"Busy." She leaned down and kissed him. "Where have you been?"
"Around." He grinned.
"Oh, I know that look." Jess laughed. "You're up to no good. I like it."
"You would." Romeo gave her a second look.
He and Jess had enjoyed each other a few times lately. She was a nice woman. Sincere with no need for a commitment, which was what he wanted.
"I'll get Burt working on your order." Jess patted his cheek and sashayed away.
Romeo, along with every trucker and biker in the room, watched the way her ass swung. He needed time off and a stiff whiskey in his hand.
Movement out of the corner of his eye grabbed his attention. He grunted. The woman from outside hadn't taken her cue and hit the road. She walked around the counter and stuck her head in the kitchen.
"Who the hell is that?" asked Rager.
Romeo was halfway out of his seat. "Some chick one of the truckers kicked out."
"Get rid of her," said Onyx.
He strode across the diner and grabbed the woman's arm, dragging her away from the kitchen. "Wrong turn. You need to hit the pavement and start walking."
She planted her feet before he could get her to the door and tried to pull away from him. He lifted her arm higher, not letting her get away to start trouble.
"Wait." She stood to her full height, and the top of her head only came to his chin.
He held her, making sure she wouldn't cause a scene. She continued to stand there, frowning at him as if contemplating what to do. Not wanting her to get any ideas, he pulled her toward the door. A small scoff of protest came from her.
He stopped in front of the door. Her head dipped, and she stomped on his foot. He cocked his head, taking in the way she winced from the contact with the steel toe of his boot.
The pain infuriated her. She pushed against him, trying to get away. The way she brushed against his body and wiggled in his arms only made things more interesting for him. If she wanted a struggle, he'd give her one.
He'd spent most of the last forty-eight hours on the road. His motorcycle club brothers were the only company he'd had all day.
He dipped his head, grabbed her around the hips, and tossed her over his shoulder. She wouldn't be the first or the last woman he kicked out of the diner.
She shrieked in shock before kicking her feet. But, hanging over his shoulder, she couldn't do any damage. All she accomplished was tiring herself out.
Pushing through the doorway, he almost collided with Willow, Prez's old lady. "Sorry, Willow. Onyx is inside."
Willow raised her brows at the nicely rounded ass on his shoulder and fought a grin. "On a Tuesday? Really?"
Often the bikers of Killere Motorcycle Club would take the women hanging around the diner to the clubhouse, but usually over the weekend when the diner was packed and none of the truckers paid attention to who was coming and going.
"This one is leaving." He walked backward. "I'll come back in a second and help with the groceries."
"No need. Vega parked my car in the back. Dumbass is unloading it. I came around to the front to stay out of their way."
"Hey. Did you say Onyx is inside?" The woman in Romeo's arms planted her hands on his ass and arched her back. "Do you run the diner? Can you take me to Onyx?"
"Don't listen to her," muttered Romeo, turning around.
The woman picked the wrong time to break her silence. He was out of patience.
"Wait. I'm here to see Onyx..." The woman smacked his ass. "Please. Let me go, so I can talk without feeling like I'm going to pass-out."
Obviously, she had a tongue. She could use it if she wanted to.
"Romeo?" Willow waved her finger toward him. "Put her down."
He heaved a sigh and stopped. "She's trouble."
"Let her talk. I want to know why my man's name came from her pretty little mouth." Willow paused several breaths and said, "Putting her on her feet would probably be easier, huh?"
The woman wiggled harder against his shoulder. He grabbed her tighter and slid her down the front of him. As soon as her toes hit the ground, she smirked at him as if she knew he enjoyed rubbing against her.
He glared, not letting her have that pleasure. She was a pain in his ass tonight.
The woman turned away from him and headed toward Willow. He beat her to the president's woman by two steps.
Willow held up her hand, making Romeo stand to the side. "Who are you, and what do you want with Onyx?"
The woman rubbed her hand on her hip before thrusting it out in front of her. "My name's Timber. My father..." She looked back at Romeo before turning her back to him and facing Willow again. "Jeff Mitchell is my dad. He rides under a man named Onyx. I don't want anything from your man. What I want is a job."
Willow looked to Romeo and lifted her brow in question. Jeff "Dice" Mitchell was a wanderer. A patched member of Killere who couldn't stay in one place. Dice seemed to show up when the heat of trouble got too close to him. He'd show up at the clubhouse, hide for a few days to a few weeks, and then leave again. He hadn't seen his Killere brother in over a year.
"You'll need to have Onyx deal with her. If what she says is true, she belongs to the Killere family," he said quietly.
Willow lifted her chin and held out her hand, ignoring Romeo's advice. "I'm Willow. I also do the hiring for the diner and the motel."
"I'm a hard worker. If you need someone to wait tables, I have experience doing that at the Waffle House for the last two years, o-or if you need motel rooms cleaned, well, I've cleaned up after myself since I was a toddler. I'm also responsible, get along with others, and prompt. I'm never late." The woman leaned forward and lowered her voice. "More than anything, I need a job, and I'll show up to work whenever you want me here."
Willow raised her brows, trying to keep up with the fast conversation. Romeo scratched his head, having a hard enough time keeping up himself. To his surprise, when the woman had something to say, she came in like a Mack truck.
Timber's spine straightened. "Please, I'm willing to do anything."
Willow pursed her lips, studying Timber. Romeo looked away and shook his head. He stayed out of who Killere hired to entertain the truckers. But he knew the women who sold their bodies for profit at the truck stop hadn't walked into the diner asking for a job. The women who got paid to have sex with the truckers came from the streets and were already accustomed to working on their backs.
Killere hired good girls to work in the diner and clean the motel.
He could tell by looking at Timber that she was too innocent to work with the truckers and thought she was too good to wait on the men and serve them food.
Besides, if Dice was her father, she was part of the Killere family. There's no way in hell Onyx would hire her.
"Let's talk inside while I let Onyx know you're here," said Willow.
Romeo, left standing outside, pulled a pack of smokes out of his vest pocket. Skipping the half dozen cigarettes available to him, he grabbed the rolled joint he kept for times like today.
Timber—what kind of name was that?—was no longer his problem. If Willow wanted to take on trouble, that was something Onyx could handle.