by Jamie Begley
“I take it that one wasn’t made out of steel,” Penni muttered to Cash as she passed him to gather coffee cups.
“I must have missed that one.”
Penni passed out coffee to the ones left in the kitchen. Ice and Jackal stood by themselves, shaking their heads when she offered them some.
“How did you get so dirty?” she asked Jackal. His face was covered in grime, his T-shirt was ripped, and his jeans were torn almost completely off.
“Genny had a new kitten that became scared when she tried to catch it. It climbed a tree, and I tried to get it down.”
“Where is it?” Penni looked at Genny who was still crying helplessly in Willa’s arms.
“When I tried to get it, it jumped down and ran into the road.”
Penni wanted to tell her how sorry she was, but she didn’t want to bother her and Willa. Plus, she was gradually getting herself under control.
When she managed to quit crying, Penni went to her, patting her shoulder. “Let’s go get you cleaned up. You can share my room at Shade’s home. There are twin beds. I promise not to snore.”
“Go ahead,” Willa urged. “You’ll feel better when you get the smell of smoke off you.”
Genny nodded, letting Penni lead her away.
At Shade’s, she gave Genny a nightgown to wear and showed her the bathroom before leaving her alone.
Penni rubbed her aching brow. Genny seemed so fragile. She had told Penni that she had been in foster care before finding jobs in town after she turned eighteen. Penni hadn’t pried to see why she had been in foster care. After all, Genny was private and didn’t like talking about herself.
Penni knew she and Willa had a close relationship, but even when they had hung out together in the kitchen, Genny had seemed solitary. It hadn’t taken long to realize who Genny reminded her of.
It was Lily. Her best friend had never shared secrets with her, and Penni didn’t see it happening with Genny, either.
Genny took the spare bed when she came back into the room, burrowing beneath the covers.
“I’m sorry about your kitten.”
Her only answer was a lone tear steaking down Genny’s cheek.
“Can I get you something to drink?”
“No, I’m just going to go to sleep. I have to be up at six for work.”
“You’re not going to work tomorrow—”
“Yes. It will take mind off Smokey.” A sob caught in her throat. “I jinxed him by calling him that.”
“No, you didn’t,” Penni soothed her, turning the light off. “I’m going to watch some television downstairs. I’ll make sure not to bother you when I come back.” She wanted to give Genny some privacy to take in what had happened tonight.
“Thank you.”
Penni softly closed door, turning to see Shade carrying John to his room with Lily following as she went to their bedroom.
“How is she?” Lily asked quietly.
“Not good. I wanted to leave her alone for a while. I’m not sleepy, anyway. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Good night.” Lily went into the bedroom where Shade was leaning over John’s crib, watching him sleep.
“How bad was the fire?” Penni asked when Shade came out.
They moved to the edge of the stairs so the women couldn’t hear them.
“It’s gutted.”
“Her insurance will—”
“Genny bought the house a few months ago. Willa practically gave it to her. Even with the insurance, Genny can’t afford to buy another one.”
“Surely, you and the rest of The Last Riders can help? I can, too.”
“We already have. She refused our offer. She knows we’re the reason the house was destroyed.”
“It just happened. Give it a couple of days, and hopefully, she’ll change her mind.”
“I hope so. I’m going to bed.”
When he turned away, she blurted, “Shade, when is this going to be over? I can’t stay indefinitely. I need to get back to work.”
“It won’t be much longer. The fire showed they’re getting frustrated because they can’t get close to us. They’ll make a mistake, and we’ll have them. Until then, you’re staying.”
“Yes, sir.” Penni snapped a salute before she sauntered down the steps.
Shade leaned over the stair railing. “You’re not too old to get spanked.”
“That’s what Jackal said.” Penni started to provoke Shade for his overbearing attitude then thought better of it. “Never mind.”
“Thanks. That was a TMI.”
“Sorry, I’ll be more careful next time.” She was smart enough not to poke a tired tiger when he was getting ready to go to bed.
Penni was about to sit on the couch when she heard a knock on the door. Raising the curtain, she saw Jackal standing outside.
Penni opened the door and went outside, afraid that their voices would keep Shade from going to sleep.
“I wanted to kiss you good night.”
Before she could respond, Jackal placed a scorching kiss on her lips.
“Damn, how’s that supposed to help me sleep?” she mumbled around his lips.
“Too much?” Jackal eased the pressure on her lips to place a tender kiss on the corner of her mouth.
“Not enough.” Penni jerked his face back to hers, not waiting for an invitation.
She tugged at his bottom lip, making room to explore his mouth, while pressing her hands on his chest.
Every time they kissed, she discovered something new about Jackal. His body would tense as if he were holding himself back. It was exciting to have a man who wanted you so badly he found it hard to control himself. Penni felt the same way toward Jackal. Invariably, she was the one who was unable to control herself.
“Let’s go to the hotel,” Penni panted out when she broke the kiss.
Jackal groaned. “Now you want to give in? Ice is waiting for me to talk.”
“It can’t wait until tomorrow?” She raised her hips up to notch her pussy against the bulge she could feel straining against her.
Jackal pressed his forehead against hers. “It could, but I don’t want Ice interrupting when I’m fucking you.”
“I can wait until you’re done.” Penni couldn’t understand the sense of urgency that was filling her with dread.
“I’ve waited years to get you in my bed, so I can wait one more night to make it good for you.”
Penni laid her head on his chest. “I can’t change your mind?”
“You can, but Ice will change it back if I keep him waiting much longer.”
Penni sighed, giving him a parting kiss.
“You going to dream about me?”
“I don’t have dreams,” she confessed.
“Everyone has dreams. You must not remember when you wake up.”
“I don’t.” Penni shrugged.
It was when she had heard children describe their dreams or nightmares in school that she had realized how unusual it was not to have them.
“You won’t have that problem after tomorrow night. I’m going to make your first time so memorable you’ll dream about it every night.”
Penni burst out laughing. Slapping her hand over her mouth, she turned toward the house to make sure she hadn’t woken the others up. When she turned back toward Jackal, she could make out his scar in the darkness. She thought his powerful silhouette seemed more sinister than what most women would consider dream-worthy.
“Maybe you’ll be the one dreaming of me.”
“Babe, that’s nothing new. I dream of you every night.”
28
Ice was waiting for him at the picnic tables. The front door was being guarded by two of Viper’s men, while Ice had offered to watch the back.
“What do you think?” Ice asked at his approach.
Jackal knew something was wrong when Ice had told him he wanted to talk where no one could hear them.
“I think it’s a little convenient that they managed to rig t
he gas when no one was watching. Viper installed security cameras when Genny was at work after she refused to move into the clubhouse.”
“Viper said he checked the security camera. Whoever it was came in through a window. They managed to avoid the security camera and knew to set the fire when Greer and Genny left the house.”
“Someone’s feeding them information.”
“Yeah.” Ice sat down on top of the picnic table.
“Any idea who?”
“No, and neither does Viper. This place is as tight a drum. Viper said his club in Ohio is, too.”
The men remained silent, staring into the dark night. Jackal speculated on who would have the opportunity to know exactly when Genny was going to the store.
“I’ll talk to her in the morning. She cooks breakfast for the men,” Jackal informed.
“Viper’s checking everyone’s cell phone, but it’s going to take a couple days to get the information.”
“We don’t have two days.” The person who had leaked the information of Genny going to the grocery store was a time bomb. The details provided could prove to be fatal to another member, either in Treepoint, Ohio, or Queen City. Jackal didn’t want to take that chance.
“No. The cartel wants Hennessy dead. To them, he stole their drugs without any intention of paying. Then, when they used the Unjust Soldiers to get them back, The Last Riders succeeded in taking out more of their men than they expected. It was the final nail in his coffin.”
Jackal sighed. “I told Hennessy to walk away from DJ.”
“He didn’t listen to your advice any more than when I told you the same thing about Hennessy.”
“Hennessy’s a good enough leader that he can turn the Road Kingz into a club to be reckoned with. I didn’t want him holding the grudge against the Predators for throwing him out. I still don’t.”
“If we don’t stop the cartel, you’re not going to have to worry about Hennessy much longer.”
Jackal raked his hair back.
Ice rested a booted foot on one of the picnic benches. “It has to be one of the women.”
“Why?” Jackal asked.
“Genny doesn’t talk to any of the men except Lucky, and I trust him.”
“I do, too.”
“Which means one of the women sold The Last Riders out.”
“Maybe no money was involved,” Jackal suggested.
Ice gave a whistle. “Cade said they use any means necessary to get what they want.”
“I’ll ask Shade to get information on them, but I already know he won’t tell me. He’ll recheck them himself. I can use my connections, but again, that takes time.”
“When you want information from a woman, there’s more than one way to skin a cat.”
Jackal nodded, his mind going back to last night when Penni had told him that being with another woman was a deal breaker.
“Rider told me the women can’t be with a man who doesn’t belong to The Last Riders. The one I can talk into breaking their oath will be the one betraying the club.”
“Bingo.”
“Fuck me,” Jackal cursed.
Ice stood up, smacking him on the back. “Sorry, but the sooner, the better. Whichever bitch is doing it could get us all killed.”
“When Penni finds out, I’ll wish I were dead.”
“Not many men would complain about putting their dick on the line for their club.”
“Stump could do it.”
“You want to put your faith in Stump? He’s more likely to get us killed before the cartel has a chance.”
Stump loved to fuck, and women smelled it on him. He could talk a woman out of her panties with her husband within earshot. The man had caused more fights than any other man in the club. There were always numerous boyfriends or husbands who had come searching for revenge, and because he loved to fight as much as he loved to fuck, he usually ended up behind bars for a couple months out of the year. The only reason he hadn’t been on the wrong end of a bullet was his connection to the Predators.
“Think about it. It’s not like you have to make a decision tonight; all the women are settled for the night. Talk to Genny in the morning.” Ice shrugged. “You might have to do it, but then again, you might catch a break and figure out who fed the information to the cartel.”
“Since when have I ever caught a fucking break?”
“When you became a Predator.”
“You don’t know Penni. Any chance I have with her will be gone. She’s like no other I’ve met before. How did you feel when you lost Grace?”
Ice had cheated on Grace to prove to the men that he wasn’t fucked in the head after what had happened to him in prison. And Jackal had been one of the men who had expected him to prove himself.
“Brother, I could order you to fuck the bitches, but I know you’re going to do what’s best for the club. Just as I did.” He nodded with an evil grin. “Payback is a bitch.”
In other words, the choice Ice was offering him was no choice at all.
Jackal shook off his sleep as he entered the kitchen where Genny was already at work, and it was only ten to six.
“Any coffee?”
“It just finished.” Genny nodded at the coffee pot.
Jackal liked the girl. She would cook for the men, but she wouldn’t let them take advantage of her.
“I have a favor to ask,” Jackal told her, standing at the counter as he blew on his coffee.
“What do you need?”
“Can you remember who you told you were going to the store yesterday?”
“Viper already asked that question, and he still has my cell phone.”
“Humor me. Maybe you forgot someone.”
Genny shook her head, shoving a baking sheet of hash browns into the oven. “No, because I didn’t tell anyone.”
“So it was a random trip to the store?”
Genny frowned. “No, Willa had gotten a large order for her chocolate cookies, and we were out of chocolate chips, so she asked me to pick them up and bring them when I came in today.”
“Did anyone hear her asking you?”
“Everyone; it was right after lunch.”
Fuck, he was right. He wasn’t going to catch a break.
“Can you at least make me a note of the women who were there?”
“That, I can do.”
Jackal sat down at the kitchen table, watching her work on the note as she cooked. Ten minutes later, she handed him the list.
He glanced at the names as he refilled his cup. He had already memorized the names of the women.
“Can I borrow your pencil?”
Genny shrugged. “Help yourself.”
Jackal crossed out the names of the women who were married, figuring if any of them were the one who had betrayed them, then they were already fucked. That whittled down the list.
“You sure this is all of them? You didn’t leave anyone out?”
Genny nodded. “I’m sure.”
That left him with Ember, Raci, and Jewell. It could be worse. As many women as they had, the number could have been much higher.
Jackal pulled out his cell phone, pulling up the text Viper had sent him last night of the employee’s work schedules, thinking how the women all hung around the club room when they got off work.
He stared down at the paper again. Ember had been sleeping with Train more often since he had gotten there, Raci was the friendliest, and Jewell would be the hardest nut to crack. He circled Raci’s name, thinking she was least likely, but maybe he could use her to find out about the other two.
Jackal shoved the list in his back pocket as Viper and Ice entered the kitchen, Winter following behind more slowly as she went to the refrigerator.
After taking out a lunch box, she kissed Viper on the cheek. “I’ll see you when I get home. Rider’s waiting for me in the parking lot. I already texted him and told him I’m on my way.”
“I could have taken you.”
Winter shook her head, avoiding
his gaze. “Stay. I know you have business to discuss.” She then left without another word.
Maybe it was one of the married women. Jackal had been witnessing the escalated tension in the couple since he had arrived there. Maybe she was sick of playing second fiddle to a group of bikers. Razer and Shade had their own homes, so it could be that Winter was sick of sharing her husband with the men and women twenty-four hours a day.
Jackal knew Winter was one woman he wouldn’t be able to trick into revealing anything if she were the one betraying the club. To be honest, he wasn’t man enough for that job. Stump wasn’t, either. The fear of Viper was enough to shrivel any man’s dick.
Jackal waited until Viper and Ice had fixed their plates and went to the main dining room to talk without being overhead.
“Anything new?”
“Shade took Genny’s phone after I gave it to him. No one texted her yesterday. Genny didn’t have any texts for the last month other than Willa, and those were all work related.”
“Damn, I knew it wouldn’t be that easy.” Jackal stared down at the empty coffee cup in his hands. “I talked to Genny. She said Willa asked her to go to the store yesterday. She made a list for me, and I’ve managed to narrow it down to Ember, Raci, and Jewel.” He had debated over telling Viper, knowing Viper had asked her the same question.
“I’ll text Shade and tell him,” Ice said. “He’s already pulled everyone’s messages and phone calls. It will save some time.”
“All three women followed the club from Ohio,” Viper told them. “I’ll call Moon. The clubhouse there is on alert, as well. I’ll ask if any had any contact. If Shade and I question the three women, though, it will make them suspicious.” Viper pushed his plate away, staring at them.
Jackal didn’t respect many men, but Viper was putting the club’s safety ahead of his pride, and that was worth his respect.
Ice and Jackal hadn’t intended to tell him about their plan. He still didn’t, and now he wouldn’t have to. Viper already knew.
The three men didn’t need to discuss the strategy to catch the traitor; they all knew time wasn’t on their side.
“One thing for fucking sure: today is going to be an interesting day.” Viper’s eyes focused on him.
“Yes, it is.”