Chapter 1 #2
“Just get there safely, we’ll deal with the rest, but I should go because I need to let others know what’s going on.”
“Ten-four.” Demon disconnected the line and kept an eye on the SUV that had let several cars get between them now that they were on a road with more normal traffic. There was still no doubt they were following him, the real question was why?
His mind spun as he went where Gizmo had instructed. Should he park and go inside, as if nothing were out of the ordinary, or should he wait in the truck to see what happened?
Demon was almost to the intersection when he changed lanes, then checked on the SUV behind him, sure enough it had changed lanes too.
He hit his blinker again and pulled into the little shop.
He threw the truck in park, killed the engine, and got out.
While he’d considered sitting in the truck and trying to figure out who it was, Gizmo had said go inside, so he did.
He acted as if he didn’t notice that the SUV he’d been watching had pulled in right behind him.
Holy shit. Whoever this was, they needed some training in how to tail someone and not be seen.
Demon rolled his eyes but opened the door and went inside without looking around to make sure his brothers were there; whichever ones Gizmo had sent over.
If the idiots following him realize he was looking for someone, they might get spooked, then he’d never know why they were following him, and he might lead them somewhere they don’t want people to be.
So, he played his part, went inside after spending a minute staring at the cooler case, found the drink he was looking for and took it to the register.
When he was done, he went back outside and headed for the truck, wondering if his brothers had already confronted them or what would happen.
He was almost to the truck when a pretty brunette who was almost as tall as he was, and since he was 6’1” it meant she was a tall woman, stepped in front of him.
“James Jennings?” Her voice was a rich contralto that made him wonder what she’d sound like in the post orgasmic afterglow of great sex.
“Yes, can I help you?”
“My name is Ronnie Darq. I’m with The Darq Side Bail Bonds. You’ve missed your hearing. I need to take you to get that rescheduled.”
Demon frowned.
“Wait. I didn’t have a hearing. Not that I know of.
What are the charges?” He caught movement from the corner of his eye and saw a man with long, shaggy hair moving around the back of Demon’s pickup.
Demon didn’t know why, but the man set his senses on alert, as if there was something about him they needed to be aware of.
He tried to split his attention between the woman in front of him, Ronnie he thought she’d said her name was, and the man moving toward Demon’s back.
Demon glanced around the small parking lot and spotted a row of three bikes in the parking lot next door.
And they weren’t just any bikes but ones he recognized.
His brothers were here. They would have his back, even if the guy who set off Demon’s sixth sense was up to something nefarious, and it wasn’t just his imagination.
He turned all his attention back to the stunning woman in front of him.
“I’m sorry. I think you have the wrong person.” He stepped around her and went to the truck. He had his hand on the handle when she spoke again.
“James Robert Jennings?” Her tone said she was quite sure she had the right person as she continued to rattle off a date and a number that was eerily close to his social security number.
It might have been a scene straight from the twilight zone, but he recognized both the date and the social, even if they weren’t his.
His heart dropped into his stomach, and he let his head fall forward until it rested on the cool steel of the door frame.
“Son of a bitch. What has Jim Bob gotten into now?” he muttered to himself as he turned around to face her again. “You didn’t tell me the charges.”
She glared at him a moment then recited a list of charges.
“Armed robbery, felony assault, theft of means of transportation…” She kept going but Demon had stopped listening.
“Carjacking. The fucking idiot was arrested for carjacking?” He shook his head and wondered how two people who shared so much blood, and looked so similar could be so different.
“What idiot?” She frowned. “You said you’re James Jennings.” She looked confused.
“I am. But I’m James Joseph Jennings. Family calls me Joe.” He shook his head. How stupid was Jim Bob? Demon would like to be able to say he was surprised that there was a warrant out for his cousin, but it wasn’t the first and it likely wouldn’t be the last.
He took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before letting it out slowly. It was that or start screaming and as much as he didn’t want this woman cuffing him, he also didn’t want to scare her more than he had to.
She was just doing her job. It wasn’t her fault that Dad and his brother had the brilliant idea of giving their sons names that were so close to each other.
Add into that there was only a month between their birthdays and their Social Security numbers were so close, it had only compounded the issue.
“Jim Bob is my cousin. He’s been a pain in my ass since we were about three.
” He reached back and pulled his wallet from his pocket, flipped it open and pulled out his driver’s license.
Offering it to her, he continued talking.
“I haven’t seen him in a couple of years.
It’s just best for all of us if I keep my distance.
” He didn’t bother to say this wasn’t the first time he’d been confused for Jim Bob, but he did admit to himself that it could have been worse.
This Ronnie could be some overweight, hairy guy with a sweating issue and a want to-be alpha problem.
She took his license and looked at it for a moment, checking the photo and looking back up at him.
“Well shit.” She offered Demon his license back. “I’m sorry about this. Any idea where I might find him?”
Demon shrugged.
“Like I said, I haven’t seen him in a couple of years.
Last I heard he tends to hide out at his mom’s when he thinks someone’s looking for him, but I’m not sure where she’s living these days.
” His aunt Chastity hadn’t spoken to him since long before she and his uncle Jimmy divorced.
She had believed Jim Bob was an angel, and since Demon wouldn’t put up with his shit or cover for him, she had little use for him.
In fact, Demon called his cousin out for his stupid shit every chance he got.
Demon believed he’d never learn better if everyone ignored it or covered up his stupid shit, so he'd refused.
Demon took his license and put it away, at the last minute he pulled a card from his wallet, it was mostly blank, but had a phone number in black in the center of the card.
“Here, this is me. Keep looking. You hit a dead end, give me a call and I’ll see what I can find.”
She took the card, stared at it for a moment then looked back up at him, meeting his gaze.
“You sure? Helping me will likely put you on the outs with your family.”
“I’m already on the outs with most of my family anyway.
Might as well do it for the right reasons.
Sooner or later my idiot cousin is going to get someone other than himself hurt.
I’d hate knowing the only reason he was able to get someone else hurt was because I didn’t do the right thing to begin with. ”
She looked at the card in her hand, then back up at him. Her eyes skimmed down his torso then back to his face. As if she was taking in what he was wearing for the first time.
Ronnie opened her mouth, and he wondered what she was going to say, but she closed it again, frowning. Tilting her head, she stared at him for a moment.