“That means”—he sighed—“that I talked it over with Captain Ferguson, and we agreed we need to find a way to keep her safe without police involvement.” He looked at me, his eyes hard, which was uncommon for Luke. “For now.”
“You tell her that?”
He smirked. “Nah, figured I’d give you the honors.” My eyebrows lifted, but he chuckled. “I told her she was in danger, and without more evidence, my hands were tied, which is true. And I told her I’d be investigating this quietly, which is also true.”
“What did she say?”
“She didn’t understand,” Luke continued. “So, I told her a little about Maggie, and I think she understood better.” Luke took another drink from his beer mug, and I waited, sensing he had more to say. “I can’t explain your world to her, brother, but I did explain that until I have enough evidence to bring them in, you’re the only person who can keep her safe.”
I nodded. “Appreciate that.”
“I’ll warn you it’s not going to be easy. She’s pissed and scared but refuses to admit either.”
“I get that.”
“And she does not like you.” He chuckled again.
I snorted. “She tell you that too?”
“She didn’t have to. As soon as I said your name, she shut down.”
Staring at the bottles lining the wall behind the bar, I admitted what I’d only admitted to myself. “Not sure I can keep her safe when she’s bucking me every step of the way.”
“You can. I would’ve already moved her to a safe house if I didn’t think you could. Not sure she’d have gone, though.”
I barked out a laugh. “She wouldn’t have.” Wrapping my hand around the bottle again, I spun it around. “She know you and I have a connection?”
“Not from me,” he replied. “And the fact that you refused to talk to the police probably helped keep that quiet.”
“Good.”
“What are you really worried about here?”
“She’s a black and white girl,” I answered honestly. “Knew that the minute I met her. My world is gray. Because of circumstances and just who you and your brothers are, you understand the gray. She won’t.”
I shifted my eyes toward Luke when he remained quiet and found his stare locked on me. “I think you might be underestimating her.”
My eyebrows slowly lifted. “Why do you say that?”
“She’s tough.” Luke grinned. “I married one just like her. Not much they can’t handle. The only trouble is they like to handle it on their own.”
I returned his grin and thought about his wife, Kate. She was tough. She’d had to be as a single mom, and she didn’t take any shit from anyone, including Luke. But Luke hadn’t faced the obstacles I was. Or the potential outcome.
We both lifted our beer at the same time and took a drink before I spoke again. “Any news on Nick?”
“Striker found him.”
My head jerked in his direction. Striker worked as a tracker for Luke’s brothers’ company, Elite Securities, but I’d had my doubts anyone was going to find him. “How?”
“Ran some old aliases with the Bureau, got a ping on one, and went with it.”
“Where is he?”
Luke released a long breath. “Hawaii. Lying low from what I can guess until shit blows over.”
“You think he’s coming back?”
“He’s coming back,” Luke replied confidently. “He has unfinished business here.”
“Pop said the same thing,” I admitted. “You think he’ll be willing to help us out?”
Luke paused for a moment before answering. “I think he wants the Widows shut down as much, if not more, than you do.”
When a palm slapped against my back, I looked over my left shoulder just in time to watch Pike settle onto the stool beside me. He glanced at Luke and then me before his eyes stayed on me. “Heard you had an incident.”
I nodded as flashes of Josie lying on the pavement, straining just to keep her eyes open, riddled my mind. “Yeah.”
“What do you need?”
Grinning, I crossed my arms over my chest, not at all surprised that Pike came out of the corner swinging. “Not sure yet.”
He nodded and glanced at Luke again. “Need security on her?”
“You personally offering or is Elite?” I inquired.
He shrugged. “Does it matter?”
“Don’t want to drag you into this without your team at your back,” I admitted.
“Already met with them. They heard what happened and are willing to wade in when you give the signal.” I nodded, and he kept talking. “Also heard she’s new in town.”
My eyebrows drew together. “How’d you hear that?”
“Kyle took some liberties and dug into her a bit.”
Smirking, I shook my head, but I wasn’t surprised. Kyle worked at Elite as their IT specialist, and he could get creative when looking for information. “Then he probably knows a whole hell of a lot more than I do.”
“She’s not talking?” Pike guessed.
“She came home from the hospital yesterday. We went over, and she basically threw us out.”
“Want some background?”
I leaned back farther and considered that. “Not gonna get it from her.”
Both Pike and Luke chuckled, but I was being serious, and it pissed me off. My eyes shifted to land solely on Pike when he spoke. “Thirty years old, Boston native. Moved here almost five months ago when she was specifically hired by the school district to head a summer camp for troubled youth.”
Only a few years younger than me, but she must be damn good at her job if the district sought her out specifically to run the camp.
“Summer’s over,” I pointed out.
“Running the camp was only part of the job. She’s the head school psychologist for the entire district. Being that New Hope is small, they only have one psychologist that services the elementary school, middle school, and high school.”
“She’s busy then.” Luke assumed exactly what I had.
“From what Kyle reported, she constantly works,” Pike continued. “When the camp was open, she was there from sunup to sundown, training staff and getting to know the kids. The school district’s thinking was the kids would get to know her through the camp, and she could gain their trust so she’d have more influence with them during the school year. They’d trust her. The camp officially ended Sunday.”
“Where was the camp?”
Pike leaned his elbow on the bar. “The Halligan farm, out past your area. Considering it hasn’t been a working farm in nearly ten years, the district bought it with plans for the camp. Kyle said her reputation led them to her, they offered her the job, and she immediately accepted. Rumor has it she did wonders with the camp, and the district couldn’t be happier.”
“I heard about that camp,” I admitted. “Just didn’t pay much attention because of all the other shit going on this past summer. But I did notice more traffic.”
“She drove that road every day all summer.” Pike agreed. “The kids were bussed in at the beginning of summer and just left Sunday, but the day staff would’ve driven past your place daily.”
“Christ.” I ran my hand through my hair. “She involved with the kids in any other capacity now, outside of school?”
“Not sure,” Pike answered. “School started this week, but Kyle found out she reported she had a family emergency and wouldn’t be able to start until this Monday coming, which means she hasn’t met her social services contact for the school yet.”
“Who is it?”
Pike frowned. “Lucy Reynolds.”
“Fuck.” I swore. Sometimes this town was too damn small. Lucy was engaged to Luke’s brother Chris, who was also an employee of Elite Securities. The Dimarcos were a large family with seven boys and one girl, and they all lived locally. Two worked for the police department, and three owned and worked for Elite Securities. The youngest two boys owned Dimarco Construction, where a few of my men work
ed. Over the years, our members’ lives had intertwined with the Dimarcos, and this shit was starting to seep into their lives. These were people I cared about. People who didn’t need to fight this damn fight with my club.
“You think she’ll be in danger?” Pike asked.
“I think they’ll do whatever it takes to get to my club and me,” I replied honestly.
“We’ll need to update Chris and Lucy,” Luke surmised. “Chris will have no problem keeping Lucy safe, but we’re going to need to put security on Josie in some way.”
I snorted. “Who the fuck’s going to tell her that?”
Luke grinned and slapped his hand against the back of my shoulder. “I think it’s only right that you do.”
I dropped my head while they chuckled, already dreading the conversation.
“Your club have a meeting?” Luke inquired.
Lifting my head, I met his stare. “That’s club business, but yeah, we had church and came up with a plan.”
“Know it’s club business,” Luke acknowledged but was telling me in so many words that he didn’t give a shit.
“We’re biding our time,” I admitted. “Can’t take on the national organization, and if we retaliate right now, that’s exactly what will happen.”
“You want them to assume you’re backing down.”
“Yep.”
“Think it’ll work?” Luke asked.
“I think they’re going to keep pushing until they get what they want,” I answered honestly.
“You ready for that?”
“Not right now.” I faced forward and felt the adrenaline that always stayed just below the surface begin to bubble. “But we will be.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
JOSIE
Staring at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, I sighed and ran my fingertip over the fading bruises. They were light enough that I would be able to cover them with makeup on Monday when I returned to work. Frowning at the stitches along my temple, I knew there wasn’t much I could do to hide them, so I’d be forced to lie.
I hated lying to my kids, but I could never tell them I was attacked. The kids I worked with lived lives most of us couldn’t imagine, and they looked at me for safety and protection. They’d lose their confidence that we could provide that if they knew the real story, and I wasn’t about to forfeit the progress I’d made over the past few months.
Reaching up, I flicked off the light switch and walked to my kitchen. It was early Saturday morning, and like every morning, I planned to make a cup of coffee before sitting on the small balcony at the front of my apartment. I liked watching this little town wake up and come to life. When I was looking for a place, I’d been lucky enough to stumble across this apartment. It was a small two-bedroom place, but it was right on Main Street, putting me in the middle of everything, which I thought was important when moving to a new town. It allowed me to learn about this town just by observing the people, and so far, what I’ve learned, I’ve loved.
I began making a pot of coffee, knowing I would most likely drink all of it myself. It was a habit that started in college, and I’d always promised myself I would stop drinking so much coffee when I didn’t need it to keep me awake, but so far, that hasn’t happened.
Leaning my hip against the small counter, I took a deep breath when the first scent of brewing coffee filled the air. After it was finished, I filled my cup and added a little sugar and milk before starting across the small living room toward the sliding doors on the other side. I was almost there when I heard a knock on my door.
Stopping, I looked back at the clock on the microwave showing me it was a little after eight. The only person I could think of that would be at my house this early in the morning would be Becs. She’d stopped in yesterday after work, but she’d looked exhausted, so I told her I was fine, and she should go home to rest. When she didn’t argue, I figured she was even more tired than was obvious, but before she left, I did ask her if she wanted to grab dinner this week some night. I liked Becs, and I needed some friends in this town. If I could keep my friendship with her away from her brother and his club, then I’d consider it a success.
Luke was the only other person I considered because I’d seen police cars cruising up and down Main Street a lot more than I had before, but he hadn’t stopped at my place recently. He’d only called me to ask if I’d remembered anything new.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t.
Walking back toward the door, I called out, “Who is it?”
“Bear.”
I dropped my head and sighed. I’d been hoping he’d given up, considering I hadn’t seen him again since the day after I got home—and that was three days ago—but I guess that was being too optimistic.
Stopping in front of the door, I called out, “I’m not home.”
He snorted. “Just open the door, Josie.”
I glanced down at my pajamas and sighed again. I really didn’t want to talk to Bear while wearing my pajamas, but I just wanted to get this over with. I set the cup on the table by the door and flicked open the deadbolt before pulling the door open.
There he stood, his black hair mussed and wearing jeans and a blue T-shirt. He’d look like your everyday guy if it wasn’t for the motorcycle vest he wore displaying the word President over his heart. The sight of that vest and the memories it provoked made my stomach roil, but I ignored it and took a few steps back.
He crossed the threshold, his eyes skimming over me slowly while he closed the door behind him. I knew what he saw. Black pajama bottoms that were loose and an equally loose gray top with three-quarter sleeves. I preferred comfort over style when I was home, but especially while sleeping. I was positive he was used to women who wore sexy pajamas or maybe nothing at all to bed, but that wasn’t me, and I didn’t care what he thought of my clothes.
It bothered me that I’d even thought about Bear’s preference.
Grabbing my cup from the table, I took a sip of my still hot coffee and ignored the fluttering in my belly while he watched me. I didn’t like him. And I didn’t care that my body seemed to like the attention he was giving it.
“You look better.”
His low voice rumbled through the near-silent room. “I feel better.”
“Good.” He motioned to my cup. “Got any more?”
Annoyed that my manners wouldn’t allow me to say no, I nodded my head in the direction of the kitchen. “Help yourself.”
I watched him for a moment while he walked to the kitchen before I averted my eyes, moved into the living room, and sat on the plush ivory chair I had in the corner. Distracted, I took a drink of my coffee and cursed myself when the hot brew burned my tongue. Blowing on the liquid, I took a slower sip while he poured himself a cup of coffee and came back into the living room. I continued sipping instead of letting it cool because I needed the coffee to give me the energy to deal with Bear.
He’d only just sat on the couch when I spoke. “Why are you here?”
He watched me closely while he took a drink from his cup. “Told you I’d be checking in on you.”
“I’m fine,” I pointed out. “And Officer Dimarco has police cars on my road all the time, so I know he’s keeping a close eye. You’re off the hook.”
“Talked to Luke, and he said he told you that he can’t keep you as safe as my club can.”
“He did,” I acknowledged, thinking back to that conversation. “But it’s been a week, and everything’s been fine without your help.”
He lifted his cup and took a drink before leaning forward and propping his forearms on his spread knees, holding his cup between his hands. “You’re in danger.” His eyes locked on mine. “But that danger doesn’t end with you.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What does that mean?”
“It means that if they can’t get to you, they’ll find the ones who mean the most to you.”
I sat up straighter, my first and only concern being the kids. “They’ll hurt my kids?”
His eyebrows drew
together. “You have kids?”
“The kids in my program,” I clarified.
He watched me closely for a moment before responding. “Josie, just the fact that you call the kids you work with ‘your kids’ puts them in danger.”
“How?”
“Because if they’re watching you, they’ll figure out pretty fucking fast how much those kids mean to you.”
That made sense. Anyone watching me or any of the staff I worked with over the summer would know immediately how much the kids mean to us. After all, none of us would have put in that much work if they hadn’t. “I’ll talk to Luke.”
He blinked slowly, and I recognized he was losing patience with me. “Luke can’t help you.”
“He’s the police. That’s his job,” I pointed out.
Bear shook his head. “He can’t watch you all the time.”
“And you can?”
He watched me closely, and the intensity from his stare caused fluttering in my belly. I had no idea why I was so attracted to this man, and even though my mind knew it was ridiculous, my body didn’t seem to agree.
“Rumor is you work a lot.”
My eyebrows lifted. “Rumor?”
He lifted his cup and took a drink. “Small town, Josie. Word gets around, especially when it’s someone new who’s doing something good for the town.”
A warmth spread through me at his compliment. “I do work a lot.”
“I can have a man follow you to and from work, make sure you get home safely.” He paused. “You have any friends you go out with? Anyone I need to know about who could show up here?”
I took a drink and considered my answer. I was a little embarrassed to admit I still didn’t know many people in town and never attempted to turn a work acquaintance into a friendship. “I don’t know many people here yet.”
He raised his eyebrows slightly. “That’s hard to believe in this town. Most people usually just insert themselves into your life whether you want them there or not.”
I ran my fingertip around the rim of my cup. “Well, if that happened, it happened when I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Hmm…”
I looked up in time to see the faraway look in his eyes. “What?”
End Game (Sinners MC Book 2) Page 6