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“No, but I’m pretty sure you’re going to tell me.”
The surly biker’s eyes narrowed. “The police are going to try every which way to stick this on you. If you end up back in prison, you ain’t gonna last long.”
Ace was already shaking his head. “Calm the fuck down. The cops were actually decent to me and didn’t jump to conclusions.”
“Fuck the cops. I don’t trust the lazy shit heads any farther than I can throw ‘em. Most of them are grossly incompetent, and the minute they cross everyone off their list, they’ll be circling back around to you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“It’s my job to know shit like that and to use that knowledge to keep my brothers out of danger. Which brings me to my second issue: we don’t know who the other club is, if they’re still active, how dangerous they really are, or how long they’ve been dumping at that site. The one thing I’m damn sure of is that they’re gonna come gunning for you, my friend.”
Looking from the dark-haired woman rubbing the man’s back soothingly then to Ace, Barbara tried to figure out if what the man was saying was true.
When Ace spoke again, his voice was low-key and almost playful. “Miss Tiffany, I do believe this is what a mental breakdown looks like on your old man. He’s referred to me as his friend twice in the same conversation. That’s pretty fucking weird, since I’m usually referred to as the stupid fucker he doesn’t even claim as a brother.”
“Stop antagonizing the love of my life,” Tiffany said with an indulgent smile. “He’s been obsessing about this all afternoon.”
Jack interjected at exactly the wrong time, saying the last thing the angry biker probably wanted to hear. “This reminds me of a movie I saw one time, where the two guys had some kind of bromance going and—”
The angry biker’s fist came out in a burst of fury aimed straight at Jack’s face. Ace palm-smacked the punch to the side before it made contact, and he grumbled, “Hey, you stupid fucker, pick on someone your own size.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Ryder said with a devilish smile that made Barbara’s arm hairs stand on end.
Tiffany spoke up. “Take it out back, boys. We’re trying to eat here.”
A deep, somber voice said from behind them, “I’ll put fifty bucks on my son.”
The gothic kid jerked his head around. “I’ll take that bet, Ven.” Glancing at Ryder, he intoned, “Before you start harping about sending me back to the hole, Cork’s got it covered, and I’m in the middle of running facial recognition software on the faces of those bodies. It’s gotta run its course.”
Ace looked down at Barbara, tugging her closer. “Do you mind if I leave you in Tiffany’s capable hands and have a word with my friend?”
“Not at all,” she said, forcing her voice to remain steady. “I could actually use a few minutes of downtime.”
Ace grinned. “Catch you in a bit, angel.”
Dropping a kiss on her temple, he headed off with a growing circle of men clustering around him and his friend as they walked behind the building. Jack ran to catch up, taking to the young kid called Peb.
Tiffany smiled apologetically. “Sorry about that. Those two like to spar. It’s their way of working off anxiety. Ace will come back in one piece, I promise.”
“I honestly don’t know what to think,” Barbara admitted. “Do you all really keep that teenager in a hole?”
Shaking her head, Tiffany replied lightly, “No. That’s secret code for the security office, which also functions as the server room.”
“I don’t know why I’m so relieved to find that out.”
“I was really overwhelmed when I first arrived as well. Almost nothing is what it seems, except everything kind of is what it seems.” She scrunched her nose. “Come on over to the tables. We’ll get some food and talk about all the strangeness.”
An older man who looked like someone’s father or grandfather approached them. “Now, you ladies find yourself a seat, and I’ll bring you something to eat. Go on, now.”
Tiffany flashed him a dazing smile. “Thanks, Earnest, you were a good find.”
The older man blushed and hurried away.
Rubbing her hands on her pants, Barbara quickly introduced herself as they walked. “My name’s Barbara and…”
“I know who you are. I’m the one who paid for Ace to take your class.” Reaching out to shake her hand, Tiffany continued. “My name’s Tiffany. As you’ve probably surmised, I’m Ryder’s fiancée. I even have a shiny new rock to prove it.” Wiggling her fingers, Barbara was momentarily sidetracked by the beautiful ring.
“Now that’s what I call a diamond.”
