Chapter Two #2
“Cops are understaffed and overworked. Since you obviously escaped, they might decide it’s not worth pursuing.”
“Oh.” I wanted to protest, but these guys probably had more of an insight into the local police situation than I did.
Deuce held out his phone to me. “Pull up the guy’s profile for me. I’ll bet George isn’t his real name, and there’s nothing on there to lead back to him.”
I took the phone and pulled up the app on the web. It didn’t take much to log in, but when I did the conversation between me and George had disappeared completely.
In fact, George was nowhere to be found.
I stared at the blank screen in disbelief. “Son of a bitch!”
* * *
Deuce
“What’s up?” Rattler slid back into the booth, and I caught him up on what Sophia had told me while he was gone.
“She’s checking out the app now, looking for George’s details,” I said.
Rattler turned his attention to Sophia. “Your plans to meet at the coffee shop not there?”
A look of disbelief on her face, Sophia nodded. “It’s like I made it all up. It’s all gone. Every chat we had just poofed. Vanished. His profile has disappeared too.” She handed my phone back to me.
I quickly scanned her bio. Her profile pic was adorable, but chaste.
Not exactly a Tinder kind of shot. Pretty generic, nothing to ring any alarm bells.
I saved her login and the website before closing it.
Technically an invasion of privacy but given the circumstances, justified.
Maybe Shadow could dig deeper into it when we got back to the clubhouse.
I exchanged looks with Rattler over Sophia’s head.
Neither of us were surprised George had wiped his profile.
He’d just set up a new profile as Sam or Henry or some other common name and continue the scam.
Chances were, this was the gang Ace was looking for.
They were slick. Professional. It was pure luck we’d been there when Sophia managed to free herself.
How many before her hadn’t been that lucky?
“Not much point in calling the cops. It’s going to look like you made up the whole story.”
She repeated her earlier expletive, but softer. “Son of a bitch.”
“Exactly. These guys are pro. How much does this George guy know about you?”
Sophia gave me a blank look. “What do you mean?”
“Personal details. Anything that will make it easy for him to find you?”
“No. Unless he has my purse.” She shook her head. “You think he’s going to come after me?”
“Maybe, maybe not, but it’s better to play it safe.” I didn’t want to scare her, but chances were good this George character would want to reacquire her. She could ID him, and possibly his henchman. Pros didn’t like to leave loose ends.
“I didn’t have any of that on my profile, and I didn’t tell him when we met.
I told him I was a teacher, but I didn’t say which school or that I’m a sub so I go to whichever school needs me for a day or two.
Other than that I do custom sewing, mostly from home.
I picked that place to meet because it isn’t too close to where I live, and it’s not one I normally go to. ”
Rattler nodded. “Good. He still might be able to find you, but you didn’t make it easy for him.”
“I just didn’t want to run into him again if he turned out to be a jerk.” She snorted. “I didn’t expect this.” She wrapped her hands around the tea mug and lifted it to her lips.
Gorgeous lips. Full and sensual. I could see why she’d been targeted. She had that innocently seductive look about her that aroused both my inner demons and my protective streak. George was lucky I didn’t know where to find him.
Rattler cleared his throat, giving me a meaningful look. “That was Ace on the phone. Something came up and he wants me back at the clubhouse. You okay with me leaving?”
“Sure.” I wasn’t about to ask what was up with Ace. Not in front of a civilian. We didn’t share club business with outsiders. “I’ll let you know if I need anything.”
Rattler gulped down the rest of his coffee and got to his feet. “Nice to meet you, Sophia.”
She gave him a warm smile. “Nice to meet you too, Rattler. Thanks for everything.”
I tamped down an unexpected surge of jealousy. I wanted her to smile at me like that. Rattler gave me a lopsided salute and strode to the door.
Sophia took another sip of her tea. “Can I get a ride back to my car? It’s still at the coffee shop where I met George.”
I shook my head. “Bad idea. Chances are George will be watching for you to come back. I can take you home and send one of the prospects to pick up your car and move it to a safe place for the night. Do you have your keys?”
She grimaced. “No, but I have a spare set at home. I can get them for you if you take me home.”
I resisted the urge to smile. “That would be good. The prospects could probably hotwire it, but it’s easier if we give them the keys.
It’s a long shot, but they can ask at the coffee shop to see if your purse is still there.
Don’t get your hopes up, though. I’m guessing George and his buddy made sure to snag it when they grabbed you. ”
She tilted her head. “Thanks. I need my car. Even if you take me home, I want to be available if I get called to work on Monday.”
I could tell the moment reality hit home. “They can’t call me. I don’t have my phone!”
That hadn’t occurred to me, but it posed a problem.
I wasn’t interested in her going to work on Monday, but she needed to be able to call for help.
“I’ll have someone drop off a phone for you.
There are always a few burners hanging around the club.
You’ll have to get hold of your service provider and let them know you lost it so they can lock it and switch the service to the new one.
They might be able to load your contacts and apps on a new one as well if you have a cloud backup. ”
She sighed. “I have no idea if I have a backup in the cloud, but I’ll ask when I contact them. I want to say you’re already doing too much for me, but I really need a phone, so thanks.”
“No problem. Not every day someone throws herself at my feet.” I smiled to let her know I was teasing. “We can make sure no one is following the car and get it to you over the weekend. Shadow can sweep it to make sure there’s no tracking device on it.”
“I’m starting to feel out of my depth. Who is Shadow, and how come it sounds like those prospects are doing a lot of the work?”
“Shadow is our tech guy, and part of being a prospect is getting stuck with all the grunt work.”
“Like picking up vehicles that might be watched by dangerous guys?”
“Exactly. I doubt this George character is a match for any of the prospects. My guess is if he sees them retrieve your car, he’ll try to follow them in the hopes of finding you. If he does that, they’ll know, and they can nab him.”
She didn’t ask how. Her head was probably reeling from everything that had happened. Did she know I’d smoked the driver of the van? I didn’t know if that was George or his sidekick, not that it mattered.
“Oh.” She stared down at the table. “I really screwed up, didn’t I?”
“Absolutely not. Not your fault. You couldn’t have known these guys were lurking on that app.
You were just unlucky enough to catch their attention.
” When she didn’t reply, I reached out and covered her hand with mine.
“I’m going to see if Rylie’s husband happened to leave a shirt here that I can borrow. Be right back.”
I slid out of the booth and strode over to the counter. “Hey, Rylie. Any chance Cyclone has a shirt laying around I can borrow?”
“I’ll see what I can find.” She disappeared into the back room and returned with a sweatshirt which looked like it had seen better days.
The edges were tattered, and it had paint splattered all over the front.
She knew enough not to question me as to why I only had my cut on, and why the woman with me appeared to be wearing my shirt.
I thanked her and pulled it on, walking back to Sophia. “Ready to go?”
She eyed my new wardrobe doubtfully as I pulled my cut on over it. Getting to her feet, she hesitated a moment before giving me her address.
I totally got it. After the events of the day, giving out personal details like this must seem like a really bad idea.
* * *
The ride to Sophia’s house made me want to keep rolling on down the highway.
She clung to my back, with her head resting between my shoulder blades.
Her arms were around my waist, her touch sending shivers down my spine, and if she had moved her hands a few inches lower, she would have discovered the extent of my attraction to her.
We stopped in front of a modest two-story house in a family friendly section of town, and Sophia sat up straight. I missed the warmth of her body pressed against me.
A cement path dissected the neatly trimmed lawn and led to the front door.
Nice setup. I guided my bike into the driveway, then under the carport.
Sophia slid off the bike and I dismounted, pulling off my helmet.
Hanging it from the handlebars, I helped Sophia off with hers and placed it on the seat.
Sophia ran her fingers through her hair, fluffing it up from the helmet’s flattening effects.
“I’ll disable the security system.” She walked over to the side door and entered a code into the electronic door lock.
A blipping sound emerged, and she scurried over to the number pad and entered a code to shut off the security system.
I nodded my approval. “Is that motion activated throughout the house, or does it just register entry at the door?”
“Motion activated,” she replied. “Why?”
“If it was just attached to entry points, I’d suggest you arm it when you’re in the house but that’s not going to work with a motion activated system.”
She sighed. “No, but I will make sure to lock the doors even if I’m home. This sucks. I wish I’d never agreed to the damn date.”
“Yeah, it does suck, but hindsight is never helpful. You have to look at the bright side.”
“There’s a bright side?”
I grinned. “You met me and got to ride on an awesome motorcycle.”
I could tell she was struggling not to smile. “I suppose it is a nice bike.”
“You suppose? That bike is my pride and joy!” I followed her into the kitchen and spotted an electric kettle on the counter. Time to change the subject.
“You should have someone stay with you tonight. You sure you don’t want to call your dad?” Filling the kettle with water, I plugged it in.
She shook her head. “Absolutely not. I don’t want him to know what happened. I’ll see if Janet can come over.” She sighed. “Right. No phone. Can I borrow yours again, please?”
I would have felt better with an overly protective dad, but a BFF wasn’t a bad idea. And I’d have a couple of prospects keep a discreet eye on the place.
I handed her my phone and watched as she punched in her BFF’s number and waited for an answer.
The call went to voicemail and she looked up at me. “What’s your number? I’ll send her a text, and hopefully she’ll call when she gets in.” She sounded doubtful.
I gave her the number and watched her send the text. I didn’t know this Janet person, but it was a Friday night. What were the chances she’d get in before midnight? “I’ll stay with you until she does. Where do you keep your tea?”
She blinked. “I don’t need tea, and I can’t ask you to keep watch over me all night. I’ll lock the doors. It’ll be fine.”
I shook my head. “Nope. Not happening. And maybe the tea was for me. I need something to fortify me if I’m going to have to resist your tempting body all night.”
A reluctant smile curved her lips. “My tempting body?”
I raked my gaze over her. “Big tits and curves all over the place? Hell yeah, that’s tempting! All I can do to keep my hands to myself.”
Sophia laughed nervously. “You’re crazy!”
I grinned. “You are not the first to point that out. So, do you want to join me for a warm cup of tea, or are you heading straight for the sack?”
“I’m too keyed up to sleep. I think I’ll watch a movie while I wait for Janet to call back.”
“I’ll be staying until she calls.” I made it a statement, not a question.
Sophia looked like she was going to argue but then shrugged her shoulders. Was that a hint of relief I saw in her expression?
“Your choice. A shower is probably a bad idea, but I need to wash up and get into something a little more comfortable. The living room is that way.” She waved her hand toward the far doorway.
I turned back to the kettle, which was now whistling cheerfully.
Opening the cupboards one at a time, I found an assortment of tea along with a teapot and one of those crocheted covers people used to keep the tea warm.
I chose a decaf Earl Grey blend and made a full pot, just in case she changed her mind.
Grabbing two mugs from the carousel on the counter, I took the tea in search of the living room. Just as I set everything down on the coffee table, I heard a shriek from upstairs.
Shit! Now what ?