Chapter 15
Simon
“Can I offer you some more tea?” The waitress smiled at me as I sat and soaked up the ambience.
“Please.” I flashed her a friendly smile and leaned back as she poured the specialty tea into my rose blossom cup. I enjoyed the fancier side of life, and Mary’s Teahouse located off the Strip was a particular favorite of mine. It was a nice place to be while I patiently waited for Kurt to arrive.
“The Queen’s Square is my favorite, too.” She pointed to my yet untouched sweet that was nestled in a deep velvet wrapper and placed on a doily.
“It’s been mine since I was a little boy.” I spun the doily around to admire it. “I often wait for my second cup before I’m ready to indulge.”
“A man with restraint.” She grinned playfully. “Well, don’t let me interrupt. Enjoy.”
“Thank you.” I noticed Kurt coming up behind her and looked away to give her the hint to leave. Normally, I’d continue to chat with her if I was alone, but I needed to know what Kurt had been up to.
“Anything for you, sir?” she asked as he appeared next to the table.
“Bud Light?”
I closed my eyes with a silent curse. “He’s fine, thank you,” I assured her with a grimace, and she gave me a small wink. I waited until she was out of sight before I made a show of checking the time on my phone. Kurt didn’t look impressed as he looked around.
“I know I haven’t spent much time in Vegas for the past few years, but seriously, a tea house, and with flower walls.” He turned his nose up at the whimsical flowers that divided each table. I thought they provided a pretty, intimate setting.
“There is nothing wrong with enjoying the finer things in life.” I sipped my tea. “Besides, it’s the last place anyone would think to eavesdrop.”
“That, we can agree on.”
I dismissed his comment and jumped into why I invited him to join me here. “Have you found out anything about that phone number that’s harassing Kenna?”
“Not really.” He leaned back. “The number’s a dead end. It belongs to a burner. What did Johnny find out?”
“He tapped Kenna’s phone, thankfully after she had Leo Gates do a sweep. We found one message after she got back from the desert and had that mishap with the Stripe Backs.” I gave him a look, and he shrugged.
“I had nothing to do with that.”
“You sure about that?”
“I’m focused on what I need to do, and attacking an entire motorcycle club on their turf isn’t on my to-do list.”
I believed him. “Good. Anyway, this time we’ll be ready, and when he texts her, we should be able to ping wherever it’s coming from.” I skipped over the details; Kurt knew more about spyware technology than I did.
He nodded. “That’s good. Besides, whoever it is only seems to be driving her into Grim’s arms. So, the faster?—”
“It’s all for show.” I cut him off and shook my head. There was no way those two would be able to co-exist in the world of love. Kenna was much too smart for that, and it was obvious they could barely be civil to each other at work.
“When will you see the world without your blinders on?” He rolled his eyes and dropped his elbows heavily on the table; the silverware clanked loudly. “And if it isn’t?” He eyed me hard, and I thought about the possibility of the two of them truly together. “Mmph,” he snorted, “you’ve got one Tame girl. Maybe focus on keeping that one in check and leave Kenna for Cameron to deal with.”
“If,” I drew out the word, “the unthinkable did happen, I’m not sure how Cameron would handle it. Grim’s done so much damage already, and that would no doubt push him over the edge.”
“And whose fault would that be?”
“I know, but I don’t want to see Kenna caught in the crossfire.”
“Look,” he rubbed his face, clearly not enjoying the conversation, “if Kenna is fucking around with Grim, that’s on her. She’s a grown-ass woman. Surely, Cameron can see what I do.”
“Cameron can barely see past his own nose, and as time goes on, he’s becoming more preoccupied with you-know-who’s condition.”
“Well, I get that. We don’t need a repeat—” He lowered his voice when the waitress whisked by.
I finished his thought for him. “No, we don’t.”
“Seriously, though, Kenna and Grim might be enemies, but there’s sexual tension anytime they’re in the same room.” He rubbed his head in frustration. “They always win, don’t they?”
“Winning isn’t determined by your sexual partner, but by who is the last one standing after the war’s over,” I gleefully reminded him.
“Do you ever forget anything I say?”
I smiled warmly. “What’s the fun in that?”
“Smartass.” He looked pissed as he turned up his nose at the napkin ring and flipped it over. “So, why did Ines have that meeting with Kenna the other day?”
“No clue.” I removed my glasses and used a fresh linen napkin to clean the lenses. “I was wrong about him. He’s not as weak as I thought.”
“Say the word, and he’s gone.”
“Sadly, I think he needs to be a side character in this little play for a while longer. If he went missing, they’d notice.”
“Perhaps, but if he IDs you and shares why you approached him, that’s an entirely different shit storm coming our way.”
“Agreed,” I pushed my glasses back into place, “which is why when Kenna gets back, I’ll need to see how she is with me.”
“And if she’s different?”
I knew better than to answer that question. “We’ll cross that bridge when we need to.”
“I’m sure we will.” He checked his phone, and his face twisted, then he turned it around to show me a photo. “Need any more proof?”
I studied the photo of Kenna in a tiny white swimsuit standing in front of Grim. His hand seemed to caress her breast. “A photo is a mere snapshot of time.”
“Your IQ is much higher than that, Simon. Wake up and smell that fucking fake flowers!”
“Fine.” I pushed my glasses higher up my nose. “That just means we need to work harder and keep Cameron off their radar.”
“Or you could warn her that daddy dearest will flip his shit if he finds out.”
“That’s not a bad idea. She does seem to want to keep the peace between the two of them.”
“And now you know why.” Kurt stabbed my sweet with a fork and ripped off the corner of it. The red syrup oozed out like an untimely death…I was suddenly tossed into a memory.
He swung the gun away from the Stripe Back where he lay next to his bike and pointed it at me. “You’re such a waste.” His voice dripped in disappointment.
I lost it. I screamed and lunged at him. I drove the axe into his chest as hard as I could. He jolted, and his eyes went wide as he slumped to the ground. I was pulled down with him because of my death grip on the handle.
“Maybe not,” slipped from his lips as the light behind his eyes went out. Blood oozed around the blade and pooled by my knees. I shimmied back and jumped to my feet as my head rushed to catch up to what I’d just done.
“Oh, my God!” I looked down at my hands and saw the blood on them. I wiped them desperately on my pants as I tried to stop the shakes. Then the sound of a Harley drew my attention. I knew I needed to get out of there. I pulled the axe out of his chest and dragged him next to the dead Stripe Back. Then I drew on my knowledge from childhood. I’d witnessed the worst of the worst, and made quick work framing the Stripe Back for the murder. I slipped away with a quick look over my shoulder. Justice had a fucked-up way of evening itself out.