Chapter Twelve
I’m a good mafia man, aren’t I? Isn’t that where my roots are, and where I belong? So why did I feel like I was being pulled in two fucking directions, and my place in life wasn’t where I thought it’d be?
“Yo, Grease? You got that data for the Pres?” Harley leaned around my door and cocked his head at me.
He wasn’t the VP, but he was close enough.
You’d have thought one of the other original Phoenix guys they’d sent over here would get that role, but I had a feeling it’d be this guy right here.
If and when Reacher and Stitch fucking allowed it, of course.
“‘Course I have. You think I sit here jerking off instead of working?” I grinned at him, and tossed him a flash drive, which the dickhead almost fumbled, before he caught it.
“Prick. You coulda warned me.”
I stood up and stretched my back, wincing as it made a crunching sound. A sure sign that I’d been on my ass for too long working on this shit.
“Where is the Pres anyway?”
Harley rolled his eyes at me. “Where do ya think? Up his old lady, of course.”
“So he’s not chasing this, is he? Why are you getting up my ass if he’s not asking for it yet?”
Harley winced, and reluctantly pointed back out behind him.
“You know who’s here, and I thought I’d save us all the fucking drama.” You know who… oh fuck, he meant that she was here. Again? What the fuck. This had to be some kind of foreplay for her.
“Why the fuck is she here again? This ain’t the place for her.” As much as I enjoyed our banter, I knew she was risking herself each time she visited here.
I headed for the door, and paused when Harley was dumb enough to put his hand on my chest. Touch a mafia guy?
That gets you dead, but then I’m not a mafia guy right now, am I?
And he had no idea who he was really touching.
Nobody fucking knew but the original Phoenix MC crew.
I wondered if that would ever change, or if I’d just disappear again when the Don recalled me.
“Why the fuck do you think you won’t lose your hand for doing that?” I glared at him, letting him see his impending death in my eyes, and he groaned, backing up and getting the offending appendage away from me.
“Jesus, you keep pissing off this cop bitch, and she’ll never stay away, that’s all. I’d say fuck her and get it out of your system, but I don’t think even a hatefuck is ever gonna happen.”
I shoved him out of my way and stepped out into the dim hallway.
The clubhouse here was different from the other Phoenix one, that being a multistorey business facility that they’d converted into living quarters.
This was more like a fucking army barracks, but with rooms, instead of open space and bunks.
It was all on one floor, and in some ways, that felt less secure.
The club was barely back on its feet after being annihilated, and preparing to be patched over as a new Phoenix chapter, and as much as I enjoyed her, the last thing we needed was a fucking nosy cop who’d made it her business to poke around.
“Where is she this time?” I barked, as I headed down the hall away from mine, and Micro’s little offices.
He didn’t spend much time in there, preferring to hang with his club brothers, probably because he was just one of them really, rather than a real President.
To this day, it still amazed me that they didn’t kill him after the things he did, but hell, I’m just paid to be here undercover, doing my thing.
Still, he was the reason I got to be here, and didn’t I love club life?
Fuck yeah, but did I miss the stuffiness of the mafia compound?
At times, because it was fucking luxury, but I could kick back here, and actually live, and I loved it.
I’d never stop loving it, and I resented her for risking it for me every time she showed up here.
“There’s my favourite criminal,” her snarky tone reached my ears as I stepped outside, and I cast my eyes around, spotting her just behind a group of club brothers who were pulling the innocent act, and keeping her outside. Time to pretend I didn’t enjoy our verbal fuckery.
“The fuck is she doing here? We’ve got rights, and she’s on private property.”
Rocket turned to frown at me, lifting his large shoulders as he shrugged.
“She’s a cop, innit. Annoying or not, I didn’t think we could stop her.”
“Where’s the Pres?” I’d had an answer from Harley, but on the offchance he was just being a prick, I thought it best to check.
“Out on a ride with his old lady, visiting her family.” Great timing, dickhead. You wanted me reined in, then you leave me unsupervised.
“Get her out of here, and lock the fucking gates. We don’t need her kind here.”
“You should address me directly, if you expect me to leave,” she barked at me, smoothing her fucking short red hair back over her ear. Fucking redheads, so fiery and sassy. Pity she was such an uptight cunt, but then wasn’t that part of the fun?
“You want me to address you directly, PC Pain-in-my-Ass? Fuck off. You don’t belong here, and you have no right to come onto our property without cause. You think I don’t understand the law? You think I don’t know my rights? Our rights? Get fucked, or I’ll remove you myself.”
She pushed past Rocket and Stag, and stepped up in front of me.
“You don’t scare me, Grease. Great name, by the way, I’ve been meaning to ask…
is it because of all that crap you slime through your hair?
” Damn, sassy, and she smelled good. Why did she have to be a fucking cop though?
Mafia guys know one thing; it’s drilled into us from fucking childhood.
Never trust a cop we don’t own. And we owned nobody down here, so she had to go.
Now. Especially before some fucker informed on her to the Don.
“Nah, it’s because he doesn’t use lube, love. You should leave now. We’re not up to anything, we’re just motorbike enthusiasts,” Harley said, neatly stepping into the argument, and trying to defuse it. I’d punch him for that later. I didn’t need help with this.
A few guys laughed at his joke, but I couldn’t stop glaring at her.
Getting in my face, messing with the club when we’re trying to fucking rebuild it.
Sure there was crime going on here, but not like there was before.
If she’d shown up last year, she could have fucking saved people, but now?
Now she was barking up the wrong fucking tree.
Even if I really wanted her climbing me like one.
“You’ve got one minute to start moving, cop, or I’m going to fucking carry you off our property,” I growled, and Harley sighed.
“Grease, chill, man. The nice cop lady’s leaving now, aren’t you, love?”
“My name is PC Charles, and I’ll keep reminding you until you remember it. You’ll be seeing a lot of me. I don’t trust bikers, and I know the reputation these clubs have. I’ll find your secrets, and I’ll put you all away.”
“You and whose army, love? I don’t see any backup here?” Stag muttered, crowding her from behind, and unfortunately giving her more reason to doubt us. I reached past her, shoving him back with one hand, needing to get them all away from her.
“Your minute’s up,” I hissed, grabbing her and tossing her up on my shoulder, as I started marching her towards the gates.
The guys were cheering and laughing, and she was yelling and cursing, but it wouldn’t stop me.
Cops always brought trouble, and this club didn’t need it.
We had to get better fucking gates, and taller, stronger fences, so it’d keep out the fucking undesirables.
Our assaults on this club had identified tons of weak spots, and months later, we were still working on strengthening the last of them.
“This is assault, you fucking asshole!” I laughed, feeling strangely exhilarated to be taking out the trash my own damn self. I made my way outside of the gates, in sight of the police car, and PC Evers getting out of the driver’s seat. Well, fuck. Might end up needing the lawyer yet again.
I dumped her unceremoniously on the dusty ground, and made a point of brushing my hands against each other, further mocking her as I ‘washed my hands of her’. All to see that usual furious glare of hers. Call me a masochist, whatever.
“And fucking stay out.”
“You can explain your actions down at the station,” PC Evers said, as she scrambled to her feet, furiously brushing dust off her uniform. As metal clasped my wrists, and they led me to the car, I yelled out to the brothers who’d followed us.
“Call the lawyer!” Again. The Don would hear about it too, wouldn’t he?
Jamie
Of all the meatheaded, arrogant, asshole things to do! Pick me up and carry me? How fucking dare he?! He’d gone too far this time! Just because I’m a woman, he thinks he can treat me like that? If he thinks he’s won this round, he’s out of his league.
Originally I was only keeping an eye on the club because my research had told me the Rogues were bad news, and I needed something to make me stand out.
Bringing down a dirty club had sounded like the perfect way to do it.
Only the club had been taken over by another club called Phoenix MC, and appeared to be running clean, and I didn’t like it.
It was shitting all over my plans. How could I work my way up, if I couldn’t make a big splash somehow?
I just knew a biker club had to be my chance, even though Evers…
ahem… Alex disagreed. Long term consistent policing was his idea of trying to get off the beat, and into big cases, but he’d been in the job for eight years, and was he there yet?
Nope. It may only be my second year in uniform, but it’d also be my last.
“You wanna process him this time?” He asked me, as we pulled up at the stationhouse, and he turned off the engine.
Grease made an amused snorting noise, and I turned to glare at him.
I wanted to, but I also wanted to dismiss him like he didn’t matter, because he didn’t.
It was a matter of which one would piss him off more.
I already knew Alex was pissed at me for doing this yet again, but Grease crossed a line!
“You do it. I’ll get started on the paperwork.”
“Aw baby, you don’t wanna touch me all over? I thought that’s what all this foreplay was about? They were just kidding about the lube, not that I need it. Women get wet as fuck around me.”
I ignored the asshole and got out of the car, waiting with Evers, as he unloaded the ‘prisoner’, and started walking him in. He wasn’t struggling or trying to resist, which annoyed me, because how could I throw the book at him if he wasn’t pushing me to?
“I thought I was gonna get frisked by the stuck up bird, mate, don’t go fondling my junk, yeah?
I’m into women, but hot ones, not like her.
” His words burned, even though I knew that was exactly what he was going for.
He wanted me angry, and lashing out. He wanted to push me, and make me do something he could try and use against me.
After all the other times, he seemed almost dismissive with me this time, and I was surprised by how much it bothered me.
“Quiet,” I said sternly, side-eyeing him with disgust.
“Jesus, that’s hot. You order me around like that, darlin’, and I’ll let you suck my cock. I bet you’d look real nice on your knees for me-”
“Be quiet!” Evers hissed at him as he led him to processing, and I went directly to the bathroom, locking myself in a cubicle, as I willed my hands to stop shaking.
It was all anger. Definitely anger. I wasn’t intimidated by him, and I wasn’t attracted to him.
It was the kind of impotent anger that had no outlet.
In uniform, I had to be cool and calm, and behave accordingly, but boy, how I wanted to smack his smarmy asshole face.
By the time I was done with the paperwork, a new problem was getting in my face. That damn solicitor of his. The one he shouldn’t be able to afford.
“You have no grounds to hold my client. This was harassment. Do we need to get a court order to keep you away from his club? Whatever feelings you might be harbouring for my client, it doesn’t give you the right to trespass, and antagonise him. No means no, after all.”
“Feelings? Ugh. Typical. I’m a female officer, so naturally my pussy is doing all my decision making. Listen here-”
“He’s lucky my partner isn’t the one taking out an order against him. This was physical assault this time, and she’s charging him.”
The smarmy lawyer, somebody Lawson, grinned at us.
“Well, far be it from me to keep you from putting your heads on the chopping block. Please feel free to proceed with this farce, and my client will be pressing harassment charges against both of you this time. I’m sure that’ll look good on your record at promotion time. ”
He turned away from us, but he knew he’d just won this argument, because the promotion track was my priority, at least for now. Damn this asshole for figuring out how to get to me, at long last.
“Fine. How about if we let him go with a caution?”
“Jay, seriously? I just processed him, and you’ve filled in the paperwork.”
The lawyer turned and smirked at us. “Nothing that can’t be undone. You’re doing the right thing by being so reasonable. I’ll retrieve my client, and be on my way.”
“Dammit!” I turned to follow him, and he hesitated.
“Perhaps it’d be best if your partner did the honours. I wouldn’t want you getting all hot and bothered around my client. He’s had a rough time already today, because of you.”
Oh my god. How can he even look me in the eye and spout this utter bullshit? The greasy motherfucker hasn’t suffered! He’d barely even stopped smirking this whole time. He knew he was pushing my buttons, because he always did, and he knew this slimy asshole would get him out of it yet again.
“Evers, I’ll sort the paperwork, if you can assist this ‘gentleman’ with his ‘client’.”
Son of a motherfucker. I stewed about Grease, and his stupid club, all through the rest of my shift, and even at home. There had to be a way to knock him off his high horse, and expose his secrets, and I’d find it. It was time to stop playing with him, and get on with the justice part of the game.