Chapter 14 Dakota
DAKOTA
“Why did they chase him?” It’s been a few minutes since Stiff and Jackal ran off, and I don’t know what to do with myself while we wait to find out what happened.
Lash shrugs. “He ran.”
“That’s not a real reason. They aren’t greyhounds.”
He leans against the sink, laughing. “Shit, I think I need to share that observation with the class. It’s sorta true, though.
He didn’t just see us and get a little nervous, he took one look and booked it.
Even if we didn’t have other reasons to be suspicious, that would probably earn anyone a bit of a chase. ”
If I had to take a picture for ‘effortlessly confident’, Lash would be it.
At first glance, I understand why people are nervous around men like them.
They look like they could do a lot of damage, and they’ll tell you straight up it’s true.
I can see why women find it attractive. We grow up watching movies and reading books where the villains are infinitely cooler than the heroes.
Not because they’re prettier, but because they’re interesting.
But the more time I spend with them, the less I notice the shock of tattoos, piercings and general badassery, and the more I see the quirks and charm that make them them.
I tear my gaze away and check my phone. “I need to pick Logan up in an hour.”
“No problem. They’ll be back way before that.” He glances out the window and down the street. “Stiff said you think the boyfriend had something to do with your sister’s death. Do you know something, or do you just hate his guts?”
“I don’t like him,” I admit. “But it’s not just that. Georgia wouldn’t admit he hurt her, but she was scared of him, and scared of what he would do to Logan when he was a baby. It makes sense to look at him first, right? I’m going to go finish checking the bedroom while we wait.”
There’s a book on Georgia’s bedside table. A beat up old romance book with a pirate captain holding a busty damsel on the cover. The pages are yellowing and dog-eared, and when I flip through them, it’s to all the spicy scenes. Go figure.
“Pirates, huh? The bikers of the sea.” Lash flashes that handsome lopsided smile at me.
I find myself smiling back. “I guess that’s kinda true. We were obsessed with The Princess Bride when we were little. Since we couldn’t both be Buttercup, we used to take turns being Westley. And then when she saw Pirates of the Caribbean, she was hooked.”
“Not you?”
“Oh, I liked it. Pirates are pretty cool, right? But Georgia was full on obsessed. Mom made her a pirate outfit for Halloween one year and Georgia wore it three years in a row until it finally couldn’t be adjusted any bigger.
” Thinking back, Mom died before the next Halloween, and Georgia never bothered dressing up after that.
“I suppose having a little spicy pirate romance on her bedside table shouldn’t surprise me.
” I stroke a hand over the cover, trying to find a connection to my sister through the cheesy picture.
I know her, but I don’t. The realization hits all over again, punching me in the gut.
Lash takes the book and starts flipping through the pages. “I have a brother, Eric. He’s a couple years younger than me.”
“Are you close?”
He shakes his head. “I guess we were when we were younger, but I don’t remember shit like Halloween or watching movies.
We were tight because surviving our parents was a team effort.
He was a rude little shit, could never keep his mouth shut.
I got the crap kicked out of me so many times trying to keep him alive.
” Lash’s grin is infectious. “But he was way better at the tricky stuff, like knowing exactly how many pills we could steal from our parents without getting caught. We’d save them up, and then sell them to a guy who worked at the gas station and stay up all night eating junk food until we puked. ”
I must not be doing very well at covering up the look of horror on my face because Lash takes one look at me and laughs.
“That sounded funnier in my head. Little siblings, huh? Pains in our asses. Just like one to go and get themselves killed so you can’t even get the last word.”
I slap both hands over my mouth, but it doesn’t stop the twisted laugh that bubbles up, and once I start, it’s hard to stop. “Oh my God.”
“And you want to know what’s even worse? He grew up, went to fucking college on a turned into a fucking accountant.” Lash shakes his head like he can’t imagine a worse fate.
“You must be so disappointed. How old is he? Maybe there’s still time.”
“Twenty-eight. Sadly, I don’t think it’s a phase.”
“That makes you what? Thirty?”
“Good guess. Thirty-one next month.”
I brush off the counter and hop up so I can sit down but still look out the window. “You should try to stay in touch, at least a little.”
“He invited me to his wedding. Can you fucking imagine?” Lash snorts.
He waves at all that is himself, like that’s supposed to help me understand.
The shaved sides of his hair, the snake tattoo that crawls up the side of his head, gestures down over his biker jacket and down towards his motorcycle boots.
“Can you imagine this at a fucking wedding? Me? Wearing a suit? His fiancée was probably feeling bad about taking up all the seats in the church. Our side doesn’t exactly have a lot to choose from.
It’s like a box of chocolates, but most of them are filled with shit. ”
I squint at him, trying to decide if he’s being serious or not. “I don’t know enough about your family to comment on that part, but you in a suit? You are on the internet right? People go absolutely feral over guys like you in suits.”
“I wouldn’t fucking know how to behave. I’d end up in a brawl at the reception or punch the first person who made a comment about me and Eric coming from trash. And that’s only if we make it that far and the church doesn’t burn down when I step inside.”
For someone that’s probably done things that would make me spontaneously combust, he’s remarkably innocent. “If you think that makes it less attractive, you’re crazy. Besides, your club has a literal church and it appears to be standing.”
His smile is sinful. “Oh, baby. We have thoroughly desecrated every inch of that place.”
“Just go. What do you have to lose?”
“Hours of my time.”
“Do it for me then. I’d give anything for another chance to see Georgia happy, even if it meant making a fool of myself.” I meant to keep it light, but our eyes lock and I can tell it didn’t quite work.
“You want to bargain for it? What would I get in return?”
“I… It’s just a nice thing to do. I don’t really know what I have to offer.”
He pushes off of the sink and moves in front of me, pushing my legs apart to stand between my knees with his hands on my thighs. “I’d need a date. Or were you lying about how you think I’d look in a suit?”
Cocky bastard. “I said the internet would go feral, not me.”
“You keep telling yourself that, baby. It would make Eric so happy. To see his degenerate brother with such a nice, normal girl.”
Considering everything they are helping me with, hesitating at being Lash’s date to a wedding feels like a strange line to draw.
But this situation wasn’t planned. I woke up on Friday, and by Saturday I’d fallen into what feels like a made for TV crime movie.
Agreeing to be his date means accepting that my connection to Lash won’t end when this does.
That in one way or another, my future might have a lot of bikers in it.
He smirks. “Knew it.”
“Fine. I’ll go.”
His mossy eyes widen in surprise before he schools his expression. “Really?”
“Sure. It’s just a wedding, right? When is it? Do you know how formal it is? If it’s casual that’s not so bad, but if it’s black tie we’ll have to coordinate.”
“Shit. You mean it.”
“Of course I do,” I say smugly. It’s nice to not be the shocked one for a change.
“Alright, you know what? I’m up for a challenge. You’re on. It’s in April, spring wedding, so we have plenty of time to figure shit out.” He grins and leans a little closer. “Eric’s gonna shit his pants when I say yes, and you’re going to be the hottest woman there.”
“I doubt that.”
“Why? You planning on wearing your fucking work clothes? Baby, with that hair, that ass and your tits, it would take work to find something you don’t look good in.”
I should’ve known it wouldn’t take long before I was the speechless one again. “I’m not supposed to upstage the bride,” I finally manage to squeeze out.
“Then she better bring her fucking A game because that sounds like her problem, not yours.”
I have until April. “I’ll figure something out.”
“Deal.” He rests a hand on my collar and leans in.
A second before our lips touch, I put a hand on his chest and push. “Wait. What are you doing?”
Lash cocks his head, confused. “Kissing you?”
“We can’t.”
“Pretty sure we can.”
“Okay, we shouldn’t.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“Because the other night…” Oh God. It’s not that I’m embarrassed about what happened with Stiff, I just don’t know what it means. If it even means anything. All I know is that I don’t want to hurt something before I even know if there’s something to hurt. “When Stiff came over, we sort of…”
“Fucked?”
“No! We just messed around a little,” I admit, feeling about fourteen.
“Hey Stiff?” Lash shouts. “Can I kiss Dakota?”
What? The door opens. Stiff and Jackal walk in. Thankfully with no visible signs of being hurt.
“That’s up to her, but can I watch?” Stiff asks. He doesn’t look angry about it, or even like he doesn’t care. He looks genuinely curious.
“Bikers really don’t do jealousy, do they?” I ask. “I thought you guys were supposed to be all growly and possessive.”
Lash’s lips twist up in a smirk. “Is that what you want?” he asks in a low purr.
“Because trust me, we can get plenty possessive, but everyone here, right now, is free game, baby. I could get you off right up against this wall and they’d enjoy the show.
Sex isn’t a claim. Sex is a fun way to pass the time. ”
Right. Okay. “Then kiss me.”
He leans in, watching for my response. It feels like how he invited me to the wedding, throwing down a gauntlet and waiting to see what I’ll do.
Like a dare. I slant my head and get close enough that our noses brush.
His breath is hot on my skin. He puts a hand on the small of my back and pulls me in the rest of the way.
His lips taste good. Sinfully good.
I open just a little, letting the tip of his tongue play with mine.
The hand at the small of my back slides downwards, until he’s cupping my butt and my legs are wrapped around his waist. The whole time I’m very aware of our audience, and the fact that I’ve now kissed all three of them, even if Jackal’s kiss was definitely PG.
It’s not as intense as with Stiff, when I felt more swept away in the moment, but when Lash pulls away, my lips tingle and I instinctively lean in to do it again.
The next kiss is deeper. I push my fingers into his hair.
His mouth steals my gasp as his teeth nip at my bottom lip and then his tongue surges inside.
Lash backs off slowly, his kisses growing shallower and shorter until I can focus enough to breathe and remember where we are.
Guilt is like a bucket of cold water over my head. I’m here for Georgia and I have to pick Logan up soon. Lash steps back, giving me room to slide off the counter. My legs wobble, but his arm is there to keep me steady.
“Did you catch the rabbit?” Lash asks the others, still looking at me.
“Yeah, he put up a good chase but we ran him up a pole eventually.”
“Greyhounds,” Lash mouths silently.
I grin.
“He didn’t put up much of a fight, and we persuaded him to let us borrow his key until you’re done,” Stiff tells Dakota. “So any time you want to come back, just give us a call.”
I bet borrow is a much nicer word than what really happened, but I can’t bring myself to feel bad for Jay. “Did he say anything about Georgia?”
Jackal casts a glance Stiff’s way. “Nothing useful. He acted like he didn’t even know about the accident. Which seems unlikely considering her boss knew already.”
“But he’s still alive, right?” If they say no, would I be upset? Probably not.
Stiff nods. “Alive, breathing and more or less intact.”
“Okay. I’m almost done. I just want to grab a couple more things and then we can leave. I need to get Logan from pre-school.”
While they poke around the living room, I go back to the bedroom to grab the pirate book before I look around to see if she was organized enough to have a spot for her important papers.
They might’ve gotten Jay’s key, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a spare, or that he can’t just have Sergei let him in, and I don’t trust him not to destroy her things just to get back at us.
“What the fuck?” Jackal says from the living room while using my phone as a flashlight for under the dusty bed.
“Looks police issue,” Stiff comments.
“Does. Doesn’t it? Serial’s filed off though.”
I brush the dust off my hands, leaving streaks on my jeans and go to see what they’re talking about. Jackal has a gun in his hand, and the three of them are examining it closely.
“Do you know if this could be Georgia’s?” Lash asks. “It was under the side of the couch.”
“I don’t think so. She never liked guns. It’s probably Jay’s.” I wish I was surprised that they found a gun in Georgia’s apartment, but I’m not, not really.
He nods. “That would be my guess, but if she wanted something for protection, I suppose it’s possible she got it from Sergei. This isn’t a model she would’ve picked up legally.”
Jackal tucks it into his jacket. “We’ll bring it with us. If the cops end up here looking for evidence against your sister, it’s probably better for everyone that they don’t find it.”
That’s fine by me, I certainly don’t want to deal with it. I spend a little more time looking around, but it’s depressing looking through her interrupted life. “My head needs rest. I just want to hug Logan and eat something bad for me.”
Lash grins. “We’re right here, baby. All you have to do is ask.”
“Like a burger.”
“Oh. Mind if we tag along?”
All three look at me expectantly.
“Sure, why not? Logan will love it. Get ready for non-stop questions and bug facts.”