“We take care of each other,” she reminded me as if she knew what I’d been thinking.
She packed up more than just a sandwich for me while I watched. Like always, she added cut up fruit and vegetables. A few cookies. Somehow she just knew food was scarce at the home and was always trying to feed me.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if we lived here together?” she said over her shoulder.
As if I hadn’t thought the same thing a million times.
I wrapped my arms around her waist, hugging her to me. “I’d love nothing more. Soon, butterfly. I promise.”
She rubbed her hands over my arms. “I know.”
“I probably won’t be able to afford a place as nice as this—”
“But at least we’ll be together,” she finished for me.
“Right.”
Since she still had Mrs. Shields’ car to use, she drove me to work so I didn’t have to take the bus and risk being late.
I kissed her goodbye and watched her drive off before heading inside.
Ulfric had a line of paint cans waiting for me. “Touch up the building. Ain’t supposed to rain for a few days.”
And that was the extent of the instructions I received for the day.
That suited me fine.
I worked better alone and uninterrupted. Ulfric had let it slip one day that he had hidden cameras stashed all over the place. He waited until after he’d confirmed that I didn’t fuck off while I was working to share that tidbit.
Didn’t matter. Camera or not, I wasn’t a slacker.
Tonight, in the middle of my shift, I received a surprise visitor.
“Dex, what are you doing here?”
He smirked at the paintbrush in my hand as I climbed down off the ladder. “Need you to help me run an errand.”
Was he joking? I glanced around. “I’m kinda in the middle of my job.”
He grunted at the sarcasm. “Already spoke to Ulfric. He knows you’re leaving with me for a couple hours.”
“A couple hours?”
“I’ll have you back by curfew, Cinderella.” He cocked his head toward the parking lot. “Come on.”
I unzipped my coveralls and stopped in Ulfric’s office to confirm he was okay with me leaving before walking outside with Dex.
“You’re not gonna make me ride bitch are you?” I asked.
He snorted. “No, smart ass.”
Instead of the bike, he led me to a fancy black sports car. “Somehow I expected you to drive a truck.”
“I usually do. Get in.”
“Aren’t you part of an MC? Why can’t any of your buddies help you with this errand?” I asked once we were on the road.
“They’re busy.”
“And I was your next best option?”
“I’ll pay you double what you make the whole night scooping ice cream.”
I took that as my cue to quit bitching. “Okay.”
After a few miles, he glanced over. “Tonight’s adventure stays between us. Juliet doesn’t need to be involved.”
I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Juliet and I weren't in the habit of keeping secrets. But in the end, I figured the less she knew about whatever Dex was into, the safer she probably was.
We pulled up in front of a large brick apartment building and Dex cut the engine. “Stay in the hallway and bang on the door if anyone’s coming. Then haul your ass down here and start the car.” He handed over the keys.
“You’re not worried, I’ll steal it and leave you behind?”
He leveled a hard stare my way. “You’re not that stupid, Roman.”
No, I wasn’t.
“Are we doing something illegal?”
“Nope.”
The quick way he answered didn’t reassure me.
He punched a code into a keypad by the front doors and we went inside. He looked around for a second before jogging up the wide staircase in front of us. On the second floor, he scanned each apartment door before stopping in front of number four.
“Stay right here,” he said, indicating the wall next to the door. “Keep your mouth shut.”
“All right.” I hated everything about this situation, but I was also intrigued. What exactly was he willing to pay me so much money to do?
Satisfied I’d stay, he banged on the door, mumbling something incoherent when whoever was inside shouted, “What?”
The door opened and Dex shoved his way inside.
“What the fuck!? Who are—”
Thump! The unmistakable sound of a fist smashing into someone’s face.
The door slammed shut, but the sounds of the beating on the other side continued.
What the fuck did Dex drag me into?
There was a crash and thwack. I looked up and down the hall. No one seemed to be concerned about the situation.
Another smash and a grunt.
Shit, what if Dex was the one getting his ass kicked?
The dude was obviously nuts, but Juliet loved him, so I didn’t want him to get hurt.
I nudged the door open and peeked inside.
“You like beatin’ up on girls, motherfucker?” Dex sneered.
Boom! He slugged the guy in the stomach. With his foot.
“She fell!” the guy on the floor hollered.
Thwack!
“Fell my ass.” Dex pummeled the guy in the face. “This ain’t the first time you put your hands on that girl. But it will be your last.”
And the beating continued.
The guy either died or passed out. I couldn't tell and didn’t care to investigate.
I was ready to piss my damn pants when Dex looked up and focused on me.
“Christ you’re a sneaky bastard. Didn’t I tell you to stay outside?” His tone wasn’t that sharp. He didn’t really seem all that concerned that I’d just witnessed him beating a man half to death. No, the scariest thing about him was how calm and controlled he’d seemed.
“I heard a crash, I thought you might need help.”
He cocked his head. “So you ran in here?”
“Well, yeah.”
He chuckled, but I got the sense he approved. The guy at his feet groaned and Dex spit on him.
“Let’s go.” He slipped off his black leather gloves and stuffed them in his vest pocket.
On the sidewalk, he held out his hand for the keys.
“You make a habit of breaking into strangers’ homes and beating the hell out of ‘em?” I asked once we were in the car.
“Who said he’s a stranger?”
“Okay, you make a habit of busting—”
“Don’t ask more questions than you want answers to, kid.” He waited a second to see if I’d open my mouth again. “That piece of shit broke a girl’s wrist and shoved her down the stairs so hard she sprained her ankle. She can’t work for weeks now. And she’s got a kid to support.”
Who? His sister? A friend? “You must care about her a lot.”
He glanced over but didn’t say anything at first. We navigated out of the neighborhood and back onto the highway before he spoke again. “Someone who works for me.”
“Calling the police wasn't an option?”
“Why?” His tone sharpened. “So they can harass her for being a stripper, humiliate her, and then do nothing about it anyway? My way’s more effective.”
“Stripper?”
“Crystal Ball.” He smirked. “What’d you think it was?”
I shrugged. “Fortune Teller’s parlor?”
The asshole laughed for a solid minute.
“I see why Juliet likes you.”
Ah, Juliet. No wonder he wanted me to tag along. It solved two issues for him. Payback for the girl who’d been hurt and it provided me with a powerful visual of what would happen if I ever hurt Juliet.
“What if he injures her worse next time?”
Dex growled and flicked the blinker on, taking a turn way too fast.
“Then next time I’ll kill him.”
The deathly
calm tone of his voice left no doubt he meant it.
“You’re a brave kid,” he said after a few more miles. “Honorable too.”
“How so?”
“Well,” he drawled. “You could’ve taken the car keys and driven off. Sold it for parts.”
“I couldn’t do that to Juliet. You're her family.”
He roared with laughter. “But if I was a stranger?”
“I wouldn’t have gotten in your car in the first place, stranger danger.”
He smirked. “How’s work going?”
“All right.”
“Ulfric treat you fairly?”
It seemed like an odd question. Weren’t he and Ulfric friends? Why wouldn’t he treat me fairly?
“He runs a different motorcycle club, but the clubs are friendly to each other,” he said as if that explained anything.
“What does that mean?”
“You really don’t know anything about MCs? Figured you woulda run into a kid or two in the system who had a father in a club.”
“I tend to stick to myself as much as possible.”
“Hmm.” He seemed to be thinking that answer over. Almost as if it disappointed him.
“Hard to trust people you barely know,” I explained. Not that I owed him any explanation.
“Yeah, I get that.” He drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. “I can’t speak for all, but mine’s a brotherhood. I’d die for any one of them and they’d do the same for me.”
I couldn’t think of anyone—except Juliet—I felt that strongly about. I’d protect Pip, but I don’t know if I’d be willing to die for him.
“So why’re you hiding this from your brothers, then?”
He laughed again. “My president’s more than okay with what just went down. He would’ve done it himself, but he had other business tonight.”
“Busy beating up the neighborhood drug dealer?”
“No.”
There wasn’t a lot more to say. He’d given me plenty to think about.
And as promised, before I got out of the car, he handed over a wad of cash.