Chapter Eighteen
Jinx could see Viking in her rearview mirror. By the looks of it, he appeared to be talking to someone. She wondered if it was one of his MC friends or brothers. They called each other brothers. She missed having her sister.
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, focusing on the road in front of her.
Frank would rebuild, and he’d offer to let her go back to work for him.
In her heart, she knew the fire had something to do with her.
She didn’t know if they’d made the connection yet or if they were aware of the timing of her flat tires and the fire.
But it wasn’t lost on her that she’d have been trapped inside with no means of escape had she not called Bekkett.
A niggling of fear hit her. What if he’d set the fire? “No, he was with me,” she muttered.
When she’d called him, he’d been home and come to get her. She would bet her left tit he hadn’t been anywhere near the bar before, during, or after the fire had been set. No, whoever set the fire was definitely not Bekkett Larsen. Which meant she had an enemy out there.
She turned into her driveway, looking around on both sides for hidden dangers. Every looming shadow, dark space, or overgrown area could potentially hide a person.
A shiver went down her spine. She looked back, happy to see Viking right behind her.
With a press of a button on her garage door opener, she accessed her home.
The alarm icon on her phone beeped a warning, reminding her she’d set it before they’d left.
She pressed the red button, silencing the warning as she pulled in.
Viking’s big truck stopped right behind hers, so she left the door open to the garage.
Before she’d unbuckled and gathered her things, her big protector stood outside her door waiting.
She hit the unlock button, smiling down as he opened her door.
“Hiya, handsome. Long time no see,” she whispered.
“You’ve been crying.” He brushed his thumbs under her eyes.
“I was just thinking about my job, or lack thereof.” Jinx had thought she’d been doing pretty good at hiding her emotions.
Viking reached in and pressed the button to close the door, sealing them inside her garage. She took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh scent of Viking.
“You’ve had a rough morning, Vakker. Let’s go inside. I want to discuss something with you.”
“Oh, that doesn’t sound good.” She bit her lip before she asked him if he was breaking up with her. Silly thing to think since they weren’t a couple, even though in her heart she’d already admitted she’d fallen head over heels in love with him.
“Trust me. I told you before I wouldn’t hurt you. Put your faith in me again. I promise you won’t regret it.” He gripped her by the hips and eased her out of the truck.
“You make it sound so easy.”
“Hey, I am easy. What can I say?” he said, wiggling both brows.
“You did put out on the first night.”
“Technically, it was the second,” Viking corrected her, still holding her hips with both hands. “And if my memory serves me correctly, you tempted me like Eve tempted Adam.”
She widened her eyes, trying to look shocked. “How did I tempt you exactly?”
He pulled her away from the truck before shutting the door. “You breathed.”
Jinx tossed her head back and laughed. “Well, if it’s that easy, then you’re screwed when I decide to really seduce you.”
Viking lifted her off the ground as if she weighed nothing. “Baby girl, I don’t know if my heart could handle that kind of temptation. Wrap your legs around my waist.”
She did as he instructed, knowing he would just toss her over his shoulder if she didn’t.
When they entered her mudroom, he settled on the long bench with her astride his lap. The bulge straining his jeans rubbed against her center, creating a delicious friction. “Is that a baseball bat you got in there, or are you just happy to see me?”
“I’m extremely happy to see you.” Viking adjusted her on his lap.
They both froze as they noticed her boot warmers had been moved. He lifted her off his lap, placing his finger to his lips. “I’m thirsty. Got any milk?”
Jinx shook her head, then nodded. “Yeah. Um, I have lactose-free. You don’t look like the kind of man who drinks that sort, though.
We can run back to town and grab some. I need to grab a few things since I won’t be needing to go into work for a while.
” She let a little of the sadness creep into her voice.
“Sounds good. We can take my truck and drop your tires off at the dealer in town while we’re there.” Viking’s eyes looked toward the entrance to her kitchen, but she moved off his lap, trying to keep from storming into her house.
They went back into her garage, shutting the door behind them.
She flexed her fingers down by her side, wondering if whoever had broken in was still there and how they’d gotten in without her alarm going off.
Viking led her toward the side door, looking out the window before opening it.
She marveled at his ability to keep a level head, prioritize security, and stay alert.
He moved, keeping his body between her and the house.
She thought of his profession as a lawyer while watching him handle her and the danger surrounding her.
He didn’t act like a paper pusher or a man who wore a suit and faced a judge, or whatever lawyers did.
Even a man who hung out in an MC as a lawyer, she couldn’t wrap her head around the easy way he took on the shitshow her life became.
She really needed to read up on motorcycle clubs. The thought made her laugh.
“I’ll ask you what you were laughing about later, Vakker.”
“A woman has to have some secrets,” she mumbled.
Viking unlocked his truck and helped her inside. “Lock the door until I get to the other side.” He kissed her hard, then stepped back and walked around the rear.
He didn’t make it obvious as he walked, but Jinx could see him searching the entire area as he came around to the driver’s side. She hit the button to unlock the door the moment he touched the handle. Her breath whooshed out of her as soon as he hopped in.
“Don’t say anything until we’re on the highway, just in case whoever is watching might be able to read lips,” Viking spoke, facing backward, as he reversed out of her driveway.
She pressed her purse against her chest, the crossbody a comfortable weight.
The highway came into view, giving Jinx a sense of safety. She held her breath, letting it out once he turned on the road. He went right instead of left.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“My parents' house. I know your alarm was set. I remember you making sure it was on when we left. Does anyone have access to your home who would know your password to turn it off?” he asked, glancing over at her.
Jinx closed her eyes, knowing it would sound crazy.
Her eyes sprang open. “The only people who would know my access codes are the alarm company and me. I don’t think the alarm company would know my code, but they could turn it off remotely, right?
Like, if someone knew the security questions, they could help them get in,” she said.
“Hypothetically, yes. You’ve never given anyone the code to water your plants when you went out of town or anything like that?” Viking asked.
“Freddy would be the only one I trusted to give access to my home like that. Obviously, he wasn’t here.
Other than him, nobody. I don’t have a lot of close friends that I’d consider giving that kind of power to.
” She knew it made her sound like a freak, but after the childhood she’d had, Jinx didn’t trust easily. Viking was an anomaly in her world.
Viking drummed his fingers of his left hand on the steering wheel. “Do you have cameras inside your house? Or outside?”
Jinx gasped. “I have trail cameras set up in a couple of places around the outside of my property. I put them up last year after some mail kept getting lost. When I bought the cameras, it was easy to place them up in the trees, so I decided to utilize all of them. The box came with a set of six.” She shrugged, feeling kind of silly for installing so many cameras after she lost a few packages.
“Hell yeah. I bet you looked bad ass climbing trees like Tarzanette. Did you wear a bikini made of deer skin or some kind of animal print? Please say yes.” Viking raised his hands in front of him, steepling his fingers together like he was praying.
“You’re batshit crazy. Could you imagine the bark burn I’d get if I were to slide down a tree in a bikini?”
Viking winked at her. “I’m still picturing you in said bikini. Just to let you know, I’d be there to catch you and offer you first aid.”
She swatted his arm, unable to contain a laugh. “Thanks. I feel much better.”
“I aim to please.” He looked along the sides of the road as they drove. “Can you pull up the cameras and see if you see anyone entering your property?”
Her hands shook as she swiped her finger over her phone screen to the app. The swirling icon appeared to be trying to open. Each camera showed online with several alerts on a couple of them.
“Holy shit,” she whispered.
“What?” Viking asked, his gaze sweeping toward her, then back at the road. They turned off the highway onto the private drive toward his family’s home.
“Two of the cameras have some alerts. I mean, it could be deer or wildlife that set them off.” She didn’t believe that, and neither did Viking if his raised brow was anything to go by.
“Wait until I park, and we can look together if you want.”
His offer made her feel cared for, but she needed to show him she wasn’t a pussy ass bitch.
For fuckssake, she was a twenty-four-year-old woman who’d been on her own for years.
She’d literally trekked across the United States by herself, put herself through school without family or friends, made a life for herself, and landed in this small town with nothing but grit and self-respect.
She wasn’t going to start acting like a damsel in distress who needed a badass biker to jump in and save the day.
“No, I got this.” She opened the footage from the camera facing the back of the house, or rather, the front of the house, overlooking the lake in the background.
The alert showed a figure passing under the tree, wearing camouflage that blended in with the snow and trees.
She froze the video on the image, zooming in on the person standing at the edge of the screen.
“Dang it. I can’t get a view of their face on the first camera, but it looks like a guy or an extremely large woman.
” She clicked the camera closest to the house next.
Horror froze the breath in her lungs. They moved to the front door like they had every right to be there.
As if they’d done it a thousand times, they entered her code.
She squinted and tried to enlarge the video image to no avail.
Clicking on each alert, she watched the individual exit her home carrying a bag.
“What the fuck. He took shit from my house,” she yelled.
Viking pulled his truck into a huge garage. She dropped her phone into her lap. Abject horror filled her entire being.
“Let me see, Vakker.” Viking reached for the phone.
She looked at him, opened her mouth, and closed it several times. “He was in my house for over an hour, Bekkett.”