by L. Wilder
“Did you... uhh...?” He looked utterly shocked. “Did you just catch another one?”
“Looks that way.” I lifted the hook out of the water, revealing a nice-sized brim. “I guess you could say fish love me. They practically jump on my hook.”
“Is that right?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Jared leaned towards me and asked, “What are ya hiding over there?”
“Nothing.”
“Oh, no. You’re definitely hiding something.” He stepped over to me, then bent down and grabbed my package of hotdogs from the ground. As he held them up, he asked, “Hotdogs?”
“They’re great for bait, especially in big ponds like these.”
“And where did you learn that?”
“My father taught me.” I shrugged as I told him, “He used to take me fishing when I was little.”
“Yeah, my dad used to use them too.”
“Really? I thought it was a family secret,” I teasingly said with a giggle. I took the fish off the hook and tossed it back in the water, then grabbed another piece of hotdog and said, “You haven’t spoken much about your dad or the rest of your family. Are they still around?”
“My mother died a good while back, but my dad’s still around.” He reeled in his line, then cast it out into the water again. “I call him now and then, but he’s more interested in getting plastered than talking to me.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Jared. I had no idea.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. My ol’ man just couldn’t seem to get over losing my mom. Found his comfort in a bottle instead of with his family.”
“So, it was just you? No brothers or sisters?”
“One sister... Mallory.” I could hear the sorrow in his voice when he said, “She doesn’t want anything to do with Dad or me. She says it’s just too hard to be around us, that we remind her too much of Mom.”
“Oh, wow. I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“You aren’t the only one.” I could see the hurt and regret in his eyes when he glanced over to me. “I’ll never really understand it, but I still do what I can to look out for her. No matter what she says or does, she’ll always be my sister.”
Before I could respond, Jared’s fishing pole lurched forward, indicating that he’d not only caught a fish but a big one. He started reeling it in, but the pole jolted downward as the fish fought against the line. I stepped closer to him, attempting to get a better glimpse, while he turned the reel at a faster pace until the fish finally surfaced. It was three times the size of the two I’d caught. As soon as he’d pulled the large bass from the water, he took the hook from its mouth and held it in the air for me to see. “Now, that is how it’s done!”
“Not too shabby.”
“Are you kidding me? This baby has to weigh seven or eight pounds!”
“It’s a great catch, Jared.” There was no way that fish weighed eight pounds, but there was also no way I was going to ruin his big moment. “You should have her mounted.”
“Maybe next time.” He tossed the fish back into the pond, then stepped over to me with a sexy smirk. “I’m sorry I had to subject you to that, but I did try to warn ya.”
“That you did.” I couldn’t help but giggle as I slipped my arms around his waist. “But I think I’ll survive.”
“You sure about that?” He motioned his head behind us as he goaded, “We’ve got the house all to ourselves.”
“Well, when you put it that way...”
“Now we’re talking.”
Without wasting another moment, Jared leaned down and slipped his arm under my knees, lifting then carrying me back up the pier and to the house. As soon as we walked through the front door, Jared kissed me, and that was all it took. We didn’t make it anywhere near the bedroom before we started ripping each other’s clothes off. It seemed we couldn’t get enough of each other and made love all through the house. By the time we finally collapsed on the bed, we were both completely spent and staring up at the ceiling while trying to catch our breath when a rumble of thunder shook the entire house. Jared closed his eyes as he muttered, “Sounds like rain.”
“Mm-hmm... I love it when it rains. It’s so—” I shot up in the bed when I remembered the fishing poles and the tackle box were still out on the pier. “Crap!”
I rushed over to the dresser and grabbed a pair of sweats. As I started putting them on, Jared looked at me like I had three heads. “What the hell are you doing?”
“It’s about to rain!”
“Yeah, and—?”
“Billy’s fishing gear is still out on the pier!”
“Oh shit!” Jared jumped off the bed and ran out of the room, throwing on his strewn clothes as he found them around the house. “I forgot all about it.”
“Me too!”
We both raced out of the house and down towards the pier. We hadn’t made it far when I felt a couple of big rain drops plop against my skin. Not a minute later, the bottom fell out of the clouds and rain came barreling down on us both. As we hurried to collect all of Billy’s things, Jared looked over to me and ordered, “Get back to the house.”
“I will once we get this stuff back to the shed.”
“I’ll get it,” he fussed. “Get out of the rain.”
“Why?” I squinted through the rain as I joked. “A little water never hurt anyone.”
I’d barely gotten the words out of my mouth when a huge bolt of lightning flashed across the night sky. Clearly worried that I might get hurt, Jared took the fishing poles from my hand and repeated, “Get back to the house, Parker. Now!”
“Fine!”
I turned and ran back up to the porch but didn’t go inside. Instead, I waited there while he finished putting everything back in the shed. By the time Jared reached me, he was completely drenched. I started to go inside and told him, “I’ll go grab us a couple of towels.”
“Don’t bother.” Before I could stop him, Jared picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, carrying me into the house like a sack of potatoes. He reached up and gave my ass a hard slap and said, “Next time I tell you to do something, you best damn well do it.”
“Jared!” I started trying to wiggle myself free as I shouted, “I can’t believe you just did that.”
“I did it, and I’ll do it again if I need to.” He didn’t put me down until we reached the bathroom. After he removed his soaking wet t-shirt, he leaned over to the whirlpool tub and turned on the water. “Get out of those wet clothes.”
I didn’t see the point in arguing. I was freezing, and the tub looked so very tempting. I’d barely gotten my t-shirt off when there was another loud rumble of thunder, and the lights started blinking. Jared was down to his wet boxers when the room went black. My eyes were still trying to adjust when I heard him say, “I’ll be right back.”
I took off my remaining clothes but waited a while for the water to fill up before getting into the tub. Moments later, the room flickered in a soft glow as Jared returned with two lit candles. “Where’d you find those?”
“I can’t reveal all my secrets.” He placed them down on the counter, then removed his boxers and climbed into the tub behind me. I leaned back against his chest with a contented sigh. It felt amazing to be surrounded by the warmth of the water and him. He slipped his arms around me as he kissed the back of my neck. “You good?”
“Yes, very good.” I thought back to our day, and even though it had a rocky start, it ended up being wonderful. I loved fishing with Jared. He was so much fun to be with, and just like the times before, the sex was incredible. I was thinking about how we’d christened almost every room in Billy’s house when I remembered us being momentarily interrupted by an unexpected phone call. I tilted my head back as I looked up at him and said, “I heard you on the phone earlier. Was everything okay?”
“Yeah, it was just Viper calling to check in.”
“Viper’s the president of the club, right?”
“He is.”
; I’d seen Viper several times, but I’d never actually spoken to him—mainly because I never got close enough for him to speak to me. I reached for the washcloth and asked him, “Is it just me, or is he scary?”
“What?”
“He scares me a little. Actually, he scares me a lot.”
“I won’t lie. I felt that way when I first met him, but now he’s more like a father to me than a president.”
“Hmph, that’s all well and good for you, but as far as I’m concerned, he’s still pretty scary. And he’s not the only one.” Jared didn’t respond, so I continued, “Widow seems pretty scary, and Hawk does, too, but Delilah’s pretty cool, and Frankie is, too, so they can’t be that bad, right?”
“Right. So, who else do you find ‘scary’?”
“Well, I’m still trying to figure out Rafe.” Since the day I’d started at Stilettos, Rafe had been watching me like a hawk, like he was waiting for me to mess up or something. I’d tried to be polite and talk to him, but he never had much to say in return. I gave Jared a slight shrug as I told him, “He’s not exactly scary, but I’m pretty sure he hates me.”
“He doesn’t hate you, Parker. He was and is concerned about everything going on with you. Now he knows, and like the rest of the brothers, he wants to do what he can to help you get through all this.”
I glanced back up at him. “And what about Lynch?”
“What about him?”
“I saw pictures in Peter and Sally’s house. I know he was their grandson. What is he going to think when he finds out I was responsible for their deaths?”
“You weren’t responsible for their deaths, babe. That was all Rossi.” Jared placed his hand on my chin, forcing me to look at him. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again...You’re not to blame for any of this, Parker. Anyone can see that, including Lynch.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am,” he answered confidently. “Lynch and I have been brothers for a long time. He’s a good man. It might take some time, but he’ll understand.” He lowered his mouth to my ear and chuckled. “And if he doesn’t, I’ll kick his ass.”
“Well, hopefully, it won’t come to that.”
“It won’t.”
He ran the warm cloth across my shoulders, letting the hot water cascade down my back. “I think Shotgun seems pretty cool.”
“You think Shotgun is cool?” he scoffed with a chuckle. “Of all the guys, Shotgun is the one you should— Never mind.”
“No, what were you going to say?” I pushed.
“Nothing... Seriously.” Jared leaned down and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Now, I have a very important question for you.”
“Okay?”
“What do you want to eat?” He dropped the washcloth into the water, then got out of the tub and grabbed a towel. “I’m starving.”
“I’m starving too.” I watched him dry off and wrap the towel around his waist. “I’m good with whatever.”
“Okay. You finish up here, and I’ll go see what I can come up with.”
“Sounds good to me.” When he turned and started towards the door, I called out to him, “Jared?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for today. I really enjoyed it.”
“It’s not over yet.”
He winked, then slipped out of the bathroom, leaving me alone in the tub. I leaned back and took a moment to just reflect on things. I had no idea how Billy’s plan would play out, but for the first time in a very long while, I had hope. It was the one thing that gave me the strength to face the present, and I had a feeling I’d need all the strength I could muster to face what was to come. Thankfully, Jared would be at my side, and with him, I could do just about anything.
Menace
“I know you both are eager to get home, but I think it’s best for you to stay here... at least for a few more days.”
“Any particular reason why?”
“Many reasons.” Billy walked over to the kitchen counter and poured himself some coffee. He was wearing his usual khakis and button-down shirt, but they were wrinkled to shit like he’d slept in them, although I knew otherwise due to his red eyes, which he could barely keep open. “We just need time to let the dust settle a bit.”
“What dust?” When he didn’t immediately respond, I pushed, “Come on, Billy. You’re gonna have to give me a little something here.”
“We need time for the district attorney in California to receive Parker’s message. Once he has it in his hands, he’ll be able to make the connection to her suicide.”
“How’s he going to do that?”
“It shouldn’t be difficult. He merely has to look at the Kentucky postmark on the envelope, and then it won’t take much to link it to the accident that occurred there last night.”
“What kind of accident?”
“A young woman drove her car off a mountain cliff.” He took a sip of his coffee. “It was unfortunate at best. The car caught fire on impact, so the remains will be difficult to identify.”
“So, they’ll use the medical records I uploaded to confirm that it was Parker.”
“Exactly.” Billy walked over and picked up his duffle bag, then continued down the hall. “It’s the beginning of the end, my friend… The beginning of the end.”
He said nothing more as he entered his bedroom and closed the door. For the first time since this whole matter started, I felt pretty good, so I decided to call Viper and fill him in on everything that had taken place. Knowing Parker was still in the bedroom, I grabbed my phone from my pocket and headed out to the front porch. Viper was pleased to hear that, so far, everything Billy had put into play seemed to be going well. “Any idea when you two will be coming back?”
“Billy wants us to hole up here for a few more days just to be sure the incident went as planned.”
“I see.”
Something about the tone of Viper’s voice concerned me. “Why? Is everything okay there?”
“Not sure yet.” He cleared his throat, then continued, “But we’ll handle it. Stay vigilant and get back here as soon as you can.”
“You sure? I can head back now if—”
“Stay put like Billy told ya. I’ve got it covered.”
I didn’t like not being there when my brothers needed me, but unfortunately, I didn’t have a choice in the matter. Besides, I knew Viper would do whatever was needed to protect his club. “Just let me know if you change your mind.”
“I won’t. Hang tight, and hopefully, we’ll see you soon.”
“Yeah, sure, Prez.”
I didn’t have a good feeling as I ended the call. When curiosity got the best of me, I went inside and turned on my laptop. Seconds later, I was studying the surveillance feed from Stilettos. While I spent most of my time at the club on the east side of town, we had two separate strip clubs and were considering the possibility of opening a third. I was sitting at the kitchen table and looking through the footage from the night before when Parker came up behind me. “Whatcha doing?”
“Just checking things out at the club.”
“Everything okay?”
“As far as I can tell.”
A smile crossed her face as she leaned down and pointed to Country on the screen. He was in the back of the bar, towering over some chick, and it was clear from the way he was smiling, he was hitting on her. Parker giggled as she said, “Looks like Country is up to his old tricks.”
“Yeah, I’m not surprised.” I glanced up at her. “You know, now that I think about it, you never mentioned that you thought he was scary.”
“What?”
“Last night.” I crossed my arms with a suspicious expression. “As I recall, you thought Widow, Hawk, and Viper were oh-so scary, but you didn’t say anything about Country.”
“No, I guess I didn’t. Why do you ask? You worried about him?”
“Nope. Just making a point.”
“Mm-hmm,” she mumbled with her eyebrow cocked high. “Well, if you mu
st know, you’re right. I’ve never thought of Country as scary, but I have no doubt he could be if he was provoked. Thankfully, he’s never felt that need with me.”
“He best not be feeling any kind of need where you’re concerned.”
Before she could respond, the front door swung open, and a young brunette stepped inside the house with an overnight bag in one hand and a backpack slung over her shoulder. She was wearing a pair of ripped jeans with a black off-the-shoulder top, and her hair was pulled back in a fancy braid. The chick was a looker, which made me wonder what the hell she was doing at Billy’s. She was about to continue into the kitchen but stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed Parker and me at the table. “Oh, hey.”
“Hey.” Seeming unfazed by the girl’s unexpected arrival, Parker took a step towards her and smiled. “You must be Kiersten.”
“I am.”
“Your father mentioned you might be coming by.” Parker motioned her hand over in my direction and said, “This is Menace, and I’m Parker. We’re, uh ... We’re friends of your father’s.”
“That’s funny. I’ve never known my father to have any friends.” She took her overnight bag and tossed it onto the sofa. “Where is he anyway?”
“He just went into his bedroom.” I stood up and walked over to Parker. “He had a long night last night.”
“Oh? And why’s that?”
“Well, he’s...”
I had no idea how much the girl knew about Billy and his line of work, so I wasn’t sure how to answer. I was trying to think of an excuse for us being there when she smiled, “Ah, he’s doing a job for ya. Say nothing more. We live by that ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ philosophy around here. I don’t really like all the secrecy, but there’s not much I can do about it.”
