Chapter 6 #2
“ Cool . There’s a phone in the shop.”
She took a step toward the door. I stopped her. “ Just so we’re clear? I’ll be listening in.” I raised my eyebrows to convey what I wouldn’t say.
Because while I should make it clear that this wasn’t a kidnapping, and that she was much safer in my hands than in Carl’s , I also didn’t trust her.
And I couldn’t trust her until I figured out the game those two were playing.
Therefore , I had to play the role of the bad guy and be the asshole everyone assumed I was.
I shouldn’t have even offered the phone call.
But even I couldn’t be that much of a dick.
On the plus side, if she truly had to be somewhere tonight, calling and canceling would keep me out of the hot seat should this blow up in my face.
“ I understand.”
I hoped like hell she did.
Skinner was inside. I slapped hands with him and theatrically swept my hand to introduce Rose .
“ Meet Roishin , or Rose . Last name, Black .”
Skinner shot a sharp glance at me. I smiled and gave him a little smug lift of my chin.
Roishin watched us carefully. She must have deemed me a bigger threat since her glances settled on me. That was fair. Skinner hadn’t pulled a gun or a knife on her… yet.
I pulled down a book of tattoo flash from the shelf and handed it to her. It was heavy, and she needed two hands to hold it. As I handed it off, I took the backpack off her. Then ordered, “ Go in that room, shut the door, and look at tattoo designs. Don’t listen to anything we say.”
She measured us with her gaze but relented, going into one of the private rooms, setting the book down, and closing the door.
That didn’t guarantee her ear wasn’t plastered against the wood. I kept my voice low. “ Skinner , she’s got a laptop and Gods know what else in that bag. You got any of your scanning gear with you?”
He shook his head but took the bag from me. Then hissed, “ What the fuck, man? That’s Carl’s woman?”
“ Yeah .”
He stared at me with the oddest expression on his face.
“ What ?”
He glanced around as if checking for an audience. Seeing none, he blasted me. “ What in holy God’s name are you doing? You were supposed to talk to him, not kidnap his girlfriend.”
I knew that. “ I did both, sue me.”
Skinner’s eyes narrowed. “ Tell me how it went down.”
I straightened. Times were, I outranked him. Now I didn’t. Which meant I probably should try to appease him. “ I go in there, Carl claims he’s alone. There’s fucking signs he ain’t, right?”
Skinner nodded, encouraging me to continue. Meanwhile , he slipped the computer out of its compartment and did a quick swipe through the pocket to feel for anything else in there.
“ So , I’m in the middle of negotiations?—”
Skinner’s snort interrupted me. “ Negotiation isn’t your strong suit, Bear .”
“ Shut up and let me talk.”
Coming up empty in that pocket, he moved to the others.
“ And I hear this squeak come from behind the couch. It’s her. I throw a fit and Carl …” I tried to play the scene back in my mind. Even in the memories, it seemed just a bit fuzzy, like there was something in the air that made it all not make sense.
“ Carl what?” Skinner piled her clothes and other shit on a bench. “ This receipt is a month old. Women , I swear…” He pocketed it. Strange man.
His tangent gave me time to really think about the scene. “ Carl offered to sell her to me.”
Skinner froze. His head turned to the room where Rose hid. The stare he gave that door was loaded with apprehension, then he turned back to me and said, “ Do not tell me you bought her.”
“ I didn’t.”
He relaxed for a moment. “ Then , why is she with you?” The squint he narrowed at me tried to make sense of things before I could defend myself.
“ I told you it got weird.”
“ How weird ?” His voice was steeped in sarcasm.
This was going to look bad no matter which way I said it. “ Apparently , she knows about that little scene with Sketch and Whoosh . Carl offered her to me for a month to keep her silent, and?—”
“ You fucking moron.” Skinner checked his volume before continuing in what was obviously supposed to be loud, but wasn’t. “ He set you up.”
“ He tried.”
There was a pause in the conversation that went on for too long.
“ Keep your mouth open for any longer and something’s gonna crawl in it.” I pointed at his gaping face.
“ Apparently , he succeeded because you got her, and he doesn’t. Or am I reading this wrong?”
“ It wasn’t like that.”
He rolled his eyes at me and dug through her bag with more fervor.
“ What are you doing?” Roishin stood in the doorway, the book in hand.
Distraction time. “ You find anything you like?”
She slammed the book down on a workstation table and strode over to where Skinner had her shit strewn all over the place. “ That’s my stuff!” She tugged the empty bag from his hands and began shoving things back into pockets.
“ We were checking for trackers,” I admitted.
“ You have no right to do that,” she shot back.
“ But Carl did?” I tilted my head and glared at her.
Her movement halted for all of two seconds before she went into double-time mode. “ What is between Carl and I is none of your damn business.”
“ It is my damn business if you’re dragging trackers into my house.”
Skinner released a sound that was somewhere between a gag and a squeak.
“ Shut up.” I didn’t need his commentary right now.
Roishin reached for her computer.
Skinner slapped a hand on it. “ No fucking way.” He even went as far as to put his hand on his gun.
Rose stared at his gun hand. “ I need it to find work.” Her tone was almost defeated.
“ You can use mine for now,” I offered.
Her eyes met mine. “ You’re going to let me work?”
Apparently , Carl didn’t. That was pretty plain to read on her face. “ Maybe ?”
She braced herself visibly.
“ Listen , think of this as a vacation,” I started.
“ Bear ,” Skinner warned.
“ I told you to shut up.”
Funny how both Roishin and Skinner had similar expressions on their faces. Skinner was pissed at me— I could easily read that. And Roishin was angry, too. Nice to see I was batting a thousand.
“ Listen up, both of you.”
They waited for me to come up with something better than barking orders at them both. As the seconds ticked by, their faces fell into scowls. I was losing them.
“ Okay . Back at Carl’s was weird, right?” I looked to Roishin for verification that it wasn’t just me.
“ Carl is always weird. He was born that way.”
Skinner’s eyebrow rose with that revelation. She had his attention, at least.
“ Okay , now that we got that established, I’ve been charged with taking care of you for one month. Maybe not to the letter of what Carl requested, but nevertheless, for one month you’re mine .”
Skinner went from open-mouthed to shaking his head. And I couldn’t let that lie.
“ What ?”
“ Jackson is going to have your balls for this.”
Ah shit. I hadn’t thought that part of my responsibility through. His wife, Kate , was a real sweetheart, unless you treated women like shit. Owning one for a month, no matter how well-intended, or weird, was going to get her screaming mad. And that would go straight to her husband.
And Jackson didn’t fuck around with any preliminary warnings or that shit. He went directly to murder.
Skinner’s comment deserved a response, however. And it wouldn’t be one he liked because I had to walk the tightrope of doubt. What if Roishin was a plant? What if Carl and her were working together, and this was all an act to see how we operate? I’d basically just outed us, if that were the case.
“ And when that month’s over and you go back to Carl and tell him everything about us…” I shot my gaze to Skinner .
His face changed from a scowl to enlightenment.
In contrast, Roishin’s expression went stone-faced. Interesting . “…you’re still gonna be in one piece. I promise that. But I will do everything I can to protect my club from whatever bullshit he’s got planned, or any fallout from what you may or may not have seen or heard. Understood ?”
As I looked directly into Roishin’s eyes, her face fell. Then , her head moved, denying something in my statement.
Luckily , I didn’t have to wait too long for her to cut me.
“ Carl’s bullshit? It’ll take you down. There’s no way you’re prepared for what he can do.”
“ He’s one man,” Skinner noted. Then , he made a finger gun and pulled the trigger. His eyes glittered as he did it.
Roishin studied us. “ You can’t kill him.”
Both Skinner and I laughed at that. “ Try us,” I said.
“ No . You can’t. I’ll abide by whatever rules you have. And I’ll hold up my part of this bargain.” She took a shaky breath and stared into space. “ But when the month’s over? I can’t protect you anymore.”
It was almost as if she’d said something else. The skin on my neck prickled. In my mind, I heard different words. Maybe it was her expression, or maybe Freya herself had just whispered to me.
But I heard, “ I can’t protect myself anymore.”