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“It takes all kinds,” Brooks sighed.
Warren read over the file for the next contract. He already knew the information on his phone. The plan was a home invasion gone wrong. Simple enough when the mark cheaped out on the security system on his estate.
The wife was away visiting her mother. Surveillance said she took the dog. Odds were she realized who she was married to and left the bastard. Smart woman. She would live longer if she weren’t married to a man who skimmed money from a group of local Cuban businessmen.
Not only was the idiot stupid enough to steal, he cornered one of their daughters at a club. The girl was roughed up a bit before someone yanked him off her. Since it wasn’t a club owned by the Cubans, outside sources were hired to handle their problem. Someone discrete that left no fingers to point back to them. Warren was at the top of that list.
Closing the document on the screen, Warren brought up the feed in the clubhouse. His breath caught when he saw Rose. She was smiling, chatting with another woman. Jealousy and longing pumped through him. He couldn’t remember the last time that smile was aimed at him. A few more days, a week at the most, and he was coming for her. Her beautiful smile would be aimed at him. His hands ached to touch her soft skin. He wanted to hold her in his arms. This time, when he got her into bed, he was staying. She was his. His heart only beat for her. Life was going to be different. Their days apart were done.
Chapter 10
Rose wiped down the glossy wooden bar. She lost count of how many times she had done the same thing over the last two weeks. Men came and went, but most stayed close. The lockdown was strictly enforced. Groups of five would leave on a run each week. Where they went and what they did never crossed her mind. She hadn’t asked what was stolen. Bunny was under enough stress. Rose couldn’t bring herself to add to it. The less she knew, the less the nagging thoughts that plagued her became a very real possibility. Rose was afraid of being right.
It was all a little too coincidental that whoever was messing with the club’s warehouses had amped up their attacks since she moved in. Warren kept popping into her mind. He warned her he wasn’t giving up. How did he know who she was with? It wasn’t like he could track her. Everything she brought with her had been gone through by Birdy and Ladybug. Rose didn’t even have the same phone. The only jewelry she ever wore was her wedding ring. That was left behind too. She had no idea how Birdy knew who her husband was. His lips were sealed, and nothing she had done so far could break his silence.
Rose let out an irritated huff. Lucas had to have opened his big mouth. Why? Why could he not have done the one little thing she asked? He literally had one job. Keep his mouth shut. Well, two. Two jobs. Get the boxes out of the house and keep his mouth shut. Two jobs weren’t a lot to ask.
Guilt ate at her. She tried to save her brother. Instead, Rose brought Warren’s wrath down on the club. They were nice people. Some were a little odd but endearingly so. Even the guy everyone swore didn’t talk to anyone asked her for chocolate cake. There were so many requests Rose started a calendar to keep up.
The group was a family. A family who included her. A family that didn’t have to be nice to her, considering what her brother had done. Look what it got them. One person died. He was a brother, son, and a friend. Poor guy got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was her fault. She had no idea how to make it any clearer to Warren they were no longer a they. Rose needed to think of something fast before another warehouse was hit or worse.
Running entered her mind and left as quickly. She made a deal. No one else in her family ever valued their promises, but she did. Running out on your responsibilities was not an option. It wasn’t like she would get far with Warren and Bunny both hunting her. It would only be a matter of time before one of them found her. Her heart was torn.
She was left with one option. Rose bit her lip, worrying. She should tell Bunny what she was thinking. Tank had a lot on his plate. They were busy hunting down the people responsible for emptying the warehouses and tracking the stolen stuff. She would send him on a wild goose chase for nothing if she were wrong.
If she was right, Rose had no doubt they would end Warren. Her heart cracked a little further each time she thought about something happening to him. It ate at her until she couldn’t sleep at night. The bags under her eyes were dark enough that Birdy demanded to know who hit her this morning. Ladybug was right beside him, trying to coax the answer out of her. It was only when he threatened to shut down the sweet calendar that she concocted some bullshit about chronic insomnia. Tension was high after being on lockdown for so long. If Birdy shut down the dessert calendar, club members would riot.
Her heart hurt thinking about Warren. She missed him like crazy. It was exactly what she was crazy. The man couldn’t give her the time of day, and she was here pining away, willing to give anything to fall asleep in his arms one more time.
“I think that spot is clean, Rosey.”
“That’s it,” Vulture roared. “No more calendar bullshit. Someone else can watch the bar. You are going to bed and staying there until it doesn’t look like a sneeze will knock you over.”
“And just which one of you is going to make me? Which one of you is going to keep the cookie tray refilled? Who is going to burn your dinner? Go do your manly biker things and leave me alone.”
“Rosey, sweetheart, you look like shit.”
“Aw, you sweet talker you,” Rose batted her eyes at him.
“Franny can burn dinner tonight.”
“Did Vulture just volunteer to cook?” Franny gasped, coming out of the kitchen with frozen pizza in her hand. Tossing it on the bar, they all stared at it. The crust was black, and the cheese in the middle was frozen.
“Okay, dinner is served,” Rose announced.
No one moved to take a piece.
“I got shit to do,” Vulture mumbled. “She is yours until I get back.”
“One day she will be,” Roach winked at Rose.
“I think there is something wrong with the oven. My frozen pizza usually isn’t that bad,” Franny complained. “Pizza is one of the things I can do.”
“It worked this morning,” Rose frowned.
A few brave souls grabbed a slice and a handful of cookies from the tray.
“Do we have more in the freezer in the storeroom?”
