Claiming Menace (Ruthless Sinners MC 5)

“Mm-hmm,” Rafe muttered in disbelief.

“Peter Brant told her to come here.”

“Lynch’s grandfather?” Rafe sounded just as surprised as I’d been. “How’d she know him?”

“Apparently, she used to work for them.”

“Was she around when all the shit went down with the robbery?”

“Don’t think so, but can’t say for certain. The whole deal seemed a little sketchy.”

“You think we should be concerned?”

“I wouldn’t have hired her if I did.”

“Well, I’m sure glad you hired her. Damn, she’s hot,” Country added. “Like really, fucking hot.”

“Steer clear, asshat,” I warned. “The last thing she needs is you giving her a hard time.”

“What makes you think I’d give her a hard time?” He brought his hand up to his chest like he was wounded. “I was just making an observation.”

“Yeah, sure you were.”

I watched as Aubrey carried the round of drinks over to one of the rowdier tables right next to the stage. The guys were all carrying on, cheering and shouting, and it was clear they had a thing for their pretty little waitress. I couldn’t blame them. Aubrey was the best-looking woman in the room, and her confident swagger only made her that much more desirable. They were all throwing her complements and dinner date offers, but she politely blew off their advances as she put their various beers down on the table. I was pleased to see that even though she looked sweet and innocent, she could handle her own. I turned my attention back to Rafe.

“This girl got a name?” Rafe asked, sounding concerned.

“Aubrey Cash. At least, that’s what she told me. I did a little digging after her interview, and there’s no mention of any Aubrey Cash before the year 2019. Just says she grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and her parents, Janice and Daniel Cash, were killed in a car crash. That’s it. No school. No college. No mention of her on any social media platform. Hell, there’s not even a single photograph of her anywhere online. It’s like she didn’t exist until a couple of years ago.”

“So, she’s lying about who she is?”

“No doubt about it. The chick is hiding something, and I got a feeling it’s not good.” The thought had me taking another pull from my beer. “She went to an awful lot of trouble to get herself a fake name, social security number, and driver’s license.”

“You think she’s in some kind of trouble?”

“Don’t have a clue.” I found myself looking back over in her direction as I said, “She hasn’t said much since the interview. Been keeping her head low and doing her job like she’s supposed to.”

“Marlowe told me she’s staying in her old apartment.” Rafe crossed his arms as he said, “She also mentioned it was your idea for her to move in there.”

“Yeah, well, she needed a place to stay.”

“So, that’s it? There’s not some other reason why you decided to go the extra mile for a girl you don’t even know.”

“I figure there’s a reason why Peter Brant sent her here.” I shrugged. “I figure we owe it to him and to Lynch to figure out why.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Not looking to get in her pants, brother. Just trying to do the right thing.”

“If you say so.”

I could see the wheels turning in my brother’s head. He was concerned, and he had every right to be. I knew nothing about this girl, which meant I’d put us all at risk by hiring her. I knew I was taking a chance when I did it, but I couldn’t turn her away. And I’d meant what I’d told Rafe about Brant. I wouldn’t feel right sending her on her way after he’d sent her here for our help. With everything that was going on with the new hires, I hadn’t had a chance to look into her like I should; in all honesty, I didn’t know when I would. There was a part of me that hoped I’d be able to convince her to tell me what was going on before it came to that. Trying to set his mind at ease, I told Rafe, “She said she was from Cleveland. I’ll look into their police database and see what I can find out.”

Country’s brows furrowed as he asked, “You sure you wanna do that?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Seems like she’s gone to a lot of trouble to keep her identity a secret. If I had to guess, I’d say there’s probably a good reason why.” As soon as he saw the expression on my face, he added, “I know it’s your job to protect the club and all, but there’s always the chance that you could bring the trouble to us the second you go poking around.”

“You might be right.”

“You can’t be serious...You’re good at this shit. You can find out what you need to without anyone being the wiser,” Rafe cocked his eyebrow and continued, “and honestly, I don’t get why you haven’t already done it.”