Chapter 2
Chapter Two
SAGE
My stomach had been a jumble of anxious knots since my alarm had gone off earlier that morning. I’d started my new job, and I was rocking those first-day jitters like crazy.
I’d called regarding the position Danika told me about and been excited when the woman I’d spoken to set up an interview with me.
I was a little thrown when she informed me the interview was going to take place at the diner in town, but I let it go, thinking the cozier atmosphere would make the whole scene less stressful.
I had no idea what to expect when I first walked into Evergreen Diner.
I’d stopped just inside the door, my gaze bouncing around in search of a professional looking woman in a smart skirt suit or something.
But a few seconds later a hand came up, and the woman it was attached to, with bright red hair and even brighter eyeshadow, waved me over.
I took her in as I moved toward the booth where she was sitting.
If I had to guess, she was in her mid-fifties and her flashy green top was cut so low she was sporting some serious cleavage.
I could tell by what I saw from the waist up that she was pleasantly rounded, and the top was tight, hugging all those curves like a second skin.
Her hair was teased and curled out to there, and her lips were painted a bold red.
I liked her on the spot. She knew herself and her style and didn’t give a single flip what anyone else thought.
The meeting had gone so much better than I’d hoped, and after an hour of small talk, Roxanne had shocked the hell out of me by offering me the job without even checking my references.
When I’d asked why she’d had so much trouble filling the position, her ominous reply of, “Oh, you’ll see,” gave me pause. But I needed the job.
I had a little in savings, but not nearly enough to get by without working.
I figured it was the typical issue of the boss being a dick, but I could handle that.
I’d worked for plenty of dicks in my time.
I even had one boss who tried to grope me.
Sure, I’d lost the job after I broke a couple of his fingers, but I wasn’t too sad about it.
And I definitely hadn’t put that asshole down as a reference.
I took extra care with my appearance that morning.
According to Roxanne, the dress code at Alpha Omega Investigations ran toward casual.
Basically, you could wear whatever you wanted as long as it wasn’t pajamas, but even though that was the case, I chose to err on the side of caution and bought a few new outfits.
They were still me, just slightly more . . . toned down.
I wore a pair of skinny jeans with some kickass strappy black heels I found in a cute boutique in town.
They had brushed silver studs on the straps across my toes and the ones that wrapped around my ankles.
My top was a comfy black cotton with lacy capped sleeves.
It was loose around my middle with a thick elastic band about three inches wide that hugged my hips and gave it a slightly more fashionable look, but it was the silk screen on the front of a wolf howling at a full moon that made me fall in love with it.
The whole ensemble was trendy without making me look or feel like something I wasn’t.
As a bonus, the shop where I’d gotten everything was inexpensive and had the best stuff.
Pulling my baby into a spot right out front, I climbed out and headed into Muffin Top for a morning pick-me-up before I started my day.
The place was a crush of early morning patrons looking for the same caffeine fix I was.
“Well hey there,” Dani called from behind the counter once she spotted me. “Look at you. That top is awesome. And those shoes . . .”
I paused long enough to strike a pose and kick a foot out to give her a better look. “You like?”
“I love,” she replied. “I’m thinking I need to take you shopping with me.”
“I’m so down for that,” I said, smiling huge as I moved closer to the counter. “You just name the time and place, and I’m there. Oh! But not between the hours of eight and five Monday through Friday.”
“Oh my god. You got the job!” she exclaimed, rounding the counter and coming out into the main area.
“I did.” Grabbing my hands, she did an excited little shuffle that was so adorable, I couldn’t help but join in right there in the middle of the coffee shop.
“That’s fantastic, babe. I’m so happy for you,” she said excitedly. I might not have been in town long enough to know Danika well, but from everything I’d seen so far, she was pretty awesome and definitely someone I wouldn’t mind having in my tribe.
“Thanks. I’m actually kind of nervous,” I admitted, pressing my palms to my fluttering belly. “Today’s my first day.”
“Don’t be nervous. If you’ve won Roxanne over, you’re in. She’s the best.”
That helped to settle some of my nervous energy, but just to be on the safe side, I planned to do a little bit of ass kissing. “Speaking of Roxanne, you have any clue how she takes her coffee? I figured coming in with a cup for her would earn me some brownie points.”
Danika’s face stretched into a knowing grin. “Smart. One of the benefits of a small town, me and my girls pretty much know what everyone likes. Just tell Molly at the counter who you’re ordering for and she’ll know what to make.”
“Great, thanks.”
“Any time. I need to get back to the kitchen, but give me a call later. We’ll set up a night to get drinks and celebrate.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
She leaned in, giving me a quick hug before shuffling around the counter and to the back.
I started for the register, my mouth beginning to water at the thought of sinking my teeth into one of Dani’s cranberry and orange scones when the roar of pipes yanked me to a stop.
That sound took me back to my childhood.
Memories of riding on the back of my dad’s Harley flooded my head and caused a smile to tug at my lips.
It had been forever since I heard that distinctive rumble.
Shortly after Dad’s arrest, my mom pulled me from our life in Tennessee and moved us to Arizona to shack up with her newest boyfriend.
We’d lived in a McMansion that backed up to a sprawling golf course, and among those country clubbers and golfers, there wasn’t a motorcycle to be seen.
I dated a couple guys who had bikes, but having grown up with the real deal biker, they were obvious wannabes, and it left a bad taste in my mouth.
Then I’d spent years with John, who was convinced any person who rode a motorcycle was low class, and I’d been so hung up on pleasing him, I’d changed who I was, leaving the biker princess behind to become whatever he wanted me to be.
It had been stupid, but I’d learned my lesson, and the first thing I did when I left his elitist ass was find myself again.
To a girl like me, that sound had the same effect as the music from an ice cream truck would for other kids. I related that sound to the blissful times of my childhood.
Excitement coursed through my veins, and I stood immobile, staring out the window of Muffin Top as nostalgia washed over me.
The bike finally came into sight, or, more to the point, the man riding it came into sight, parking a badass, solid black Harley in the empty spot right beside my Mustang.
Along with being glued to the spot, my lungs deflated as I watched the most gorgeous man I’d ever laid eyes on kick the stand down and swing his long, powerfully muscled leg over.
Even from far away, I could tell the guy was tall, as in freaking tall, and every inch of him was packed with muscle.
His black hair shined beneath the bright morning sun, the longish strands curling around his ears and sweeping the collar of his T-shirt.
Faded jeans encased his thick thighs, leading to a pair of worn, dusty biker boots.
This dude definitely wasn’t a wannabe. He looked like he’d been born to be on a bike.
Thanks to the distance and the mirrored aviators he was wearing, I couldn’t get a good look at his face, but that didn’t stop the pulse from shooting between my legs straight to my nipples, causing them to stiffen beneath my bra.
I was pulled from my perusal of the hunk by the sound of my phone ringing in my purse.
My skin began to prickle, but not in the pleasant way it had been while I was staring at the biker.
It was like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on me.
Now a days, there were only two people blowing up my phone, and I dreaded speaking to either of them.
I hadn’t spoken a word to my mother since her last and biggest betrayal, and I had no intention of starting now.
When I left John, I’d cut her out of my life, draining the poison she’d infected me with for years.
But just because I was done with her didn’t mean she was done with me, and for reasons I couldn’t possibly fathom after what she’d done, she kept on calling.
However, as miserable and vile as she was, she was the lesser of the two evils who called on a regular basis.
John hadn’t taken too kindly to me leaving him, something he showed me in one of the worst ways.
He was a man used to getting exactly what he wanted right when he wanted it, and having me be the one to end things was a blow to his ego he couldn’t handle.
After that horrible night six months ago, I’d thought he’d finally leave me alone.
I’d thought wrong.