by Blue, Jayne
Gavin Kimball shook his head. “Joker Smith is bad news.”
“Why? You tell me why. He’s a single dad who from what I’ve seen is raising a pretty great kid.”
“That’s another thing,” Dad said. “You don’t need to take on somebody else’s kid, Tara.”
“Stop. I know Joker from Tiny Tots. He was nice to me the other night when Brian wasn’t. That’s all.” I started to clear the table.
Dad reached out and gently grabbed my wrist. “So you’re not seeing him?”
“I’m ... I don’t ... I don’t know. That’s the truth. But there’s nothing serious going on, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
He let me go. His eyes stayed dark. “I’m worried about a lot. I’d feel better if I knew you just flat out never saw Joker Smith again.”
My phone was on the table where I’d set it. Just then, the screen lit up and it vibrated. As I was about to put my father off, Joker’s caller ID flashed across the screen. Dad saw it.
My heart raced and I froze. My father and I were in a standoff. The phone rang two more times before it went to voicemail.
As soon as it did, I left it behind on the table, took the pizza boxes, and walked to the fridge.
Chapter Nine
Joker
“I meant what I said. I want to see you again. You pick the time and place.”
I hit send on the text then slipped my phone in my back pocket. I sat on my Harley outside the club. The sun shone down, warming the leather seat. Kellan stood next to me.
“You’re jumpy as hell,” I said to him.
“Just ... keep your eyes extra peeled, that’s all,” he said.
“I always do. You sure you don’t want to ride along if you’re so worried?”
He tore a hand through his hair. “Colt doesn’t want it that way. He wants this low key. Too many of us ride into town together, that makes a bigger statement than he’s going for.”
Colt was still inside finishing up a few things. I knew Amy had given him a big lecture about his temper. She had a point. She was afraid he was going to lose it and pop off at Chief Davis if things didn’t go as smoothly as we liked.
“I’m there to watch and listen,” I said. “I know my job.”
“Your job is to make sure nothing happens to Colt,” Kellan said.
“What, you think Chief Davis is going to have him shot right in his office?”
“You won’t be at the office,” Kellan said. “Plans changed. Davis doesn’t want that. You’re heading to Stoke’s Diner off 280. Torch was supposed to give you the heads up.”
“Well, he didn’t,” I said. “Dammit.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just …”
“I got it,” I said. “Eyes and ears.”
My phone vibrated and I pulled it out of my pocket.
“I don’t know if that’s such a great idea,” Tara texted back.
I hovered my thumb over the keyboard. Smiling, I typed back, “Probably not. But I want to see you anyway.”
Kellan was close enough to read over my shoulder.
“Tara?” he said. “That the chick from the party the other night?”
I slipped my phone back in my pocket. “She’s one of Toby’s teachers at Tiny Tots.”
Kellan whistled. “She’s probably right then. It could get messy, Joker.”
I laughed. “Like marrying our headliner?”
Kellan’s mouth dropped open and anger crossed his face. But he knew he had no good argument for my point. He clamped his mouth shut and put a hand up in surrender.
“But,” I said. “Yeah. It probably is a bad idea. Can’t help it though. I think I’m into this girl.”
“Joker Smith,” Kellan said. “Hot for teacher. Didn’t see that one coming.”
“Yeah. Me either. And I don’t want to screw things up. Toby really likes her.”
“Well, that’s a good thing,” Kellan said.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Hey.” Kellan put a hand on my shoulder. “I know how it goes. When there’s a kid involved, that changes everything. And Toby ... he’s one of the best. But you’re a good dad. When it comes down to it, you’ll do the right thing.”
Colt walked out the back of the Den. I could see Amy watching him from the window. She was scared. That didn’t bode well. Amy had been around club life since she was born. She’d seen the damage full-on club wars could bring. I prayed to God we weren’t headed for one.
“You ready to roll?” Colt asked. We bumped fists. Colt mounted his Harley. Kellan went to him and said something too low for me to hear. I assumed it was a version of what he’d just said to me. Watch our backs.
Kellan slapped Colt on the back. Colt motioned with his finger then revved his engine. I fell into formation behind him as we hit the road.
Stoke’s Diner was only a twenty-minute ride. It was at the far edge of Lincolnshire, a literal stone’s throw from the border into the next town. That sent a message more than anything else. Whatever Davis had to say, he wanted it as far away from the city as possible.
Colt and I parked in the back. He was quieter than I liked as we walked into the diner. Chief Davis was already chatting up one of the waitresses behind the counter. Her smile faltered as she saw us walk in.
Davis straightened and put on a fake smile. The man was in his mid-forties. Whatever he’d been doing since his street cop days left him with a bulging middle and not much hair. He wore his command uniform. White shirt, black pants, gold badge.
“Come on,” he said. “I’m afraid I’ll have to cut our meeting short. I’ve had some last-minute business crop up in town.”
Colt extended his hand to shake. I didn’t like the fake smile Davis wore as he took it. And I didn’t like the brush-off. It was disrespectful. The man didn’t seem to understand where the real power in this town lay.
We went to a back round booth. The waitress brought coffee and none of us ordered anything else.
“Just leave the pot, honey,” Davis said.
“Now”—he fixed his eyes on Colt—“why don’t you cut to the chase? What’s on your mind, Mr. Reddick?”
“Fine,” Colt said. “I’ll call out the elephant in the room. Not so long ago, you had some associations that stand in direct opposition to my club. Now you’re wearing that gold badge.”
Davis’s mask dropped. I saw pure contempt in his eyes as he stared at Colt.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he finally said, taking a sip of his coffee.
“Yeah,” Colt said. “You do. You were in the pocket of the Devil’s Hawks. You crossed a line and put one of my people in harm’s way. You put your hands on Brax Anderson’s girl. She’s his wife now. So what I want to know is, what’s your angle toward my club?”
Davis set his cup down. “Angle?”
“Cut the shit, Davis,” Colt said. “I know who you are and you know who I am.”
Davis had smarm down to a tee. He draped a casual arm over the back of the booth and smirked at Colt.
I focused my attention on the rest of the diner. There was only the one waitress working at this time of day. She called back orders to her short-order cook. He whistled as he flipped burgers. Besides our booth, only three others were occupied.
Two toward the front had families in them. Road-weary parents with toddler-aged kids crawling all over them. Stoke’s got a lot of business from people heading north to Traverse City or south all the way down to the tip of Florida and all points in between.
The third occupied table was the chief’s men. No question. Plainclothes, but they had that uptight, observant cop look about them. And they weren’t eating either. They kept their eyes fixed on Davis’s back. Hell. What did they think Colt and I would start in broad daylight?
“I have one interest and one interest only,” Davis said. “And that’s keeping Lincolnshire safe.”
“Then we’re on the same page,” Colt said. “But the minute I catch wind of you or anyone arou
nd you letting your past associates try to get a foothold here, we’re going to have a problem.”
Davis’s eyes narrowed. “And what the hell do you think you’re going to do about it? This is my town now, Reddick. You’re the one who needs to worry about stepping out of line.”
“You weren’t born here,” Colt said. “How long were you on the force before you left town the last time?”
Davis took another sip of coffee and topped his mug off with the pot he’d asked the waitress to leave.
“I don’t think I have to answer that. I think if you know I wasn’t born here, you know the rest of my history.”
“That’s just the thing,” Colt said. “Your ancient history, yeah. You were only in Lincolnshire a year before you moved on. Before that, you were a beat cop up in Cleveland. Fifteen years’ worth of that. But the last five years after you left Lincolnshire P.D., you seem to have dropped off the face of the earth. You want to clue me in on how you’ve been spending your time?”
“That’s none of your business,” Davis said. “And I think we’ve reached the end of meaningful conversation.”
“You disappeared,” Colt said. “Went to ground. And I think you knew I was looking for you. You crossed a line going after Nicole Anderson.”
“I never touched a hair on that girl’s head. And I know what was going on at her place of business. I know you and your club tampered with evidence to keep that little secret.”
Colt slammed a spoon down on the table. He leaned forward and got in Davis’s face. The two undercovers saw it too and rose from their booth.
“You and I both know what happened five years ago. The Hawks thought they could move their drugs through my town. You saw how that turned out. So, you tell the Hawks, or whoever kept you hidden from me all this time, that nothing has changed. They don’t so much as stick a toe into Lincolnshire without my say-so.”
Davis leaned in. “Now let me tell you how it’s going to work. You’ve been running roughshod over the previous mayors of Lincolnshire. Those days are over. Your control of the stream of commerce on this port ends today. I’ll make life as difficult as I have to for the Great Wolves M.C. Count on it.”
The two undercover cops came to the table. “Everything okay over here?”
I rose to my full height and stared them down. “Go back to your eggs,” I said. One of them rested his palm on the handle of the Nine he had holstered at his side. I went for mine as well.
Colt put a hand on my arm. “Not here,” he said. “Not now.”
He scratched his chin. Colt took a long pause as I stood in a stalemate with Davis’s cops. The one on the left was just itching to draw down on me. I could feel it ... see it in the way his mouth twitched.
“What is it you want, Davis?” Colt said. “I know you sent your undercover unit into my bar the other night.”
“You offering me some kind of bribe, Mr. Reddick?” Davis said.
“Well, that would be illegal,” Colt said. “I run my club above the law. As long as you mean what you say about wanting to keep Lincolnshire safe, I don’t see that we’re at crossed purposes. Do you?”
Davis fixed his smirk back into place. “Not at all,” he said. “But I also think we’re done talking. If you have any further business with me, take it up through my secretary.”
I stepped out of the booth. I went chest to chest with Davis’s officer, the one with the twitchy mouth and trigger finger.
Colt rose beside me and put a hand on my shoulder. “Come on,” he said. “We’re done here.” He threw a twenty on the table.
I followed him out of the diner, keeping one eye on the cops. They slid into the booth, taking the seats Colt and I had just vacated.
We made our way back to our bikes. Colt kicked up gravel. “Son of a bitch,” he muttered.
“Yeah,” I said. “I think it’s pretty clear he’s still in the pocket of the Devil’s Hawks.”
“Or worse,” Colt said. “I need a meeting with Mayor Bluth.”
“You really think that’ll accomplish anything? Bluth knew what he was doing putting Davis in charge.”
Colt nodded. “Yeah. Still …”
“Come on,” I said. “I don’t like being out here. We’re too out in the open.” Kellan’s words ran through me. He had been antsy about this meeting and it turned out he was right. Chief Davis was looking to hurt the club in some way. We just didn’t know yet how.
I mounted my bike and started the engine. Colt sat staring out at the horizon. He took his time putting his riding gloves back on. My phone buzzed. I took it out.
“Okay. You win. Friday night. Eight o’clock. I’ll pick you up.”
My heart raced. Tara.
Colt finally revved his engine and peeled out. I took two seconds to answer Tara’s text before veering off after my prez.
“I’ll be there, baby. Can’t wait.”
Chapter Ten
Tara
I paced in the front hallway. I had changed my outfit a dozen times. It was seven forty-five and I’d been getting ready since five, right when I got home from work.
I stopped in the foyer, checking myself in the mirror. Did I look like I was trying too hard or not hard enough? I settled on a black halter that tied at the waist and a pair of jeans with a frayed hole at the knee.
The first week of October and it was still near ninety degrees out. I put my hair in a loose bun and a few strands were already escaping near my temple. Should I spray those?
“Maybe a skirt,” I said out loud. But what if Joker showed up on his Harley? God. I hoped he showed up on his Harley.
No sooner had I thought it before I felt the rumbling vibration of the bike’s powerful engine as he turned down my street. My heart skipped and I grabbed my small purse off the couch.
From the front window, I saw a few of my neighbors watching as Joker pulled into my driveway. Well, there it was. Within the hour, the news of Joker’s arrival would make its way down the street. Which meant it would make its way to my dad by morning.
I stood at the window watching him. Joker wore his cut. His black leather boots were scuffed and worn. Hell, everything about him was. Rough, rugged, tough, and dangerous.
He looped his sunglasses over the handlebars and set his helmet on the seat. He shook his hair out and smoothed a hand over it. I took a breath and opened the front door.
“Hey,” he said, his smile widening.
“Hey, yourself,” I said. I shut the door behind me. Part of me wanted to just skip to the end, pull him into my living room and jump his bones. Lord, it was as if Laney had taken over my brain.
“Is this okay?” I asked, smoothing my hand down my shirt.
He came to me. “You look great. You mind the ride?”
“What? Of course not. If I’m being honest, I was kind of hoping that’s what you’d bring.”
Joker leaned in. He put a chaste kiss on my neck just below my left ear. A shiver of pleasure went through me.
“Come on,” he said. “I’m starving.”
I made sure the door was locked. Then I followed Joker down my porch steps.
He held out his hand as I mounted the bike. I slid on the helmet he brought me and waited for him to get on. When he did, I breathed in that intoxicating mix of leather and man and slid my arms around his waist.
We left a few of my slack-jawed neighbors staring in our wake as Joker went a respectable speed down my street. Then he turned on to the main road and sped up. My breath left me in a whoosh as I squeezed my arms around him tighter.
I could get used to this. Riding on the back of Joker’s Harley felt like flying. The bike was an extension of his body the way he took the turns and hugged the road.
We reached the docks in no time. Part of me wished we’d gone even further out of town. But enough people had seen me with him that it didn’t really matter. I was in this. And it felt terrific.
Joker picked a new seafood restaurant that opened last year. I’d been wanting to try it, bu
t the menu was a bit out of my price range.
Joker parked and took my hand. The hostess sat us on the outdoor patio. The breeze coming off the water and the shade of the pavilion kept the area cool.
“Wow,” I said. “It’s gorgeous back here.”
The boardwalk had been decorated with white Christmas lights. In the distance, a few large freighters lined up to cross under the Liberty Bridge.
“Haven’t been here yet myself,” he said. “Kept meaning to go ... I just hadn’t found anyone worth taking yet.”
I blushed. “Same here.”
I ordered a white wine and went with the scallops. Joker ordered the catch of the day and stuck with a draft beer. The waitress was good. She didn’t hover and managed to serve us without constant interruptions. It was almost as if she knew this was a first date.
“So,” Joker finally said. “What made you change your mind?”
“Change my mind?”
He tore a roll in half. The way he licked his lips and took a bite was almost sinful.
“To go out with me.”
I sat back in my chair. “I don’t know. I’m still not convinced this is a good idea.. It’s just … You’re interesting, Joker Smith. I haven’t met anyone interesting in a long time.”
He raised a brow. “Brian Windham wasn’t interesting enough for you?”
My face fell. It was the last thing I expected him to say.
“Look,” he said. “I’m not trying to pry into your business, but I think you’re interesting too. The other night, at my club ... drunk or not, I saw how you reacted when that idiot walked in. He still matters to you. So, I’d rather get it out of the way.”
I let out a breath. “Brian ... he was a big part of my life for a really long time. We dated for years. He was my first boyfriend. My only boyfriend, if you want to know the truth. But his family made things complicated. They didn’t find me worthy of him and ultimately neither did Brian. But I’m the one who ended things. Brian didn’t approve of my ambitions. He’s looking for a political trophy wife with the right pedigree. That’s not me. And I’m not interested in being with a guy who wants me to change to suit his needs.”