Billionaire Misery (3 page)

Craig gave her a long, hot look, his interest clearly showing. Her body responded with a hard throb of desire that left her cursing silently. She had to stay as far away from him as possible. The man was a recipe for disaster, and he was just like the men who’d ridden with her father: Out for himself, and incapable of caring about anything else.

But, damn, he was tempting.

T
he courtroom sat so quiet that Craig could hear the clatter and clank of the shackles fastened around the wrists and ankles of the men seated up front.

His brothers.

His heart sank. He’d let them down, and he knew it.

This was his fault. He’d gone crazy after Lisa died. He’d forgotten who he owed his loyalty to, and he’d gotten his club and his brothers into this whole mess because of his actions.

He knew none of this would have happened if he hadn’t run with Nate’s product, and then bloody lost it to the men who’d been murdered out at that house. The memory of that night, the carnage and the sheer waste of life, still turned his stomach. He’d seen death before. He’d caused one too. But that...that had been so far beyond the pale. That shitty crew never even had a chance. They’d been slaughtered, and now Morgan and the others were about to go down on multiple counts of murder unless the judge decided there wasn’t enough evidence for a hearing. It wasn’t their fault.

Craig took a long, slow breath. Katie, Morgan’s woman, had gone out of her way to try to help. She’d risked her own life, and that made him feel ashamed in ways he hadn’t even known he could feel. He was Morgan’s brother, they’d been friends since they were kids, but it was Katie who’d risked her life for Morgan. It should have been him, not the pretty stranger sitting a few rows away.

It should have never happened in the first place. He never should have let things get so crazy, and he knew it.

He’d been so angry at Morgan for exiling him from the Orphans, the club they’d both founded, that he’d been too blind to the blame that belonged to him. He saw it now, though, and he didn’t like it.

He had to do something to help.

Jessie shifted slightly, and her shoulder, clad in a black leather jacket, brushed his. His heart raced as he turned his head slightly to gaze at her profile.

She was stunningly beautiful. Her raven-hued tresses hung over her shoulders and down her back in a silky sheet, and her eyes, a clear and perfect blue, were surrounded by a thick fringe of black lashes and emphasized by straight and well-groomed brows. Her nose was high, thin, and straight, and her mouth was full and lush. Her body was tall and elegant, with scant curves and sleek, lean muscles under tanned skin that he longed to touch, just to see if it was as velvety and smooth under his fingertips as he thought it must be.

She was also tough. He’d seen how hard she rode, and he heard how hard she fought. A woman like this one was rare. She was totally out of his league, and not just because she rode with the OutKasts and he was a man without a club, but because she knew he was a fuck-up.

No woman wanted a fuck-up.

And no woman like Jessie wanted a fuck-up who was also an exile, and the reason most of his former club was sitting up there facing murder charges.

He caught Morgan’s eye. Morgan nodded faintly, and Craig acknowledged it with a single nod back, almost imperceptibly. Lesser men would have pointed the finger right to him. He was wanted too, and for the same charges; the cops somehow just hadn’t caught him yet.

Jessie leaned slightly closer. An intoxicating whiff of leather mixed with a light faint perfume and the scent of her shampoo all wafted toward him, making him shift uncomfortably in his seat as his jeans tightened. No woman had ever had this effect on him. It made him long for more, and ticked him off at the same time.

The judge cleared his throat, and the silent courtroom went even quieter. “I have to deal with this matter according to the law.” He shuffled through some papers. “There seems to be enough evidence to move forward, and so the charges will be brought against the defendants.”

Katie went rigid. Craig, sitting beside her, saw the force of her tension, and felt the shock as it hit and traveled down her body.

Nate argued, “I beg to differ, Judge; the evidence is, at best, circumstantial, and we have tendered evidence that proves without any doubt that there are others who stand to gain from the unfortunate deaths of the victims.”

“Save it for the courtroom, Counselor,” the judge said dryly. “I’m aware of the evidence. You may submit it through the proper channels for investigation, at your earliest convenience. However, as there is evidence that proves that these men were in the house, and, as the jury gathered here has determined that there is enough proof to move forward with the proceedings, that is exactly what is going to happen. As you well know.”

Craig’s fists knotted. None of the men looked surprised. Morgan looked resigned, in fact, and Clive just looked bored. The others held their expressions in check, schooling their features into tight masks.

They were removed from the courtroom. His brothers in shackles and chains, dressed in stupid, ugly-ass orange jumpsuits.

Katie stood and headed down the aisle, her steps showing her agitation. She reached briefly for Morgan, but a deputy forced her to keep her distance.

He, Nate, and Jessie followed as Katie kept walking out of the building, and would have walked right out into traffic if Jessie hadn’t grabbed her and said sharply, “Pull it together.”

Katie glared at her. “Fuck you! It’s not your ...it’s Morgan in there. And Clive. And all the others.” Her face twisted in agony that no physical pain could cause.

It tore at Craig’s heart. “Katie, we’ll fix it.”

She turned slowly to him, her voice low and venomous, “Morgan didn’t blame you,” she said thickly, “But I damn sure do. You’re to blame for all this, you fucking bastard!” She stormed off.

Everyone but Jessie followed. She stood there, watching him with those clear and icy eyes of hers. Her full mouth was parted slightly, just enough to give him a glimpse of her pearly-white teeth and pink tongue. His pants grew noticeably tight yet again. He shifted and said, “You’d better go too.”

Her eyes met his, not even wavering for a second. “Are you really going to let this happen?”

He snarled, “Is it any of your business?”

She shook her head. “Not at all; I just figured you might want to help your crew and maybe yourself too.” She walked off, her pert bottom twitching nicely under her tight pants, and desire spiraled up and through him.

She was incredibly sexy, and dangerous. She was tougher than any woman he’d ever met, and she seemed to echo all the things raging below his skin.

How the hell was he going to help his crew?

He needed to get even with Blake. He needed to find a way to get Morgan out of this mess. He started to walk away, and suddenly froze. Maybe those two things were one and the same.

He went after Jessie and caught up to her. “I might need some help with this.”

Her eyes met his. “I’m sure you do. I just don’t want to help you.”

He reached out and grabbed her shoulders, stopping her and forcing her to look at him. Just touching her sent shocks of desire racing through him. He tried to ignore the physical need, and focused his thoughts. “Look, I know you ride with Nate, and you owe me nothing, but Nate can’t risk his guys...”

“So why not risk some woman who’s nothing but a prospect? You’ll have to do way better than that.” Her pretty eyes narrowed as she glared at him.

Damn, she was tough as nails. “How about I know you could help me, and I’d owe you.”

She snorted. “You’re an exile with no crew. You got no plan, and no shot at doing anything to help so...”

“I’m going to take down Blake Wilkes, Katie’s father.”

Her eyes went round. “What?” That caught her attention.

He grinned. “He’s fucking with your crew too, you know. Think how fast you’d get a patch if you took the heat off Nate and his boys.”

Her expression grew guarded. “Think how fast I’d get myself killed messing around with Blake Wilkes. From what I’ve seen, he’s got a lot of money and power, and he’s lethal. No thanks.”

He turned around. Waiting, he stared up at the sky as he pressed his jaw tight and counted, hoping she would change her mind.

She waited a few seconds then said, “Wait. What’s
really
in it for me?”

He turned back around and forced himself not to smile. “You mean besides a patch?”

“Hell yeah, that’s what I mean.”

He surveyed her. She had such a stunning face, but under that beauty was a woman who was cold and calculating. He sensed that as well as the fire that raged beneath. She’d be passionate in bed, and devoted to the man she fell in love with, but woe to the one who betrayed her. He grinned finally. He wouldn’t screw her over. That was for sure. “Blake’s got a safe. It’s got millions in it.”

Her eyes met his. “How do you know?”

“Because I saw it. It’s also got a lot of papers in it. Important documents and shit. Blackmail and blame papers, if you know what I mean.”

“Why didn’t Katie mention that?”

“She did, but she only knows about the safe in his office, which he’s cleaned out by now. I mean, wouldn’t you if your shit got taken? No, he’s got all that stuff stashed in his other safe. Nobody but me knows where it is.”

“Why would you know that?’

Fuck, he wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell someone. He just didn’t know who he could trust anymore. “Let’s just say I did a little freelance work for him.”

Her gaze was so direct and probing he wanted to drop his to the cement under them. She had the kind of look that could search all the way down to a man’s soul, and he had no intention of letting her know what lay in that dark crevice.

“And he trusted you that much after just a little work?’

He shrugged. “It was pretty messy.”

“Have anything to do with kidnapping Katie?”

No, but he seized on that. “Among other things.”

“So what’s in the safe?” Her tone was casual.

Too casual.

She wanted in.

He grinned. “Millions. Bearer bonds. Other things as well, like a giant fucking diamond. And files that would topple his empire to the ground. I figure I—we—need to play his game now. We could bargain with him. Get the charges off Morgan and the guys in exchange for the files back.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “Or get ourselves killed.”

He shrugged. He had nothing left to lose. “Go big or go home, I guess.”

She tilted her head. “It sounds pretty big.”

He nodded. “It’s everything. I have to help the guys. I did this.”

She smiled suddenly at him and it caught him off-guard for a moment. “Owning your shit?”

“Yeah, I am.” He squared his shoulders. “I’ll admit I went a little out of control last year. I have to make good on that, and live with it as well. I sure as hell ain’t letting my brothers go to trial for something that isn’t their fault. I did
not
kill those men, but the one standing behind the smoking gun is Blake Wilkes. I swear it.”

“You’re sure all that stuff’s in the safe?” When he nodded, she relented. “Then I’m in. But we’ll have to square it with Nate. I’m not riding rogue. Look what happened when
you
did.”

“Tell Nate?” He hadn’t thought of that.

“You know he’ll want a cut.”

Craig spoke slowly. “Nate’s...look, I can’t trust him with this. If you want to give him a cut, that’s cool. Even though he owes Morgan, his interests are divided, you could say.”

Her eyes took on that assessing look again. “I see.”

She did. He knew it. “I guess we’re all going back to the house.”

She shook her head. “No, Nate and the others went to handle business. Katie got a secure hotel room—not that she needs to worry right now anyway. Anything happens to her, Wilkes would be the first to get a good look, and he knows it. Billionaire like him is not stupid. He didn’t get to where he is by not paying attention.” She stuffed her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. “So it’s just you and me, I guess.”

His grin grew wide. “Suits me.”

She turned around. “Don’t even think about it.”

“Too late,” he whispered, watching her sexy ass swing as she walked away.

J
essie’s thoughts were on high alert as she and Craig headed for their bikes. If Craig was telling the truth, and he knew the location of a secret safe that Wilkes was holding, she could make a solid case against the bastard billionaire.

Finally.

That had been her goal when she’d first hit town. Her first few months had been spent trying to fish information out of powerful men who needed an escort. None ever got her into bed, and she’d managed to keep them from knowing they hadn’t, thanks to the help of a few drugs dropped into drinks.
Date rape, my ass,
she thought and grinned.
Rohypnol’s more like my sleep date instead
.

Erectile dysfunction was embarrassing for any man. She also gave them drugs that made damn sure they had it, and then she made sure to tell them how much she hated men who couldn’t get it up trying to sleep with her. She even dropped the names of a few she’d dated and drugged previously.

Naturally, they all bragged about what great sex they’d had with her.

Men.

They were shockingly simple for the most part.

Except Craig. He was a whole bucket of complication.

The DEA wanted drugs off the street.

She wanted Wilkes.

Craig was willing to do whatever it took to take the bastard down.

Painful memories crawled in, and she shut them down. She didn’t have time to get upset. She swung up on her bike, and Craig mounted his then headed out. She pulled up beside him. He sped up and soon they were racing down the road.

The damn man could ride, and she knew he was deliberately challenging her.

She shot past him, her body melding with her bike. Desire grew with each mile.

This was not just a race; it was a chase. She would never slow down and let him win, either. If he wanted her, he would have to catch her.