“Nah, but I have a chocolate lava cake.”
I nodded eagerly when Cade looked to me for confirmation.
“That’ll do,” he yelled back.
“Coming right up.”
“Did you see him?” I asked when he turned his attention back to me.
Cade shook his head and said, “No, just a Camaro peeling down the alley.”
“I think that’s his, I saw it both times…”
“What’d you find this time?”
I leaned across the table and looked around to make sure no one was close before whispering, “Hector, the sleazy guy with the Camaro, is using the cokehead to rally the rest of the Country Club set. They’re going to sell drugs in town to … I don’t know, whoever will buy it, I guess, then report back to Hector and he’ll supply it. The Coke Club is getting a ten percent cut off the top.”
“You’ve gotta be shitting me.”
“No, no shit,” I replied, then sat back. “I gotta call my friend, Bea … She’s a cop.”
Cade’s dark eyes came to mine.
“You’re friends with a cop?”
“Yeah, she actually came to see me this morning, wanting to warn me off you.”
I watched his back stiffen and wondered if I’d done the right thing, then I remembered that I wanted to keep everything above board, and be honest, so I wasn’t going to let my fear of his reaction hold anything back.
“She did,” he said, as more of a statement than a question, then didn’t say anything else.
“Yeah, she thinks since you’re part of an MC a few counties over, that you may be dangerous, and therefore bad for me…”
“And what do you think?”
Rather than answering right away, I kept right on with the honesty.
“And the Coke Club, they were talking about you too.” When he just arched a brow in response I continued, “I guess you’re the talk of the town because everyone saw you with a woman in your truck for the first time. The Coke Club is wondering if you’re done with the fuck and duck…”
I didn’t even wait until the bartender finished placing the lava cake in front of me before I dug in. I was already freaked out, and the angry vibes coming off of Cade weren’t helping anything.
“Fuck and duck?”
“That’s what they said,” I said around a mouthful of cake. “I’ve never heard that expression before, but I’m guessing it’s because, like you said, you don’t do relationships. A cruder way to say love ‘em and leave ‘em.”
Cade folded his hands in front of him on the table and asked, “So are you asking if the stuff you heard today is true?”
I shrugged one shoulder and said, “Yeah, I guess, if you wanna tell me. I have to say, with all the drug stuff, and hearing about that Devil’s Breath, I haven’t thought too much about the gossip.”
That earned me a smile, and I could see something flicker across Cade’s face, like he’d just made a decision.
“I’ve been part of the MC for twenty years,” he began as I continued to shovel chocolate in my cake hole. But I kept my eyes on him, so he’d know he had my attention. “They’re my brothers, my family, and it’s been my life longer than not. I’ve had my share of parties and pussy.” I flinched internally, wondering if I’d ever get used to the blunt way he spoke. “But you can only do that shit for so long, so about two years ago I moved out here. Close enough to be there when they need me, but far enough away to have a life outside of the club.”
I nodded to let him know I was still with him, and because what he said made sense.
“And the Coke Club had their panties in a twist because although I fuck, I don’t fuck in the neighborhood pool, so to speak.”
I don’t think that’s the way that expression goes, I thought, then scooped up my last bite of chocolaty goodness.