Chapter 5
Cowboy
Christ. This woman. She comes sauntering down her dock looking hotter than hell, and then she flashed me when she bent over to take off her boots.
I was getting ready to suit up and sink my cock in her, when I realized that my finger barely fit inside of that tight pussy of hers. I’ll be damned if I don’t get to the bottom of the mystery of Faith before I make her mine.
Now, I need to make it known that no one else gets to touch her.
Passing her contractor, I grin at his startled face when he sees Faith with me. I look back over my shoulder and realize that I’m walking too fast.
“Sorry,” I mumble, slowing down so she can walk in those heels.
“Holy shit,” Risk drawls out as we approach him. His eyes are glued to that red number she has on.
“Told you she was a looker,” Demo says, coming over to join us.
Faith is completely unfazed by their attention, she just leans in toward me a little more to whisper, “I think I’d like that drink you mentioned.”
I look down at Bruno, wishing I had taught him to fetch beer.
“Stay,” I order him, and he solemnly takes a seat next to his newest friend.
Demo reaches his hand out to grab my shoulder, stopping me, before he looks back at Faith. “Honey, can I offer you a Glenmorangie?”
“That would be great, thank you,” she answers with a tight smile. “On the rocks, please.”
“That sounds good to me, too,” I reply as though he had offered me one; backed into a corner, he flairs his nostrils before giving me a nod, and I’m chuckling as I leave them.
Maneuvering through the crowd, I avoid getting pulled into conversations with my brothers in an effort to get back to Faith before Demo and Risk start telling tales about me.
Returning with three glasses of whiskey, Faith is laughing as she looks up at me.
I can’t help but smile back at her. “They’re lying,” I automatically respond, not even having a clue as to what they were saying.
“Demo said you stole his Harley,” she says, tilting the glass at us in a silent toast.
“No. I bought my first Harley from his wife,” I correct his version of events, even as I wonder about the look that Risk and Demo exchange. What the hell are they up to? “It’s just that she might have been a little dishonest in how she got him to sign it over.”
“I was drunk, and that witch said it was the paperwork for her car,” Demo chortles, admitting I wasn’t at fault. “I lost my shit when I got home from deployment. There I am, catching a ride across base from the airstrip, and see this kid on a bike. Naturally, I think to myself, ‘I’ve got the same one, can’t wait to open it up.’”
“How on Earth did you two end up friends after that?” Faith tries to encourage him along, even as she steps closer to me.
“Friends?” he crows. “We ain’t friends. I’m still trying to get my motherfucking bike back!”
“Nah, Demo talks a big game,” Risk contributes, a sly smile across spreads across his face. “They’re friends today because Cowboy was riding the Harley and not Demo’s ex.”
Faith’s eyes widen and I can see she’s trying to gauge whether or not to laugh at Risk’s comment.
“Well, Cowboy is a man of discriminating taste. I can respect that,” Demo responds, neatly giving a compliment to the woman at my side, while taking a dig at his ex.
“Hey y’all!” Debbie and Bobbi join our small group and I easily smile in their direction, at least until I see the bottles in a carrier at Bobbi’s side and a sleeve of plastic shot glasses that Debbie is carrying.
“We’re raising money for the animal shelter. One shot for five or five shots for twenty,” Bobbi announces, adjusting the bag holding the bottles for better viewing. “Now, I’m getting low on my famous Apple Pie Shine, but the Butter Pecan turned out really well and I have more Peach on ice back in the clubhouse.”
“Is it the Peach that did Havoc in the other day?” Demo asks.
“No, I’m trying out a Honey Habanero Shine and went a little heavy with the honey, so he never saw the habanero coming,” she replies with a light blush.
“Sounds like you should finally created a shine that you could name after yourself,” Risk teases her.
“It wasn’t the honey that got him, that fool should know better than to drink a bottle of shine,” Debbie says, majorly rolling her eyes before they briefly land on Faith then skip to me. “Now why haven’t we met her yet? And why do you smell like pussy?”
“I think we all know why he smells like pussy, Debbie,” Bobbi tartly answers the second question as Demo and Risk explode in laughter—and it suddenly occurs to me what the look my brothers exchanged earlier was all about. “Are you the one Hans is doing all that work for?”
“Yes, I’m Faith Murphy,” the woman at my side calmly answers. And without anyone seemingly noticing, she tilts her head and I see her nostrils flair as she takes a whiff of me. The slight widening of her eyes tells me that the others aren’t just giving me shit. “Why don’t I get a round of shots? Will you and Debbie join in?”
Demo and I exchange a glance and I know exactly what he’s thinking. The fact that everyone knows I’m standing here reeking of Faith’s pussy doesn’t fluster her one iota. And that doesn’t make a lick of sense, considering that she blushed over giving me her number in front of the sheriff.
“I’m going to skip this round,” Debbie pipes up, but immediately grabs the twenty from Faith and starts passing out the little cups.
“Didn’t I warn you about the moonshine?” I whisper in her ear as Bobbi pours us both a shot of the Apple Pie.
“Why don’t you go wash your face?” she says, giving me a wink. “And I’ll take this off your hands.”
“Oh no, you don’t!” I lift the cup out of her reach. I mean, I brought her, so that means I gotta watch out for her after all.
“Yeah, Cowboy’s never smelled so good,” Risk mutters, getting a hearty laugh from Demo.
“So, what brings you to our little piece of paradise, Faith?” Bobbi asks, clinking her little cup against each of ours.
“Stealing our men,” Debbie retorts, not making any bones about what she’s doing as she reaches behind me to pinch my ass. The big wink she gives Faith softens her words.
“Hey now!” I howl, more from the burn of the shine, but in an effort to cover that up, I step behind Faith as though I’m looking for protection.
“Yeah, Faith, what made you decide on Hawk’s Landing?” Demo asks her, piggybacking on Bobbi’s question to hide his curiosity.
“Oh, um, well,” she stammers, swaying from foot to foot. “My mom’s people were from here. I mean, not here in particular, but South Carolina and their stories made it sound like paradise. So, I always told myself that if … oh, hell, Debbie’s right. I just came to steal their men.”
This time it’s Bobbi and Debbie howling with laughter as the three of us exchange looks over their heads. Caught unaware, Faith is a horrible liar. The funny part is, she seems to know that, and was smart enough to opt for humor rather than rambling on.
“Well, damn!” Debbie says, exchanging a look with Bobbi. “We’re gonna be friends.”
“We gotta sell the rest of these two bottles to meet our goal, then we’ll come find you, alright?” Bobbi readily agrees, and I’m not sure if this is a good or horrifying development.
“How about you, Risk?” Faith quietly asks the man standing across from us. “Are you from here?”
“Nah, I served with Charm and he offered me a job with them when I got out.”
“Oh, what do you do?”
He momentarily looks confused, looking between me and her before answering. “Same as everyone else, I’m a private investigator and bondsman.”
Standing behind her, I can’t see her face, but I sure as hell can feel the tension in her body at his words. Demo’s stance is casual, but I know him well enough to know he’s clocking her expression.
“Hey, you wanna grab a bite?” I ask her, thinking it’s best to get her moving before she starts swimming back home. “You said you’ve never been to a pig roast before, right?”
“Sure, when in Rome,” she casually answers with a shrug, but I can feel how tense she is when I place my hand on her back to guide her toward the food.
*
Looking across the yard, I smile at the sight of Faith sitting around and laughing with her contractor, his wife, Debbie, and Bobbi. She has a cup of beer in one hand as she lazily pets Bruno with her other hand, just as pretty a picture as I’ve ever seen in the flesh, but I can’t help feeling it’s all a mirage.
“Can’t tell which one of you looks more lovestruck, you or that beast of yours,” Demo says handing me a plastic cup full of amber liquid. Knowing he’d never put the good stuff in anything but glass, I brace myself for the burn.
“Getting downright poetic at your advance age, ain’t ya?”
“Just want to make sure you …”
“Tread carefully. I know.”
“You gonna trace her?” he asks me and I raise an eyebrow at him.
“I suppose you will if I don’t.”
“Professional curiosity, what can I say?” He shrugs.
“Nothing about her adds up,” I say, turning my back on her in case she looks over at us. “She’s dripping in money but doesn’t act like it. She doesn’t bat an eye over talk about her looks or sex, but I thought she was going to jump out of her skin when Risk mentioned what we do.”
“Nor would I be surprised if she had a husband, another reason I want you on guard.”
“No way,” I immediately spit out the words. There’s no way I’m going to explain my adamant response, but that woman was a live wire in my arms. “She mentioned an ex when your sister was over helping her the other day. Could have been a husband, but that’s past tense.”
“You mean Anna?” he asks, nodding toward Hans and his wife. It takes me a second to respond, because all I can think is how brutal it must be to have so my half-sisters.
“Nah, Paverson. She brought her some plants from her nursery to make up for what the hogs destroyed.” I snap my head back to Demo when he lets out a solitary chuckle and smile, acknowledging the truth. “Okay, you’re right. The sheriff wanted an excuse to get her measure. Where is she, by the way? I figured she’d be here.”
“I have Charm looking into that tonight,” he says, looking around to make sure no one else is close by. “Sheila gave me the heads up that there’s been a lot of chatter from the Feds lately. Best she stay away from us until she gets a read on what’s happening.”
Not sure whether to nod my head in understanding or shake it in sympathy. “Let’s just hope none of your siblings or their kids ever try to trace their DNA.”
“No fucking kidding.” He mumbles, and while he’s probably closest to Sheila and one of his half-brothers, none of them go out of their way to advertise their connection. “Looks like you won’t have a problem getting answers from Faith tonight. In vino veritas .”
At that sentence, I look back over my shoulder where Bobbi is pouring her shine into Faith’s cup and I let out a groan. “More like ‘in shine vomit-us’. You gonna join us?”
“Nah, I’ll be in my office, licking my wounds that you saw her first.”
“It had nothing to do with that, old man. I just have a killer wingman.” We’re both laughing as we part ways and I’m pleased when Bruno lifts his head to acknowledge me; I don’t mind admitting I’m a little jealous of all the attention my wingman has been lavishing on Faith.
“You having fun?” I ask her, sitting on the log beside her.
She looks up at all the stars in the night sky above us and takes a deep breath. I can’t tell if it’s the smoke from the fire or what, but her eyes suddenly look moist. Blinking and wiping them before she looks back at me, I’m treated to the most beautiful smile I’ve ever had aimed in my direction.
“Yes,” she breathes out the word in such a way that the tempo of my heart goes into overdrive.
Leaning closer to her face, I ignore those around us and lightly place my lips on hers.
“Take your boots off—we’re going home.”
At the word ‘home’, Bruno stands up and lets out a woof , announcing his departure before heading toward the dock.
“You go get you some, girl!” One of the ladies good-naturedly cheer Faith on as the others laugh and give us hell.
Once her boots are off, I scoop her up into my arms and head to where Bruno’s waiting on the dock, just as the prospect is pulling my boat up.
We’re less than halfway back to Faith’s place when I look over to see her sound asleep, so much for either a Q&A, or a T&A, session tonight, but the least I can do is bring her back to my place to keep an eye out for her.
*
While I sleep more comfortably on my couch than I did the night before on the bench outside of Faith’s place, it’s much too early when my phone starts ringing.
“Frost is coming back with some news,” Risk starts in without greeting. “Demo said to get your ass to the clubhouse.”
“News?” My voice is as horse as my brain is fuzzy.
“The kind they didn’t want to relay over the line. You got about forty-five minutes, not that you’ll need nearly that long to disappoint Faith.”
I hang up before he can get any more digs in and after a quick stop in the extra bathroom, stand in the doorway of my room, looking at the tangled mess of covers, pillows, and woman in the center of my bed.
It doesn’t look like she’s touched the glass of water I left on the nightstand, and not wanting to startle her, I softly call her name.
“Who?” The word pops out of her mouth as her head pops up, her eyes wide as she looks around my room.
Biting my tongue on a comment about owls, I make a clicking noise instead. “You feeling alright?”
She nods, and I can see one of her hands moving under the covers as if checking to make sure she’s fully dressed—and she is, or was, when I put her to bed.
“Sorry to wake you, and you can stay as long as you like, but I got some work I need to handle,” I explain, approaching and sitting on one side of the bed. “I was wondering if you’ve ever been on a horse before.”
“No,” she whispers, looking uncertain.
“I got a real sweet mare out in the barn if you want to go for a ride with me later?”
“What if I had said I had?”
“Well, her sister’s a real feisty one, but honestly, I wouldn’t let you ride Lucy until I saw how you did on Ava. Now, I gotta get my horses and chickens fed, then take off. Don’t worry about locking up, I rarely do.”
Not being in a position to easily lean across the king-size mattress to give her a kiss, I settle for patting the area I judged her legs to be and stand to go.
“Course, I’d be real happy if you were still here when I get back.”
“Are you leaving Bruno?”
“Are you trying to steal my dog?” My stern voice pulls a laugh from her. “But no, unless I’m on my bike, he’s generally with me.”
“Demo makes a strong case for how it’s his bike …” she teases me.
“I’ll pay you back for that later,” I call over my shoulder.
By the time I’m pulling up to the secondary dock for the clubhouse, I hear a lone bike pulling in just before the motor shuts off and assume I got here just in time. Entering church, I notice it’s just those of us who hold positions—with the exception of the guys who are still on the road.
“What has Nickel found?” Demo immediately asks Frost.
“You know how he gets when he’s checking books, right?” From the way Frost starts off, I settle into my seat, knowing he’s going to make it a longer story than it needs to be.
“Okay, so the past couple of days, he’s all work, no breaks—even though Mabel seemed like she was making a play for him. Now, he’s still keeping me busy, interviewing some people they’ve done work for and checking on records at city hall. All seems good until Cal drives up in a brand-damn-new Corvette last night.”
Havoc lets out a whistle.
“Right. The consensus with everyone is that the twins, Cal and Andy, for those of you—like me—who never cared to find out which is which before, have always spent twice as much as they’ve earned. They can’t afford to buy their parents out and they can’t get a loan for it either.”
“So, Nickel knows damn good and well that Cal can’t afford a Corvette,” Risk waves his hand, trying to get Frost to hurry along.
“Bingo. Then he sends me to go check up on Andy, see if he’s sporting any new toys, while he starts chatting up Cal. On the surface, it didn’t look like Andy had much of anything, but I jimmied my way into his trailer and found out he just placed an order for a Ninja H2R. With cash. And crotch rocket though it might be, it costs just north of fifty thousand.”
Demo and I exchange a look and all I can think of is the news he got from Sheila, that the Feds are digging for something in our part of the world and here are those two idiots dropping cash like beads at a Mardi Gras parade.
And how much do Sub-Zero fridges cost? The unwelcome question intrudes into my thoughts. Not to mention a new roof, new windows, and all the other work Faith contracted out to Hans.
“What did Cal and Andy have to say for themselves?” I ask, becoming more invested in this story.
“That they take side-gigs from time to time, and a man they’ve worked with before gave them a down payment for a job. They wouldn’t say anything else, acting like we were trying to cut them out of some deal,” he says, momentarily resting his forehead against his fingertips and letting out a loud yawn. “Sorry. Uhh, oh, Nickel mentioned it to Bud and Kitty. They were as surprised as anyone. You want my two cents? They’ve written their sons off and don’t pay them any attention.”
“As long as they don’t base the deal on keeping those two employed, I don’t give a shit. But if we buy the company, I don’t want them on our books,” Demo cuts in, slamming his hand down on the table.
“Nickel said as much to them at breakfast,” Frost tells him, trying to placate the sudden shift in his temper. “Mabel seems dependable. As far as I can tell, her only vehicle, a truck, is six years old, and she has a mortgage on a three-bedroom brownstone in town. Nothing flashy.”
“Not even a boat?” Havoc asks, sounding surprised.
“She has a kayak,” Frost responds, showing he’s really done his diligence on all of them, even if it involves a little breaking and entering.
“Frost, any reason you couldn’t stay on there a bit longer?” Demo asks him.
“No, that’s not a problem,” he shrugs, but the blush around his neck gets me and Havoc smirking.
“What did I say about fucking around with Mabel?” I can’t help but to give him some shit.
“Stow it unless you’ve washed your face,” Demo snaps out, keeping a straight face as my brothers take to laughing at my expense this time. “As soon as Nickel’s finished with the books, I want his ass back here. I’m going to call Bud to see if you can shadow them for a couple of weeks.”
“Got it,” he replies. “I’ll head back there tomorrow, if that’s alright.”
I hang out for a while, waiting until Demo’s got a moment.
“You find anything out?” he asks, coming to join me as I lazily toss a stick to Bruno out back.
“She passed out on the way home,” I tell him, feeling like I’m betraying Faith even though I know my loyalty belongs to the Saints. “We’re gonna take the horses out this afternoon though.”
“If Charm doesn’t come back by tomorrow, I’ll swing by Sheila’s,” he says, nodding his head as if he’s just made up his mind about it. “See if she’s heard anything else about what the Feds are looking for. There’s just too much happening at once for this to be a coincidence.”
My stomach churns, wondering how Faith is tied up in all of this.