Widow's Undoing (Ruthless Sinners MC 4)

I got home, and after a long, therapeutic shower, I climbed into bed and called it a night. Sleep didn’t come easy. I spent most of the night tossing and turning. I couldn’t stop thinking about that damn wallet in my saddlebag. It was almost like the fucking thing was calling to me as it drew me out of bed and out to my bike. I pulled it out of my saddle bag and looked at her license. I wasn’t sure if the address was still valid, so I sent Menace, the club’s computer whiz, a text and asked him to check it out. Without waiting for his response, I went back inside and returned to my bed, hoping I could get at least a couple of hours of sleep before work. It was something I’d need to do if I was going to survive a Friday night. They were always the busiest at the strip club, and busy often meant handsy assholes and unnecessary altercations.

I’d been asleep for a couple of hours when my burner started to ring. I grabbed it from my nightstand, and without bothering to check to see which brother was calling, I answered, “Yeah. Whatcha need?”

“Who’s this Frances Sullivan chick?”

“Nobody.” I wasn’t one to ask about chicks, any chicks, so I couldn’t blame Menace for being curious why I’d asked for his help with Frankie. “I just need to know if the address is correct.”

“Well, this nobody is fucking hot, brother. Really hot.”

“Irrelevant, brother. Just need to know about the address.”

“Um-hmm,” he muttered, sounding more than a little skeptical. “She’s still living on Dogwood Lane, so you’re good to go.”

“Good deal. Thanks, brother.”

“Anytime...You’re working tonight, right?”

“Yeah, I’m off, but I can swing by if I need to.”

“Nah, we should be good. Rafe and Lynch will be coming in at nine.”

“Okay.” Before hanging up, I told him, “I’ll see ya in an hour.”

I tossed the burner back on the table and closed my eyes, relishing in the sound of absolute silence. For the moment, there were no voices, no screams or unexplainable crashes and thuds. No chaos. Chaos was what my dreams were made of, but at that moment, as I lay there in my bed, there was no dreaming. I had too much on my mind for sleep, so I pulled myself out of bed and got dressed. After a cup of coffee, I was on my bike and headed over to the clubhouse. I wanted to check in with Viper, the club’s president, to see if there was anything he needed me to do to help prepare for our next week’s meet with Flint. He was our new supplier, and we had a new shipment to pick up on Sunday when the strip clubs were closed.

I walked into Viper’s office just as he was telling Axel, “Stark’s been handled. There’s no reason we can’t get back to business as usual.”

“Don’t disagree. Just saying we need to stay vigilant. I can’t really explain, but I have a bad feeling.”

“What kind of bad feeling?”

Axel had strong gut instincts, and just like our president, they were always spot on. Always. Needless to say, I was all ears as I listened to him answer, “Like I said, I can’t say for sure. Just my gut’s telling me we need to keep our eyes on Stilettos.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Viper turned to me and asked, “You see a problem with that?”

“No, Prez. I don’t.” I glanced over at Axel as I told him, “If Axel thinks that’s what we need to do, then, that’s what we need to do.”

“Couldn’t agree more. I’ll call the brothers into church and let them know.”

“About that. Are we still on for our scheduled pickup with Flint next Sunday?”

“Absolutely. As a protective measure, we’ll double up on the run. Don’t want to take any chances.” Viper crossed his arms and cocked his eyebrow. “Heard you had quite a run-in with a guy last night.”

“I did.”

“How’s the hand?”

I clenched it at my side, feeling the tightness of my skin around my swollen knuckles as I told him, “It’s better.”

“Good. Glad to hear it.”

I nodded, then started out of the room, “I’ll see you both at church.”

As I headed down the hall, I could hear my brothers talking in the kitchen, but I didn’t stop to speak. I walked straight out to the parking lot and got on my bike. I needed a moment to clear my head. Unfortunately, I that didn’t happen. After only a few miles of driving, I found myself thinking about the night before and my unexpected encounter with Frankie Sullivan. As much as I wanted to fight it, thoughts of Frankie and her gorgeous blue eyes had already taken root in my mind, and they were growing by the second.

Damn.

It was time to put her and our little encounter behind me once and for all.