After dumping the latest one in the bathroom trash, I came back to find her sprawled facedown with the sheet riding low on her hips. She was beautiful in repose. The lines of her back sloped flawlessly into the perfect curve of her ass. My brain wanted to pick apart my thoughts from earlier, but I refused.
Telling myself I was only going to hold her for a bit before I woke her up to go home, I wrapped myself around her soft, perfect body. And promptly fell asleep.
The ringing of my phone woke me. Disoriented, I looked around in confusion before I leaned over and fumbled around with my jeans to get to the back pocket. The time said it was barely five in the morning.
“Yeah,” I said in a voice coarse from sleep.
“Prez, I got bad news.” Hacker’s voice was low and unsteady.
That woke me up in a hurry, and I sat up. My eyes locked on Hailey’s naked body curled up in my bed. Shit.
“Should we call everyone in now?” I asked as I prepared to get out of bed.
“Vinny is sending the message out now with your approval,” he responded.
“Do it. I’ll be there in fifteen.” Tossing the phone to the nightstand, I gently shook her shoulder.
“Babe, we fell asleep. It’s five o’clock.” The words had no sooner left my lips than she bolted up with her locks a wild mess.
“In the morning?” she shouted as she shoved the curtain of her hair out of her face, eyes wide in unhappy surprise. Tits bared to my view, nipples peaked from the AC, she whipped the covers back. I fought a groan as my cock came to life.
“Yeah,” I said as I cupped one tit and hefted it in my hand. My fingertips teased her nipple. More than anything, I wanted to lean over and pull that peak into my mouth, but the realistic side of me surfaced. “I need to go over to the clubhouse. Something came up.”
She was already out of the bed and pulling her clothes on. The entire time, she was muttering about fucking up, that she should’ve been home hours ago, that she hoped no one else was awake.
If I didn’t have a situation to tend to, I might’ve found it funny and pulled her back into bed. Since I did, I chuckled at her and shook my head. When I walked my naked ass toward the bathroom to grab a quick shower, she darted out of the room.
“Later!” she yelled down the hall before I heard the kitchen door close and then the garage door rolling up.
Shaking my head again, I rushed through cleaning the smell of sex off me, getting dressed, and out the door.
That turned out to be a day I wished I’d said fuck it and stayed in bed.
Hailey
“Come A Little Closer”—Cage The Elephant
All day, I’d hoped that we’d hear something good about Danielle’s whereabouts. Yet as I prepared to leave for the day, there still hadn’t been a word.
I shot a text to Luke to see if he wanted to come to my place tonight.
Luke: Can’t tonight. Club stuff.
My heart dropped as I read the words, and I realized I was way more disappointed that my casual sex partner was bailing on me than I should be. “Girl, you need to get a grip. No feelings. Remember?” I muttered to myself.
“Um, are you okay?” I looked up to see Justine standing in my doorway.
“Hey, girl,” I said with a tired smile. “Sorry, just thinking out loud.”
“I thought maybe after yesterday you could use a drink. Now I see I was right. We can either hit the Oasis, or I have a few bottles of wine chilling at my place.”
As a dispatcher, she knew what had happened.
The thought of going to the Oasis made me think of Luke again. Bad idea.
“Let’s go to your place.”
“Sounds good. Then if we drink too much, I can stumble to bed and you can crawl on the couch.” She chuckled, and I grabbed my shit and followed her outside.
“I’m going to stop by my house to grab a change of clothes. You know, just in case,” I said with a raise of my brow, though I had no intention of getting blitzed on wine.
“Babe, don’t worry about it. You can fit in my clothes.”
“Okay, but I draw the line at wearing your panties. I’m washing mine.” I wrinkled my nose, and she laughed.
“Whatever trips your trigger. Let’s go. Wine awaits.”
I followed her to her place and parked on the street. She had a single lane driveway and a small garage full of the things she’d gotten when her mom passed away. Her place was little but tidy.
She was unlocking her side door as I climbed out of my car. Shouldering my bag, I traipsed up to follow her inside. When she flipped on the lights, I dropped my stuff on her counter.
“Let me grab you some comfy clothes,” she said and disappeared into her room. She returned to toss me some unicorn leggings and an oversized T-shirt that said, ‘I got lucky at the Shamrock’. There was the silhouette of a pole dancer. I shook my head with a huffed laugh.
“Where the hell did you get this?” I asked as I held up the shirt.
A secretive smirk was followed by “Go change and I’ll tell you.”
“Uh-huh. Is it clean, and was it Phillip’s?” Phillip was her ex-boyfriend who had cheated on her with one of the strippers from that place named Cherry. She was a skanky bitch.
She laughed as she comically waggled her brows. “Definitely not Phillip’s.”
Wanting to know the story, I hurried to the bathroom to change, and she went in her room still laughing. Once we were both sitting in her living room, candles burning and wineglasses filled, I demanded, “Okay, spill.”
With a half-shrug followed by a dreamy look, she said, “I had a one-night stand with a bad boy.”
“Good for you,” I said, raising my glass in salute. “So how was it?”
“Amazing and all damn night. Unfortunately, not long-term material. Now that I’ve told you my secret… what’s the deal with you and Snow?”
“Snow?” I asked as if I was confused.
“Girl, do not play dumb with me. Luke Matthews. President of the Demented Sons and all-around Hottie McSizzle.” Her lips curled in self-satisfaction as she took a sip of the deep red wine.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” I offered before I gulped my entire glass and poured another. When I looked up, she was leaning forward, elbows on her knees and glass dangling by the brim from her fingertips.
Dammit, I had hoped to tell Justine before she found out from gossip.
“Hailey. This is small-town Iowa. There are no secrets in a place like this.” Her deadpan expression accompanied her long, measured stare and another sip of wine.
My breath came in short spurts, and sweat broke out over my lip. No one was supposed to know. Then again, when I left his house that morning, I was observed by Luke’s nosey neighbor outside with her dogs. At five in the morning. Who was up that early? Other than nosey neighbors, I guess.
“Who told you?”
“Edith Bowman,” she said with pursed lips.
“Oh my God! She just saw me this morning!” Edith was Luke’s neighbor. She was also Alba’s mother. I hadn’t known that before today when she’d “popped in” to see if Alba wanted to go to lunch. The woman had to be eighty-five if she was a day, but as spry and sharp as someone half her age. And obviously more than nosey; she was a gossip.
“Well, after her lunch with her daughter, she stopped by the station to make a noise complaint. Seems her neighbor rides a loud motorcycle and often gets home late at night.” Justine smirked. I sighed and rolled my eyes.
“Jesus deliver me from old busybodies and relentless friends,” I muttered before I guzzled my glass dry again. The last of the bottle filled it up.
“So are you seeing him then?” she prodded.
“No. It’s just, um, well…. We both lead busy lives, and neither of us has time or energy for a relationship.”
“But you have the energy for hot wild monkey sex?”
“Oh for the love of God, Justine.”
“Is he good? Please tell me he’s good. No. Scra
tch that. Tell me he’s a fucking machine. Tell me you have countless orgasms at the mercy of his massive dick! Is he hung?” At her words, my face heated.
“I—”
“He is! Holy shit! You better give me the deets. Right. Effing. Now! My bad boy was several months ago. I need to live vicariously through you!” she whined and held her hands as if in prayer—with a wineglass in them.
“I’m not discussing my sex life!” If I thought my cheeks couldn’t burn hotter, I was so wrong. I was pretty sure there were flames licking at them.
“Then at least tell me—more than one orgasm a night?”
I pulled my lips between my teeth and nodded. She squealed excitedly.
“Every night?” Her eyes twinkled, and glee curled her lips.
“Most,” I admitted.
“Well, hot damn, that’s what I’m talking about!”
I was surprised she was insanely ecstatic for me. “Really?”
“Girl, fuck the gossip and bang Luke “Snow” Matthews as long and as hard as you can.” I about choked on my tongue when she said that.
Instead, I finished the wine and opened the second bottle.
I’d been kicking myself all day for my poor decisions the night before. My pounding head wouldn’t quit, I’d puked up my lunch Justine had packed for me, and my eyes were burning. Wine hangovers were the worst for me, which was why I usually only had a few glasses max, not a few bottles.
There had been no word on Danielle. I’d called the police station to see if they’d heard anything, but of course they had nothing to report on an ongoing investigation. I’d barely gotten a thing done.
The day had been so awful, I hadn’t had time to realize there hadn’t been a single peep from Luke since last night when he blew me off. So when he sent me a text to see if I wanted to come over, I sat there staring at my phone.
The thought of doing anything but curling up in a ball made me start dry heaving.
Me: Tonight’s not a good night
The dots flashed, then disappeared several times. My brow lowered in confusion. It made me wonder what the heck he was typing and erasing.
Except the message that came through was one word.
Luke: Fine
“Fine? That’s it? Fine?” I asked out loud, flabbergasted.
Then I laid my forehead to the cool wood of the desk. It was time to call it a day. My hand fumbled blindly for the phone. When I bumped the receiver, it fell to the desktop with a clatter that made me wince. Then I felt around until I hit the first button on the bottom row.
“Yes, Hailey?” Alba asked entirely too cheerfully, in my opinion.
“I’m not feeling well. I think I’m going to leave a little early.”
“Is there anything I can do?” she asked kindly.
“No, but thank you.”
I ended the call and pulled my drawer open with my head still on the desk. The sunglasses I’d borrowed from Justine as she’d laughed in my face that morning went back on.
“Goodnight,” Alba called out, and I gave a silent wave without glancing her way.
My feet were killing me as I crossed the lot and got in my car. Justine’s shoes were a size too small, but they matched the blouse I’d borrowed from her perfectly. The drive home was made in blessed silence. I parked in the garage, went inside, drew all the blinds, popped some Tylenol, and fell into bed.
My dreams were plagued by a bearded biker who kissed me head-to-toe before making me scream his name.
Snow
“Bad Company”—Five Finger Death Punch
“You found out a ticket was purchased in Danielle’s name, but she never got on any of the buses last night?” I asked Hacker as he sat at the table looking pissed. He hated it when he couldn’t find something.
“Yeah. I’m telling you, I watched every second of video from the bus station. She wasn’t there.” He crossed his arms.
“Do you know who bought the ticket?” Soap asked.
“It was bought online after I’d checked everything the night it happened. Whoever paid for it used a VPN and paid with a bogus digital account funded by multiple deposits from various other digital accounts. None secured with an actual bank account. I’ve never reached so many dead ends in a search. It was intentional, and someone was seriously covering their tracks,” Hacker said with a deep frown.
“So it was likely an attempt to lead authorities away from here to make it look like Danielle left the area to go home to Phoenix?” Reaper asked as he tapped the table.
“That was my thought,” I said with a frustrated sigh.
We hashed out everything we knew—which wasn’t much.
Other than making sure everyone was updated on what had happened with Danielle and finding out someone bought a bullshit ticket, church hadn’t been overly productive.
It hadn’t given us any information we didn’t already have, and I’d regretted cutting my morning short with Hailey. Not that I could’ve made her stay, but it would’ve been fun trying to convince her. Nor did we have any leads on the supplier of Black Night.
It seemed like we ended the meeting with more questions than we started with. After everyone dispersed and got to work, I returned a call to Baker. I told him what Hacker found out about the ticket. Neither they nor the city cops had found that yet. He told me he didn’t have anything to add but would touch base with me later, then hung up.
“Goddamn it,” I cursed as I tossed my phone to my desk.
Figuring I might as well head over to the Shamrock a little early, I hopped on my bike and drove to Spirit Lake. It was summer, and with all the college kids at the lakes and the tourists, we were hopping. Except, without much to do in our area besides ice fish and snowmobile, the Shamrock was a busy place in the winter too.
Zena was my manager there, and she was able to handle most things pretty well, but I needed to sign the paychecks and I’d take the deposit to the bank for her. She’d been one of our dancers, but she’d reached an age where she thought she was too old to be on stage. I’d always liked her, and she had a good head on her shoulders, so it had been a no-brainer when old Tom retired to Florida and I needed a new manager.
She knew the girls, knew what to look for in new dancers, knew the Shamrock like the back of her hand, ran a tight ship, and had been there over ten years.
“Hey, gorgeous,” she called out as I let myself in the back door. She lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply before blowing a cloud above her head. I raised my brow at her bold audacity.
“Zena, you know there’s no smoking in here since they passed that ordinance.”
She smirked. “So fire me.”
I laughed. We had the same conversation every time I came over.
“I’m gonna sign the checks. I’m a little early, but I’ll take the deposit to the bank too,” I said. She nodded, and I followed her back to the office to sit at the desk. Once a week I came over to sign checks and make the deposit to save her a trip to the bank. Sometimes, if I wasn’t busy, I’d do it more often, because I could be a nice guy when I wanted to be.
That one day a week I signed the checks was also the day I collected the cash from the extracurricular activities that didn’t run through the bar’s till. They were a large source of income.
After signing the checks, I stood.
She opened the safe, handed me the bank deposit, then rolled the chair to the side. I lifted the plastic chair mat and rolled the rug up. The second safe was in the floor under all that shit.
As I pulled the stacks of cash out, I raised a brow. “Damn. Busy week?”
A bark of laughter escaped her. “Yeah, you could say that. Gina’s pretty popular. We get a lot of requests for her private dances.”
“I’d say.” We weren’t pimps, but if the girls wanted to make extra money during their private dances, we got a cut for keeping them protected in case things got crazy. That rarely happened, because one or more of us were often there to help keep things in line. We had good bouncers, train
ed by Bull, who held shit together when we weren’t around.
The cops looked the other way because half of them were customers and didn’t want their families to know. The others couldn’t prove a damn thing.
“Wendy wanted to know if she could get an occasional customer in the private rooms.”
My gaze locked on her. “You trust her?”
She gave me an eye roll that I wouldn’t have tolerated from many. “Please. Do you think I’d have her working for me if I thought she wasn’t trustworthy?”
“True. Then do what you see fit. Ensure she knows the cut.”
“Will do.” Her eyes trailed over me. “Something different about you.”
“Huh?” I blurted out as I tucked the cash into my inner pockets of my cut.
“You look… different. Can’t put my finger on it, though.” She tapped a bloodred nail to her lip.
“I got a haircut?” I offered.
“No. Not like that. It’s something in your eyes.”
“More wrinkles?” I joked. She glared.
“Boy, you’re the same age as me, so if you start saying you’re old, I’m gonna kick your ass.” I laughed at her exaggerated snarl. She’d had a bit of a rough life, so she definitely didn’t sport a youthful glow, but other than smoking, she took care of herself.
“Boy? If we’re the same age, which I know we are, how are you gonna call me boy?” I tried to hide my grin. Zena was fun to spar with, but we’d never taken it further than that. She’d offered in the past, but I’d been with Cammie. Zena had never offered again. Not even after Cammie left.
“Well, I figure if I can convince you that you’re a boy, then it means I’m young too!” She chortled at her humor. Though I wanted to roll my eyes, her laughter was infectious.
“I gotta go, babe. Anything else you need from me?”
“Yeah, the Blue room needs new speakers. Two of them are all crackly.”
“I’ll have Soap come over to check on it.”
Twisted Steel: An MC Anthology: Second Edition Page 5
