When Shade didn’t move away, Rider gave him another glance. Shade wasn’t one to chat for no reason. “Something wrong? I know I’m late. I’m going to talk to Jewell when she comes back from lunch.”
“Jewell won’t be coming back from lunch. I’ll be managing the factory until her punishment has been decided on.”
“What’d she do? Let Moon off early?”
“Come in the office. We need to have a talk.”
That Jewell had done something so bad that Shade didn’t want to discuss it around the other workers had him preparing to come to her defense. She had always been a good friend to him, except for the one exception with Jo. Since then, she might have been chilly with Jo, but she had kept her space from her. Therefore, he had made the allowance, knowing the woman was having a hard time at the new tenor of their friendship.
Shade went behind the desk to put his coffee down as Rider shut the door. Then he took the chair in front of the desk, blowing on the hot coffee.
“Did you want Jo to go upstairs while you were taking a shower?”
Rider frowned at Shade’s question. “You know I didn’t. I shot everyone a mass text not to let her come up. I didn’t want her to see the shit on my bed. I was going to give everyone hell for it after work.”
Shade nodded. “How did Jo take it?”
“How the fuck do you think she took it? Her feelings were hurt. Luckily, I was able to smooth it over, but I’m still pissed about it. That’s why I was waiting for after work to speak to the brothers and the women. Especially Ember.”
Shade nodded. “Ember knew you would be mad. That’s why she went to Viper’s house to talk to him this morning.”
“Why didn’t she text or call me? I’m angry, but when have I ever hurt a woman for—”
“She didn’t call because she didn’t know how you would react to something she wanted you to know. Viper and I both think it was a wise decision.”
“Tell me.” He set his coffee on the desk.
“Ember got distracted when Willa came into the kitchen with all the treats. All the brothers and the women did, except for Jewell. Ember said one minute, Jo was there, and then she was gone. When she realized Jo wasn’t in the room, she asked Jewell where she was. Jewell laughed, saying she had sent her upstairs to take the candy that Willa gave you. Jewell told her that, as soon as she did it, she regretted it. That when she went upstairs to get her before she could go in your room, it was too late. You were coming out of the bathroom, and she was afraid to tell you what she had done.”
“Bullshit. She did it deliberately, then lied to Ember that she was too scared of me to tell me the fucking truth.”
“I agree. I came into the office as she was hanging up on you. I’m sorry, brother. I’m glad you were able to smooth it over. I like Jo and wouldn’t like to see the woman hurt. She’s taken enough crap to last a lifetime. She doesn’t need The Last Riders adding to it.”
Rider stood up. “I don’t blame the brothers or Ember. If I had been in the kitchen when Willa came in, the same thing would have happened. She should go in the military. She could probably start a war with those cupcakes of hers. Who I blame is Jewell.”
“Viper knows. That’s why he’s sending her to Ohio after I speak to you. It’s up to you if she stays in the club. It’s a split vote. She either goes to Ohio, or we cast her out of the club.”
“She can go to Ohio. I won’t be the vote that casts her out. But she’s in Ohio for good. I don’t want to see her ass in our clubhouse again. She betrayed me twice. Once, I let it slide, but twice? Fuck no. She’ll be cool in Ohio because she knows it will be her last chance. If not, I’ll pull the plug and she won’t be bothering anyone again.”
Shade’s shrewd gaze met his. “I will make the grave situation clear to her.”
“Do that, because if I get near that bitch, the other bitch buried in our backyard will have company.”
39
Jo woke to the urgent need to use the bathroom. It was only after she showered and brushed her teeth that she felt somewhat human. Using a towel to dry her hair, she went back into her bedroom, seeing the note Rider had left her.
Dressing, she tried to remember what she had said to Rider after they had come home. The cherry shooters had been lethal.
Grabbing her cell phone, she went to the kitchen to make coffee. When it started dripping, she called Rider.
“Bluebonnet, I was starting to get worried about you.”
Jo leaned against the counter, staring out at the afternoon sunshine. “Why? You’re good, but you’re not that good,” she teased.
“I’ll pay you back for that tonight. What are you doing?”
“I’m hard at work.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Jo raised a surprised brow. “Why not?”
“You would have called me before you went to the garage.”
“Oh … I didn’t think of that. Did anyone tell you that you’re too smart for your breeches?”
“All the time.” He laughed. “I wanted to be there with you when you woke up. I’m sorry about you seeing the presents. I didn’t want anything to spoil your day.”
“It’s fine. I overreacted. You’re a popular guy. Did you give Moon his doll back yet?”
“Not yet. I’m waiting until I get off work. That’s when the others come back, too. And I’ll mail—”
“Don’t. Keep them. I overreacted.” She traced an imaginary line on the counter. “Next year, you can tell them you’re taken.”
“I’ll do that. What’s the plan for dinner tonight?”
“Nothing. Right now, food is the furthest thing from my mind.”
“Hungover?”
“A little.”
“A lot from the way you sound. How about I get dinner and bring it to you?”
“I have a better idea. Text me what you want, and I’ll go pick it up at the diner. It’ll be nice and hot when you get here. I haven’t taken out my truck in a while. It needs some exercise.”
“You sure? I don’t mind picking it up.”
“I’m sure. Get back to work before Jewell docks your pay.”
The phone went silent.
“Are you still there?”
“I’m here. You’re right; I better get back to work. Bye.”
“Bye,” Jo repeated, hanging up.
It had seemed as if he had expected her to say something after she had mentioned Jewell’s name.
Carrying her thermos, she went to the garage to work.
Razer and Moon stopped by to bring some other motorcycles that needed work done. They stayed talking longer than she had expected so that when they left, she realized she hadn’t called Rider’s order in.
Calling Carly, she ordered his food and a cup of soup for herself. Then she locked the garage and carried the computer and her thermos back inside her house, grabbing the keys to her tow truck.
Driving into town, she saw the diner’s parking lot was so full she had to park across the street and walk back.
The restaurant was busy. It took several minutes for Carly to come to the register, where she was waiting.
“I didn’t expect you so fast. Take a seat at the counter, and I’ll get the order ready for you.” Carly took her money before going out back.
Jo found a booth behind two men. Texting Rider that the food wasn’t ready, she wasn’t paying attention to the low voices of the men behind her. She was about to text Rider that they were wearing The Last Riders’ colors when she tuned in to their conversation.
“I’m nervous about meeting Viper for the first time.”
Jo was sure it was the younger man who had spoken. She had caught a glimpse of his face before she had sat down. He had seemed to be early twenties. The other one, she had only seen his profile and that his beard was hanging down to his chest. He seemed much older.
“Relax, we’re not staying long. Just playing escort to one of the women.”
“Who?”
“Jewe
ll.”
“I haven’t met her yet,” the younger one spoke. Jo could hear the youthful eagerness in his voice.
“Their loss is our gain. She must have pissed Viper off bad because she won’t be coming back to Treepoint.”
“Is he as mean a fucker as everyone says he is?”
“Worse. I served with him in the military. Hell, Viper is the reason I’m still breathing and got to come home to my wife and kids. Viper and Crux.”
“I haven’t heard you mention him before.”
“Not much to talk about. No one knows who he is. Most of the men I served with don’t even think he existed. They think we just made him up to scare the new recruits.”
“But he wasn’t?”
“Fuck no. I saw him in action myself. Of course, I wouldn’t know him if he were seated right next to me. That’s why he was so good at his job. They said he was recruited before he even finished his SEAL training.”
“What was he recruited for?”
“His job was to be a spy, going into hostile camps, finding the best way to take them out, and devising the plan for us to neutralize them.
“One night, I nearly shit myself. We’d been ordered to retake a town by the higher-ups. We’d lost three squadrons already trying to get that town. All the way there, I thought I was going to die. You ever been that scared?”
“No.” The young man’s awe had Jo’s lips twitching as she listened.
“Well, I have. A mile out from the fucking town, we were given our orders just as the sky lit up like the fucking fourth of July.”
“Why did they wait to give you your orders?”
“It was some secret shit, that’s why. Viper was our commander. We lost four men that night. The squadrons before us lost all their men. He won a medal for the job we did, and he refused to take it because he said Crux deserved it more than him. Several officers Crux had saved said the same.”
“Why didn’t Crux get the medal?”
“Because he was a spy, asshole. You stupid? They said he could walk into a village and make everyone think he was one of them, or he would pretend to be a prisoner and take everything they gave to gather intel. They said he could charm the underwear off any man or woman. Once, he had been scheduled to die at daybreak, and he won his freedom by helping them steal a cache of guns. He suckered them into a trap. Another time I heard about, he used a shipment of food he had taken from base camp to get into a town, then stole it back the next day. A buddy of mine bragged for a fact that Crux had even married a head leader’s daughter to prove his loyalty to them. Each mission, his code name would change. They called him Sphinx, Enigma, Rubik …”
“You trying to sucker me in like the new recruits?”
“It’s no skin off my nose if you believe me or not. Crux was a legend in the SEALs. He still is.”
“What happened him?”
“No one knows, or ever will. If I had my guess, he’s probably still out there, still saving …”
Jo saw Carly come out from the back. Standing, the men were still talking as she walked around, taking the plastic bag from Carly, then going outside. Watching for traffic, she went to her truck, waving to Knox as he came out of the sheriff’s office.
“You getting Rider dinner?” he asked as he walked her to her truck.
“Yes. I need to learn how to cook better. It’d save us a lot of money.”
“You should ask Rachel, Beth, or Lily to teach you how. He used to eat at their houses all the time.”
“I might have to do that. What’s his favorite thing to eat?”
“Truthfully, I haven’t found anything Rider doesn’t like,” he answered, taking the bag from her as she hopped up into her seat. She thanked him when he handed it back to her.
“When I was in the diner, there were two men wearing Last Rider vests I’ve never seen before.”
“That must be Cam and Driver. I’ll stop in and say hi. Thanks for telling me.”
“I would have said something to them if I had seen them at the clubhouse before. Maybe I’ll be able to meet them before they leave.”
“Not unless you’re going tonight. They aren’t staying long.”
“Next time, then. Have a good night, Knox.”
“You, too.” Knox shut the door, then crossed the street to go into the diner.
On the drive home, Jo started thinking about who the older biker had been talking about. She felt sorry for the mysterious man. He had to work alone to infiltrate enemy camps without any friends to turn to when he needed help. He was probably dead and no one even knew it.
The sad existence of a man she didn’t even know had her shrugging the conversation off.
She had just gotten home when Rider showed up. She had taken the food out of the plastic to keep warm in the oven, setting it on a cooking sheet and wrapping it in foil. As he showered, she microwaved her soup. Then, hearing the water turn off, she took his food out of the oven and put it on a plate.
“You look tired tonight,” she commented as they sat down.
“I didn’t get much sleep last night.” Winking at her, he picked up his double-decker club sandwich and took a bite, then promptly spit it out. “That sandwich is hard as a rock.” He took off the top slice of bread, tapping it on the table. “I’m calling Carly and getting your money back. That stuff is inedible. I think I broke a tooth.” He worried his perfect teeth, checking for signs of damage.
Jo frowned, reaching across the table to move his hand away, wanting to see for herself if any of his teeth were broken. “It was fine when I put it in the oven to keep it warm.”
Rider pulled his hand away from his mouth. “For how long was it in the oven?”
Jo looked down at watch. “Thirty minutes; an hour max. You took a long shower.”
“What degree did you warm it on?”
“Three hundred. That oven is finicky. I wanted to make sure it stayed warm.”
Rider just stared at her.
Blushing, she slid her soup across the table toward him. “You can have my soup.”
“That’s not going to fill me up. I’ll just fix a bowl of cereal …”
Jo shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “I was so busy getting your presents for Valentine’s Day that I didn’t make it to the store before I went to Lily’s. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your food. I’ll run into town, go to the store, and get you some more from the diner.”
“It’s … fine. I can salvage it. When we’re done eating, we’ll both go to the store and load up on groceries.”
Rider took all the bread off his sandwich, looking around for the loaf. “Where’s the bread? I can’t—”
“We’re out.” Miserably, she had hoped that wasn’t what he had been looking for.
“New plan. I’ll order pizza to be delivered, then we go to the store.”
“I like that plan,” she agreed.
Rider threw the inedible meal away, then ordered his pizza.
She couldn’t bring herself to eat her soup while he was waiting for his food.
“Why is Jewell going to Ohio?”
Rider set his cell phone down on the counter. “How’d you know she was?”
“When I was at the diner, I heard two men wearing Last Rider vests talking. One mentioned Jewell’s name and that they were escorting her to Ohio because Viper was angry with her.”
“You eavesdropped?”
“I didn’t mean to, but I did.” She was ashamed of herself, yet she couldn’t help gauging his reaction to the news of Jewell leaving.
“I’ll have to tell Viper that he needs to tell the brothers not to discuss club business in front of anyone who could be listening in.”
Jo jumped up from the table, placing her hand on his chest while snatching his phone, holding it tightly in her hand. “Don’t do that.”
He raised a brow. “Why not?”
“Because the younger one is afraid of Viper.”
He cupped her cheek. “And how do you know that?”
/> “I could just tell.” She clutched his shirt tighter. “Promise you won’t say anything?” she pleaded.
“I promise.”
“Thank you.” She gave a sigh of relief.
“Did you hear anything else while you were listening?”
“No.” She didn’t want herself to look worse by admitting how long she had been listening, even though she was curious if he had heard the same stories about Crux as the man in the diner had.
“I’ll let it slide this time, but the brothers should have known better than flapping their lips in front of anyone.”
“I shouldn’t have listened. So, why is Jewell leaving?”
“Unlike those brothers, I keep my mouth shut about club business.”
Hurt by his stern response, Jo placed his phone down on the counter, going back to sit at the table. She then lifted her chin as she turned to look at him. “You said I was your woman, and as your woman, I was part of The Last Riders. Doesn’t that give me the right to know?”
“I hate having an argument on an empty stomach.”
She narrowed her eyes at him for the reminder that she was the cause of his empty stomach.
“Are you trying to change the subject?”
Jo caught the surprised flicker of emotion before he came to sit back down, placing a hand on hers. “It was a club decision to send Jewell to Ohio. If you want the answer to that question, you’ll have to ask Viper.”
“You know I won’t do that.” She numbly pulled her hand from under his.
“Why does it matter anyway? You don’t like Jewell.”
“Don’t tell me who I like or don’t like. You don’t know. I don’t know. I haven’t gotten to know her well enough to know. One thing I do know is that, from watching those cameras, she’s friends with everyone in the club, and those friends are going to miss her.”
“I may not know if you like Jewell, but I know for fucking sure she doesn’t like you.”
“I know that, but her feelings about me are based on jealousy. I can understand that.”
“How can you understand? You said you’ve never been jealous.”
“I guess I never cared enough to feel those emotions before. I do now.” She stared at him directly. “Aren’t you going to miss Jewell?”