Dice (Blackwings MC: Croftridge #3)

Chapter 14 – Daphne

14

DAPHNE

W hen I got up the next morning, Dice was in the kitchen making coffee. “Morning,” he said.

“Good morning,” I replied and struggled to refrain from asking him where he’d been the day before.

“Thanks for making dinner last night. I had some when I got home, and it was really good.”

“You’re welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed it,” I said and continued getting ready. After letting Diablo out and back in, I turned to Dice. “Ready when you are.”

I busied myself by reading emails on the way to work to keep the conversation to a minimum. I knew if we started talking, it would only be a matter of time before I asked him where he was. It was none of my business, and he had no obligation to tell me his whereabouts, but that didn’t change the fact that I really wanted to know.

Despite trying to be casual, he noticed my odd behavior. “You’ve been quiet this morning. Are you okay?” he asked when we arrived at the office.

“I guess I’m a little nervous about showing houses with Flint,” I lied.

“Are you not comfortable with Flint?”

“Oh, it’s nothing like that. I just hope we can pull it off without the clients getting suspicious,” I said.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” he said.

“You’re probably right,” I agreed. “I’ll see you later.”

“Flint’s going to drive you home when you’re finished for the day.”

“Thanks for reminding me. Have a good day,” I said and waved goodbye before I walked into the office.

“Good morning,” Jan said. “Where’s your protégé?”

“He’ll be here this afternoon,” I told her.

Flint knocked on my office door right after lunch, looking exactly like one would expect from a young real estate agent.

“Come in,” I said with a smile. “You look great.”

“I feel weird, but thanks,” he said and tugged at the collar of his shirt.

“Are you ready to go?” I asked.

“I’m ready if you are.”

I waved at Jan as we walked out to my car.

“Do you want me to drive?” Flint asked.

“You might as well. You drove it here,” I said.

“What am I supposed to do?” Flint asked once we were on our way.

“You don’t have to do anything other than seem interested in learning. I’ll tell the clients you’re shadowing me to learn the ropes. Occasionally, I’ll explain why we do this or that to make it look like I’m teaching you. The clients we’re meeting today are very easy to work with. They like to explore the house on their own while I wait in the kitchen or living room.”

“You know the clients we’re meeting today?”

“I’ve met with them a few times before. They’re a nice couple looking to upgrade after recently coming into some money.”

Flint and I arrived at the first house several minutes before the clients were scheduled to arrive. After unlocking the door, Flint insisted on going inside first. Once he deemed it safe for me to enter, I hurried from room to room, turning on lights and opening doors. I’d just finished making my rounds when the doorbell rang. “They’re here,” I announced.

Flint peeked out a window and nodded once before accompanying me to the front door. “Mr. and Mrs. Potter,” I greeted. “So good to see you again. I hope you didn’t have any trouble finding the place.”

“Good to see you, too,” Mrs. Potter said. “And no trouble at all.”

“Great,” I smiled. “Before we get started, I’d like to introduce you to Flint Black. He’s a new real estate agent, so he’s shadowing me today to see how we do things.”

“Nice to meet you, Flint,” Mrs. Potter said and extended her hand.

“Nice to meet you, too,” Flint returned with a kind smile.

Meanwhile, Mr. Potter was studying the entryway and the rooms he could see from where we were standing. I could already tell by the look on his face that this was not the house for them. Truthfully, I didn’t think they would like it, but Mrs. Potter wanted to see it.

“Well, we’ll let you get started. Let me know if you have any questions,” I said and moved to the side.

“Thank you,” Mrs. Potter said and followed her husband into the living room.

Flint followed me to the kitchen. “I’m going to guess five minutes, maybe seven at most, before they’re ready to go. This isn’t the house for them.”

“How do you know?”

“It’s a skill I’ve developed over time. The Potters like newer houses. This one looks great from the outside, but old houses come with quirks and oddities that I know they won’t like. For one thing, Mrs. Potter likes large closets, and the closets in this house are tiny. The plumbing is old and noisy, and there are a handful of windows that will have to be replaced if they want to be able to open them.”

The Potters returned to the kitchen six minutes later. “This is a lovely home, but I’m not sure it’s the one for us. Where to next?”

“The next one on the list is about ten minutes from here. Would you like to follow us there?”

“Yes, that’ll be fine. Lead the way.”

We spent the rest of the afternoon traveling from one house to the next, viewing a total of five.

“That’s kind of exhausting,” Flint said when we were back at the office.

“It can be,” I laughed. “The Potters are great to work with. I’ve had some clients who want me to walk them from room to room and do everything for them. One time, I had a lady who wanted me to get in the bathtub so she could gauge how well she’d fit.”

“Did you do it?”

“I did, but I drew the line when she wanted to take pictures.”

“What is wrong with people?”

“A lot,” I answered flatly.

“What’s on the agenda for tomorrow?” he asked.

“We’re meeting the Finleys at nine. I have three properties to show them. They said they like to take their time, so we’ll probably be finished around noon. Then we have to meet the Potters again at one, and I have four properties lined up for them.”

“What are the Finleys like?”

“I haven’t met them in person yet, so your guess is as good as mine.”

“Should I meet you at the office again?” he asked.

“Yes. Be here by eight-thirty,” I told him. “I think that’s all for today. I can reply to any emails from home.”

The Finleys were clearly expecting me to be alone and did not hide their displeasure at Flint’s presence. I wasn’t sure what their problem was, but I tried not to dwell on it.

They rushed through viewing the first house and seemed overly anxious to get to the second property.

“Is it just me, or was that weird?” Flint asked.

“It wasn’t you,” I said. Our interactions with the Finleys were awkward and stilted, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Most of my clients were pleasant and somewhat excited to look at potential homes. The Finleys acted like it was a task they wanted to cross off a list.

I hoped things would improve at the second property, but they did not. As soon as we entered the house, Mr. Finley hurried up the stairs, gesturing for me to follow him. I didn’t realize that Flint and Mrs. Finley weren’t with us until he came to a stop in front of the master bedroom.

“I’d like to see what the master suite has to offer,” he said in a tone that unnerved me.

“I’m sure you’ll be pleased with it,” I said and stepped to the side so he could enter the room first.

As he surveyed the room, he kept moving around so that he ended up behind me. After the fourth time, I started to suspect he was doing it on purpose and no longer felt comfortable being alone with him.

“I’m just going to go check on your wife and see if she has any questions,” I said and started for the door, but he stepped in front of me to block my path.

“I’m sure she’s fine,” he said and moved toward me.

“That may be, but I’d like to see for myself.”

“You seem tense, Daphne,” he said silkily, closing the distance between us. “Do I make you nervous?”

As he moved closer, I could not believe what was happening. I knew I would be okay because Flint was there, and I was capable of defending myself to a degree, but I couldn’t believe I was going to have to— again . “Nervous is not the word I would use. Now, please step aside.”

“What word would you use?” he asked and extended his hand to reach for me.

“If that hand so much as brushes the fabric of her shirt, I’ll break every finger on it,” Flint said darkly.

Mr. Finley yanked his hand back dramatically and whirled around to face Flint, while I visibly sagged in relief.

“Excuse me?” Mr. Finley huffed.

“You heard me, Lewis.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course you do, Lewis Hall. That’s your real name. And the woman downstairs is Leah Salt, who isn’t your wife, because you don’t have one.”

“You’re mistaken,” Mr. Finley—or Mr. Hall, I guess—insisted. “Now, move out of the way. We’re leaving.”

“I’m sorry. You can’t leave yet. Your ride isn’t here.”

“My what? What are you talking about?”

Flint grinned. “Allow me to properly introduce myself. I’m Flint Black, a member of the Blackwings MC and the son of Phoenix Black, Blackwings MC President. He’s sending a car for you because he’d like to speak with you.” Flint leaned forward and lowered his voice to almost a whisper. “You fucked up, buddy.”

I almost jumped out of my skin when the doorbell rang. “Flint,” a male voice I didn’t immediately recognize called.

“Up here,” he said.

Carbon materialized moments later and looked scary as hell. It wasn’t his outward appearance, per se, but the look on his face and the mood he was projecting was terrifying.

He glanced at me, and his face softened. “Are you okay?”

“I-I, y-yes, I think so,” I stammered.

His expression hardened, and he turned his ice-cold gaze back to Mr. Not Finley. “You’ve disrespected one of our family members and upset her in the process. That was not a wise choice. As such, our president wants to speak with you. Are you going to come with me on your own or am I going to make you?”

Mr. Not Finley turned to look at me. “Who the fuck are you?”

Carbon thumped him on the forehead. “You’re not allowed to speak to her. And we already told you. She’s a Blackwing. Now, let’s go. Phoenix is waiting.”

“What about the woman?” I asked quietly.

“Oh,” Flint said, as if he suddenly remembered. “She was ‘accidentally’ locked in the basement. She’s waiting for me to come back with the key.”

“Do we know who she is?” Carbon asked.

“Yeah,” Flint said. “I looked at the ID in her purse after I locked her in the basement.”

“Nice work. I’ll grab her after I put him in the car,” Carbon said. At the look of concern on my face, Carbon added, “Mason’s outside, but I think our new friend here knows it would be a very bad idea if he tried to run. Because we know his name, where he lives, and what kind of car he owns. We even know how much money is in his bank account, and we know how to make that money disappear without a trace.”

Mr. Not Finley’s face paled. Meanwhile, I could only stare at Carbon with awe and gratitude. “Thank you,” I said quietly.

“You are more than welcome. Teaching people how to behave is my favorite thing to do.”

With that, Carbon escorted Mr. Not Finely down the stairs and out the front door. And I finally felt like I could breathe again.

“How did you know?” I asked Flint.

“I asked Byte to run his license plate. I didn’t like how they reacted when they realized you weren’t alone. It raised a red flag I didn’t want to ignore.”

“Thank you,” I said sincerely. “I’m glad you followed your instincts.”

We had just reached the bottom of the stairs when the front door swung open, and Dice stepped into the house looking around like a madman. His eyes landed on me, and then his strong arms were wrapped around me. “Daphne,” he breathed. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I said against his chest. “Thanks to Flint’s keen observation and quick thinking.”

“I swear,” he said. “I’m this close to wrapping you in bubble wrap and never letting you leave the house.”

“I’m this close to letting you.”

“I don’t know who the hell you are or what in the hell you think you’re doing, but you better put me down right now or there’s going to be hell to pay!” Mrs. Not Finley screamed as Carbon carried her up the stairs from the basement.

“I am hell, and I’ve already been paid,” Carbon said flatly.

Carbon laughed when she started beating her fists against his back. “Oooh, a free massage. It’s my lucky day.”

“You need any help?” Dice asked.

“Nah, I got Mason with me. As soon as we get her gagged, it’ll be a nice, peaceful ride to our destination. You coming?”

“Yeah, as long as Daphne’s okay.”

“I’m fine,” I assured him. “I know the clients I have scheduled for this afternoon. Go do what you need to do.”

“You’re still going to see clients?” he asked in disbelief.

“I can’t keep missing work if I want to keep my job,” I told him. “Yes, I’m a little shaken up, but I’ll be fine by my next appointment.”

“If you’re sure,” he said hesitantly.

“I am,” I promised.

He hugged me again and lingered for a few moments before he kissed my cheek and released me. “I’ll see you this evening.” He turned to Flint and extended his hand to pull him into a half-hug and slapped him on the back. “Fucking stellar job you did today. I can’t thank you enough.”

“I’m just doing what y’all taught me,” Flint said modestly.

“I think there’s more to it than that,” Dice said. “I better get going. You know how Carbon gets when they upset one of the ladies.”

“That I do,” Flint said. “We’ll see you later.”

“What did he mean about Carbon? How does he get?” I asked as we turned off the lights and made sure all the doors were locked.

“How much do you know about club life?”

“Not much,” I admitted. “I know you guys operate like a family with some sort of structure in place.”

“We have officers of the club that have different roles and responsibilities. Carbon is our enforcer. Basically, that means he handles any interrogation type situations or anything that requires a physical resolution.”

“Go on,” I said.

“Carbon enjoys what he does. A lot. And he’s good at it. But he really does not like it when someone has upset or scared one of the ladies. It’s like it sends him into overdrive or something.”

“So he’s a big teddy bear?”

“Yes, but I will deny ever saying that.”

I laughed. “I know what you mean.”

“I’m not sure you do. I can’t think of an example right now, but let’s say Carbon was dealing with someone who wronged the club and was trying to make them talk. He’d probably throw a few punches and make a few threats. Now, let’s say someone did the same exact thing but scared one of the girls in the process. For that, he’d pluck out fingernails, maybe cut off a toe, stuff like that.”

“Okay, so he’s a crazy teddy bear,” I said.

“Exactly. And he can turn it on and off whenever he wants. You saw how he changed when he spoke to you. He’s very much in control of himself. It’s fascinating to watch.”

“Yes, I did notice the way he changed. He scared the hell out of me at first.”

“He knew he did. That’s why he let you see him … defrost is what the younger ones call it. I wonder if he knows that.”

“I think that’s the perfect way to describe it. On a different note, we have some time to kill because I do not want to go back to the office and have to explain to my boss why my appointment ended much earlier than expected. So, how do you feel about taking a really long lunch?”

“I’m at your disposal. We can do whatever you want.”