Cuffed (The Untouchables MC 1)

Shut up shut up shut up.

“You sure about that?”

I nodded slowly. I hated lying to anyone, even the law. But I didn’t have a choice. I hugged myself, hoping no one saw him come in.

At least he didn’t look like a stiff tonight.

“Here boy. Leave him alone. Cheeto! Besos!”

They ignored me but Connor quirked an eyebrow at me.

“Cheeto?”

“The cat. He’s orange. Sorry, if they are bothering you. I can-”

“It’s fine.”

I chewed my lip. Then I blurted out the question that had been bothering me since he appeared at the door.

“Do you usually make house calls?”

He just stared at me.

“We have more photos to show you. I need to know who was there last night. We can do that here, or we can do it at headquarters.”

“It’s going to be hard to say with one hundred percent certainty. I don’t interact with the customers all that much.”

He gave me an odd look and then he smiled slowly.

“That’s probably for the best.”

“That’s what Mason says.”

He laughed and shook his head.

“I bet he does.”

Rrrrrrr…

I realized Besos was growling. Even lazy, chubby Morely sat up and looked towards the kitchen. Cheeto sat up too.

For a minute I thought Mason had come home early. But Mase was a big guy and his boots made a lot of noise. I always knew when Mase was home.

I heard footsteps running away and the roar of a bike.

Yeah, definitely not Mason.

Connor pulled his gun and was on his feet in an instant.

“Someone is outside.”

He held his hand out when I tried to follow him. I followed anyway.

He moved so fast and so silently that I almost missed it. The man was like a damn panther. Sneakier than a cat. I had a feeling he was a thousand times as deadly.

He paused and looked at me.

“Stay back.”

He opened the door and stepped outside with his gun drawn. He swung around quickly, checking the walkway and the alley that led to the back.

Then he holstered his gun and stared at something on the ground.

“What the fuck is this?”

Connor

The roses were covered in blood.

An ex-boyfriend then. Or a stalker. Or a threat.

I stepped back and turned to face her, leaving the door open as I phoned it in. If it was related to the case I need it bagged and tagged.

“What is it?”

I cocked an eyebrow at her as I put my phone away.

“Someone left you a gift.”

“Me?”

“I assume no one would send Mason two dozen red roses covered in blood.”

“Blood?”

“Looks like it. You got an admirer? A crazy one?”

She shook her head but I saw the moment of hesitation. The moment when she was deciding what lie to tell me. How to spin it.

She knew something.

I could see it in her breathtaking eyes. The kaleidoscope of different shades of blue projected pure terror.

I felt it in my gut.

It made me furious. Who would threaten such a sweet, young girl? It suddenly didn’t matter to me that she lived with a biker anymore. That she worked at the bar.

It was despicable.

From the beginning, I had a strong hunch who had been behind the murder. And I had a very good idea of who she was afraid of, even though she tried to hide it. I could see her fear. Taste it. And I also had a good idea of why.

Because she was mixed up in it, dammit.

I didn’t care who she associated with. I only cared who she was. And I knew she was good. Not perfect, even though her looks were flawless. She was defensive and wounded and living in the wrong world.

But she was good.

I felt it in my gut. Deeper than that. I felt it in the part of me that I had forgotten existed. I felt it in my soul.

Fuck me.

She bent forward in the open doorway, reaching for the roses. I took her arm, guiding her back from the door.

“Don’t touch it. Evidence, honey.”

Her eyes were wide.

“Evidence?”

I nodded and stared as she tugged her hoodie shut over the lacy little thing she was wearing. I swallowed, not letting go of her arm. One strap was still visible where it rested on the creamy skin of her shoulder.

That sexy spaghetti strap top of hers was going to kill me. She looked so sweet and cuddly in that outfit. It was hard to think of her as the enemy. Hard to think about breaking her.

Using her to catch a killer.

But I had to. I knew I did. She was the only witness, even if she was pretending not to have a Goddamn clue.

She knew something.

The words kept circling in my head. There was no other reason to threaten her. No reason for her to be afraid. I was going to have to wait on forensics to tell me if there was any sign of who had done this. They would camp out in the front yard and comb through everything.