"You want us to bring them in?"
Benicio shook his head. "No, just get a line on them. I want more information before we make a move."
"The club will be tracking them too. As soon as they find out that they weren't killed in the fire, they'll finish what they started."
"Then we need to make sure the club believes they were killed in the fire," Benicio said. "I trust you can ensure that it's public knowledge that three bodies were found, instead of one?"
"Yes, sir," Maurice said. "Right away."
"Make it happen immediately. And I'll make sure the club is alerted that there were three bodies found," Benicio said. "Good work. Let's see if this trail leads where I suspect it does."
June
I finished applying a third coat of mascara and stepped back from the mirror, blinking a few times before I surveyed myself from head to toe. I looked good. My hair was blown out and straightened instead of slicked back into a ponytail right out of the shower, the way it usually was. I was wearing my casual but still low cut black shirt, the one that showed just enough cleavage, and the hip hugging jeans that made my ass look great.
So why the hell did I feel like shit?
There was no reason for the stupid, nagging sense of guilt I felt. Cade was being a prick, and I had no reason to care what the hell he thought. Or whether or not I hurt his feelings.
Fuck it. As if bikers even have feelings.
We weren't boyfriend and girlfriend. This sure wasn't high school. And I certainly didn't need to turn down a date with Jed just because Cade had gotten his panties in a bunch over it. I didn't owe Cade an explanation. I didn't owe him anything.
So when Jed called me to ask if I wanted to have dinner tonight, I said yes, without a second thought about how Cade would react. Okay, so maybe it wasn't without a second thought exactly. Maybe it was because of Cade specifically.
Screw him.
Besides, he wouldn't even know. Even if he did, he said he didn't care. He was the one who told me to date Jed.
And Jed was really nice. I needed nice. I could do nice.
What I didn’t need was damaged. I had enough of that going on all by myself to last me a lifetime.
I dragged lipstick across my bottom lip, then scanned the room for my purse. Damn it. I was going to wind up being late.
I was so engrossed in what I was doing that the knock on the front door made me nearly jump out of my skin. Shit. Maybe it was Cade stopping by...to apologize. Yeah, right. As if that would ever happen.
When I pulled open the door, it was Jed. What the hell?
"Jed. What are you doing here?"
“Hey, June,” he said. He was still in uniform, and his cruiser was parked in the driveway.
Is he kidding with this? So much for keeping this date under wraps.
I glanced behind him to Cade’s house. No one was outside, but hell, everyone was going to know my business in about ten seconds. Which was exactly why I had told him we could meet for dinner in the next town over, thirty minutes away. I didn't need any prying eyes, especially after Cade had conveniently stumbled on us when we were having coffee.
“What are you doing here?” I asked through clenched teeth. If I could have hissed the words at him, I would have.
“I know we were supposed to meet at the restaurant,” he said. “But I was working late, out on a call down the road. So, I figured, rather than call and stand you up, I’d stop by and hope you hadn’t left yet.” He shuffled his feet awkwardly, and I nearly invited him in, just to get him out of the freaking driveway. But there was his cruiser, parked right behind him, this bright sore thumb attracting attention. All I could think about was how much I needed to get him out of here.
“So why don’t we raincheck, then,” I said, my words rushed. That way, he could go home, and I could sit in the tub with a glass of wine and a book. That option didn't sound bad at all, actually.
“Oh.” He looked down at the ground. “Yeah, um. That sounds fine. I was thinking maybe I could just drive you to the restaurant, but no, that's good, too…” His voice trailed off.
“In that?” Yeah, the police cruiser didn’t scream “hey, look at me” at all.
Jed glanced back at the car, a sheepish look on his face. “Yeah. I could uh - I have a change of clothes with me, and I can give you a ride home.”
I must have given him a skeptical look, because he stumbled over his words, adding “I mean-not like I want to give you a ride home and...you know...come in or anything like that. I mean, nothing like that. You know, unless you wanted me to or something...Oh, shit.”