Diamond smiled at the pretty blond before turning to catch her first glimpse of her sister. As she had approached the table, she had only seen the black hair, which she had admired for its gleaming length, but she found her breath catching at the young woman smiling at her in welcome. She was beautiful. Diamond had never looked at another woman with such stunning looks, trying to think for a minute if she was a model or actress.
“Hello,” Her gentle voice broke through Diamond’s professional barricade with one word. No one could look at the gentle eyes and give her a set down.
“Hello.” Diamond found herself returning her smile.
“Diamond is the lawyer representing Knox,” Beth explained to her sister.
“I hope you can help him out,” Lily said.
“I do, too. I’m working on it,” Diamond said as the waitress came to take her order.
“So what are you ladies doing in town today?” Diamond questioned the women.
“I needed to pick up a few things that we need for the wedding tomorrow,” Winter said.
Diamond’s face flamed. Winter had invited her to the wedding, however she had declined.
“Are you coming?” Lily asked shyly.
“I—” Diamond felt awful as she was now faced with the three women staring at her. “I have a lot of work to get done on Knox’s case.” Winter stared at her in amusement as Diamond tried to extradite herself from the embarrassing conversation; she had declined the invitation before she’d taken Knox’s case.
“Please come, you can keep me company. I’ve been around a few of The Last Riders since Beth married Razer, but I don’t know them very well. It’s in the backyard of the clubhouse so not many people will be attending because Winter didn’t want a big wedding. It’s going to be informal, so you don’t have to dress up.”
Diamond was going to refuse, but the pleading look on Lily’s face prevented her from outright saying no.
“Lily, I’m sure that Winter doesn’t want an unexpected guest,” Diamond said, trying to get out of it one more time.
“I would like for you to come. There’s plenty of room for another guest. Neither Viper nor I wanted to have a big wedding, just family and friends. I hope you come, Diamond,” Winter said graciously.
Left with no choice, she accepted, not missing the relieved look which crossed Lily’s face. Curiously, Diamond studied the young woman. She was dressed in a pretty blue dress that highlighted her dark hair. She didn’t have on much make-up and she wore no jewelry. Diamond’s eyes were caught by a red rubber band she wore around her wrist. Lily caught Diamond staring at it and self-consciously covered it with her other hand.
Diamond gave her a gentle smile before turning her attention to Winter who was discussing her wedding with Beth. Beth dragged her into their conversation and Diamond was surprised that, once she let her guard down, she had quite a bit in common with the three women.
They were unlike the other women Diamond had known who had been involved with bikers. Both Winter and Beth had careers and had no intention of making the biker lifestyle their whole world as her mother and Sex Piston had.
They were eating their lunch when Beth told Winter that Mrs. Langley wouldn’t be coming to her wedding. It clicked with Diamond she had a resource she hadn’t thought of yet.
“Beth and Winter, you’ve both lived in Treepoint your whole life, so you have an in where I don’t.” Beth and Winter stopped talking, listening to Diamond. “You,” she motioned to Winter, “worked at a high school. Who did Samantha Langley see in Treepoint?”
“There isn’t anyone she didn’t sleep with. Even before The Last Riders, she would go with a boy for a week then move on.”
“Can you make me a list? Go back as far as you can remember? Even if it’s a one night stand that you know of. I have to figure out who wanted her dead.”
“Lily and she were in school together. We’ll come up with a list of names for you and give it to you at the wedding tomorrow.” Winter seemed excited about helping. Diamond smiled at the infectious warmth of the pretty woman. She could understand why Viper would have found her hard to resist.
Curiosity got the better of her. Beth had explained that she ran a business in town, caring for older individuals who needed help with their daily activities.
“Do you work with your sister?” Diamond asked Lily.
“No, I help out every now and then, but I’m a junior at Breckenridge College. I want to be a social worker.”
Diamond stared at the beauty in front of her, the gentleness in her eyes. The world was going to take her in and spit her out. Her sister and she were something Diamond had never met; true humanitarians. Beth’s gentleness was there to see while Lily held back more; her eyes holding secrets that Diamond didn’t want to explore. She almost reached across the table to touch her hand. Bringing her mind back to the topic, Diamond couldn’t believe how the woman affected her.
“That’s very admirable,” Diamond said tactfully. “But it’s going to be hard seeing people need your help and only being able to do what your job tells you can be done.”
“I’m stronger than I look. I can handle it,” Lily said with determination.