by Hope Stone
I pulled myself up into the chair next to Pin (where I still had a good angle on Trey and his girlfriend) and gave him a smile.
“So, Pin,” I said. “How’d you get that name?”
Pin
I wanted to kill Moves. I wanted to knock him to the floor in the middle of the bar and beat the shit out of him. Being my wingman without my asking was one thing, but being a totally unsubtle wingman was borderline unforgivable.
All I had done was check out the cute blonde girl as she walked up to the bar when Moves had tracked my line of vision. Before I could stop him, he’d bolted towards her and brought her back. Now Claire probably thought I was a pathetic loser who needed my friend to pick up girls.
“So, Pin,” she said, leaning on her elbows. “How’d you get that name?”
I blinked down at her. Her blonde hair hung in waving strands around her pert face. She was more than just cute. She was gorgeous. And something about the slant of her head made me think there was a lot of action going on behind her eyes. She had brains.
And the way she emphasized my name made me flush like an idiot.
I wasn’t even looking to hook up tonight. I had no problem picking up girls when I wanted to and good at choosing the ones who also wanted nothing more than a hookup.
I had no idea what this girl wanted. Something about the way she had walked into the bar, sizing up the room as if she was on a mission, was mysterious to me. She wasn’t easy to read.
“It’s a long story,” I said.
“Oh, well, never mind then,” she said. “I hate long stories. They’re usually pretty boring.”
She raised her beer to her mouth and took a sip, keeping her eyes on me the whole time. I had the sudden urge to reach out and touch her rosy pink lips.
“It’s not so boring,” I said. “But I had better not risk your harsh judgment.”
She laughed. “You’re smart.”
“Ah, she’s got you pegged,” Moves interjected. He turned to Claire. “He’s the smartest guy in our club; that’s why he’s the treasurer and does all the accounting.”
I rolled my eyes at Moves’ blatant boasting. Why did he think accounting was sexy?
“Club?” Claire asked.
“We’re a biker club,” I said, nodding at my patch. “Outlaw Souls.”
“Huh,” she said.
She wasn’t a biker chick, that was for certain.
“I’ve never met an accountant biker before,” she said.
I raised my brows. She was definitely flirting with me. My stomach flipped with anticipation as I leaned closer to her. But my rational side told me to put the brakes on this soon.
Nothing about Claire said she was looking for a casual hook-up. Yes, she had accepted Moves’ invitation, but she was also wearing minimal makeup, low-key clothes, and flat-heeled shoes. Girls who came to the Blue Dog Saloon looking for sex were always dressed up a certain way. Low cut tops. Sky-high heels. Bronzer all over their face
Claire was barely showing any skin. Just a small strip of flat white stomach. And yeah, that was enticing, but overall her outfit indicated that she really did come here to meet a friend.
I had my rules for a reason. It was risky to fall hard for a girl like Claire. Way too risky. It would only lead to a messy heartbreak.
Her eyes flashed away from my face and over my shoulder. For a second, the lighthearted flirtatious look vanished and her eyes hardened into an almost predatory expression. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Kim and her new guy heading over. Maybe Claire didn’t play well with other girls.
I looked back at her and wondered if I had imagined the flash of antagonism. Her face had smoothed over and she had a pleasant smile.
“Hey guys,” Kim said. She plopped down in a chair, and I nodded at her.
“Kimmy!” Moves said with a large grin.
She rolled her eyes and looked up at Trey.
“I’ll get us another round, babe,” he said, heading towards the bar.
I had to admit, I was surprised by Trey. He seemed a polar opposite of Kim. He was certainly out of his element among us bikers, but it was kind of endearing that an office guy like him had come out to the Blue Dog Saloon for Kim.
“Hi, I’m Claire,” Claire said.
Kim smiled and introduced herself.
“So you’re a biker too, right?” Claire asked.
“Hell yeah,” Kim said. “Or I will once I pledge.”
“That’s awesome,” Claire said.
“Yeah, well, it may drive me insane,” Kim said. “Especially if this one keeps calling me Kimmy.”
She rolled her eyes at Moves, resulting in a heated back and forth between them.
Claire turned back to me. “How long have you been a biker?”
“Since I was sixteen,” I said. “Joined when I was eighteen, so almost ten years.”
I wasn’t really focusing on my words. Instead, I was watching Claire’s face to see if she got distracted again. Just when I thought I was being paranoid, her eyes flashed past me again. Right to Trey as he returned to the table with a drink for Kim.
So it was Trey she was watching. An ex possibly? Although surely one of them would have said something?
I shrugged and took a swig from my drink. It was stupid to obsess over this. I didn’t want to pursue Claire, and she probably wasn’t that interested in me anyway.
I paused to listen as Trey leaned closer to Kim to talk into her ear.
“Babe, I’m so sorry, but I gotta go,” he said. “There’s been a work emergency and I need to put something together for a client tonight.”
Kim frowned, but she wasn’t the type to whine. She didn’t need her guy to have a good time on a Friday. “I understand. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Of course,” Trey said.
He said his goodbyes to the rest of us quickly and then headed out.
“Looks like we scared him off,” Moves joked.
“As if,” Kim said.
Moves finally succumbed to Kim’s withering glare and headed out to flirt with some girls he’d spotted across the bar. Carlos and Hawk wandered off as well so it was just me, Claire, and Kim.
To my surprise, Claire seemed more interested in getting to know Kim. She wasn’t rude or anything, but as the conversation went on, she made an effort to ask Kim about her biking and how long she had been in La Playa. I was clearly not getting lucky tonight, but that was for the best. Claire was too enigmatic for my tastes.
She drummed her fingers on the table and leaned forward towards Kim.
“So how long have you been with –?” Claire waved her hand as if she couldn’t recall the name. It was all almost too casual.
“Trey?” Kim said. “Just a few weeks.”
“He seems nice,” Claire said. She leaned forward as if she was ready to settle in for some serious girl talk. I guess I could comfort myself with the fact that I got to witness the start of a friendship.
“I’ll be honest, he’s not my usual type,” Kim said. “But I like that he’s actually an adult. I’ve dated too many Man-Children the last few years.”
“Tell me about it,” Claire said. “What does he do?”
“He works in consulting,” Kim said. “And he travels a lot so his schedule is a little weird.”
“That can work though,” Claire said. “You don’t strike me as the clingy type who needs to be with her guy 24/7.”
“Oh, no way,” Kim said with a laugh. “And he gets that. Like I said, he’s an adult.”
Claire nodded, and a pensive look drifted across her eyes.
“Although, Claire, not all biker guys are immature,” Kim said, reaching over to brush a hand over my arm. “Pin here is definitely not of the Man-Child variety.”
Kim threw Claire a wink, making Claire’s cheeks turn red. She was adorable when she blushed. At least Kim was a better wingman than Moves.
“I got that sense,” Claire said. “I’ve heard all about the legendary biker accountant.”
“Best one in La Playa,” Kim said.
“Hey, give me more credit than that,” I said. “I’m at least the top in the LA greater area.”
The conversation continued like that for a while. Claire was charming, I couldn’t deny it. And I liked that she wasn’t throwing herself at me. It made me want her even more.
But that was a bad idea.
When her drink was low, I stood up. “Should I grab us another round?”
“Yes, please,” Kim said.
“Sure,” Claire said.
Claire was a bad idea, but one more drink couldn’t hurt?
Claire
Maybe it was the second beer, or maybe it was just that I really liked Kim, but I decided I had to come clean. Based on our conversation, I was 99% certain that Kim had no clue Trey had a wife.
I could also tell Kim was tough. She could handle the truth, especially since she and Trey had only been dating for a few weeks.
As for Pin, he was harder to nail down. With his dark hair and serious eyes, he was undeniably handsome, but he seemed reserved, like he was holding a large of himself back. I figured he was into me since Moves had been pretty obvious, but Pin wasn’t exactly making any moves. Just a bit of flirtation, nothing more.
It didn’t matter. I had no intention of going home with anyone and Pin was clearly Kim’s friend. As long as Kim trusted him, I was fine with him.
I waited until Pin excused himself to go to the bathroom. Then I cut to the chase. I’ve always been direct.
“So I’ve got to confess,” I said, looking Kim right in her eyes. “I didn’t come here tonight to meet a friend. I’m actually a private investigator.”
Kim blinked and stiffened. “Sorry, what?”
“Trey is married, and his wife hired my firm to find proof of an affair,” I said. “I’m guessing you didn’t know, but you seem cool so I wanted to tell you the truth.”
“Fuck,” Kim said. “You’re fucking kidding.”
“I wish,” I said with a grim smile. “But I can show you the file.”
“Oh, no, I believe you,” Kim said. “Honestly, I knew his whole wacky schedule was a bit weird – he never slept over at mine, and I sure as hell didn’t get invited to his place.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty classic,” I said. “In my line of work, we see a lot of this.”
Kim pursed her lips and frowned down at her beer. It hurt to hear that you were being two-timed, but as I had predicted, Kim was not about to break down in tears. She did, however, look pissed.
“Ok, so tell me how I’m getting even,” Kim said.
I gave her a devious grin. “I was hoping you would say that.”
Pin returned to the table. He took one look at Kim, who almost had visible steam coming out of her ears and frowned. “So what did I just miss?”
I let Kim take the lead.
“That douchebag Trey is cheating on me,” Kim said. “Or rather, he’s cheating on his wife – Claire’s a fucking PI hired to get proof.”
I almost laughed aloud at Pin’s shocked expression. His eyes widened and his mouth hung open. I needed to reveal myself in more of my cases, it was too fun.
“Sorry,” I said. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s in my job description.”
“No, you’re badass,” Kim said. “And we’re gonna take that bastard down, right?”
“It’s what I do best,” I said. “But I’m gonna need some help from you.”
“I’m so in,” Kim said.
I nodded and hesitated.
“You’re going to have to play nice with Trey for a little longer,” I said. “Just to get him on another date where I can take photos and then, if you’re comfortable, I would love to get some of the texts he’s sent you?”
Kim looked upset at the idea of having to wait even a short period of time before letting Trey have it, but she nodded.
“Ok, wait a second,” Pin interjected. “We just met, this is a lot to reveal, can we get some credentials or something?”
I raised one brow at him. He really was an accountant. An extremely well-muscled and deviously good-looking accountant.
“You’re asking for my badge?” I asked. “PI’s don’t carry badges.”
“Seriously, Pin, why would she lie?” Kim asked.
“I don’t know, maybe she’s Trey’s ex or something,” Pin said.
I scoffed. As if I would ever so much as touch trash like Trey Cook.
“I’m not saying I don’t believe you,” Pin said, holding up both of his hands. “I just think Kim deserves some concrete information before you guys go all Kill Bill.”
Kim opened her mouth, but I held up my own hand. “Fair enough.”
I pulled out my phone and quickly navigated to an article that had been written about Daniel O’Malley a few months ago. It had been a profile piece for the LA Times about an old missing person case Daniel had solved.
It featured a big photo of me, Daniel and Veronica posing in our offices. I handed my phone to Kim while Pin read over her shoulder.
“Shit,” Kim said. “Y’all are the real deal.”
I smiled with pride. Veronica had been unsure about having a photo. She thought it might interfere with cases if too many people recognized us. But in the end, we had been too excited about the article.
“Ok,” Pin said. “I believe you.”
“So kind of you,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
Pin shrugged, but I saw a small smile tug at his mouth. I decided his caution was cute rather than annoying.
Kim recovered with remarkable speed. We finished our drinks while she enumerated all the times she should have seen right through Trey, yet oblivious as he was so doting and into her. But now, she knew better than to be blinded by a crush.
“Don’t beat yourself up,” I said. “Guys like Trey are master manipulators. Trust me, I deal with their wives and those women have been gaslighted all over the place.”
I pursed my lips in disdain. Pin nodded along so quickly that I had to wonder if he had experience with a woman who had been manipulated. An old girlfriend maybe, or possibly a mother?
“She’s right,” Pin said. “At least you’re not the wife sitting at home right now.”
Kim shuddered and nodded. “So true. Is she – do you think she’ll be ok?”
“I don’t really know her,” I said, considering how much to tell Kim. “But I’m sure she’ll be fine. In my experience, these women always get the last laugh once their divorce attorney is done with their crummy husbands.”
“Good,” Kim said.
“I would not suggest you two meet though,” I said as Kim nodded. “Too often the wives take it out on the mistresses. You’ll be ok though. I get the sense you’re pretty resilient.”
“I’ve had to be,” Kim said. “I swear, I have the worst luck in guys.”
I gave her a sly grin and raised my glass. “Now that I understand.”
I glanced at Pin just then, catching just the smallest quirk of his right eyebrow. It was a blink-and-you-miss-it movement, but I’m a PI. It’s my job to never blink.
And the way he moved his eyebrow was as if he was responding to a challenge I’d put forth.
A half-hour later, I said my goodbyes. Kim and I had exchanged phone numbers and agreed on a tentative scheme that we would flesh out later.
Once I was back in my car, I chugged a bottle of water from my purse. Daniel would kill me if I got a DUI while on the job. I didn’t feel tipsy though. I never drank too much when I was on a job, so I had been careful to only drink half of my second beer.
As I turned my car back east towards the other side of La Playa, I pondered this case. It wasn’t quite as intriguing as I had hoped, but it wasn’t as banal as I had feared.
Kim was definitely not the typical mistress. Trey had played with fire when he lied to a biker. I almost pitied him, but not quite.
Then there were the other bikers. I was curious about their club. On the exteri
or, the leather-clad bikers had fit every stereotype. Tough, manly, a little bit to the left of the law. But they were loyal, that much was clear. Even to Kim, who was new to the club and a woman at that.
And Pin had been so nice. His every move had exuded respect and responsibility. He balanced their books for crying out loud. Although now that I thought about it, balancing the books could still be a bit left to the law. I had seen enough mafia films to know that at least.
But if I was trusting my gut, I would guess he didn’t fudge the numbers. I always made sure to listen to my gut, but never let it make the final ruling. Which meant, for now, I was inclined to consider Pin and the other bikers good guys, but I wasn’t going to make any major decisions. I had seen plenty of scumbags wearing impressive Good Guy Masks.
If Pin was wearing a mask though, it was a compelling one. My thoughts drifted away from Trey and Kim and towards Pin with the way he had leaned forward to talk to me. The way his eyes had scanned my face as if I was the most fascinating person in the room. The way his hand had brushed against mine when he handed me a beer. The way he had never stared, but had totally and completely noticed my slightly bare midriff. The way one lock of his dark hair had fallen over his forehead.
I shook my head and forced myself to focus on the road. It was not a good idea to mix business with pleasure. I couldn’t let a mild crush distract me from the case.
I told myself that my interest in him was because it’d been a while since my last fling. That’s why I was so smitten with Pin after a measly two hours. The last guy I’d been with was an artistic type. An aspiring singer-songwriter, which I had thought might make him interesting. Or at the very least poetic.
Veronica had teased me over that one. She had told endless jokes about how she had been down the aspiring singer road, and it led to nothing but endless complaints and guitars taking up space in one’s apartment.
I hadn’t even gotten that far. First, he was a mediocre singer. And second, he could converse on exactly one thing, and it was the unfairness of open mic nights in the greater LA area and how it wasn’t about talent and all about who you knew.