After I catch up with some emails from work on my laptop, I get a shower and drive over to see Tessa.
I can tell something is off with my best friend as soon as I find her in the sunroom. She’s staring out the window too intently, not like she’s looking at something out there, but as though she’s lost in her own head. Something is wrong, because she never looks so distraught. Even through the trauma she’s experienced, she’s been incredibly upbeat and optimistic during our visits.
“Hey girl,” I say as I approach, causing her to jump half out of her seat.
“Oh! Hey,” Tessa replies with a forced smile before she settles down, her fingers clutching the armrests of the chair tightly.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m fine,” Tessa replies, which I know is a lie. She’s not fine. Weeks here with the best psychiatrist money can buy won’t make her fine. Time won’t make her fine. She’ll never be fine again, and I hate that so much it makes me nauseous.
“Having a rough day?” I ask.
“No. Why do you say that?” she says when she retakes her seat.
“You seem a little on edge is all,” I tell her.
“Oh, well, I didn’t expect you today since you didn’t come with Roman.”
“Roman?” I repeat.
“Yeah, you just missed him.”
“Roman was here?” I ask in confusion. “Visiting you?”
“Yeah. Well, not really ‘visiting.’ He and Verek came with a sketch artist.”
“They did what?” I exclaim.
“A sketch artist. You know, like the guy who draws someone based on their description…”
“I know what a sketch artist is. I’m just so sorry that he brought one to see you and asked you… I told him it wasn’t a good idea!”
“It’s fine, Charlotte. No need to get upset.”
“You’re obviously upset now, jumping when I walked up and staring off into space, and that’s Roman’s fault!”
“He said all of us could give the description to finally catch the bastards,” Tessa explains. “Although, I should probably check on the other girls…see how they’re holding up after…”
“After reliving a nightmare?” I offer.
“It wasn’t that bad,” she huffs.
“Tessa, I’m so sorry he had you talk about all that. I know you don’t like to, and I never wanted you to have to try and remember details.”
“Hopefully, something I remembered will help find one of the men, and that’ll lead to the others,” she says with a shrug of her shoulders that are leaner than ever before. I bet she’s lost ten pounds or more over the past two weeks. She was already trying to get thin as a rail for the wedding.
“Roman is going to get an earful from me tonight!” I assure her.
“Go easy on him, Charlotte. The man is trying to help.”
“He went too far, though.”
“Maybe. Maybe he hasn’t gone far enough,” she replies as she gets to her feet. “I hate to cut our time short, but I really better go check on the other girls, see how they’re holding up.”
“Sure, of course,” I agree. “I’ll see you tomorrow. First thing.”
“Sounds good,” Tessa says as she wraps me up in a quick hug and then lets me go. “Bye, Charlotte.”
“Bye,” I reply as she hurries out of the room.
Roman
* * *
“What the hell were you thinking?” Charlotte bellows when she bursts into our Kings’ meeting and interrupts. I really should put a lock on that door to not only keep her out, but because lately this room has become the place where Charlotte and I fool around every night. Not at my house or in my bed, but here in the clubhouse in my chair. For a week now, we’ve been dry humping and giving hand jobs like high school kids. And while touching her and getting off is both fun, I want more.
No, I need more and so does Charlotte, if she wasn’t too stubborn to finally give in and stop acting like she’s cheating on her husband with me. Both of our emotions are running high, and I had a feeling that today might end in an argument.
No, I was certain this afternoon would be explosive, causing friction between Charlotte and me. Still, I felt it needed to be done, though, and I stand by that. None of the owners of the stolen vehicles could provide us with descriptions of the suspects. No, we had to get them from the only people who have seen their faces. Therefore, I will not have this hard-headed woman come into my meeting and chew me out.
“Get out,” I say through clenched teeth. Half of the nine men at the table automatically get to their feet, casting confused looks at each other. “I was talking to Charlotte,” I clarify.
She scoffs, and then her face turns bright red before she crosses her arms over her chest. I know what she’s going to say before the word leaves her sexy lips. “No.”
I slam my palm on the table so hard it’ll sting for days, making her jump. “Now, Charlotte!”
At least that reaction she respects. In fact, she reaches for the door handle and pulls it closed silently.
“You’re gonna pay for that later,” Winston mutters.
“No, she is gonna pay for that later,” I grit out. “Now, where were we?”
“Um, I was saying that…” Leo mumbles something I can’t hear at the head of the table.
Knowing that if I yell at him, he will wilt, I take a deep breath to calm myself. Leo is a good guy, and he maintains the clubhouse spotlessly. He can be as fierce as his namesake in a fight; but for some reason, speaking in front of the group gives him so much anxiety he squeaks like a mouse. “Say again a little louder, Leo. I’m afraid I got my blood up and it’s pounding in my ears!”
“Sorry, prez,” Leo says a bit louder. “I was just letting you know that I was able to work with our distributor and negotiate a deal on a bulk purchase of some top shelf liquor. We’re going to come in under budget for the next few months on alcohol. I wanted to ask the table if you want to keep prices steady to make more profit, or if you wanted to start the busy season off with a bang by hosting some big shindigs and pouring out some cheap drinks.”
“Damn, Leo,” Cannon snorts. “That might be the best fucking question you ever asked at this table. I second the shindigs. Let’s pass some savings on to our tourist friends and lure them into the club. We’ll make up for cutting prices just in the amount we’ll sell and turn a profit either way; right, Verek?”
“Sure,” Verek says absently, still despondent after our meeting with the sketch artist and the women this morning.
“What do you think, gentlemen?” I ask the table. “I love a party as much as the next man, and I love the busy season more than most. I trust Leo and Verek’s business sense too. If they say party, I’m all in. Let me hear the yeas.”
The rest of the table slaps their palms down and roar “Yay!”
“Any nays?” I ask, receiving only silence in return.
“All right, Verek, work with Leo on the specifics, and then you have authority to grab anyone you need to make this the best season opening rager we’ve ever thrown. Well, amend that, anyone but me,” I add. “Just make damned sure you go heavy on security. Call in nearby Kings’ chapters if you need to; but if there is another goddamned kidnapping, I’ll shut this town down until we burn those fucking bastards out. Now, if no one has any updates on that front….” I pause and wait to see if anyone chimes in with any new information. When my men are silent, I continue. “Any other business?” I ask the guys, whose only response is to cast a few nervous glances over at the door. We all know Charlotte is waiting just outside. “Come on, she’s already angry. May as well make her wait a little longer.”