Chapter Five
Sophia
That kiss on my forehead nixed any chance I had of convincing Janet there was nothing going on.
“Well, that’s handy.” Janet handed me a steaming mug of coffee as I slid onto the seat at the island.
“What’s handy?”
“Bring the guy home with you so you don’t have to worry about who sees you all disheveled and happy the next morning. But if that’s not George, who is he and where did you find him?”
I sighed. “Long story.”
Janet grinned. “I was counting on it. Spill.”
I related the events of the previous night but went light on the details. Talking about it in the light of day made it seem worse, and hindsight didn’t help. We both giggled when I described falling asleep and waking up in my own bed.
“Alone in your own bed, or…” Janet smirked.
Just then, Deuce popped his head into the kitchen. He nodded at Janet. “Nice to meet you. I’d love to stay and chat, but something’s come up.” He turned his attention to me. “I’ll be back later. Walk me out?”
I got to my feet. The shower had helped, but I could still feel the aftereffects of my tumble from the van. “Sure.”
I tried to ignore the knowing look on Janet’s face as my traitorous heart jumped at the thought that he would be back later.
He held out his hand, and I put mine in it. “She giving you the third degree?”
I nodded, not meeting his gaze. We reached the door, and he turned to face me.
Placing one finger under my chin he tilted my head up and stared down at me.
“Just remember to tell her I’m hung like a stallion and can kill a grizzly bear with my bare hands to protect you.
If she’s really a good friend, that should satisfy her. ”
I burst out laughing. “A stallion? Really?”
He grinned. “I thought you’d question the grizzly bear.”
I shook my head. “You’re coming back later?”
He grunted, one hand on the door handle. “Yes. I’ll bring dinner. And I’m leaving Tiny and Thor here while I’m gone. One of them is going to be with you at all times for the foreseeable future. At least until we figure this thing out. If you go out, one of them goes with you. Got it?”
I nodded. “Deuce?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you. Just… thank you.”
He looked uncomfortable. I got the feeling he wasn’t used to being thanked. “Just stay safe till I get back.”
I watched as he went over to talk to one of the guys on guard duty who was lounging on the far side of the carport. The two of them turned to look at me, so I waved and closed the door.
“Hung like a horse, huh?”
I turned to see Janet watching me from the kitchen doorway. “You were eavesdropping!”
“Only way to find out what people don’t want you to know. So, hung like a horse?”
I giggled. “I don’t kiss and tell!”
“Not interested in the kissing, although that would be interesting too. Is he good with his mouth?” She wiggled her brows.
“I am not discussing this with you!” I tried to keep my face straight as I walked back to retrieve my coffee. “But I have no complaints.”
“So, hung like a horse and good with his mouth. Does he have a twin by any chance? I could use a good roll in the hay!”
“No, but he had a friend with him when I met him, plus those two guys hanging around outside. He mentioned a clubhouse, so there could be dozens of them.”
Janet sobered and shook her head. “Not interested. I’m betting they’re worse than your dad for being controlling. You know I like to love them and leave them with a grin on their face the next morning.”
I could see her point. Right now, Deuce seemed to like bossing me around, but given the circumstances it was coming off more as caring than controlling. And he certainly made a point of making sure I was satisfied in the sex department.
“So. The date. George was a bust, so how did you end up with a hot biker guy in your bed this morning? Oh right, it wasn’t your bed, it was the shower. Did he show up to fix the plumbing?”
I laughed. “No, he’s not a plumber. And there is nothing wrong with the plumbing. Mine or the shower stall’s.” I took a sip of my coffee, wondering just how much to tell her.
Everything. I needed to tell her everything. Almost everything. We’d been friends since grade school, and I trusted her to keep it to herself. I proceeded to recount the activities of the previous night, including the fact that Deuce had slept on the sofa.
Janet stared at me, her expression turning to horror as I described being drugged, then shoved in the van and my subsequent escape.
“You were drugged? And kidnapped?” Her voice escalated to a squeak.
I nodded. “Yeah, I was. By the way, get off that damn dating app.”
“Doing it now! Crap. That’s unbelievable. Did you report it?”
“No. You know how I feel about cops, and they always blame the woman.”
I watched silently as she picked up her phone, her hands shaking as she pulled up the app and deleted her profile.
Putting the phone back down, she frowned.
“So, two guys on motorcycles, with gang symbols on their vests, just happened to be behind the van that you were kidnapped in. And now you have one of them in your house. And another couple outside making sure no one finds you. Don’t you find that a bit suspicious?
How do you know they aren’t part of George’s crew? ”
I hesitated. Janet was my best friend, but Deuce had possibly killed someone to save me. “He’s not. I’m sure.”
Janet looked skeptical. “How? Just because he screwed your brains out this morning doesn’t make him a good guy.”
“Janet! You can’t think I’m that naive.”
“I hope not. I took one look at the pair of you and knew what was going on. So how can you be so sure he’s a good guy?”
I sighed. Did I mention she was like a dog with a bone? “Fine. We had sex. But I know he’s not part of the bunch that tried to kidnap me because he and his buddy got into a gunfight with the guys in the van, and he might have killed one of them.”
Her brows shot up. “Might have?”
She wasn’t going to let this drop. “I don’t know. I didn’t see what happened. I heard gunshots, but I was too scared to look.”
This was probably the first time I’d seen Janet speechless.
I had no idea if the guy was dead or not.
When I’d come up out of the ditch he’d been gone, so maybe not.
He could have got into the van. There was blood on the road, but he could have just been wounded.
Bodies don’t evaporate like on some kind of sci-fi show on TV, and it was hard to imagine the other guy dragging a dead body into the van with him if he was trying to get away.
“Maybe you should call your dad.” Janet dropped the happy party-girl persona. “Or go up to his homestead for a while. This sounds deadly scary. What if those guys come looking for you?”
“Deuce has a couple of his buddies watching the house, and he’s going to be back later.
I don’t want Dad involved in this. You know how he is.
He’d probably kill George in broad daylight on Main Street if he thought the guy was going to hurt me.
I don’t want him to land in jail just because he cares about me. ”
Janet let out a long sigh. “You’re right. He’s the definition of an overprotective parent.”
“Besides, I have a taser and a can of bear spray. I’m not totally helpless.”
“Maybe you should reconsider keeping a gun in the house.” Janet held up a hand to forestall my objections. “Can’t hurt. You don’t actually have to shoot anyone.”
“Not a chance.” We’d had this argument before.
My dad had taught me to shoot when I was a kid, and I was good.
I could hit a moving target at a hundred feet, more if I had a rifle with a scope instead of a handgun.
But there was a huge difference between shooting a piece of paper and shooting a person.
I wasn’t sure I could do it, so it seemed safer not to take the chance of having someone reverse the tables and take the gun from me.
Taser and bear spray, though, I was good with. They were nasty but not deadly.
“Your new boy toy has a gun.”
“And he has a concealed carry permit for it.”
“Interesting.” She looked intrigued.
“How so?”
“If this club of his was a one-percenter, I doubt he’d bother to get a license.”
I frowned. “What’s a one-percenter?”
“A motorcycle club that operates outside the law. Most clubs don’t although there’s a lot of gray area.”
I grimaced. “And exactly how do you know so much about motorcycle clubs?”
“Remember Jarred? That guy I dated for a while last summer?”
I nodded.
“Turns out his father was in a one-percenter club, and he got caught running drugs over the Mexican border. Jarred asked if I wanted to go with him to visit, and that was the end of that relationship.”
I remembered Jarred, only because at almost two months it was the longest relationship Janet had been in for years. She’d never told me what went wrong, putting it down to lack of interest on her part. “That’s tough, but Jarred wasn’t part of it, was he?”
She shook her head. “No, he didn’t even own a bike, but it scared the heck out of me anyway. Those guys are ruthless. What if they came after Jarred to get to his dad? Or used Jarred’s girlfriend to send a lesson? No thanks.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“Hey. Cheer up! Sounds like your new boy toy isn’t one of the bad guys.”
“Right.” I made a mental note to see that concealed carry permit. Not that I doubted Deuce, but anyone can claim they have something without it being true.
“So about having a gun in the house…”
“No!” I glared at Janet. “And don’t you dare tell my dad what happened.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it. So, tell me more about this guy who’s hung like a horse.”
I shook my head. “Not sure he’s quite up to horse standards, but he’s big, and he knows how to use it.”
“Do tell!” Janet put her coffee mug down and leaned forward, chin resting on her hands.
I blushed, just as the doorbell rang. I took the opportunity to dodge answering the question. I checked the doorbell app and saw Deuce standing on the front deck with a grocery bag in his hands. I unlocked the door, confused.