by Jamie Begley
“They’re right.”
“Where are you going?”
Shade remained silent, getting on his bike and starting the motor.
“Fine, don’t answer. You can say hi to Sasha when they arrest your ass.” Killyama turned and started walking toward the SUV she had parked at the convenience store across the street.
Shade rode his bike across the street, waiting for her to reach him.
“You could have offered me a ride.”
“I thought you don’t ride with married men?”
“I’m tired,” she excused. “I haven’t slept in two nights.”
“I bet Train isn’t getting much sleep tonight, either.” Shade’s penetrating blue eyes studied her reaction as Killyama winced while thinking about how the women would be helping Train repair his wounded pride.
“I thought of a way to help Sasha,” she spoke quickly, trying to keep him from reading too much.
“What? Have her plead to the charge? Or throw her to the mercy of the court?”
“You haven’t been able to find a lawyer in Ohio?” she asked, ignoring his stab.
“No.”
Killyama reached into her pocket then gave him a card. “He’ll help, but he’s expensive.”
Shade took the card, shoving it into his jacket pocket without even looking at it. “I hope you’re not expecting me to say thanks.”
“No.” Killyama gave him a wry smile. “It doesn’t matter which lawyer you get. The DA has an air tight case against her, which is why Diamond hasn’t been able to get the charges dropped. Until you can find some new evidence, Sasha is only going to be a memory for the next five to seven years.”
“What’s your idea?”
“Kane still has one of the necklaces he accused Sasha of stealing. He has it stashed at his father’s house. There’s no breaking in there; you’ll get caught before you get a foot inside the gate.”
Shade didn’t seem surprised, and he was still listening. “I don’t get caught.”
“You will. Jonas says there is no getting past the security. It doesn’t make a difference anyway. You can’t steal them then take them to the police. You can’t tell them you stole them from him, even if you tell the police or Sasha’s lawyer the jewelry is there. They have to have probable cause to get a search warrant.” Killyama took a deep breath, relieving the tension that had been building as she talked. “Once a week, Kane goes golfing.”
“Crash will be relieved that he hasn’t lost his touch. You’re not telling me anything we don’t know.”
“Did you know Kane’s not actually golfing? He borrows the caddy to drive over to a small hotel that has a massage parlor attached.”
Shade turned off his motor. “How did you find this out?”
“One of Kane’s ex-girlfriends told me. She managed to get ahold of his burner phone when they were dating while he was taking a shower. He had told Cassandra the extra phone was for clients; that he was dappling in real estate. What he has been dappling in is hookers.
“While Kane’s at the massage parlor, Hammer, Jonas, and I are going to try to grab his burner phone as an insurance policy. We don’t know what’s on it, so I don’t want to put all of our eggs in that basket. What I suggest is you break into Kane’s car at the golf course. Cassandra said he keeps the gate opener to his father’s house on the window visor. He’s on vacation in the Hamptons, by the way, and the staff is off. Kane keeps his keys in the console. Apparently, he doesn’t even take his wallet into the massage parlor. He pays in cash.”
“Like you said, I can’t take the jewelry.”
“You won’t have to. Just arrange for it to be seen easily. The cops won’t need a search warrant if the jewelry is in plain sight when the police and the fire department put out the fire you set.”
“Sounds like you have everything all planned out. What I don’t understand is what you need me for? You, Hammer, and Jonas can do this on your own. If you think you’re going to win points from Train, you won’t. He hates you right now. The whole club does. You’ve broken a friendship with the Destructors, and the fallout will affect Beth, Lily, and Diamond, too. Viper ordered them not to have any association with you.”
Killyama didn’t blink an eye, knowing any response she made would be recounted to The Last Riders.
“Dude, is that supposed to get me upset? I don’t give a fuck about The Last Riders, and if Beth, Lily, and Diamond listen to Viper, that’s on them, not me. The only fallout I need you to care about is when the shit hits the fan, and daddy big bucks comes racing back from his vacation. Then you make sure it doesn’t get swept under the rug. To do that, it’s going to take lots of money and finesse. You wouldn’t have caught Lily’s attention if you couldn’t handle that. The dude whose card I gave you can help you and will point you in the right direction.”
“I take it he wants his own cut?” Shade took the card out of his pocket to look at it. “He’s not a lawyer? How can a Professor of Economics at the university help?”
“He has money and connections, and he’s running for mayor. He’s trying to get into politics, but two things have stopped him: Kane’s father and the current mayor. If Yates helps us, it eliminates daddy big bucks who holds the mayor’s purse strings. One thing Kentucky and Ohio have in common is the good ol’ boy system. Yates wants to prove corruption in the courts system and slide into home plate. But does it really matter as long as Sasha gets out?”
“Moon will be all over this plan. The mayor has been breathing down his neck ever since he found out his daughter wasn’t the virgin she was pretending to be.”
Killyama laid her hand over his when he would have reached for his cell phone. “No. You’re the only one I want to know what’s going down … now and when it’s over. I don’t care how you explain it to The Last Riders; just keep me out of it. That’s my price … Take it or leave it.”
Shade scrutinized her expression, pulling his hand away from her touch. “Why?”
“As long as you come out looking and smelling like a hero, and Sasha goes back to fucking everyone’s brains out, we all get what we want.”
“I’ll play it your way, but you’re making a mistake you’re going to regret.”
“What am I going to regret? That The Last Riders can’t stand me? They never did. The Destructors? Hell, Stud is going to be just as mad at me as The Last Riders. The women? They’ll work it out by telling Viper to shove his order up his ass.” Killyama sidestepped around his bike, going to her ride.
“Will you at least tell me why you did it?”
She stepped up into the black Escalade. “I was bored.” Slamming her door closed, she drove away.
Train was the only one who mattered, and he wouldn’t care that her heart was breaking at the lie she had told Shade.
She turned the window wipers’ speed up faster when the drizzle turned into a downpour. She drove easily as the streets to the hotel were beginning to flood. She wasn’t timid on slick roads; she liked everything about rain—the way it made everything smell new, the way it sounded on a roof, the way it felt on your skin … the way heaven could weep the tears she refused to shed.
Shade watched the taillights until she was out of sight before taking out his phone again.
“Any news?” Train’s low voice answered.
“You alone?”
“No. What do you need?”
Shade heard Jewell mutter something in the background.
“Never mind. I’ll talk you later when I find something out.”
Hanging up, he started his bike, riding back to the clubhouse. Once there, he shook off the rain as he ran into the clubhouse where Rider was waiting for him inside.
“What did Killyama want?”
“Wake Moon up. We have work to do.”
14
Crash raised his eyes from his cards. “Who was that?”
Train set his cell phone down on the kitchen table. “Shade.”
“What did he want?”
“He didn’t say.
He was acting weird.”
“Shade weird or weird-weird?”
“I don’t know. I can’t explain it. Call him back and ask him.” Using the tip of his cards, he shoved his cell phone toward Crash.
“I was just asking.” He shifted in his seat as if Shade would yell at him from the phone.
Jewell folded her cards, stretching as she rose. “I have to get to bed. I need to try to get a couple of hours sleep before work.”
“See you in the morning.” Train dropped another twenty in the pot.
“Why don’t you come with me? You haven’t slept in three nights.”
“I’m not tired.”
“Suit yourself. Crash, make sure you shower before work; you reek. That pizza you ordered had enough garlic on it to make a vampire comatose.”
“Want to give me a goodnight kiss?”
“Hell no. Besides, it’s morning.” Jewell shoved away from Crash when he jokingly tried to pull her down onto his lap. Dodging him, she escaped out of the kitchen.
Train showed his cards, pulling the pile of cash toward him.
Crash grunted, leaning back in his chair. “I’m all in, brother. Then I’m going to bed.”
“You don’t want to play another game?”
“You have all my money.”
Train took out his wallet and precisely tucked the bills inside. “I can give you a loan if you need it?”
“No thanks. I’ll borrow some money from Razer if I need it. He doesn’t charge interest.” Crash left, complaining about having to take another shower.
Train made a fresh pot of coffee, glad he hadn’t eaten a slice of the bizarre pizza Crash loved to order. It had five different meats and enough garlic to kill a horse, with jalapenos, onions, and pineapple on top. It always made his eyes water when Crash would carry the pizza box into the room.
He was cramming the box in the trash outside of the kitchen door when Razer stepped out of his house, heading toward him.
“Crash ordered pizza again?”
“He lives on that stuff.” Train held the door for him as they made their way inside. “I told him he was a heart attack waiting to happen, but he says the garlic keeps him healthy.” Train picked up his coffee cup as Razer poured himself one. “What has you up so early? You don’t have to be at work for another couple of hours.”
“Beth will be getting Noah and Chance ready for pre-school in an hour. I didn’t want the boys to see me sleeping on the couch.”
“You slept on the couch?”
“Beth and I got into a fight when I told her not to talk to Sex Piston and her crew anymore.”
“I can imagine how that went.”
“Like a ton of the bricks. She threatened to hurt me when I fell asleep.”
Train made them breakfast, and they were fixing their plates when Viper showed up. His face was haggard as he poured his coffee.
“I’d ask how your night went, but I can see that for myself.” Train offered him a piece of toast.
Viper shook his head, sitting down at the table with them.
“I take it Winter didn’t take your order any better than Beth did?” Razer bit into a piece of crispy bacon.
“Do you know how hard it is to live with two women who are mad at you?”
Train and Razer stared at him like he had lost his mind as Stori and Ember came in, arguing over which of them would cook breakfast and who would do the laundry.
“When Winter stopped yelling at me and locked me out of the bedroom, Aunt Shay let me have it. I should have stuck to my plan about building Aunt Shay her own house instead of building a two-story to give us our space. Now I’m stuck with two women who refuse to fix me a meal.”
“I wouldn’t eat it if she does. Winter can have a mean streak when she gets mad,” Train advised. “Did Shade call you last night? He was acting strange.”
“He called me an hour ago. What do you mean by strange?”
“He didn’t tell me why he called. What did he say to you?”
“He said he thinks he found a way to get Sasha out of trouble. He’ll call back tonight with more info.”
“That sounds good, right?”
“Let’s hope so. I feel like I dropped the ball on this one,” Viper said.
“You didn’t. I did. I wanted to punch myself in the face when Jewell told me about Killyama giving me that black eye.”
“I knew they were trouble the minute I walked into the Pink Slipper.” Razer stood up to refill the men’s coffee.
“I knew we weren’t getting rid of them when Winter invited them to our wedding.”
“If you three are all done feeling sorry for yourselves, can I wash your dishes?” Stori asked with her hands on her hips. “I need to get to work, and I want to start the dishwasher.”
Train helped Stori carry the dishes to the sink as the club members filed in to eat.
“Shade’s probably the only one who had a good night’s sleep, being away from Lily. Lucky called to tell me he was sleeping at the church, and Rachel spent the night at her brother’s house.” Viper stood up. The coffee had revived him, but he still looked exhausted.
“Which one?” Train asked as they headed toward the factory.
“Tate’s.”
“At least it wasn’t Greer’s. He wouldn’t let Cash live it down.”
“I’m sure he knows by now. The problem is, the women keep dragging everyone into our lives. I’m standing firm on this one. The wives need to know I mean business this time.”
The three men angrily turned around as Stori and Ember, who had walked out behind them, listening, started laughing.
“Seriously, those women have you by the balls. What about Diamond? You can’t expect her to stay away from her own sister.” Stori hastily wiped her laughter from her face.
“I don’t know. Why not? They fight off and on with one another. Knox said they once went two years without talking.”
“That’s because they were mad at each other, not because a man told them to.”
“I’m the president of The Last Riders, and the women are all part of the club, for better or worse. When they married into the club, they became my responsibility, and having anything to do with that underhanded bitch is detrimental to us all.”
“I don’t remember that part of the wedding vows.” Skeptically, Stori stared at the two married in the group.
“It was implied,” Train spoke up, agreeing with Viper.
“I agree,” Razer backed up his president.
“I don’t think the women will agree, but what do I know? I just thought I would give you a woman’s opinion.” Stori linked her arm with Train’s. “Can you talk Jewell into letting me get off early? I want to make pork chop casserole for dinner. I know how much you like it.”
Train smiled down at her. She was like a breath of fresh air. Killyama had used him to achieve her own ends, but Stori didn’t want anything from him, only to make him happy. She catered to all the men in the club and was one of the few women who didn’t argue with the other female members. She was the opposite of Killyama, and exactly what he needed right now.
“I’ll see what I can do.” He was supposed to get off at three. He would ask Jewell if he could work until four so Stori could get off.
By afternoon, Train felt as bad as Viper had that morning. When Stori left, giving him a hug, he regretted offering to let her off early. The three sleepless nights had taken their toll on him. He had finally succeeded in driving himself to exhaustion.
The delivery truck had to be loaded with Cash’s help. When they were done, he went back inside the factory to see most of the workers had left. Cash had already gone up to the clubhouse, and Jewell was about to leave.
“A package came for you,” she told him. “I laid it on your workstation. Lock up when you leave.”
“Will do.”
Curious, Train picked up the small package. He had seen the UPS arrive when he was loading the truck, but he had thought it was for the factory. He never
received packages. He had no family, all of his friends lived at the clubhouse, and he hadn’t ordered anything.
He took out his pocketknife, running it across the top of the box. Closing his knife, he opened the package, finding another box inside.
Lifting the lid, he stared down in astonishment. Wrapped in tissue paper was a brand new black wallet with a chain attached.
Train touched it, feeling the buttery soft leather in his hand as he ran his thumb over the Navy insignia at one corner.
The expensive wallet was something he would have never bought for himself. He would think it was a mistake and that Jewell had gotten the name of whom it was meant for wrong, except the wallet was engraved with his nickname across the top.
He searched for the invoice to see who had sent it, or if there was a card he had missed, but there wasn’t anything. Then he took out his phone to search the company found on the return address on the main box, wanting to see if they could tell him who had sent it. However, they were closed. He would have to call back tomorrow.
Maybe Sasha had ordered it. She was always ordering something, but he didn’t think so. Usually, he or Rider gave her their credit cards when they wanted to splurge on the women. He couldn’t see any of the brothers buying the wallet for him, either.
Train locked up the factory before heading into the clubhouse. The brothers were already in the living room, relaxing and waiting for dinner.
“What do you have there?” Cash held on to his pool stick as Crash took his turn.
“Someone sent me a wallet.” Train lifted the lid of the box so that Cash and Crash could see.
“Nice. Who sent it?” Crash lifted the wallet so the others could get a look.
“I don’t know. There wasn’t an invoice or a card.”
“You have a secret admirer you haven’t told us about?” Viper lifted it out of Crash’s hands.
“No. Maybe Sasha bought it for me. It’s not like I can ask her right now.”
“Nope,” Crash denied that belief. “I keep an eye on the credit card statements. No one bought a wallet.”
Train didn’t know who would have done it then. He scoured his mind. The only person outside of the club who could have possibly ordered it for him was unlikely. Killyama didn’t seem the type of woman to give gifts. The bitch wouldn’t give him the time of day, much less buy him a wallet. But if she had, Train didn’t want it.