“Really?”
“Absolutely.”
They both laughed.
Crash looked up from the table. He’d seen Shannon sitting with Cole earlier, but now she was gone. Looking around, he didn’t see her anywhere. “Come on, boys. Let me introduce you to our VP.” He led the men over to Cole and made the introductions.
“Have a seat, guys,” Cole indicated the empty barstools.
“Where’s Shannon?” Crash asked Cole.
Cole stood up. “Crystal, honey, get these two a fresh beer.”
She nodded and got right on it.
Cole pulled Crash off to the side. “I told her about Friday night. Angel’s upstairs explaining it to her.”
“Angel’s explaining what?”
Cole gave him a look.
“No, Cole. Seriously, what the hell is Angel gonna tell her? I don’t want her freaked out before I even bring her.”
“Angel’s not gonna freak her out.”
“What does she know about what goes on?”
“She can guess. Pretty accurately, too.”
Crash clenched his jaw.
Cole slugged him on the shoulder. “It’s gonna be fine.”
Crash glanced up and saw the two coming down the stairs. Cole followed his stare, turning to see them. “She looks fine. No freak out.”
“You don’t know her.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Never mind.” He moved toward her.
The girls reached the bottom of the stairs, and he stood waiting at the bottom step. Searching her eyes, he asked, “You okay?”
“Of course. Why?” she asked.
His eyes ran from her to Angel and back. “Because Cole told me what you were up there talking about.”
“Oh.” Her eyes moved past him to the bar.
Crash’s eyes slid to Angel. “Give us a minute, sweetheart.”
“Sure thing.” Angel moved off toward Cole.
Crash’s eyes returned to Shannon’s. “We need to talk.”
*****
Nicklaus Ralston sat behind the desk of his fortieth floor office in downtown San Francisco. A wall of glass behind him showcasing the bay and the Bay Bridge. Before him sat the private investigator he’d hired to hunt down Shannon. A task the man was not having much success with, apparently.
“I’ve got nothing,” the man sitting in the chair before him stated.
“Mr. Abbott, you came very highly recommended. I was assured you always got your man, as it were, or in this case, woman. An assurance that came with a very high price tag. I’m sure you’re not going to disappoint me at this early juncture.”
“Mr. Ralston, sir, I assure you I’ve turned this town upside down. I haven’t been able to find a single clue to her whereabouts. She covered her tracks well. I believe she had to have help.”
“And I can assure you that none of her friends or family are helping her. I’ve made sure of that.”
Abbott lifted his hands and dropped them. “Well, the only thing the least bit unusual that I’ve been able to uncover, and judging by her wealth, it’s probably not all that unusual, was a five million dollar transfer out of one of her accounts several years ago.”
Nicklaus straightened.
Abbott noticed his reaction. “Were you aware of that?”
“No. I was not.”
“Well, I don’t think even her father was aware of that.” He slid a file folder across the desk at Nicklaus, who picked it up.
Nicklaus flipped it open and studied the bank printout inside. A lot of it was encoded, but the amount and date were clear enough. “This transfer—where did it end up?”
“I’m not a miracle worker, Mr. Ralston. The only ones that have access to that information is the bank or Shannon herself. And even I can’t get past bank encryption.”
Nicklaus dropped the file on his desk. He leaned back in his chair, his elbow on the armrest, his hand to his mouth, rubbing his lip as he considered the situation. After a long moment, he looked over at the private investigator. “Thank you, Mr. Abbott. I’ll be in touch.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Crash took Shannon by the arm and pulled her through the room to a back hallway. As soon as they turned a corner out of sight, he backed her up against the wall, his left palm landing flat on the plaster next to her head, his body moving into her space. His eyes searched hers. “What did Cole and Angel tell you?”
“Cole told me Mack is making you bring me here Friday night. Angel told me it’s to a party that you have after a meeting you call ‘church’, and that ‘old ladies’ aren’t allowed, and it gets pretty wild.”
He stared at her. “What else?”
“She said strippers from Sonny’s might be there.”
His brows rose. “Anything else?”
“Well, I don’t think you want to hear about how horny Cole is when he gets home Friday nights or how Friday is now Angel’s favorite day of the week,” she snapped sarcastically.
A half smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. “Nope. Could have lived without that visual.” His right hand lifted to her face, his palm cupping her jaw. “You okay?”
“Do I really have to go?”
His eyes searched hers. “Yeah, babe. You do.”
“Will you be with me?”
“Every minute.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Then I’ll be fine, right?”
He smiled. “Right.”
Her eyes dropped to his mouth.
He drew in a ragged breath. “Don’t do that, Princess.”
“Why not?”
His eyes skated down her body. “Cause you look hot as shit, sweetheart, and you looking at my mouth is making me want to kiss you. And if I start kissing you, I’m not gonna stop at just kissing.”
“Just one. Just so we’ll know,” she whispered in a breathy voice, and he felt his dick get hard.
“I think I already know.” His thumb dragged across her lower lip. She opened her mouth and drew the tip of her tongue over the pad of his thumb.
“Christ, baby.” And then her hands were framing his face, pulling his mouth down to hers as she rose up to meet him. Her lips were soft under his, and suddenly he couldn’t stop himself from delving inside. His tongue swept over hers. His hands dropped to her hips, pulling her forward, needing to feel her pressed up against his erection. Her head tilted back, inviting him in further. He heard her moan deep in her throat and felt the vibration in his mouth. An answering tingle started at the base of his spin, and he knew in a minute he’d have her lifted in his arms and pinned to the wall, before unfastening his pants and plunging inside her.
Boots pounded on the floor, dragging their attention. Crash broke off the kiss, his breathing labored, and he twisted his head to see Green standing there.
“I knew you were lying about hittin’ that,” he taunted on his way down the hall to the restroom.
Crash grabbed Shannon’s hand and pulled her back toward the common room, his shoulder slamming Green into the wall as he passed him.
When he got back to the bar, he looked over at Jake and Shane. “If you guys are ready, I’ll take you back to my place now.”
“You’ll like the Batcave,” Cole assured.
“The Batcave?” Shane questioned, his brows furrowed.
“Yeah, place looks like a small two-story run down manufacturing building on the outside. On the inside it’s a high-tech fortress with state-of-the-art security,” Wolf put in.
“Well, you do install primo security systems, Wolf,” Crash smiled at him.
Wolf took a bow and replied in his best Elvis impression, “Thank you. Thank you very much.”
“You install security systems?” Jake asked.
Cole answered for him. “Yep. Has his own business. And when he’s not doing that, he’s following around some cheating spouses, getting the dirt for divorce cases.”
“Really? You lookin’ to hire? That sounds l
ike it might be right up our alley.” Shane motioned between himself and Jake. “Did a little tracking and recon ourselves.”
“Maybe. You boys stickin’ around?”
“We’d like to, if it all works out.”
Wolf nodded. “We’ll talk.”
Crash jerked his head toward the door. “Let’s roll.” They followed him out to the bikes. Jake and Shane moved towards theirs, and Crash led Shannon back to his bike.
“They’re coming back to your place?” she asked.
He handed her helmet to her. “Yeah. They served with my brother. Don’t have a place to stay. Told ‘em they could stay with me. You got a problem with that?”
“No. Of course not. It’s your place, not mine. I don’t have any say who you invite.”
“That’s right.”
“Where are they going to sleep?”
“Got a big sectional couch.”
“But…you’re sleeping on it.”
“We’ll figure it out.” He climbed on his bike and watched Shannon look back toward Jake and Shane, who had now fired their bikes up. “You comin’?”
She climbed on.
Angel, Cole, and Wolf had come outside and were standing by the door when they pulled out. Angel waived them off. Crash nodded in their direction and hit the throttle. He felt Shannon’s hands wrap around his waist as he rolled out onto the street and gunned the engine, two bikes pulling out behind him.
“What the hell?” Angel whirled on Cole. “She’s riding the fender, Cole!”
Cole couldn’t help the grin that pulled at his mouth. “Yeah, baby. She is.”
“Why is she riding the fender, Cole?”
“Because Crash runs a solo seat, Angel.”
His wife got right up in his face. “You’re bringing her a seat tomorrow.”
He stared down at her a second, knowing there were some battles not worth fighting. “Yes, ma’am.” She shook her head at him and stalked off into the clubhouse. Cole turned to Wolf. “You hear that? You’re bringing her a seat tomorrow.”
“Me?”
“And you know Crash ain’t drillin’ no holes in that pretty shiny fender of his, so figure it out.”
“Son of a bitch,” Wolf growled, his shoulders slumping.
About an hour later, Crash rolled into the lower level of his loft, Jake and Shane following him in. Shutting the bikes off, they all dismounted.
“Grab your gear,” Crash nodded toward the duffle-bags they each had strapped to the back of their bikes. They made quick work of unstrapping them.
Jake and Shane glanced around the place as they followed Crash and Shannon into the freight elevator. As the elevator began its ascent, Jake grinned. “This is cool as shit.”
Crash smiled back.
Shannon looked up at Crash. “Are you going to introduce us?”
Shit. He hadn’t realized he’d overlooked that. “Shannon, this is Jake Webber and Shane Murphy. They were in my brother’s unit.”
Jake stuck his hand out. “Pleased to meet you, ma’am.”
Shane did the same. “Ma’am.”
“Nice to meet you,” Shannon replied, shaking both their hands.
The elevator reached the upper level, and Crash threw the metal gate open. His hand still holding Shannon’s, he paused at the security panel and punched in the code to lock up the building. He turned back as Shannon tugged free of his hand. His eyes followed her as she moved toward the bathroom.
Jake and Shane took in the place, their eyes going everywhere. “Wow,” Shane exclaimed. “This place is awesome.”
Crash grinned. “Thanks.” He moved toward the kitchen. “You boys want a beer?”
They both indicated in the positive, and he opened the refrigerator, pulling out three bottles. When he carried them back, Jake was standing near the pool table looking at the picture of Crash and Trevor. Shane was standing next to him, looking up at the flag
“Is that…?” Shane motioned toward the flag.
Crash nodded, knowing he was asking if that was the flag that had draped Trevor’s casket. “Yeah.” He handed him a beer.
Jake set the photo down and looked at Crash. “You sure we’re not intruding on you and your ol’ lady?”
Crash shook his head. “You’re fine. Wouldn’t have invited you back otherwise. And she’s not my ol’ lady.”
“Girlfriend?”
“Nope.”
They just stared at him.
“She’s been having some trouble with an ex-boyfriend. I’m just…providing her shelter, I guess.” They nodded, but he could see they really didn’t understand. “Come on.” Crash motioned for them to follow, and he led them out onto the roof.
As they passed the bedroom, Shane made a comment. “Wow, those chains are fierce.”
“Fuck the chains, check out the size of that bed,” Jake put in.
Crash grinned. “Go big or go home, I say.”
They laughed and followed him out onto the roof.
“Whoa! Check this out, Shane.”
“Man, this pad is killer. Bet you have some great parties in this place,” Shane remarked, taking in the view.
Crash sat on the wooden crate, leaving the two Adirondack chairs for his guests. “Never really been one to throw a big party. Guess I don’t much care for a bunch of drunk motherfuckers trashing my stuff.”
“I can see your point,” Jake agreed.
“If its parties you want, the club has more than its fair share of those,” Crash informed them.
“Sounding better all the time,” Shane put in with a smile, taking a pull off his beer.
“Any night action around this area?”
Crash grinned. “Makin’ up for lost time?”
“Jake’s been doing that since the day we got back.”
“Yeah, asshole. And you’ve been right there with me, hittin’ on anything with tits.”
Shane grinned, not denying it.
“So, I got a couple of dawgs stayin’ with me, is that what I’m hearin’?”
Jake lifted his hands, his best aw-shucks expression. “Come on, man. You gotta understand we were in the godforsaken desert a long time.”
Crash chuckled, raising his beer to his lips. “Guess it’s my civic duty to my country to take you out tonight and see you get laid.”
“Hot damn. Show us the way,” Shane replied.
*****
Later that night, they were standing around a small pub table in a very crowded Lucky’s Bar, Crash’s bar of choice. The dance floor was packed. They’d just arrived.
Crash snagged a stool from another table and offered it to Shannon. His eyes ran over her legs as she scooted up onto it. She’d wanted to change into something else from the pile Angel and Crystal had brought over, but Crash wouldn’t let her. He’d made an excuse about the guys being anxious to get out and none of them wanting to wait while she picked out an outfit. But secretly, he’d wanted her to keep this outfit on. It looked sexy as hell. And while he didn’t particularly care for her wearing it around his brothers, he had no qualms about showing her off in it in this bar. He wanted guys to check her out and know she was with him. She was classy as hell, and it made him feel good to know people would think he was capable of landing that quality of female.
A waitress came over, and they all ordered. A couple of minutes later, she delivered their drinks. Crash noticed they were already drawing attention, and it wasn’t just guys checking out Shannon. There were a number of women gazing their way. He was sure the fact that two good looking ex-military boys were at their table had a lot to do with it. Yeah, those two were going to have no problem getting laid tonight. He looked over at them and grinned. “You boys hook up tonight, you’d better be taking it to her place. Understood?”
“Roger, that.” Shane grinned back at him.
Shannon looked from Crash on her right to Shane on her left. “So, what’s your favorite type? Blondes? Brunettes? Redheads?”
Shane scanned the room and turned back t
o her with a grin. “All of the above.”
She laughed and turned to Jake. “And you?”
“I’m not picky. As long as she’s hot.”
“Well, maybe I could pick one for you.” She scanned the room.
Crash swirled the ice in his glass. “This should be good.”
Shannon turned back to Jake. “The brunette in the silver top.”
Jake leaned to the right, looking around Shane, who also turned to look. Jake straightened, looking at Shannon. “Oh, yeah.”
“I’ll take her friend,” Shane stated, his eyes still on their table.
Shannon looked back in time to see a blonde stand up with the brunette, and they both headed to the restroom. Shannon turned back to the guys, picked her clutch up off the table and slid off her stool. “If you’ll excuse me gentlemen. I think I need to use the ladies room.”
They all watched her leave.
Shane’s head, which had been twisted to watch her ass as she walked away swiveled back, his eyes connecting with Crash. Crash had seen him checking out Shannon.
“So, you and her…?”
“Nope.”
“So, I could…?”
“Nope.”
Shane smiled. “Message received. She’s off limits.”
“She seems like a real sweetheart,” Jake commented.
Crash tilted his drink up, scooping out an ice cube. Crunching on it, he grinned. “You ain’t seen the bitch come out yet.”
“Oh, really?”
“Stick around. She’ll show up.”
“Yeah, but she’s a fucking knockout. Babe looks like that, she’s worth putting up with bitchy,” Jake suggested.
Crash shook his head. “Crazy’s worth putting up with. Bitchy? No.”
Ten minutes later, Shannon returned to the table, the brunette and blonde in tow. “Ladies, I’d like you to meet Shane and Jake. They’ve just returned from Afghanistan. Boys, this is Lauren and Heather.”
Shane stood up off his barstool. Taking the blonde’s hand, he kissed it. “Heather, nice to meet you. Won’t you sit down?” He offered her his stool.
Crash watched as Jake did the same. Then he looked over and caught the self-satisfied smile Shannon threw him as she slid back onto her stool. He raised his glass and murmured, “Nice work, matchmaker.”
CRASH: An Evil Dead MC Story (The Outlaw Series) Page 15