Wizard’s Spitfire (Voodoo Kings New Orleans #9)
Prologue
S ix weeks earlier
Wizard
I SIGH AND LEAN BACK in my chair, checking my cell phone for a response from Bug. Bug, a fellow hacker, is part of our mother club in Baton Rouge.
Charlie Caruso
(504) 522-2639
**
I smile. Nice, strong Italian name. Not as strong as Morelli, but I like it. I send a quick reply.
Thanks, brother
**
Charlie
TODAY IS A TOTAL FUCKING shit show. First, I get called to the principal's office while I’m dropping the girls off at school. My low-life ex didn’t pay the tuition yet again. Now, I owe the school sixty-thousand dollars by the end of the school year. Six weeks. Then I get a flat tire on my way to my first appointment of the day.
I’m meeting some guy named Wizard for a potential job. A job that could theoretically pay a chunk of said tuition. I’m fortunate the school is not making me pay late fees. The tuition was due last August. My slug of an ex pays a few hundred or a few thousand, then nothing for a few months. That’s what the school told me today. He hasn’t paid child support for the last five years. Why isn’t he in jail? Good question. My guess, because he’s a sleazeball lawyer with sleazier friends.
Which brings me to now. I slam the trunk of the car down and fight the urge to scream or cry. Possibly both. My spare is missing. I have a sneaking suspicion one of my daughters borrowed it and forgot to tell me. Which really means my piece of shit ex took it for the girls' car and didn’t bother to tell me.
UGGGGGGGGGGGG!
“Deep breaths,” I mutter to myself.
The rumble of a motorcycle draws my attention. Out of instinct, I shift my weight so I can reach my piece if I need it. I watch as a lone biker pulls behind my car. I’d maneuvered into an empty parking lot when the tire went flat.
My breath catches when he takes off his helmet. And not because I’m scared. He’s a fucking adonis. I’d put him at six-foot-two, two-twenty. His black t-shirt clings to a muscular chest and shows off well-formed biceps. Well-worn denim clings to his lean hips. My lips curve slightly when I see the shit kickers. He takes off the helmet and I get a good look at him. His thick black hair is shaved on the sides, revealing tatts. More ink peeks out from under the collar of his shirt and down both arms.
I wonder if he has full sleeves. His hazel eyes look greener against his olive complexion. He smiles, showing even white teeth and dimples. I feel my stomach dip.
Oh no, Miss Thang, for-get it! You are NOT going to flirt with him. Fuck, I thought, Miss Thang died along with my libido.
“Can I help you, ma’am?”
“Only if you have a spare tire on that sled?”
His smile widens. “I’m afraid not. Can I wait with you for a tow?”
I glance at my watch. “I’m going to be late for an appointment. If I call a tow truck, it’ll be at least an hour.”
“Let me call our garage. They’ll send out a tow truck and take the car to the garage. We’ll get your tire repaired and get you a spare.”
I eye him suspiciously. “Why are you helping?
“My ma raised me right. I’d never have Sunday gravy again if I left someone stranded on the side of the road.”
“How much is it going to cost?”
“I’ll have them give you the friends and family discount.”
“You don’t know me.”
“I will,” he says with a smile and a wink.
I bite back a retort. I need that ride and a hefty retainer.
“I’m on my way to Daisy Dukes for a breakfast meeting.”
“What a coincidence. So am I.”
“I don’t have a second helmet with me. Mine will be a little big, but let’s get you strapped in.”
“Let me grab my satchel and put the spare key out.”
Wizard
I’M TOOLING DOWN THE highway on my way to Daisy Dukes to meet with Charlie Caruso. I have a thumb drive with everything I found so far on Lola Biaz. It’s plenty to get him started. I spot a vehicle in one of the empty parking lots. Not far off the road. A woman is outside. The way her head is hung. She must be having issues.
I pull in behind her, immediately stunned by her beauty when I get closer. Her long dark hair is pulled back into a braid. She’s a tiny thing. Around five feet.
Piercing blue eyes meet mine when I get closer. After she agrees to let me give her a ride, I watch her walk to her car while I text Crab. He’s working in the garage today. Damn, she has a nice ass.
She fishes a satchel out of the car. Then I watch her put a small magnet key holder under the right front wheel well. I add that info to a second text and shoot it off to Crab. When she is ready, I strap my helmet on her head and mount my sled. Offering her my hand after I’m seated. She throws a leg over and settles with ease. I wonder if she’s done this before.
An invisible hand clutches at my chest. I don’t like the idea of her riding on the back of someone else’s bike. The thought gnaws at me the whole way to the restaurant. I park out front, helping her off before putting down the kickstand and getting off after her. I hurry after her, opening the door.
“Hey before your meeting, can I get your name and phone number? For the garage?”
“Oh, that would help, wouldn’t it?” She says with a smile.
She offers me her hand. “Charlie Caruso.”
I almost swallow my tongue.
“Private investigator, Charlie Caruso?”
She smiles. “One, and the same.”
I point to the patch on my chest where my club name is stitched. Her face lights up with recognition.
“You don’t look like a Wizard.”
I smile. “I’m the club’s tech guy. Our sister club dubbed their tech guy Bug.”
“Wizard is better. You were expecting a guy?”
I nod my head. “My dad wanted a boy. Mom named me Charlotte. Dad called me Charlie and it stuck.”
“Let’s find a table and get some food.”
She nods her head. I point out an empty table and follow behind her. Once we’re seated, a server comes by and drops off water and menus.
“I’ll be right back with coffee,” he says.
The server comes back with coffee and takes our orders. I get the ultimate meat lover's omelet, hash browns, and a full stack of pancakes. Charlie orders a veggie egg white omelet, whole wheat toast, and fresh fruit.
“Everything I have on Lola is on here. Do you think you can figure out what happened to her in the last year?
“I can find out. A delve like that will take a few weeks to a few months. That’s a lot of billable hours.”
“I can have your ten grand retainer transferred as soon as we’re finished, if you’d like.”
“About that. I hate to ask, but could we make it fifteen? My lousy ex still hasn’t paid the girls' tuition for the school year.”
School is almost over. What a loser. Not paying your kids’ tuition.
“Sure, we can do that.”
We spend the next thirty minutes eating and going over the case. She virtually signs the documents I’d previously sent her a copy of to review. And I’ll send her a signed copy of the contract as well. When we’re done, I pay the bill, and we head to my bike. I’ll send her the deposit after we pick up her car.
The ride to the garage is over much too soon for my liking. I love the way she feels wrapped around me. A guy like me could get used to this.
Charlie
brEAKFAST GOES SURPRISINGLY well. Wizard didn’t flinch when I asked for an extra five grand. I’ll turn in the fifteen thousand to the school immediately. The girls love their school and I’ll figure out a way to send them myself from now on. I normally pay half anyway, but the ex insisted he’d take care of it this year. And every time I offered to pay my half, he’d explode in anger. I spent the money on braces for the girls. They begged for those invisible braces. For once I had the money to do it. So, I did. Of course that came back to bite me in the ass, but the girls are happy. In my opinion it was worth it.
Now instead of coming up with half, I’m coming up with most of it. It’s seventy-five grand a year to keep the girls in their charter school. They just turned sixteen. Identical triplets. Lucia, Valentina, and Francesca, the loves of my life.
My only problem besides my asshole of an ex is my attraction to this biker. But that’s not what I need. I need to focus on raising the girls. Getting them to college. Three more years of high school and maybe I’ll consider going out on a date. I’m a little sad when the ride is over. I haven’t been on a bike since I was a teenager.
The boyfriend before the ex. He was wild, free, and fun. Damon belonged to a MC, too. A scary one. He wasn’t scary but the other guys were. I was afraid to be alone with any of them.
We pull into a well-kept parking lot. It looks freshly paved. The garage is an enormous square building with a sign that says King’s Garage . In smaller letters it says, ‘And Towing.’
A guy that looks like he stepped from the pages of GQ Magazine comes out to greet us. If GQ had a biker issue.
“Wizard. Who’d you bring to see us?” Hollywood asks.
“Hollywood, this is Charlie Caruso, our new PI. Charlie, this is Hollywood.”
I offer my hand. He takes it, giving me a firm handshake.
“Nice to meet you,” he says.
“Nice to meet you as well,” I say with a smile. “What do I owe you for the tire?”
“We couldn’t fix the tire. Whoever plugged it last time did a horrible job.”
I look at him, shocked. “It hasn’t been plugged before. I just got a new set of tires two months ago.”
Hollywood shakes his head. “Your tires have too much wear to be that new. Could someone have swapped them?”
Motherfucker. It must be JR.
“I have an idea of who would have done that. When am I going to need to replace these?”
“They’re all new and so is your spare. Gambit, our president, said to give you new ones on us as a part of your fee.”
A wave of relief washes over me. Things have been tight lately. Tighter than I’d ever let the girls know. I pay for everything and JR swoops in and gives them things like cars and designer clothes.
“Thank you. And thank you, Wizard, for the assist. I’m going to get started. I’ll be in touch as soon as I have an update.”
I get my keys. Say my goodbyes. And head home to start researching.