Kaitlin lingered on the current sip of coffee, wondering if Zak would be interested in dinner. “That would be lovely. And it’s very generous of you to invite Zak. I’ll ask him, but I’m not certain of his plans for this evening. He might be busy.”
Brooke’s lips tightened, then she visibly relaxed. “Perhaps you could call him before we go out for lunch, so tonight’s reservation can be adjusted either way.”
Kaitlin could see Brooke was trying to make every effort and that it was costing her. “Okay. Zak works at a local garage. We can stop by there on the way out to lunch. I’d call him, but most times he can’t hear his phone in the shop.” She couldn’t admit the truth—that she didn’t actually have Zak’s phone number. Perhaps she needed to change that if she could.
“Excellent.” Brooke seemed to relax even more.
Kaitlin hoped Zak wouldn’t be furious if she came to his work. It wasn’t as though it was a dangerous place like the biker bar. What could go wrong?
Chapter Ten
Zak had made it to work on time, but Julio had called in sick. That was troublesome for many reasons, but he did call Zak’s cell to tell him the meeting with Demarco was on for early that evening. Right after he got off work from this fake job. He’d have to cut out early or find a way during the day to call Miles with the information. He might be able to access the cash if Miles had had time to set it up in a hidden location close by.
Julio hadn’t sounded distressed, but rather like he had a really bad head cold. Hopefully it was a cold, and not that he’d been made as a possible informant and was tied to a chair somewhere with a broken nose being forced to lead Zak into a trap. Zak tried to shake his grim thoughts. He did have a really good imagination. Perhaps that was why he’d been able to stay alive all this time.
Midway through a busy and difficult morning, Zak was on his back under a vintage car, shoulder blades digging into concrete as he tried to reattach an obstinate starter, when someone kicked his leg. Twice. What the fuck?
He hated when people kicked him to get his attention while he was under a car. Why couldn’t they just wait until he was finished or yell his name? He slid out from under the vehicle with a vile temper pricked and ready to start a fight, but stopped short when he sat up and saw Kaitlin standing a few feet away. She bounced nervously from one foot to the other as she waited. Trouble?
Eddie said, “Someone’s here to see you. Normally I wouldn’t bother you, but she’s very pretty.” His boss waggled his bushy eyebrows.
“Thanks,” Zak managed. Kaitlin seemed very nervous. Of course, the last time she’d followed him somewhere, he’d been furious about it. Zak stood up and waved. He watched her stiffness melt from her body. She smiled and waved back.
“If you ever don’t want her anymore, I’d like first dibs. She’s seriously hot.”
He stared right at her when he remarked, “A guy would have to be crazy or stupid to ever not want her anymore, and I’m not either one of those things. Go find your own girl.”
Eddie laughed, his ponderous belly shaking with mirth as he lumbered away.
Zak stopped to grab a wet wipe, rubbing it over his greasy hands, wishing for the opportunity to clean up better before discovering what brought her here. Her pensive expression said she wanted to ask a favor. If it had anything to do with sex on the premises, he’d consider it. She was nothing if not sex on a stick. He’d never been so visually impacted by a woman in all his days. There was something about her feisty attitude with a hint of innocence that made his libido go pop. Every. Single. Time.
“I’m so sorry to bother you at work, Zak,” she said once he got close enough. Her voice lowered to practically a whisper, when she added, “I didn’t have your phone number and my stepsister invited both of us out to dinner with her new boyfriend.”
“Her new boyfriend?”
“That’s why she’s in town, apparently. Her boyfriend is conducting business somewhere locally. She told him I live here and he wants to take us both out to dinner tonight, since you’re my new boyfriend and all.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to go.” Zak moved closer, but didn’t touch her. “But I have that rescheduled meeting to see Demarco tonight.”
Her eyes widened as if she, too, suddenly remembered all that had transpired at the bar last night before rapturous sex took place. Or perhaps it was only his mind carousing in the gutter.
She said, “Right. I completely forgot.”
“No problem.”
Kaitlin glanced around the auto shop. “So this is where you work?”
“Yes.”
She frowned. “I’m really sorry to bother you here. I just didn’t know how else to get a hold of you.”
“Don’t worry. It’s not a problem. It’s still a good idea for us to pretend to be involved in public, at least for the time being. We have to keep up appearances, right?” He smiled at her, and she smiled back.
“As for my phone number, I guess I don’t have yours either. But we should exchange them for our…cover, don’t you think?”
“Yes. For our cover,” she repeated, but with a mildly dreamy expression, which was even more dangerous.
Zak reached into his pocket for his phone. She started reciting numbers as he punched them into his contacts list.
He dialed the saved number and her phone rang in her purse. When she pushed the button to answer, he said, “Now you have my number, too.”
“Thanks, Zak.” She reached up, putting her palm at the V of his T-shirt where he’d unzipped his coveralls.
He wanted to kiss her, but not in this environment. Not when he had grease splattered all over him from an earlier oil change gone wrong. Not when he was undercover and living in this fake life. Not when he was pretending to be a low-life criminal trying to score illegal goods in a deal with a trafficker.
“For what?”
Kaitlin gazed into his soul by way of his eyes. “For last night and today. I really am sorry to bother you at work.”
Zak noticed another figure approaching out of the corner of his eye. He glanced away from Kaitlin’s hypnotic stare to see her stepsister on a fast approach.
He cleared his throat, breaking the trance and took a half step back.
“Can he make it to dinner, or not?”
“Sorry.” Zak answered for himself. “I have to work late.”
“How late?” Brooke asked.
Zak shrugged. “Not sure.”
“Well, my boyfriend just called. He also has a meeting in the early evening and wondered if we could push our dinner to a late one.”
“How late?” Zak asked.
“Will you be finished by nine?”
In fact, he likely would be finished by then. “Probably.”
“We have reservations for four at the Prendergast.” It was the very definition of fine dining in this small town. And the only such place of its class within fifty miles.
“Okay,” Zak said. “Kaitlin and I will meet you there at nine.”
“Excellent.” Brooke turned and walked away, making another phone call as she headed to Kaitlin’s car.
“Thanks, Zak.” Kaitlin moved closer again, putting her hand where it had been dislodged when he stepped away.
“It should be interesting at least. Plus, I’ve always wanted to eat there.”
“Me, too.”
“I’ll pick you up half an hour before our reservation. Okay?”
She nodded, patted his chest twice with a wistful look. With luck, her look meant she wanted to strip him out of his dirty coveralls and get him a different kind of dirty as they rolled around on the floor licking and kissing each other with erotic abandon. The more likely scenario was that his libido was still carousing in the gutter.
“See you tonight.” She finally walked away and Zak released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d held.
Not surprisingly, the day dragged by after that. He glanced at the clock about every five minutes, thinking each time an hour must have passed.
He contacted Miles on his lunch break and discovered The Organization’s shortsighted attitude with regard to the new player Demarco was afraid of.
After being undercover in this role for weeks, they also wanted to change the arrest parameters. Instead of putting the money into circulation to see where it went, they wanted to bring Demarco down sooner rather than later.
They had already put the money in a place where Zak could retrieve it for the initial deal. But they were emphatic that they didn’t want to postpone Demarco’s takedown for a mystery guest who scared him. They decided to use it as leverage, assuming Demarco would talk once they had him in custody.
Zak didn’t share that assessment and said as much to Miles. “What the hell? If this is the route we take, not only have I wasted my time playing biker dude criminal for no discernable reason, we’ve finally gotten some leverage with the added bonus of possibly getting someone higher up, and they want to fold the tents and leave town with only a mid-level thug and his crew?”
“There are no guarantees of that in any scenario we put forth. The Organization wants results. Immediate results. Yesterday, if you please.”
“That’s crazy, stupid and a fucking waste of my time. This could be very big. Honestly, I don’t think you can count on Demarco being a rat. That’s not who he is.”
Miles countered quickly with, “Or we could lose Demarco completely because he’s tired of waiting around for you to produce the money you’ve promised.” So he had a small point.
“Just go in as planned, Zak. Wear your GPS tracker. Have your phone turned on so we can listen in. The code for go is Echo. The abort code to stop us from coming in guns a-blazing is Whiskey.”
“Got it.”
“But I’ll warn you now; you better use the Whiskey code only as a last resort. And only if something goes terribly wrong. Not because you think there might be a chance that we can snag the other guy, too.”
Damn. Using the abort code would keep him in this undercover role a bit longer. He wasn’t anxious to leave so soon after spending time with Kaitlin. But that dream was so far down on his list of official concerns, he shouldn’t even let himself think it. He shouldn’t see her again regardless. He had his orders, and the mission took priority.
“You won’t hear from me until after this goes down, but I’m listening. Okay?”
“Yes.” Zak hung up, wondering how devastated Kaitlin was going to be if he didn’t show up to take her to dinner at the swankiest place in town. If they took Demarco down tonight, the arrests, transfers and paperwork would take a lot of time.
The longest day ever at the garage finally ended. He clocked out, threw his oil-spattered coveralls in the bin, and roared his motorcycle through town like he always did when he headed for his rental home.
As per usual, Kaitlin ruffled her curtains the moment he pulled his bike into the driveway. He casually looked over one shoulder as he dismounted with an extra twist in his hips for her benefit, and was surprised to see not Kaitlin but her stepsister staring at his ass.
He looked away, his libido deflating. He was not the least bit interested in Kaitlin’s snotty, high-maintenance stepsister.
Zak hurried into his house and got ready for the meeting with Demarco. Fifteen minutes later he was back out the door. The curtains next door ruffled once more as he got on his bike, but he didn’t look in case it was Brooke again. No need to fan that flame in the least.
With a GPS tracker woven into the shirt he wore and his cell phone covertly prepared to record the conversation live, he was as ready as he’d ever be. He also had backup coms if needed, but hated having something stuck in his ear for the duration, always worrying someone would notice and realize what he was really doing.
Before he left the driveway, Zak did a subtle radio check with the lead guy on the communications crew. They assured him they were standing by.
Zak planned to meet with Demarco at the Devil’s Playground, give him the location of the stash of hidden marked money, follow him out there to ensure Demarco was happy, and then give the Echo code for the immediate takedown. It was still a stupid plan, but he didn’t get to make the call this time.
He roared away from his rental house, figuring the memory he’d made there with Kaitlin last night was the only one he’d get, which was a shame. But better for her in the long run.
Zak drove into the lot, parked his bike and had barely made it inside the loud bar before realizing tonight was about to be very long, and not in any way the one he’d planned.
~ ~ ~
Lunch with Brooke had gone much differently than Kaitlin had expected. Her stepsister was nice to her. Naturally, Kaitlin was wary through the entire meal, waiting for the other shoe to drop and for Brooke to start acting like she always did with brag after brag and a level of one-upmanship that only her stepsister had ever accomplished with a straight face.
But she had not dropped her nice façade once. Today’s noontime meal had been like a lunch between two sisters should be. It had been filled with laughter, shared confidences, good conversation and great food. First time ever.
Brooke mentioned her new boyfriend and implied that there might be more to the relationship coming soon. She hinted that a ring might be on its way in the near future.
“How long have you been dating him?” Kaitlin asked.
“Long enough,” her stepsister responded mischievously. That meant not long. Whatever.
Kaitlin came away from their lunch with the notion that perhaps Brooke’s boyfriend wanted to take their relationship to a new level. Part of this trip was business, but she suspected it was also partly about meeting Brooke’s family. Or perhaps to see how well they got on together while traveling.
Kaitlin genuinely wished her well. “I hope your new romance works out the way you want it to, Brooke.”
“Thanks, sis.” Brooke’s response sounded sincere. “I’m not certain how things will turn out, but I do want to move forward with a relationship. I think the new man in my life might be the one.”
After lunch, they returned to Kaitlin’s house. Brooke spent the rest of the afternoon in her room, emerging a few hours before their reservation time to get together with her boyfriend prior to his meeting. He sent a limo for her, and said he would send it back for Kaitlin and her date to whisk them to the restaurant.
Kaitlin had tried to decline, but Brooke insisted. She hoped Zak was okay with it, not wanting to call and ask him because she figured he was already at the bar with Mr. Demarco.
She didn’t know exactly where their relationship was going. She certainly didn’t want to know if he was part of anything illegal. Mr. Demarco was probably involved in any number of underhanded dealings, but she hoped with foolish desire that Zak wasn’t truly the criminal bad boy he seemed.
It was a future conversation she didn’t look forward to. She’d only wanted him to perform one task. And he had, brilliantly. Now she wanted more, but not if it meant being part of any illegal dealings. That was a deal breaker as far as she was concerned. She put that discussion aside for now. After tonight’s dinner was soon enough for serious talks about their relationship. If they even had one.
Kaitlin waited patiently for Zak to arrive for their double date. She’d changed three times before finding something she liked. It was too late to change again. The restaurant was pretty upscale so she’d settled on a suitably expensive dress, another one of the castoffs her stepsister had given her.
There were perks to being the same size. She got all of Brooke’s expensive, fashionable hand-me-downs. The difference was Kaitlin appreciated it, whereas her sister would never wear a used garment.
After today’s singular, stress-free lunch, Kaitlin was heartened that her sister seemed to have changed. She was acting differently, maybe thanks to this new relationship of hers. Kaitlin was only worried that Brooke hadn’t known this man in her life for very long, but didn’t want to rain on her stepsister’s parade or sour her pleasing attitude.
Was Kaitli
n wrong about both her stepsister and her own new “boyfriend” and heading for heartache on two fronts? She soon put both difficult topics out of her head and waited by the window she usually used to watch for Zak and his amazing butt.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t see the clock from where she sat. Calculating the time it would take to get to the restaurant kept her fidgeting down, but didn’t get rid of it completely.
When the time she expected him had come and gone by ten minutes, Kaitlin wondered if she was about to be stood up. The new calculation became, how long should she wait before taking the limo alone when it arrived and admitting to her stepsister she’d been stood up?
Chapter Eleven
Across the room of the Devil’s Playground, an unexpected someone was playing pool and sipping beers with Diego Demarco. Zak looked away to cover his stunned reaction, as if suddenly intrigued by the raggedy leather barstools and equally beat up counter just inside the door. There were others in Demarco’s crew sprinkled around the room, but Zak didn’t take note. His concentration was squarely on the newcomer, even as he avoided eye contact.
“Zak, come meet my new friend,” Demarco called out. Zak forced a blasé expression, turned and put one foot in front of the other until he reached them.
Demarco’s reptilian smile sent a red glaring flag up Zak’s spine, but not as much as seeing Miles Turner, dressed down wearing jeans and a leather jacket, in the role of Demarco’s new “friend.” What in the fuckety fuck was going on here tonight?
“What if I’m not in the mood to make a new friend?” Zak searched Miles’s face for clues as to what the fuck he was doing here.
“Come on, friend. My name is Miles. Let’s share a whiskey and get to know each other,” Miles—his secret undercover handler—said.
Zak turned to Demarco. “I do not want a whiskey or a new friend. I work alone. You know that.” So now they’d both used the Whiskey code to abort.
“Touché,” Demarco said with a laugh. “You’re right. Truth is, he’s more of a competitor than a comrade. You have quite a gut instinct for such things.”
Biker (Bad Boys in Big Trouble Book 1) Page 10