by Karen Renee
He chuckled. “You’re smarter than that, Kenzie. How much is she gonna love him after he gives her a ride around your block?”
I huffed out a breath in amusement. “You’re crazy.”
His eyes went serious. “No. She could’ve ridden behind me or Steph on Thanksgiving, when she asked. But Brute got there first by crouching in front of your girl to answer her question. I didn’t miss that, and you damn sure shouldn’t have missed it.”
Whether he knew Sandy was distracted with her shameless eavesdropping or not, I would never know, but Har stabbed his fork into the potato salad and sauntered off with a mouthful of salad before Sandy knew what happened.
I watched him go, thinking about how all of Brute’s brothers were exactly like a family when Sandy pulled me from my thoughts. “He’s worried.”
“I’m sorry?” I asked.
She tilted her head toward Har’s retreating form. “He’s worried about Brute. Don’t think your man’s been serious about one woman in thirteen years, and I think that concerns Har. Those two are thicker than thieves.”
I nodded. “Yeah, Brute’s mentioned that he’s close to Har.”
She started fussing with a platter of deviled eggs. “Yeah. That’s one way to put it.” She looked up at me. “I don’t have a lot to go on, but I’m pretty sure you and your daughter are exactly what the doctor ordered for Brute.”
Reluctantly, I smiled. “I might be what the doctor ordered for Brute, but my little girl... I’m not so sure. That’s a tall order for a lot of men.”
The spoon clattered against the bowl. Her hand shot to her hip, and I braced. “We haven’t spent much time together, you and I, but you listen good. Any man’s up for a tall order, it’s a Riot MC man. Don’t you dare let Brute get away from you because you got a daughter. You got it?”
I wanted to laugh for some perverse reason. If he wanted to get away from me, I wasn’t too sure I could possibly stop him.
My eyes widened with my smile. “I got it. And thanks for that. It’s quite a vote of confidence.”
She squinted at me. “Vote of confidence? It isn’t. It’s the damn truth, and you gotta cling to the truth when shit gets rough.”
“Woman,” a man said on a sigh. Then I saw Joules amble up beside Sandy. “Two things. One, do not lecture this young woman to the point she runs for the hills.”
“I’m not—”
He held up a finger. “The other thing, where’d you put the seasoning liquid for the chicken? I’m all out, and I don’t serve dry birds.”
Sandy shot a pointed look at the wine cooler bottle in my hand, then glanced at Stephanie and a couple other women, who all had drinks, before looking to Joules. “Ain’t a single dry bird here, baby.”
“Sandra, you know what—”
She gave him a saucy look. “Did you look inside the door of the fridge? Third shelf down on the far left. It should be right there unless someone moved it.”
He grinned, kissed her lips, then said, “Thanks, honey.”
While Sandy was semi-distracted by the kiss, I wandered away to find Brute. I followed Har’s path, but only came upon him, Roman, and two other men I hadn’t met yet. Before they noticed me, I doubled back and joined Stephanie and a few other women as inconspicuously as I could. Which meant my arrival was as conspicuous as it got.
“So glad you joined us,” Stephanie deadpanned.
I chuckled. “Thanks.”
A couple of the women broke away. I watched them leave, but before I could question it, Stephanie patted my arm. “Don’t let that bother you.”
I turned my face to hers. “What do you mean?”
She took in a deep breath. “I don’t know it for sure, but my guess is that... well, they’ve—”
“Been with him,” I finished.
Her lips pressed together and her chin dipped.
I turned to watch the two women, but Stephanie repeated herself with a minor addition. “Seriously. Don’t let that bother you.”
My eyes caught hers. “I won’t. Thanks for the reminder. It’s just... strange. I mean, even when I met Caleb I knew he’d had other women before meeting me, but none of them were around like this. Know what I mean?”
She grinned. “Yeah. I do.”
I gave her a sideways glance. “You do?”
She huffed out a laugh. “Har might have been up front about his sexuality, but that didn’t stop some women from trying to rub it in my face. I’m guessing Brute told you not to let them get to you, but I know it isn’t easy.”
“Speaking of Brute, where is he?”
“Right here,” he whispered in my ear, his arm snaking around my waist.
I looked over my shoulder at him. “Where did you come from? I looked around for you.”
He chuckled. “Thought you heard Sandy give me my marching orders. I’ve been out front forming hamburger patties for Block because they don’t form themselves.”
I nodded. “Right. For some reason I thought she was talking to someone else.”
“Been watchin’ you for a couple minutes. The two women who left when you joined Steph, they say anything to you?”
I shook my head. “No, but Stephanie told me not to let it bug me.”
He nuzzled my neck. “Good. Wanna go to my room?”
I turned around. “I thought you were hungry.”
His lips spread into a slow smile. “I am.”
Heat furled in my belly. “All right.”
Brute
BEFORE BRUTE LET THEM into his room, his cell rang. He checked the display, to see Meg calling.
“Hey, Meg. You know it’s a holiday weekend—”
“Yeah, call me crazy, but I thought I’d come into the office today and get a jump on some end of the month stuff. Only, when I got here, the whole office has been ransacked.”
“Ransacked?”
“Yeah. You want me to call the cops?”
He tilted his head back. “No. I’ll be there soon.”
“I’m surprised the alarm didn’t go off,” she said.
“Don’t have an alarm, Meg. Lock the door, me and a few brothers are on our way.”
As he tucked his cell into his back pocket, Kenzie put her hand on his bicep. “Is she okay?”
The concern in her bright blue eyes made him admire her even more. “Yeah, baby. You good to hang with Stephanie?”
Irritation replaced the concern. “I’m coming with you, Brute.”
“Kenzie—”
“You said ‘ransacked,’ and I’m as good as the next person at helping to sort shit out. I’m coming with you, Sam.”
He sighed. “I don’t have time to argue with you, Zee. Don’t make me regret this.”
As he led her out the back door, he heard her whisper, “As if.”
TURNED OUT KENZIE WASN’T the only one who insisted on tagging along. By the time he pulled up to his office, half his MC brothers were roaring up on their bikes behind him.
He led Kenzie, Har, Stephanie, Cynic, Roman, and Gamble into his office.
“Jesus,” Roman muttered, turning in a circle to take in the entire room. “I get that this asshole wants to find his brother, but this takes things to a whole other level.”
“No shit,” Brute muttered.
Roman’s light brown eyes speared him. “But, why?”
“I think he’s crazy,” Kenzie said from behind Meg’s desk.
“Well, that’s obvious,” Roman said.
Kenzie stood. “No. I mean, he’s crazy enough that all of this is personal. Too personal. Like I told Brute a few weeks ago, this guy shouldn’t care who I’m dating. But then for him to say a single mom shouldn’t expose her daughter to a criminal... that’s taking it too far. This is just more of the same. And evidence that he’s not right in the head.”
The men fell silent at that.
“Which is exactly why they should’ve called in the police,” Meg said.
Kenzie’s eyes widened and her head tilted in agreement.
<
br /> “They don’t do shit like that,” Stephanie called from just inside Brute’s office.
“Steph,” Har muttered.
“What? She works for him, she needs to know.”
Meg sighed. “But you’re all assuming you know exactly who did it. What if you’re wrong?”
Roman smiled at her. “If we’re wrong, then this is random and begs the question, why would someone bust into a business office? And, if it were someone unrelated to the situation Brute’s facing, why weren’t any other businesses broken into also?”
Meg’s lips pursed at Roman. “Okay. Then you’re right. The question is, ‘why,’ so do you have any answers?”
“Might. But I won’t be sharing them with you.”
Brute shot Roman a look. “You got answers?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Speculation is what I got, but we’ll talk later.”
Kenzie looked at Meg, “Did you receive your permanent debit card from the bank?”
Meg hesitated. “Yes, but...” She opened her top desk drawer, lifted a pencil tray and heaved a relieved sigh. “They didn’t take it.”
Kenzie swung her eyes his way. “And you? I’d assume you would have your debit card on you, but...”
“Yeah, I keep mine with me, but the check book is a—”
“No, boss. That’s here, too.”
Roman pointed at Meg. “Another sign this is somebody with a vendetta.”
Something told Brute Roman was right. He looked at Meg. “All of your files were tossed. Did you get your copies of the most recent proposals together?”
She looked at Kenzie, then rifled through the piles. “I might be wrong, but three of... no, two of them are missing. The Brown file, you know, the bathroom remodel, where he wanted two prices. And the city project I found out about several days ago.”
Gamble poked his head out of Brute’s office. “What’s that fucker gonna do with a couple of files?”
“I don’t know,” Brute grumbled, clenching his jaw.
Kenzie put her hands on her hips. “Could he do something to those properties? Or... maybe approach those clients and, I don’t know, misrepresent you?”
“Fuck,” Brute breathed.
“This asshole needs to be dealt with,” Roman declared.
“You have a way of stating the obvious,” Meg said.
Roman stared at her for a long moment, then winked.
Har looked from Brute to Meg. “You drive the Corolla parked out front, Meg?”
She nodded.
“You’re giving Steph and Kenzie a ride home or to the clubhouse.”
“Excuse me,” Stephanie said, as Kenzie started to protest.
Brute looked at her. “No. He’s right. You three finish up here.”
“Steph, text me where you’ll be,” Har said, walking to the door.
Gamble, Roman, and Har left.
As he followed them, Brute heard Stephanie say, “Knew I should have ridden separately today.”
He joined his brothers outside, and it sounded as though they were already planning.
“Tiny relieved the prospect two hours ago. Strickland’s been there all day according to them.”
Har dipped his chin. “We sure about that? No back exits or other modes of transportation we don’t know about?”
Gamble, who was still on the phone with Tiny, relayed the question to him. He shook his head. “Got it, yeah.” He focused on Har. “That house backs up to another house.”
Twenty minutes later, a different prospect took over watching the house for Tiny. They met Tiny at a fast food restaurant parking lot.
Har approached Tiny who was still astride his bike. “Strickland still in the house?”
“Yes. Told Finn to call me if he makes a move.”
Tiny’s phone rang and he took it out, shaking his head. “Speak of the devil. Yeah, Finn.”
Tiny looked at all of them. “He’s leaving. Taking his mom with him.”
Roman grinned. “Good. Time to fight fire with fire.”
Har glared at him. “We’re not setting—”
“Know that, Prez. I mean, I can see if he’s left the files behind.”
Har nodded. “Take Cynic with you. We’ll follow Strickland.”
For the first time, Brute hated not being charge, but since there wasn’t anything wrong with Har’s plan, he let it go.
They mounted their bikes and rode to a chain seafood restaurant. Finn unfolded from his Hyundai and lit a cigarette. “They were waiting for a table up until five minutes ago. So, I think they’re gonna be here a while.”
Brute itched to walk inside and drag Strickland from the table, but he knew better. He moved so Finn’s smoke wouldn’t hit him in the face and his phone rang.
“Yeah, Roman.”
“Nothin’ here. To be honest, if he’s got your files, he’s probably keeping them in his car.”
“Right,” he drawled. “Thanks for trying.”
“He had no luck?” Har asked.
Brute shook his head. “We need to leave.”
“What?” Gamble demanded.
“He’s probably got the files in his car, and even if he does, so what? It doesn’t prove anything except that he broke into my office.”
Gamble opened his mouth to protest, but Brute held up a hand.
“We’re not about to attack this guy in front of his mother. Hell, we assault him, it plays right into his hands.”
“I don’t care what you say, I’m keepin’ an eye on this asshole,” Finn said, blowing smoke away from the group.
“That sounds good. But it doesn’t mean you’ll earn your patch any quicker,” Har said.
Chapter Twenty-One
Give Yourself an Out
Kenzie
Half an hour after Brute and his brothers left, the office door swung open. Detective Tovar sauntered inside, looking around with such fake curiosity, I suspected he knew Strickland had broken in earlier. He eyed Stephanie for a long moment, gave Meg a cursory glance, then settled his gaze on me.
“Mrs. Whitehall—”
“It’s Ms., please.”
His chin dipped in the slightest nod. “Right. What are you doing in Mr. Vaillant’s office? And is he here, by the way?”
“My friend and I are helping Meg get organized. And no, Sam isn’t here. Would you like us to tell him you stopped by?”
He took in the room and shot me a skeptical look. “Helping her get organized? It looks more like this place has been ransacked.” He looked at Meg. “Is Mr. Vaillant paying you overtime?”
Stephanie said, “I’m sorry, but you’re a homicide detective, if I’m not mistaken. Don’t you have other things to investigate?”
I bit my lip to keep from smiling. Needling Tovar was a bad idea, but I admired her courage.
He gave Stephanie a cold look. “I do, but I find it strange Mr. Vaillant hasn’t reported what appears to be a break-in. You can drop the act that the three of you are ‘filing’ on a Saturday. Especially on a holiday weekend.”
I smiled. “It’s ‘Small-business Saturday’. I can’t afford a kitchen remodel, but I can support Sam’s business by helping his assistant if she needs it.”
His shook his head. “Tell Mr. Vaillant—”
“Tell me, what?” Brute asked from the door.
The detective turned to face him. “I wanted her to let you know I dropped by. Can we chat in your office?”
Brute debated it for a moment, then folded his arms on his bulky chest. “I think anything you have to say can be said in front of these women.”
Detective Tovar must have given him a look because Brute added, “One used to be my stepsister. The other one works for me, and you already know I’m involved with Kenzie. They’ll hear about it one way or the other.”
“We haven’t forgotten about you. You know more about Norris Strickland’s disappearance than you’re telling us, and we’re going to get the bottom of it.”
Brute held his hands out. “Have at it.
I’ve told you everything I know, which isn’t much.”
Detective Tovar sighed and walked around Brute to leave.
He closed the door, locked it, and turned to us. “You three done? Fuck it. I say you’re done. Steph, your man’s pulling in now. Meg, if you’ve got the number for Mr. Brown, leave that for me and get outta here. Thanks for comin’ in on a Saturday. This woulda been a bitch to deal with on Monday morning, so I mean it. Thank you.”
After Meg left, Brute gave my neck a squeeze. “Let me call this man, and make sure nobody tries to pull anything with him.”
I nodded, then planted myself in Meg’s chair.
BRUTE AND I SHOWERED together when we got back to my place. Since he didn’t load up on moisturizer after his shower, he was already in my bed when I padded out wearing my blue-violet floral print satin nightgown.
Both of his hands were tucked behind his head. He hadn’t put on a shirt, and his broad chest was on full display, the phoenix tattoo drawing my eyes like a target. I seriously liked seeing him in my bed.
His lips tipped up as he watched me. “You are so easy to read.”
I climbed into bed. “No doubt.” I snuggled up to his side and traced the phoenix. “I’ve told you before, but it bears repeating, I really like this tattoo.”
He wrapped an arm around me before giving me a short kiss. “That’s good, baby. And I’d love to let you explore, but after this long-ass day and what we did in the shower, I’m worn out.”
I rested my head on his chest. “All right. You think he’s gonna—”
His arm gave me a squeeze. “I’m not talkin’ about that in your bed. Though I do have something serious to discuss.”
My eyes caught his. “You do?”
“Lot of people have told me not to give into this asshole or your ex-husband.”
I leaned up. “You aren’t breaking—”
He put a finger to my lips. “Let me finish, Zee.”
As I lowered myself, I kissed his finger. “Fine.”
“But since I’m not letting either of those bastards run my life, I’m sticking with you.”
“Good,” I said, a little more forcefully than I intended.
He chuckled. “I need to know if you have a plan?”
