.
Turk sighed and stood. “Might as well get it over with.”
He walked down the hall to where Dom’s office was and knocked once before walking in when Dom called out that he could.
“What’s up, Turk? Get the web page taken care of?” Dom asked.
“No. That’s why I’m here. I can’t find anyone with the right experience that isn’t going to fleece us. The business is a big chunk of our income. We might have to choose one of the high-dollar companies, but I have another idea if you’re okay with it.”
“What’s that?” Dom rocked his chair back.
“Jessie’s friend Piper has a degree in graphic design and website something or other. How about we give her a try with them?”
“I don’t know. That will put someone outside the club in town knowing our business, Turk.”
“I know, but she’s Jessie’s friend, and she needs the money. We can ask her to sign a privacy thing and warn her not to blab about it. I don’t think she will since she’s just starting out and we could ruin her if we sent out a tweet or something accusing her of violating our privacy clause.”
“Are you sure you can’t find anyone else to handle the sites? I hesitate in using Piper. We don’t know that she’s any good.”
“I know, but if she can’t handle the sites, no big deal. We haven’t lost anything and we’re right back to where we were. We’ll have to shell out the bills to get everything up and running again.”
“She may take one look at the sites and balk.”
“Somehow I don’t think she will. We talked a lot at the barbecue the other day, and she doesn’t sound like a snobby bitch at all.”
“Okay. I hope I don’t regret this.” Dom sighed and leaned forward again. “Make sure I don’t.”
