Today, though, it was obvious that she’d spent a lot of time outside. She had just a hint of red at her cheeks, and her forearms and legs had a golden kiss to them that she only got when she spent time outside that day. And yes, sadly, I did spend that much time studying the color of her skin to know when she did and didn’t spend any time outside.
And the highlights in her hair—natural because I’d almost begged Clem to leave her hair natural like her best friend did, seeing as it cost a fuckin’ whack to pay for upkeep—were more pronounced than usual.
She had a killer body that she’d grown into over the years—one that now hit me somewhere deep in my chest every fucking time I looked at her. Nice curvy hips, voluptuous breasts, thick thighs that led to an ass that had the power to make my knees weak.
But the one thing on her entire body that drove me wild? The one thing that I could always see no matter what she wore? Her throat. The straight line of a neck that led down to her chest. The curved jawline that was made for my beard to run along it. The long column of muscle that practically begged for my hand to be wrapped around it while I was thrusting…
“…I woke up, said the code word, and the dog attacked.” Sophia pressed her face between the muscles of my shoulders.
“What’s the attack word?” one of the cops asked.
I rolled my eyes. “Do you want me to say it so the dog will attack you?”
The cop who’d asked shifted nervously.
“Will he?” one asked.
“The dog will search for a threat, probably won’t find it, but will choose one at will that smells like it could be a threat.” I shrugged.
That wasn’t exactly what would happen. Likely, Body would start going after whichever one was closer. Taking out the deadliest first. Then he’d move to the ones that weren’t.
Until he was called off, that was.
“Spell it,” one urged.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not telling you the dog’s word. That would be like handing someone a loaded weapon. Unless you fuckin’ get a court order, it’s not happenin’.”
There was grumbling, and a whole lot of shifting on their feet, as they were surprised that I wouldn’t give that answer up to them when they asked.
But I wasn’t a run-of-the-mill person.
I was the president of a motorcycle club. I did things for good reasons. Bad things.
Then again, I did bad things for bad reasons, too.
I didn’t follow the law.
The law was a joke.
The law had their hands tied when it came to certain things, and until this world was free of pedophiles, human traffickers, murderers and rapists, by their hands, I wouldn’t be obediently following along.
I would continue doing my thing, which was sometimes really bad, and hope that I wasn’t caught while doing it.
“We’re going to need y’all to come down to the station,” another cop said.
I shook my head. “I’ll come down, but not tonight. I have to clean this up. Y’all can review the security tapes I’ll send you here in a second, and we’ll be down in the morning if there are any questions.”
One cop said something under his breath, but I knew that I didn’t have to go.
At least not right now.
“Allowed,” one newcomer said from the side of the room. “But please leave your phone on if we have any questions.”
“And the dog?” one of the cops asked.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Will stay the fuck with me.”
“But he was used in an attack. Don’t we need to secure him?” another asked.
Will, my brother-in-law, also the newcomer, shook his head. “No.”
With that one word, everyone’s attitude changed.
I wasn’t sure they were aware of the affiliation between Will and I, but eventually everyone would know it.
Now, it worked in my favor because they didn’t question him and his motives.
“We’ll come back tomorrow to investigate further if needed.” Will said. “Y’all get all the pictures you need so it can be cleaned up?”
I wasn’t sure on the protocol with someone that was still alive at a crime scene, but I was taking what I could get.
“Yes, sir,” one said. “Everything from every angle we could think of.”
Will nodded. “Okay, then out.”
They left without a word, leaving Will, Sophia, and me in the room.
“Thought you were going to Vegas?” I asked, starting to get pissed.
“Was going to,” Will agreed. “But Cannel had a slight…”
“Panic attack,” I guessed.
Will nodded. “We headed off the plane because it was either that, or she cried and shook for a couple of hours. We thought she was ready. She wasn’t. But the good thing was, Clem followed us off the plane and didn’t go either.”
I rubbed my neck. “And she didn’t come home?”