Diamond started to protest, but she could see that this part was nonnegotiable.
“All right, you have a deal.” Diamond heard herself agree while at the same time she wanted to smack herself silly. Her eyes saw one of The Last Riders get up from his chair in the lobby and go to Holly’s desk, leaning against it as he spoke casually to her. She could tell from the seductive smile on the man’s face he was making a play for her quiet secretary.
She was right. The sound of a chair hitting the wall sounded in the outside room and Holly all but ran into the room, coming to stand behind Diamond’s chair with her face flaming red. The man gave a smile and came to stand in the doorway, watching with a predatory gleam in his eyes.
“Ms. Richards, your next appointment is due in ten minutes.” Holly’s voice was surprisingly firm, but she remained behind her desk. The Last Riders didn’t try to hide their amusement at Holly’s reaction.
“Stop it, Rider. Go on outside,” Winter snapped at the man who then turned and walked away with a final wink at Holly.
“Thanks, Holly.” Diamond stared hard at Viper. “After I’m finished with my next client, I’ll go down to the sheriff’s office and see what they have on him. I’ll keep in touch. Get a bail bondsman ready for a call. I’ll see what I can do about getting him out. Is he going to be a flight risk?”
“Knox wouldn’t run if you pointed a gun at him. It’s not in him; he is a soldier. He stands and fights.”
“Good to know because, if he takes off, I’ll still expect my money, and you can find yourself another lawyer.”
“Deal,” Viper said, walking out her door and taking his men with him.
Winter paused before leaving. “Thank you, Ms. Richards.”
Diamond nodded her head, watching as her office emptied and Holly came to stand next to her.
“You took a case involving one of them?” she questioned.
“Yes,” Diamond said grimly. “I did.”
“What did he do?”
“They arrested him for killing Samantha Bedford.” Diamond kept staring out of her office, seriously thinking about running after them and telling them to find another lawyer.
“Can I quit?” Holly asked her boss, gripping the desk.
“No.”
* * *
Diamond took a deep breath to steady her nerves before going into the sheriff’s office. The small office wasn’t very busy as the dispatcher sat behind the front desk and watched curiously while Diamond approached.
“Hello, is the sheriff in?” Diamond requested.
“He sure is, honey. You wanting to see him?”
“Yes, thank you.” Expecting the woman to pick up the phone, Diamond jumped when the woman yelled.
“Sheriff! You have someone here wantin’ to talk to you.” The office door at the end of the hall opened showing the sheriff.
“Come on back.” His loud voice filled the office. Diamond hid her wince at the lack of decorum.
“Sheriff.” Diamond extended her hand towards the large man who everyone in town respected. Diamond had met him before, several times, at the courthouse.
“What can I do for you, Ms. Richards?”
“I’d like to talk to my client, Knox Bates. I’ve scheduled a hearing in the morning to set bail.”
Diamond didn’t see surprise on his face when she told him she was representing Knox.
“Have you met Knox before?”
“No, but I know he must be a little difficult if his other lawyer quit,” Diamond answered.
“Little doesn’t describe anything about Knox. Prepare yourself.” Diamond ignored his warning. Thanks to her parents’ lifestyle, she had been exposed to some hardass bikers and she had held her own. She wasn’t worried about dealing with Knox.
The sheriff went into his office again before coming back with the keys and then walked down the short hallway, Diamond following behind. The steel door was unlocked and pushed opened.
Diamond walked into a large, grey room containing a small window and long table with several chairs placed around the table.
“Have a seat. I’ll bring him out.”
Diamond sat down, opening her briefcase and pulling out her writing pad as well as a pen. She looked up when the sheriff returned with a huge man that Diamond recognized instantly. It wasn’t like you could forget something that big and bald.
The huge biker was wearing faded jeans and a blue t-shirt that covered a muscled chest that she had seen the day that she had gone to The Last Riders clubhouse to interview Winter. He had been wearing only jeans then and his muscled chest had been bare, showing the tats on his chest and arm. He had also had his hands on two very attractive women who had obviously just been very intimate with the biker.
Diamond was more than familiar with the loose sexual atmosphere of a biker club, but from the way the trio acted, Diamond suspected it went beyond what even she had been exposed to.
Observing the man as he came across the room, Diamond was struck by his sexual aura. His cleanly shaven head and fierce expression were intimidating. He wasn’t ugly by a long shot, however he wasn’t handsome, either. The huge body, she was sure, had caused more than one man to back down from the threatening looking biker.
Diamond stood to her feet. “Hello, my name is Ms. Richards…”
“I know who you are.” Knox took a seat at the table across from where she was standing, ignoring her outstretched hand.
Diamond’s eyes narrowed at his interruption. “Then you know that Viper hired me to represent you in court.”
“Viper told me. When you getting me out of here?” Knox asked bluntly.
“You have a hearing in the morning. If they set bail and your friends come up with the bond, you can be released afterward,” Diamond explained.
“They’ll have the money; just get me out of here.”
“I intend to. Now, I looked over the case and I would like to ask you several questions. Sheriff, if you don’t mind, I’d like to be alone with my client.”
The sheriff gave her an amused look. “Certainly, if you need anything, just yell,” he said, leaving with a warning look towards Knox who gave him a stubborn one in return.
Opening the file that Holly had put together for her, Diamond tried to ignore his hard stare.
“How well did you know Samantha Bedford?” Diamond started her questions.
“If you needed to know how she fucked, I could tell you anything you want to know. Personally, not a damn thing,” Knox answered crudely. Diamond looked up at him from her papers to show him he wasn’t going to get anywhere by trying to shock her.
“Okay. How long had you been fuck buddies?” she rephrased her question.
“Not buddies, we just fucked. You have to like each other to be buddies. I hated the bitch.”
“I see. How did she feel about you?”
“Nothing. Sam didn’t feel emotion other than the need to fuck. Had to have it all the time, didn’t care who gave it to her or where as long as she got off,” Knox said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms across his massive chest.
“Can you give me some names of other men she had a sexual relationship with?”
“No.”
“Can’t or won’t?” Diamond tried to clarify his answer.
“Sam wasn’t allowed to hang with The Last Riders anymore. Since she quit being a hang around, I don’t know who she’s been fucking. I didn’t care enough to ask.”
“You had sex with a woman and didn’t inquire about her sexual history?” Diamond couldn’t believe that a man could be so stupid in this day and age not to check out a partner’s health status.
Knox shrugged, unconcerned. “I used a condom. Didn’t let her have my mouth. She was safe enough to fuck.”
Diamond’s fingers tightened on her pen. This man was a living,-breathing jerk. Taking a deep breath, her mind kept going over and over how much she needed the money that defending Knox would bring.
“Let’s move along. When di