“A lot of good it did her,” he muttered under his breath. “Her whole family was fuckin’ superstitious.”
“It’s not superstition,” Isa whispered.
“Well, I don’t fuckin’ believe it. I got shit to do. Take care of yourself.”
“I’ll let you know what Madame says.”
He snorted. “Yeah, you do that.”
Rock slipped his phone in his pocket, lit up a joint, and watched the sun begin its descent. He wondered ifshewas watching it too.
Chapter Six
On Saturday atone thirty in the afternoon, nine Harleys roared past the iron gates and up the driveway. The idling engines had an uneven, syncopated cadence that crashed through the quiet in the exclusive neighborhood. When they switched off their ignitions, the quiet returned except for the clink of swinging chains from jeans and the clomping of steel-toed boots on the pavement.
When they arrived at the front of the house, Rock said, “This is a meeting of a bunch of rich guys, so we gotta be on extra alert. I’ll do both inside and out, alternating with Jax. Chas and Rags can be inside and the rest of you will be outside. Make sure all the exits are covered. If there’s a problem, use the remotes.” The men nodded their acquiescence and then spread out to man their posts.
Rock rang the buzzer, his stomach tightening. He fucking hated the way his body was doing weird shit over a woman. A tall man dressed in a black suit opened the door and ushered in the three men. Chas and Rags whistled under their breaths as they stood in the enormous marbled foyer. “My whole fuckin’ house could fit in here,” Chas said under his breath. The butler’s forehead creased in annoyance.
“You want us to wait for Blair here?” Rock asked.
“Yes.MisterBlair will be down shortly.” The thin man slipped away.
“Guess we’re not fuckin’ good enough to go to the living room or whatever the hell it’s called.” Rags’s head went back. “How many feet do you think that fuckin’ chandelier is?”
“Who the fuck cares?” grumbled Rock.
“Thirty feet, and obviously your colleague cares,” a cool, detached voice said.
Without turning around, Rock knew it was Frederick. He was getting sick and tired of the asshole popping up out of nowhere. He turned slowly to him. “I think each of us should cover an exit.”
A smile twitched on Frederick’s thin lips. “You’d need double the men you have for that.”
“I got men outside. We’ll cover what they don’t inside.” Rock wanted to slam the dude against a wall when he saw the look of disdain in his eyes as he ran them over the biker.
“My colleagues will be here soon. I will need your services until they leave.” His tone was dismissive.
“Let’s go and check this out.” Rock walked away from him without a glance.
After the men checked out the entire first floor, Rock placed Chas at the back of the house where triple French doors opened onto a veranda overlooking a well-manicured lawn. Rags took the north side, and Rock stayed in the front by the foyer. From that viewpoint, he could watch the other rooms. The woman of the house was glaringly absent.
At two o’clock five gentlemen appeared dressed in khaki pants with sports shirts. They carried briefcases and greeted Frederick as he walked into the foyer from one of the rooms. The host escorted the men to the dining room where they sat down and began their power meeting.
Rock expected the woman to show up and serve the drinks, but the butler seemed to be the one in charge of doing it.I wonder if she’s at home. Maybe he had her go shopping while he and his buddies decide how to fuck up the economy and start wars.
After thirty minutes, Rock contacted Jax on the remote and told him to come to the house so they could switch positions. He wanted to do a perimeter check to make sure everything was cool. The amount of wealth in the room was staggering, and he could understand why Blair wanted security during their meeting. The risk of a home invasion, kidnapping, or worse was too high.
It took a long time to walk the grounds, but he wanted to make sure they were secured. When he came around the backside of the mansion he stopped. He sensed her at the fringes of his awareness, felt her pull—like magnet to steel. He took a deep breath and looked up, and there she was on the second floor, leaning against a small window, her gaze locked with his. For a long moment they were tied together through silence and anticipation. Then she turned away and was gone. Rock licked his lips and took a couple gulps of air while he tried to clear his head, then quickened his pace to finish up his round.
When he entered the house again, he headed for the massive circular stairway leading up to her. As he climbed up, Frederick’s voice echoed in the foyer. “Stop! You’re not allowed up there.”
“I’m just doing my job in making sure everything is secured.”
“It’s not necessary to go upstairs. Just check the main floor and the grounds. The second and third stories are private.”
Reluctantly Rock turned around and headed down, each step heavier in the knowledge that he was going farther away from her.It fuckin’ kills me to know she’s up there and I’m down here. Is it killing her too? She was definitely staring at me, but maybe she’d have stared at Wheelie, or Chas, or any of the guys. I’m worse than a pussy. I’m a fuckin’ pussy sissy.
“You want me to go back outside?” Jax asked as Rock hit the bottom of the stairs.
