“Did we finish the movie last night?”
I shook my head. “I did, you did not.”
“Damn. We’re going to have to watch it again tonight.” Kimber leaned forward. “Think you can pull the lead out, Rhino? I like to get to work a couple minutes early.”
“Since when?” I huffed. “Last week, you blew into the ER with barely thirty seconds to spare before our shift started.”
She sat back and folded her arms over her chest. “That’s Quinn’s fault. I told the man he needs to wake up earlier if he wants to give me a proper good morning.”
“Staaaaph,” Petra moaned. “I don’t want to hear about you and Quinn.”
“Agreed,” Rhino piped in.
I shrugged and pulled my phone out of my bag. “I’ve heard it all before, so I don’t really have a horse in this race.” I scrolled through my newsfeed, and my heart crashed when I saw the headline from the local news channel. “Oh, my God,” I gasped.
“What?” Kimber, Petra, and Rhino said in unison.
“They found another body.”
“No,” Kimber gasped. She snatched my phone from my hand and read the news article.
“Hey, I was trying to read that.”
Kimber held a finger up in my face. “Shh, I’m reading.”
I rolled my eyes and sat back. “You do know that you have a phone, right?”
Kimber ignored me and kept her eyes glued to my phone.
Petra glanced over her shoulder into the backseat. “I wonder if they’ve figured out who any of these girls are yet. You would have to think that they have families who are looking for them.”
You would think so, but I also knew I didn’t have a family so I had to wonder if anyone would look for me if I ever went missing.
“They know who this one is, but they are waiting to notify her family before they reveal who it is.” Kimber typed rabidly on my phone.
“What in the hell are you doing?” I demanded.
“I’m searching to see if there have been any missing person reports the last few days.”
“What on Earth for?” Petra demanded.
Kimber slowing scrolled and frowned. “I don’t see anything.”
“That’s good, right?” I asked.
She handed me back my phone. “I guess, yeah, but I also have to wonder who these girls are that they don’t have anyone looking for them.”
“Did they say where they found this one?” Rhino asked.
“Plume Street.”
Rhino swore under his breath. “These bodies keep getting closer and closer to the clubhouse.”
“Really?” I asked. I had grown up in Marion, but I didn’t know where every street was. I had no clue that they were all being found by the clubhouse. I got chills. Whoever was doing this might have driven by the clubhouse or we might have even seen them driving around.
“Yeah. With each body they find, they get closer to the clubhouse.”
“How far away is this last one?” I asked.
“Uh, I think it’s only two streets over.”
“Holy shit,” Kimber whispered. “The killer was so close to us.”
That was not a very soothing thought. “That’s insane, Kimber.”
Blood rushed from my face, and my hands felt clammy. It was bad when there was talk of there being a serial killer in Marion, but to know that with each death and body found that he was drawing closer to the clubhouse was some freaky ass shit.
“I bet this is why Quinn wanted you and me at the clubhouse, Petra. Same goes for you with Dyno, Fancy.” Kimber pulled out her phone and pressed a couple of buttons. “Quinn,” she gasped. Kimber rattled off everything we had just found out of the new body that was found.
I looked out the passenger window and tried to breath. Nothing was going to happen to us. The fact that all of these girls that were being found hadn’t been identified maybe meant they were from out of town. But you had to wonder how the hell this person was able to keep doing this without being caught.
Rhino pulled up to Petra’s work.
“How bad is it that I’m terrified to go to work?” she laughed nervously.
“I’ll be back after I drop off these two,” Rhino reassured her.
“So you’re going to keep an eye on her, but who is going to watch out for us?” I asked. It was highly unlikely that anything was going to happen to any of us, but right now, we were just all pretty freaked out by the fact there was no denying the fact there was a serial killer in Marion.
“Dyno said he’ll be over to the hospital in a little bit. He had some work stuff he had to take care of.”
Why the heck didn't Dyno tell me that? I had seen him this morning before we left, though we didn’t really get the chance to talk.
“Later, guys. Stay safe.” Petra hopped out of the car and jogged into work.
“What is this place?” Kimber asked as we pulled away from the curb.
The building Petra sprinted to was all brick with no sign out front to say exactly what it was.
“Document shredding,” Rhino replied.
“What?” I asked.
“They shred important documents.” Rhino pulled away from the curb and made a U-turn toward the hospital. “Companies with important documents that need to get destroyed send them here.”
“I didn’t even know a place like that was in Marion,” Kimber muttered.
I turned around to look back at the building. “That’s because you’re either working or spending all of your time with Quinn.”
“Touché,” Kimber laughed.
Rhino pulled up in front of the hospital ten minutes later, and Kimber jumped out of the car. “Thanks for the ride, Rhino,” she called over her shoulder.
“You can tell Dyno he doesn’t need to come watch us at the hospital, Rhino.” I grabbed my bag off the floor and opened the door.
“Uh, he sounded pretty adamant that he would be here once he finished up his meeting this morning.”
I shook my head. “He’s going to waste his whole day if he comes here just to watch Kimber and me work.”
Rhino shrugged. “You ladies need eyes on you right now.”
I sighed and stepped out of the car. “Whatever floats y’alls boat. Thanks for the ride, Rhino.” I slammed the door shut and watched him pull out of the parking lot, headed back toward Petra.
“You gonna get your ass in here or just stand around waiting for Dyno?” Kimber held the door to the hospital open and motioned for me to hurry up.
I rolled my eyes and hitched my bag over my shoulder. “You’re a pain in my ass, Kimber.”
“I know,” she smirked.
“And I was not waiting for Dyno,” I insisted as I breezed past her into the hospital.
“Sure, you weren’t,” she chuckled.
I wasn’t. Rhino had said it was going to be a little bit until he was here.
An hour from now, I would be waiting for him.
✽✽✽
Chapter Eighteen
Only a taste…
Dyno
“Spending time in the cereal aisle and now lunch with you in the hospital cafeteria. You sure do know how to show a girl a good time.”
I glanced up from my questionable food. “You really eat this every day?”
Fancy shook her head. “Normally, I bring something from home or don’t eat.”
“How the hell do you go eight hours without eating?” I asked.
“I guess I’m not a growing boy like you are, Dyno,” she snickered.
I stabbed my Salisbury steak with my fork and lifted it to my mouth. “It’s a good thing we’re in a hospital since I’m pretty sure I’m going to need a doctor after I eat this.”
“I told you to go with the salad bar or a cold sandwich.”
“Next time, I’ll listen to you.” I dropped the offending food back on the plate and shoved my tray away. “I now also understand why Kimber didn’t come to lunch.”
Fancy nodded and chuckled. “Yup. She refuses to eat down
here.”
“Smart woman,” I grumbled.
This morning, I had finished the deal on the equipment for the business and didn’t have time to grab anything for breakfast. I was banking on the idea that I would be able to have lunch with Fancy at the hospital.
I was fucking wrong.
“We’re grabbing a burger on the way home.”
Fancy popped a grape in her mouth and shook her head. “Nope. Kimber wanted to cook dinner tonight.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. “Does she even know how to cook, or is this more like an experiment and we are her test subjects?”
Fancy wiggled her hand. “That’s kind of a toss-up. She knows how to cook basic things, but I think what she has in mind to make is not quite basic.”
I grabbed my tray and stood. “We are definitely stopping for a burger on the way home.”
“You’re gonna hurt Kimber’s feelings,” Fancy warned. She grabbed her empty plate and followed me toward the garbage can. “You’re gonna have Quinn on your ass then.”
I dumped my food into the can and stacked my plates on top. “Am I supposed to be concerned about that?”
Fancy stacked her plate on top of mine, and we headed toward the elevator. “Isn’t it a rule or something that you need to keep the president’s ol’ lady happy?”
“Isn’t that his job?” I rebuffed.
Last I checked, it wasn’t my problem to make sure Kimber was happy. That was all on Quinn’s plate.
She scoffed and jabbed the up button on the elevator. The cafeteria was in the belly of the hospital, and we had to go up a floor to the ER. “It is, but I’m pretty sure Quinn isn’t the type of guy to be okay with you pissing her off.”
“Who said I was going to piss her off?” I laughed. “All I asked was if she could cook.”
We stepped into the elevator. I hit the button to close the doors but not the floor button.
“You need to hit the floor button, Dyno.”
She reached for the button, but I grabbed her hand.
“Not yet.”
She tipped her head back and looked up at me. “Not yet?” she questioned.
I nodded, wrapped my arm around her waist, and pulled her close.
“What are you doing?” she gasped.
“It’s been too long since I kissed you.” My words were a growl.
Fancy trembled. “And this seemed like the best place to rectify that?” Her voice was a whisper.
I could tell she was unsure about what I was aiming to do. I had about thirty seconds to kiss her before either the doors opened or someone else called the elevator. There were too many people at the clubhouse, and I never seemed to be able to get Fancy to myself. We shared a room together, but she would have to actually be in the room with me for it to be to my advantage.
My hand stayed at her waist and the other trailed up her body. My fingers delved into her hair, and I tipped her head back even further. “I gotta take any moment I can with you.”
I crashed my lips down to meet her mouth.
Her body was plastered against mine, and her hand was on the back of my neck holding me close. The kiss was on fire, and my body burned for her.
This woman who had punched me in the face ten seconds after meeting me was now in my arms and melting from my touch.
“Dyno,” she gasped against my lips.
I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I knew that whatever it was, Fancy felt it too.
The moment broke quickly when the elevator dinged, and the doors slid open.
Fancy catapulted from my arms and plastered herself against the wall of the elevator. Her breathing was labored, but she tried to hide it.
Three men in scrubs stepped into the elevator, and I moved closer to Fancy to make room for them. I snaked an arm around her back and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Don’t think I got what I wanted.”
She looked up at me, her eyes still filled with lust.
“That was only a taste.”
The elevator moved up, the doors slid open again, and the three men exited.
I took a step toward the doors and glanced over my shoulder. “I want it all, Fancy.”
✽✽✽
Chapter Nineteen
Ooo, barracuda…
Fancy
“What do you think it means?”
Kimber closed the oven and set the sheet pan filled with garlic bread on the stovetop. “Did you really just ask me that?” She shook her head and dropped the oven mitt on the counter. “You’re the one who is fully swimming in the dating pool right now. If you don’t know what he meant then maybe you aren’t as much of a barracuda as I thought.”
“Barracuda?” I laughed. “Why in the hell would you think that about me?”
Kimber shrugged. “Just what I always imagined in my mind. I mean, you were dating like crazy for a while.”
I leaned against the newly installed counter and sipped my wine. “I wasn’t dating like crazy.” I had been, but I didn’t need Kimber to point that out loud. “I needed to date to find the right guy for me.”
“And who would have known that when you meet the right guy, you would punch him in the nose?” Kimber cackled like a damn rooster.
“I was in the right for that,” I mumbled.
Even now, if Dyno were to call me sugar tits, I might punch him in the face.
Kimber put the garlic bread on a tray and placed it next to the steaming bowl of ziti with meatballs. “So now you’re going to delete all of those dating apps, huh?”
My stomach twisted, and I drained the rest of my glass. I liked Dyno, and God knew that we had some explosive chemistry, but did that mean he was the one for me? Maybe we just needed a couple of rolls in the hay and work whatever this was out of our systems. “Maybe I won’t be checking them as often anymore.”
I actually hadn’t looked at the apps since Kent had messaged me a week ago. Things had been silent from him, so I figured he was still out of town on business.
“Girl,” Kimber warned. “You’re dealing with a man who is just like Quinn. He’s gonna be good with you doing you, but at the end of the day, you better not be being you for anyone but him.”
I rolled my eyes and grabbed the bottle of wine for a refill. “You and Quinn fell in love in two point seven seconds. Dyno and I hated each other at the start. I really don’t think I’m following down the same path as you.”
Kimber waved her hand at me. “You may not be on the same path, but you’re gonna end up in the same place.” She grabbed a fistful of forks and dropped them next to the ziti and stack of plates. “Grab the salad out of the fridge for me, would ya?”
I finished filling my glass to the brim and drank the last few gulps straight from the bottle. I dropped the bottle in the garbage on the way to the fridge and pulled it open.
“Something smells good,” Quinn called from over by the TV.
I didn’t have to turn around to know that Kimber was beaming with pride. I grabbed the bowl of salad and couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculous amount of cheese on the top. “Is this a cheese salad?”
I lifted up the glass bowl to make sure there was actually greens.
Kimber grabbed it from my hands and thumped it down on the counter next to the garlic bread. “You can never have enough cheese.” She cupped her hands around her mouth. “Dinner,” she shouted.
I grabbed my glass of wine and tucked myself into one of the kitchen chairs.
The guys streamed into the kitchen, grabbed a plate, piled it high with food, and moved back in front of the TV.
“Why did you guys buy this table?” I laughed.
Dyno walked toward the kitchen, and my breath caught in my chest. There was no denying that man was handsome as sin, but now that I knew what his hands and lips felt like against my skin, I had a newfound appreciation for the way he walked and moved. His chest and shoulders were bulging with muscles, and his arms looked like they could crush a man’s neck with one good squeeze.
&nb
sp; He grabbed a plate from the counter, and Kimber followed behind him. After he grabbed his fill, he pulled out the chair next to me and sat down. “What was the question?” he asked.
Kimber tittered behind him, and I wanted to tell her to shut it.
I cleared my throat. “I was just wondering why you guys got this table when everyone just sits in front of the TV?”
He shoveled in a bite of food and chewed thoughtfully. “I’m sitting here. That isn’t enough?”
I rolled my eyes and tried to focus on my food and not stare at Dyno's lips. “I asked the question before you sat.”
Kimber set her plate on the opposite end of the table and sat down. Her gaze darted from Dyno to me.
Dyno ate a few bites while I concentrated on finishing my second glass of wine.
“You need to eat.”
I looked up from glass to Dyno. “Excuse me?” He sounded like he was talking to a child, and not me.
“You need to eat, darlin’, or that wine is going to go straight to your head and I’m going to have to carry you to bed.”
The idea of Dyno carrying me to bed sounded good, but I didn’t want to be three sheets to the wind when it happened. I needed to teeter on the edge of tipsy and straight-out drunk. I took another sip. “Maybe I’ll get up to get some food.”
Dyno shook his head and shoved his chair back. He grabbed another plate, filled it half as full as his, and set it in front of me. “Eat that.”
He towered over me, and I leaned back to look up at him. “And what happens after I eat it?”
Right now, the wine was making me brave and slightly tipsy.
Dyno leaned down and pressed a kiss behind my ear. “Do it and you’ll find out. You won’t be disappointed,” he whispered lowly.
He pressed another kiss to my skin and sat back down.
Something had changed after Dyno and I had stepped off the elevator today. The rest of my shift, I tried to stay near the waiting room. Lingering for a glimpse of him and being upset when I actually had to work.
I was going to lose my job if Dyno continued to keep watch over me while I worked. Instead of doing my job, all I wanted to do was Dyno.
Lean Into It (Kings of Vengeance MC Book 2) Page 11