An overhang stretched on either side of the door, providing shelter for clientele who preferred eating outside. A middle-aged couple and an adolescent boy who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there occupied one of the tables. Someone even cared enough to have potted plants woven in between the tables in the background. The area around the café, which we had used for skating, driving the owner insane, had been transformed into a parking space.
This was new. Usually, we headed straight home after my session with Zak at the shooting range. Grimm had become paranoid about my safety. I went nowhere alone, and if he couldn’t be with me, he would assign me a shadow. I was still getting used to the idea of someone following my every move, but it made Grimm worry less, so I went along with it.
“Why are we stopping?” I asked Grimm.
“Thought you’d like breakfast,” he replied, easing the truck between two white lines.
“Here?” I glanced back at the café. Should I be pleased Grimm had taken me out somewhere that didn’t involve me training to take on bad guys? Maybe I should be worried that this detour wasn’t a part of our routine, but I couldn’t stop the fuzzy feeling inside.
He turned his head toward me. “No? I thought you’d like this for sure. You’ve been cooped up at the clubhouse for almost a week, and that’s unlike you.”
“So a breakfast date, then?” I asked with a grin, relieved that was all there was to it. I had begun to think some bad news was involved.
“Sure, a breakfast date.”
I sighed in contentment as I unbuckled my seat belt. “Our first date. I wondered when you would finally take me out.”
I slammed the door shut, and Grimm did the same, meeting me at the front of the truck. He took my arm and led me toward the door of the café. By the hours scribbled on the glass, they had only opened half an hour ago.
“You wanted me to take you out?”
I shrugged, feeling shy all of a sudden. I didn’t want to tell the man how he needed to conduct his relationship, but still…the closest we’d been to going out had been the night at the Hi-Lo grocery store when Booker had been shot. That memory had forever been tainted.
“Weeeeell.”
“Well what?”
“It doesn’t hurt to go out just the two of us alone somewhere,” I answered with a shrug. “You know, away from the clubhouse, perhaps for a nice evening. I know you like to watch football. Perhaps we can go catch a game during the upcoming season?”
“Jesus.” Grimm stalled at the front of the café, his hand on my shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me? I’m not good with this relationship thing, Jamie. I’ve not been in a relationship with anyone since…” He trailed off and swallowed, face scrunched up as though he was thinking hard.
My mouth fell open at what he was getting at. “Never?”
He pushed the door open and nudged me inside the café. “I guess so. You can say we’re both treading new territory.”
“But I’ve dated before,” I confessed, taking in the cozy, inviting interior of the café.
A long table was set up with chairs just before the serving station, where three people were already having coffee. In the center of the restaurant was a group setting with a table and lounge-type chairs around it. To the right were individual workstations and to the left double and triple seating arrangements. Low lights hung from the ceiling, illuminating the area, but the most striking feature was the huge fish tank against one wall. The fish were as long as my arm.
Grimm laughed softly as he steered me toward one of the tables with two seats. People might have taken one look at Grimm and judged him, but my biker was gentlemanly enough to pull out my chair and drop a kiss to my head before he claimed his seat.
“I wouldn’t exactly call what you did dating, Jamie,” he responded to my confession. “You were trying to make me jealous by going out with some punk who had no idea you’d leave him traumatized for life.”
“I wasn’t that bad,” I told him, remembering Brent, an older dropout, who I had tried to use to get back at Grimm for not paying me any mind. I’d thought if he saw me with someone else, it would have made him declare his undying love for me. I’d definitely watched too many romcoms to believe that crap worked in real life.
Grimm scoffed. “The punk didn’t stand a chance.”
“Maybe not.” He had been kind of bland. Not at all the bad-boy hell-raiser I’d thought when I’d met him at the arcade. “He just broke up with me out of the blue and avoided me like I had the plague or something. I still wonder at that.”
Grimm remained silent, and I frowned at him. Doubt niggled at the back of my mind. I’d thought maybe Brent had sensed my lack of interest and decided to move on, but now I wasn’t so sure anymore.
He didn’t. He couldn’t have.
Grimm glanced up at me, and there it was! That guilty gleam in his eyes.
“Grimm, what did you do?”
He was saved from answering. A waiter approached our table and asked if we knew what we wanted or wanted some more time to order. We placed our coffee orders and decided to wait a bit to figure out what we wanted to eat.
“Well?” I crossed my arms across my chest and stared at Grimm. “What did you do to poor Brent?”
He spread his arms wide open. “I did nothing to poor Brent. Maybe gave him a word of caution where you were concerned, and that’s it.”
I wasn’t buying that at all. “What exactly did you tell him?”
“Fine. You want to know the truth? I told him if he hurt you, he’d have me to deal with.”
I grinned at him, so pleased my heart felt full. “You did that for me? And here I thought you didn’t care.”
“It was nothing. I would have done the same for Joel.”
I wagged a finger at him playfully. “That won’t work with me, mister. I wasn’t your son.”
“I think we should change the subject.”
At his sharp tone, I dropped my hand to the table. “I don’t understand why you’re so upset about what happened. I think it’s cute you were trying to save me for you.”
“I wasn’t saving you for me!” he protested. “I shouldn’t have confronted that kid, but Joel told me people whispered stuff about the plans Brent had for you. You were in no way ready for the kind of relationship he wanted. When I confronted him about it, he took one look at my cut and pissed himself.”
“Now I know why I never got asked on another date during high school,” I murmured in awe.
“Jamie, stop looking at me with stars in your eyes, boy. I should have left it alone. You would have made your mistakes and learned from them.”
“Maybe, but I’m glad you didn’t. You wanted to protect me, and there is no shame in that.”
The waiter brought over our coffee, and I decided to change the topic. Things were a bit tense. Grimm was never comfortable with the idea of me crushing on him when I was younger, and I could see how the conversation brought that back up.
“Someone fixed up this place really nicely,” I commented on the décor of the café.
“You like it?” Grimm asked, picking up on my cue.
“It’s way better than what Joel and I were used to,” I answered. “I swore we hung out at this place to try and be like the other regular kids, but the food was awful. The atmosphere wasn’t any better either.” I inhaled deeply, the clean, crisp scent filling my lungs. “If the food tastes as good as the place looks, I may just nag you about bringing me here more often.”
“I’ll tell the owner you approve,” he replied with a wink.
“You know the owner?”
“I am the owner. I bought it earlier this year and did the renovations,” he replied. “Mateo runs things here for me. He’s not a full patched member, but there’s no question about his loyalty.”
“Wow, you own this café and the bar.” I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the table. “Does that mean you don’t need to do any of the other stuff?”
He frowned at me and sh
ifted in his seat. “It’s not so easy to get out of. The other guys, they enjoy the thrill of getting their hands dirty. I can’t stop them. It’s what paid for all of this. Your tuition. Joel’s. If it makes you feel better, we don’t take anything from people who can’t afford to lose something.”
I didn’t exactly know the extent of the club’s illegal activities, although I was certain drugs were included somehow. I would have been more worried, but Grimm had been doing this for far longer than I existed. Still, I reached across the tabletop and placed my hand over his. The coarse hair at the back of his hand tickled my skin. For a couple of seconds, I got lost. How was it that I hated hair on my body but loved how much of it was on him?
“You’re being careful?” I asked him.
He placed his other hand on top of mine and squeezed. “I’m always careful. Besides, we don’t own only the bar and the café.”
“No? What else?”
We got around to ordering breakfast, and while we ate, Grimm filled me in on the businesses he owned in town. It turned out that Grimm also had a laundromat and a store at the mall that sold sportswear of all things.
It was just a regular morning, two regular guys getting even more acquainted with each other.
And he had plans to open up a nightclub downtown.
“A nightclub sounds fun,” I stated, liking the idea immensely.
Grimm chuckled. “Fun for everyone else, not you. You’ll be too busy with your internship to think about shaking that fine ass of yours.”
At the mention of my internship, I deflated. Not even the thought of fluorescent lights and Madonna’s crooning could change how disappointed I still was about my internship.
“Hey, I told you not to worry about it, didn’t I?” Grimm said. “You don’t trust your Daddy now. Is that it?”
“I trust you,” I answered. “It’s just that some things are beyond your control, Grimm, and it’s okay. I’ve accepted it.”
Grimm just frowned at me while I pushed the rest of my eggs around my plate. I was full and couldn’t eat another morsel. In fact, I was feeling slightly nauseous at the anxiety twisting my insides like buzzards gouging out the eyes of a fallen prey.
“Go to the restroom,” he said, wiping his lips with the napkin.
“What?”
“I’ll meet you in five,” he answered. “I don’t like the way you have no faith in me. If I say I’ll make something happen, then I’ll make it happen. Don’t underestimate me as just an uneducated biker with few options. I have friends in very high places.”
“I-I’m so-orry,” I stammered out at the disappointment lacing his words.
“Apology accepted. Now every time you doubt me, I’m going to punish you. Go to the bathroom and wait for me.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. “You’re going to punish me here?”
“There’s no time like the present.”
I wanted to protest that the café was a public space but didn’t. The thought of Grimm’s heavy-handed swats on my ass in the bathroom where anyone could walk in and witness was oddly arousing. I rose to my feet, placing my napkin on the table.
“Okay, Daddy,” I replied, and he nodded.
I slipped between tables, stopping to ask a waiter briefly for directions. The bathroom was small but clean, with a urinal as well as three different cubicles. A long granite countertop housed three sinks and automatic faucets. On the wall over the countertop was a large mirror embossed with gold and some charcoal-looking finish.
I paced the bathroom, and the longer I waited for Grimm, the more I wanted him to bend me over the countertop, pull my pants down, and spank my ass red. It had been so long since I got a proper spanking from him. Impatiently, I grabbed my crotch, moaning at the fullness of my balls in my hand. I squeezed and kneaded, watching the door.
Although I was watching the door, I was too focused on what was going on in my pants. Would Grimm allow me to fuck him right here in the bathroom after my spanking? I rode the waves of excitement at the thoughts going around in my head. Then the door was pushed open.
The tall unfamiliar man who entered the bathroom let the door fall closed as he assessed me. His gaze traveled down over my body, and only when it lingered on my crotch did I realize I hadn’t removed my hand. I turned slightly to mind my own business while I mentally begged Grimm not to show up then.
“Hey, there’s nothing to be ashamed of,” the stranger said. I kept my back to him to hide my erection despite his reassurance. I found it creepy as hell to address a stranger’s erection in such a place.
On second thought, I hoped Grimm would hurry up and get here. A glance at my watch confirmed the five minutes he had told me to wait for him had passed. Was he deliberately making me wait longer?
“Absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.”
Surprised at how close the stranger’s voice was, I started to turn but never made it completely around. I was grabbed by the back of my neck and flung forward into the granite counter. My stomach collided with the hard material, knocking the breath out of my body. Disoriented, I never even got a chance to figure out that I was about to meet my maker.
“This has been a long time coming.” The man grabbed me by my hair and forced me forward, his free hand working on the faucet.
“What are you—?” I started to screech as he forced my head beneath the faucet and water spilled. I swallowed the words and a mouthful of water that poured into my face, trapping me beneath the liquid curtain. I struggled against him, my eyes stinging, my lungs burning from the effort to stop my breath and hold off drowning as long as possible.
“It’s not your fault, kid,” he mumbled, pressing his hand into my neck and pushing my head directly beneath the flow. Between his hands on my neck and the water, I could feel myself slipping fast. His words anchored my consciousness.
“Your old man’s been poking into matters that don’t concern him. We’ve tried to warn him, but he doesn’t listen. Maybe he’ll listen when his only son ends up in a body bag because he won’t leave well enough alone.”
Son? I choked on hysteria at the irony of the situation. Here everyone thought Grimm was the reason for me being shot at when the real reason was my dad. And Grimm would never know. He would blame himself that this was his fault.
With the bit of strength I had left, I started to fight like hell. For Grimm and the guilt he would feel if I died.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Grimm
Two more minutes to go. I tapped the glass of my watch face, fighting the urge to go after Jamie. He thought his punishment was being spanked, but that wasn’t it at all. I planned to let him wait for me until I was ready to go to him. I’d let him stew longer than five minutes. That was his punishment for not trusting me enough to get him back his internship.
At first, I hadn’t pushed it because I wanted to ensure he was safe before sending him back to work. He needed the normalcy. While impressed with the way he was getting used to handling a gun, I didn’t want him to have to use it.
Killing your first man changed you. It didn’t get any easier either, and no matter how many came after, it was the first that always remained with you.
I glanced longingly at the alcove that led to the restrooms, picturing Jamie waiting for me impatiently. That boy did love sex and was always game to please and be pleased.
I smiled, thinking about my cock entering his lithe body. It shouldn’t matter to me that he had been a virgin. It wouldn’t have mattered if he hadn’t been, but him saving himself for me had just about knocked down the last of my defenses.
He could want a fucking trip to the moon, and I’d try to make it happen. I was hooked, and I didn’t even want to be released anymore. Jamie was my fucking world, and I’d accepted it. Finally.
A broad-shouldered man in dark blue slacks and a polo shirt caught my attention. I’d glimpsed him around a few times, but I never paid him any mind before. We didn’t seem to belong to the same circles. We never had a reason
to speak to each other.
I had no interest in keeping a tab on Smoky Vale’s ever-growing population. Because of the low-income housing options available as well as opportunities for investment, people arrived as others left. This was a hard place to live, but there were ways to live here comfortably. Those who had found these means had no intention of leaving.
I started to look away, but then I noticed the wet splotches on his shirt. Accident in the bathroom? His shoes also left a wet trail on the floor. How strange.
“Mateo,” I called to the café manager, who was talking to a couple two tables away from me.
He glanced up, excused himself, and headed toward me promptly. I kept the stranger in sight. As though sensing my interest, his head swung in my direction. He must not have expected me to notice him because his step faltered, and for just a couple of seconds, he seemed unsure. That mishap and the wet prints left my mind unsettled.
Something was off about him.
“Grimm, checking up on me, are you?” Mateo asked with a cheeky grin as he stopped at my table. “You needn’t have bothered. Everything is—”
I nodded toward the stranger, cutting off the manager. “Who’s that?”
“Who?” He followed my line of vision as the man slipped from the restaurant. “Oh, that’s one of the Di Oro brothers.”
“Di Oro?”
“Yeah, they recently moved here,” Mateo replied, the smile erased from his face. “There have been rumors about them. You know, the terrible kind.”
The last word was hardly out of his mouth when I jumped up from the table and raced toward the restroom, praying against all odds that my instinct was way off base this time.
Dear God, why had I left Jamie alone for so long?
I knew he was being watched, that there was some kind of price on his head, and I had sent him to the bathroom alone as punishment.
Biker Daddy (The Grimm Tales of Smoky Vale Book 1) Page 26