Dom slid his hand down my back and guided me toward the passenger door. “The trip is too long to have you on the back of my bike when you’re not used to riding.”
“And taking the cage has the added benefit of letting me multitask,” Hack added. He flung the rear door open and leaned inside to set a laptop bag on the seat behind the driver and a duffel next to the bags Dom had already put on the floor. “I installed a wireless car router last night that will give me a good connection on the road. I want to keep track of all the moving pieces of the situation to make sure we aren’t blindsided by anyone.”
Dom opened the passenger door for me, but I paused before climbing in. “Maybe Hack should ride up front. His legs are a lot longer than mine.”
“Yeah, but nowhere near as sexy,” Dom murmured in my ear as he lifted me up and set me on the seat. Then he brushed his lips against mine and drew the seat belt across my body, his knuckles grazing one of my nipples and making it pebble.
“C’mon, lover boy. We need to hit the road, or we’ll miss the perfect window to talk to Paisley,” Hack grumbled from the back seat.
“Paisley?” I echoed, twisting around to look at Hack while Dom slammed my door and rounded the truck to climb in the driver’s seat. “That’s a pretty name.”
“She’s a pretty girl,” he muttered without looking up from the laptop he’d already pulled out of the bag.
Dom must’ve only caught the last half of what Hack said because he started the engine and glared over his shoulder. “Who’s pretty?”
Hack lifted his head and grinned. “As pretty as she is, I’m not hitting on your woman.”
I poked Dom in the side. “We were talking about the witness, Paisley.”
Some of the tension left Dom’s shoulders, and he loosened his hold on the steering wheel so his knuckles weren’t white. He focused on the road as he drove through the gate. “You perving on the chick we need to keep Lucy safe?”
“All I fucking said was the girl is pretty,” Hack snarled, turning his computer so the screen was facing forward. A picture was pulled up of a red-haired, green-eyed woman who was undeniably gorgeous. “It’s a fact, not an opinion. And I only brought it up when your woman said her name was pretty.”
“Don’t let your dick make your decisions while we’re taking care of this shit,” Dom warned.
Hack flipped the computer back around and mumbled, “I've never given you reason to think that’ll happen.”
“Yeah, but like I recently discovered, your focus can change in an instant.” Dom stretched his arm out and laced his fingers through mine, lifting my hand to press a kiss against my knuckles.
I didn’t want to do the whole road trip with the tension thick in the cab of the truck. After giving Dom’s hand a squeeze, I reached up and turned on the radio. I grinned when I recognized the classic hard rock song blaring through the speakers. Considering what we were about to do, “Highway to Hell” was spot on. I cranked the volume up, and we spent the majority of the drive listening to music. It helped distract me from what was at stake, but my fear returned tenfold when we reached our destination.
“Breaker confirmed Paisley is inside. She has a three-hour break between classes.” Hack’s eyes were glued on the townhouse.
My eyes widened. “There are other Silver Saints in town?”
“A few,” Dom confirmed. “They left last night to keep an eye on each of the players since we can’t afford to have any surprises with you here.”
“She shares the place with three roommates, but they’re all on campus right now. We won’t easily get another opportunity to talk to her without anyone else around until tomorrow afternoon,” Hack explained as he reached for his door handle.
“You’re staying behind.” Hack’s head jerked up at Dom’s command. “We can’t risk overwhelming the girl with all three of us at her doorstep. Lucy has to be a part of this conversation, and she doesn’t go anywhere without me. That leaves you in the truck.”
Hack nodded, not saying anything as a muscle jumped in his jaw. It was obvious he wasn’t happy about not coming in with us. I was grateful he didn’t argue about it because I was already nervous enough. I flashed him a smile before climbing out of the truck and walking to the door hand-in-hand with Dom.
My palms were clammy, and my heart was racing. I felt as though I might puke when Dom pressed the doorbell. “No matter what she says today, it’ll be okay. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, doll.”
He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and I leaned into his side. Staring up at him, I whispered, “The only thing that doesn’t suck about this whole mess is you.”
“At least we’ll have a hell of a story to tell the kids about how we met.” He gave me a squeeze and pressed a kiss to the top of my hair.
My head jerked up when I heard a soft, feminine voice say, “Hello?”
Paisley was prettier in person than her picture, and I could practically feel Hack’s gaze through the windshield behind us. Her eyes went wide when she took in how big Dom was, and she took a small step back when she spotted his cut. “Hi, I’m Lucy, and this is Dominic. I know he can look scary, but he’s a good guy. The absolute best, I swear.”
“Um...okay.” She bit her bottom lip as she stared at me, her brow wrinkled in confusion.
One of her neighbors to the right came out and walked down the sidewalk to the car parked in front of their house. “I get that you don’t know us, but would it be possible for us to come inside? It’s better for both of us if nobody overhears what I need to talk to you about.”
She searched my face for a moment before nodding. “I guess so.”
Dom stayed behind me as we walked past her. After the door shut behind us, Paisley moved into the living room and dropped onto the chair to the right of the couch where Dom and I got settled with me on the end closest to her. Gripping his hand, I decided it was best to just dive right in. “My neighbor was killed almost two weeks ago. She was dating David Clark, and I can place him at the scene right before the time of death.”
She gasped, her hand moving up to cover her mouth as any hint of color drained from her face. “He killed someone?”
I nodded. “And from what we’ve found, his father is working hard to cover it up.”
Tears filled her eyes, and she wiped them away before dropping her arm and staring down. “I’m sure he is.”
I leaned forward, pressing my palm on top of her trembling hands as they twisted together. “We know what he did to you. Facing it all on your own had to have been terrifying, but you don’t need to be scared anymore. The Silver Saints are ready to take your back if you’re willing to help me get out of this jam. David went beyond assault this time. He’s facing a murder conviction if I come forward, and he and his dad have already proven they’re willing to do whatever it takes to keep him out of jail on lesser charges.”
“They’re ruthless,” she whispered.
“They’re chicken shits who’ve never had to go up against anyone who could take them on.” Dom leaned forward and waited for Paisley to look up again. “Bullies back down when they’re forced to face off against someone who can fight back, and the Silver Saints never back down from a good fight. With your help, I’m confident we’ll be able to get them to back off from Lucy and continue to leave you alone.”
“I’m scared.” Her shoulders slumped as she heaved a deep sigh. “But I don’t know if I can live with myself knowing that I could’ve stopped him before he killed your neighbor.”
“It’s not your fault,” I hissed, squeezing her hand. “David is the one who did this, and his father is responsible for letting his behavior go unchecked all this time. You and I are just innocent bystanders caught up in a mess they created. If you’d come forward before now, you might be dead too.”
She gave us a jerky nod. “What do you need me to do?”
Dom explained the plan to confront David. Paisley didn’t seem convinced that everything would work out in the end, but
she still agreed to play her part. She gave Dom all the details of what had gone down with her, David, and his dad so he could use them as proof of what the Silver Saints had been able to dig up in such a short amount of time. After she was done and was walking us out, Dom instructed, “Get out your cell. I want to give you some numbers to call if you run into any trouble. And we’ll text you as soon as we have a time and place for the meet.”
Standing in her open doorway, she paused to pull her phone out of her pocket. It beeped with an incoming text notification, and her brow wrinkled as she peered at the screen. “It’s an unknown number. Some guy named Hack says he’s my point of contact going forward and to reach out for anything I need.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Dom muttered with a shake of his head.
I gave Paisley a quick hug, grinning. “Don’t hesitate to use that number. You won’t regret it.”
10
Dom
With Lucy’s hand in mine, we walked back to the truck where Hack was still staring intently out the windshield at the door to Paisley's apartment. I opened the passenger door and helped Lucy in, which seemed to startle him out of his trance.
He sat back and glanced at his phone, frowning at what he saw. Once I’d climbed into the driver’s seat, he grumbled, “Didn’t she get my text?”
“Yeah,” I responded as I turned over the engine and began to back out of the spot.
“Why hasn’t she replied?”
I shrugged. “Probably didn’t think she needed to confirm since we were right there when it came in.” Hack grunted and shoved his phone in his vest pocket before setting his computer on his lap again and clicking away.
Reaching over, I placed my hand over Lucy’s and gave it a squeeze. “Doing alright, doll?”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “I know this is for the best, but it kills me that he’s going to get away with this.”
I was with her there. But her safety was the most important thing to me. “Hopefully, the police will do their fucking job, and he’ll get what’s coming to him.”
“Okay, let’s do this.” I gave her hand another squeeze.
Lucy bent forward and dug her cell out of her purse. Her hands were trembling as she swiped the screen to open it.
“Sure you don’t want me to do it?” My tone was practically pleading. Somehow, Hack and Lucy had convinced me to let Lucy call the son of a bitch and set up the meet. I didn’t want her having anything to do with him, not even a phone call. It was bad enough she would have to be in the same room with him. But it would be more effective if he was confronted by the witness who could potentially take him down.
“I can handle it.” Her tone was determined, and after taking a deep breath, she punched in the number Hack recited. Then she put it on speaker so the ringing filled the silence in the cab.
“Who the hell is this and how did you get this number?” the asshole snarled by way of greeting. Hack had procured the number for a phone that had only received calls from a few numbers. From the guy’s records, we knew he had one cell that was his main tool of communication, but it looked as though he went through temporary phones frequently as well. The burners usually only received calls from two or three numbers, and they were never the same from phone to phone. We were confident that they were used strictly for cheating. It seemed more likely he would answer that one for the exact reason he had. To find out how someone had gotten the number.
“How I got it isn’t important,” Lucy stated. She sounded strong and confident, impressing me even more than she already had in the short time I’d known her. “Who I am is a different story.”
“Why would I fucking care who you are, bitch?” he snapped.
I nearly grabbed the phone and told him he was a dead man for talking to my woman like that, but a look from Lucy had me channeling my rage into my grip on the steering wheel. I wouldn't have been surprised if it ended up with permanent grooves from my fingers.
“This is Lucy Skye. The woman who could land your ass in jail for murder.”
The idiot laughed maniacally, making me grind my teeth in a monumental effort to stay calm.
“The nosy little cock-tease who lived next to Shannon?” He snorted with derision.
The more he spoke, the deeper this fucking asshole was digging the grave I was gonna bury him in. My vision was turning red from the force of my anger, so I pulled into the next parking lot I saw and put the truck in park.
“I can place you in her apartment less than thirty minutes before her time of death, asshole,” Lucy snapped, and one corner of my mouth kicked up at her mettle. Damn, I loved her. It was a shitty time to come to that realization, but it was true. “And I’ve got a witness who is willing to come forward about you beating the crap out of your last girlfriend.”
He snorted again, though it seemed a little less snarky that time. “No way would that bitch said anything.”
A barely detectable, muffled sound came from behind me, and I glanced in the rearview mirror to see Hack pressing a fist over his mouth, his eyes burning with barely leashed fury. It was an interesting turn of events, but the timing was shit, so I filed it away for later.
“She signed an agreement, and you will too, if you know what’s good for you.”
“Maybe I’m willing to do that,” Lucy responded patiently, though the twisted expression on her face made it clear that she was disgusted with the pathetic little shit. “I want to meet with you and talk about it. Otherwise, I go to the cops with everything I know, which is a hell of a lot more than you think, and Paisley comes with me.”
“You can’t touch me.” His tone was sounding less and less confident.
“You sure about that? All I’m asking for is to meet with you. You want to risk it just because you’re a cocky butthead?” This time I full-on smiled. She was fucking adorable.
“Fine. I’ll text a time and place to this number that is convenient for me. Bring the other bitch with you, but you two come alone.”
Lucy opened her mouth to reply, and I knew her first instinct was to be honest, so I quickly touched her arm, and when she glanced at me, I nodded. “Okay,” she agreed.
“Good.” His smug confidence had returned, and I had no doubt the motherfucker intended to get rid of the threat. He hung up without another word, and Lucy dropped her phone into her lap.
“Ugh,” she groaned. “I feel like I need a shower after talking to that slimeball.”
I cupped the back of her neck and brought her face close to mine so that I could give her a deep, cleansing kiss. When I finally released her lips, she sighed and melted back into her seat. “Much better,” she mumbled. Her phone dinged, and she checked the message. “Seven tonight.” Then she rattled off an address for Hack to look up.
“Figures,” he muttered. “A warehouse out by the truck yard. Bet it never occurred to that pussy that he would’ve been a lot better off with a public place.”
I put the truck into gear and made my way out onto the road again. “He thinks he’s invincible.”
“A bullet in his ass would prove otherwise.”
Lucy giggled, and the sound brought a smile to my face.
“Let Paisley know, and let’s go get some food before we get armed.” Not only had we sent some of our brothers out there early, but we’d also sent them with our weapons. So we needed to do a hand off so that we could protect the women.
Lucy tensed a little at the mention of weapons, but she didn’t say anything. She was new to the MC life, and it was going to take her some time to get used to it, particularly our brand of justice.
After a quick meal, we met the other Silver Saints not far from the warehouse and outfitted ourselves. At one point, Lucy looked at one of the guns thoughtfully, then turned to me and opened her mouth.
“Forget it,” I growled before she could say anything. “I’ll teach you to defend yourself when this is all over, but for now, you don’t go anywhere near a loaded weapon. Understand?”
She loo
ked as though she was going to argue, but she wasn’t stupid. Her sensible side that told her how dangerous an untrained person with a gun could be must have surfaced because she nodded. “Yeah.”
At six forty-five, Hack positioned himself out of sight at the front entrance, and Breaker took up a post at the back. Paisley arrived, and I waved Hack off when he began to step out, throwing him a glare. His expression was just as threatening, but he melted back into the shadows. I walked the girls inside and went over what would happen one more time.
The punk strolled in fifteen minutes late, his swagger and cock-sure expression making it clear that he thought he had the upper hand. Until he spotted me standing in front of Lucy and Paisley. “I told you to come alone,” he snapped. He spun around only to watch the door slam in his face.
“Don’t see why my presence is a problem if you were just planning on talking and walking away,” I drawled. David’s face turned a little red, but he covered it with a smirk and walked closer.
“You have a point. But you better not try anything stupid or you’ll regret it.” He was all attitude and lifted his shirt just enough to show a gun tucked into his waistband. I might have believed his bravado if his eyes hadn’t widened as he took in my size. I had at least four inches and probably fifty pounds on the guy. And not only was I more heavily armed, but I also wasn’t stupid enough to do something like put a loaded gun in my pants.
Lucy tapped my shoulder and handed me a file. I let my fingers brush along her shaking hand in an attempt to comfort her, though my eyes never left the murderer. I held out my hand and lifted my chin toward it. David hesitated, then he sauntered forward the few feet it took to reach my offering.
Once he had a hold of it, he backed up a few steps and dropped his eyes to the contents. “What’s all this?”
“Proof.”
David snickered. “You don’t have shit on me. And even if you did, I got someone who’ll make it all disappear.”
Dom: Silver Saints MC Page 5