The two thugs threw me into my apartment, literally. They cackled as they walked away. I was on the floor for a few seconds before I jumped up and dusted myself off. They left a piece of paper on the floor behind me.
I knew the general direction of the address.
It was a few miles south. There really wasn’t anything good about the area. It was a heavy crime area, some of it organized, some of it controlled by a motorcycle club through numbers and muscle. I couldn’t figure out what Aldo would have wanted down there though. He had more power than anyone. He had more muscle. Christ, if he needed a woman protected, he could have just given the orders to have her taken and hidden somewhere. He could put her up in a house, a cabin, fuck, a different goddamn country.
But he chose me.
Maybe a part of me wanted to be excited. I mean, a protection call from Aldo. That was something like a promotion in my line of business. I could handle this stuff. Keeping people alive. Fighting those who got in my way. But there was always a darker side of it.
Murder.
There was always murder. Everywhere.
I stood there, staring at the address.
This wasn’t a fucking promotion. This was a punishment. Aldo was sending me into this so I’d get killed. That’s what it was. That’s what my fate came down to. Any other guy who lost a fight would get a bullet to the head.
Me?
I was being pushed into a protection run that made no fucking sense.
I grabbed my leather jacket, my keys, and left the apartment.
As I rode into a real shady part of the town, I looked for the address. To my complete shock, the address was a freaking coffeehouse. It was about a quarter mile from the real dark part of town. Right on the cusp of stepping from shit into true hell.
I parked my car and went into the coffeehouse. The smell was overwhelming. Everything in the place was mismatched and probably bought from yard sales and shit, but it actually worked. The vibe was a messy kind of chill place.
There were a handful of people sitting around. Some sipping coffee. Some reading books. A couple people just sitting there with earbuds in, listening to music, staring out the window. It made me wonder what world they lived in, you know? To throw on some tunes and disappear.
“Can I help you?”
I spun around and looked at the woman behind the counter. She was fucking beautiful. Naturally beautiful. Dirty blonde hair cheaply pulled back with a few chunks left dangling to the sides of her face. She wore not a spot of makeup, leaving her looking like she just rolled out of bed. I was a sucker for a woman like that. There was nothing like the pure beauty of woman. One who could just throw on some clothes and go for the day.
Her eyes were a crystal clear blue that took me back for a second. Her lips were a little thin, but had such a unique shape to them, I instantly pictured running my finger along them, tracing them. Better yet, using my tongue.
I snapped myself back to reality.
Christ, I needed to get laid. And soon.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
My eyes scanned down. I had no choice. Her breasts were perfect. Pressing against the black shirt she wore, leaving nothing for the imagination because it was easy to see she had been blessed in that department. Besides that, she had a name tag on.
Winter.
“Eyes up here,” she muttered.
“Yeah, sorry,” I said. “I’m actually looking for you.”
She put her hands to her hips. The subtle curves of her body made my fingers twitch.
“Excuse me?”
I put my hands on the counter and leaned forward. “I’m looking for you, darling.”
“Why?”
“I’m Tripp. I’m supposed to keep you alive.”
The color dropped from her face. She stepped back from the counter and bumped into a stack of mugs. They jangled together and she spun to keep them from falling.
My eyes scanned at her back now. Her shirt pulled up just enough to show a sliver of skin. Her jeans did wonders for her ass. I became instantly jealous of her back pockets, wanting to slip my hands into them.
Then I reminded myself something.
She’s a fucking widow, man. Remember what Aldo said. And someone out there wants to kill her.
Winter looked over her shoulder. Hair in her face, one of her blue eyes shining through it. “Give me a sec.”
She then charged down the counter and disappeared.
A few seconds later she came out of a side door. When she hurried toward me, her breasts bounced so freely. I gritted my teeth with my mouth shut, demanding myself to keep my eyes on her face, which didn’t help much because of how beautiful she was.
“Here,” she said and pointed to a table. “Sit, please.”
I grabbed a chair and spun it around. I straddled the chair.
“Do you want a coffee or something?”
“No,” I said. “You work here?”
“Sometimes. My friend owns the place. I live out back.”
“Out back?”
“There’s a converted garage. Better than being in the clubhouse.”
“The clubhouse?”
“Yeah. Red Aces MC.”