“Yeah,” Trip agreed, “that might be a good way to keep her around without makin’ demands and possibly scarin’ her off. Make stayin’ local a requirement of hirin’ her. ‘Cause once she’s gone, she’s gone. Might be hard to convince her to come back. And if we find out she’s Fury blood…”
“Then what?” Deacon asked. “Even if she is, she can’t be a member, so does it really matter if she leaves? Know you wanna find the offspring of the Originals but figured it was to patch them in.”
“Yeah, it was,” Trip agreed. “It is.”
“You let Liz leave,” Ozzy grumbled.
“She’s still a part of this club,” Trip reminded him. “She’s also the bridge between us and the Dirty Angels. That’s bigger than you know.”
“Usin’ her as a pawn.”
Trip dropped his chin to his chest and stared at him. “Ain’t usin’ her. Never used her. You wanna explore a little deeper on who was usin’ her? Or do we wanna drop that line of discussion? No one made her leave with Crash. She did it ‘cause she wants to be with the man she loves.” He rapped his knuckles on the table. “All of us around this table can understand that.”
“You sit at this fuckin’ table, Oz, like the rest of us,” Judge said. “Every time we had a meetin’ you had the opportunity to claim Liz. You didn’t. So, let’s drop that old fuckin’ news and concentrate on the new shit before us, which is this Shay.”
“Find out her mom’s name,” Trip ordered. “Just in case that name will knock some memories loose. Also, set up a meet with her about the website. Want Deacon there, too, since he’s the treasurer. With all the businesses, we might be able to keep her busy for a while. Even if it turns out to be a dead end, then at least we finally got good websites for every avenue of income.”
“Yeah, been meanin’ to look into doin’ that shit. Maybe we can make a package deal with her. We should have the funds if the price is right.” Deacon shifted in his seat. “We done yet? Feel like I’m sittin’ in a goddamn wet spot.”
“It’s gonna have to be soon,” Ozzy warned Trip. “Like I said, she was plannin’ on checkin’ out tomorrow mornin’.”
“Set it up for tomorrow, then. We’ll make the time. Just gotta be me, Deke, you and her.”
Ozzy tipped his head. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“He’ll get ‘er done.” Cage stood with a grin on his face. “The man ain’t called The Great Oz for nothin’. Now, I got a blowjob and a beer callin’ my name.”
“You know that’s my goddamn sister you’re talkin’ about,” Judge reminded him as Cage headed toward the door.
The road captain threw, “You just assumed I was talkin’ about Jemma,” over his shoulder and hurried out the door with a laugh.
“Shoulda beat that motherfucker even harder when I had the chance,” Judge muttered, shaking his head and standing. “Next time…”
Chapter Nine
Shay didn’t need a knock on her motel room door to know when Ozzy was outside to pick her up for their “date.” She could hear the deep rumble of his bike when he pulled up out front.
That sound from her past instantly gave her goosebumps.
While it wasn’t actually a date, she liked to imagine it was, since it had been a while since she’d been on a real one.
Dinner and a motorcycle ride could be considered one, right?
It had been a year since her divorce and ever since the moment she found out her husband decided to move on to his next wife, she hadn’t had the desire to go out and meet anyone new. Truthfully, dating was exhausting.
Usually, for her, it was awkward and ended up being a complete failure.
Marriage itself could be exhausting, too. Especially with a man who easily became bored with everything, including his wives. His newest was wife number three.
She had no doubt the latest wouldn’t be the last.
Shay realized too late that Darren enjoyed the excitement of the chase and then the honeymoon stage of marriage but once things settled and life became routine, he was on the hunt for something—or someone—new.
Shay hadn’t been exciting or new. But she had been loyal and also willing to do whatever was needed to keep their marriage together.
Darren was not.
What Darren was, was an asshole who crushed Shay’s heart.
He made her feel like she was nothing, completely invisible, just like when she was younger.
Once she noticed their relationship was breaking down, she asked if he’d go to couples counseling with her. He agreed, she made the appointment and then ended up sitting on the damn couch staring at the counselor by herself.
For one whole expensive hour.
When she went home, his closets had been emptied out and all his personal stuff gone.