Keys To My Cuffs (The Heroes of The Dixie Wardens MC Book 4) (16 page)

“Does my girl know you’ve had a man on her since that second murder?” Colton asked as he took a pull on his beer.

I looked at him sharply. “No, should she know? I didn’t really want her to know. She freaks out enough when a cop is within ten feet of her. I can just imagine what she’d do when I told her she has a cop and a couple of bikers following her around everywhere she goes.”

Colton laughed. “I guarantee you she already knows. She picked them up the first time they were sent over to watch her.”

I looked at him incredulously. “What makes you think that?”

“I taught that girl everything I know. I was a
pararescuemen
in the air force during Vietnam. I got out when Margery got pregnant with Channing, and I got back into business with my pop. Channing grew up on a shrimper, and I taught her everything I knew during our down time. She knows. I guarantee you,” Colton smiled widely.

My eyes narrowed on him, then I got up and headed to the table in the corner.

The table was a corner booth that held five max, but there were five women, a toddler, and an infant packed into the booth.

Channing was squeezed into the middle. Adeline and Viddy were closest to her with Baylee and Minnie on the outsides.

Minnie was the wife of another member of The Dixie Wardens, Porter. Minnie was a tailor, and the one who did all of the work for the club’s colors. She was also the one I’d be going to as soon as all the shit around me was done swirling. I wanted her to customize a property patch for Channing.

I already had it all planned out; all I needed was to get my life fixed, and then I’d make her mine.

I won’t get jealous. I won’t get jealous. I won’t get jealous. Okay…who’s the whore?

-Channing to Brittany

Channing

Blaise was crawling over the five of us, using our thighs as balance beams.

I was holding Adeline and Kettle’s baby, Saylor, close to my chest, breathing in her little baby smell.

She was making the cutest snoring noises that made my insides warm and gooey.

“No, what I’m asking is, if you found out your husband was cheating, would you make friends with the mistress?” Adeline asked Viddy.

I rolled my eyes. They’d been going on and on about this for ten minutes now. It was like they were arguing with a brick wall.

“No! Because Trance would never cheat on me,” Viddy re-emphasized for the tenth time.

Adeline balled up her fists at her sister. “You little shit! That’s not what I mean!”

Viddy thumbed her nose at Adeline.

“My ex-boyfriend cheated on me. I found out when I answered a 911 call. The girlfriend had an allergic reaction, and they’d called the ambulance. Then I show up, and I have to save her slut ass,” Baylee grumbled.

“Were you living with him at the time?” Adeline asked her.

Baylee shook her head. “Yes, I was living with him, which was incredibly awkward. When I got home from my shift, he’d boxed all my shit up nicely and set it outside. Asshole.”

I snorted. “You should’ve retaliated or something. I would’ve made him move the fuck out.”

Then again, I was a vindictive bitch.

“It was kind of hard; he’d already changed the locks and everything. Plus, I’d moved into his place. It was only fair,” Baylee shrugged.

I never forgot anything. Never.

“My boyfriend from college did that. He didn’t leave me any of my things, though. He just locked it and left so I couldn’t get in. Although, I broke into the place with his old car. Drove it
straight through his front window. Then I left so the cops wouldn’t know it was me,” I told them.

They all stared at me open mouthed.

“Why wouldn’t you be the first person the police contacted?” Viddy asked.

“I was, but Brody had tried to teach me multiple times how to drive a stick shift. I never figured it out. I was so pissed at that moment, though, that I just slammed my foot onto the gas, put it in first, and let off the clutch. I’m not quite sure I meant to drive it through his house or anything, but I did anyway,” I clarified.

The women surrounding me giggled, making the baby snuggled into my chest stir and let out a whimper.

Putting my hand under her bottom, I bounced her up and down, while I looked around the room.

“This is a nice place. Is this new?” I asked as I took in the nearest waiter who happened to be a firefighter with the Benton Fire Department.

I’d lived in Benton for a while now, and this was the first time I’d even heard of Halligans and Handcuffs.

The décor in the place was stunning.

All of the tables were made of diamond plated chrome, and the chairs were made out of what I expected was the material that firefighter’s bunker gear was made out of.

The lighting was suspended from the ceiling with handcuffs linked one by one. They had a perfect blend of both firefighting and policing. I loved it.

“Yep. We’ve put a lot of work into this place. All of us have done a little something. My contribution was the fire hoses that are housed in the glass of the bar. Adeline found all of the fire department signs. Viddy designed the handcuff lights. Minnie embroidered all the chairs. The guys did their part, too. It was a long process, but we like the outcome,” Baylee
said.

“You should’ve done those police grates that separates the cops from the criminals between the booths. It would’ve looked cute,” I said absentmindedly.

“That’s a good idea,” Loki’s deep voice said from my side.

I jumped, startled to see him that close.

He was standing directly in front of the table, surprising me, because I’d been so into the décor that I hadn’t paid attention to my surroundings.

Something that I never forgot.

“Hey,” I said distractedly. “Are you ready to go or something?”

Loki had worked this afternoon, and while he’d done that, I’d gone in early and finished all of my work that I usually saved for when the mortuary was less crowded. But I’d had few distractions today, enabling me to get out early and come to the bar for dinner.

I’d been surprised to find my father already here, but he fit in well with the crowd, and I was grateful.

I would’ve hated to have to choose between Loki and my dad.

“Did you happen to see anybody or anything following you today or yesterday?” he asked nonchalantly.

Thinking back to when I drove yesterday and today, I thought about how many people were following me. I’d stopped counting at four, but there could’ve been more.

“Three bikes, and a police car. The bikes were further back than the car, but I caught on about a mile away from my house...why?” I asked. “I thought you put them on me.”

He looked stunned. “I did.”

I cocked my head to the side, wondering why he was looking at me like that. “Then what’s the problem?” I asked.

He shook his head, a smile tipping up the corner of his lips. “Nothing. I just wanted to know how many you saw.”

“Cleo and Sterling were good. I clocked Tunnel in his cop car first. I saw Silas last. I probably wouldn’t have seen him, either, if I hadn’t gone out the back. He was sitting in the very edge of my yard in the shadows. Is he a spook or something?” I wondered.

My dad taught me most of what he knew when it came to defenses, blending all that he knew from the other branches into one long lesson that spanned years. Too bad all the lessons in the world didn’t help me when I needed it the most.

If it had, I wouldn’t be as fucked up as I was.

My innocence was lost that night, even if I didn’t have it, technically, taken from me.

I was blissfully unaware of how horrible life could really be. About as innocent as the tiny little baby napping on my chest.

The baby that Loki was looking at, with such longing, that my heart started to palpitate in my chest.

“You look good holding a baby,” he said huskily.

I wrinkled my nose at him, but didn’t reply, wanting... no,
needing
, to change the subject.

Quickly.

Luckily, Baylee did that for me. “Alright, chicks. I’ve got to tinkle. Who’s with me?”

Adeline scooted out next, and then held her arms out for the baby. “I am. Saylor needs a diaper change. And I need to go, too. Giving birth didn’t do anything for my bladder like I thought it would.”

Slowly the booth emptied, as they all trailed to the bathroom in a line, weaving in and out of the crowd as they went.

I stayed, though. Just looking at Loki held me captivated.

He looked good.

He’d showered somewhere in between this morning and this evening.

He was dressed in a long sleeved red Henley, dark washed jeans, and his black leather vest that he called his cut.

I’d gotten a whole entire lecture on the etiquette required when wearing The Dixie Wardens cut, and what each patch on the cut meant. How I was supposed to act and not act when I was representing the club colors, even though I didn’t
wear
club colors. All the while he walked around, pacing and talking, drawing my eyes to his muscled arms, strong jaw, and even his bare feet.

I was embarrassed to say that while he was explaining what the cut meant to him, I was busy trying to control my raging libido. There he was trying to explain the importance of the colors, and I was thinking about throwing those colors on the ground and devouring him with my mouth.

“What are you looking at?” He asked, startling me out of my revere of his flat tummy and muscled thighs.

My eyes automatically zeroed in on his crotch, and I licked my lips, causing him to burst out laughing.

I glanced up at him guiltily. “Sorry, you look good in those jeans. I’ve been staring at your ass all night.”

I wasn’t sorry in the least, and he knew it.

The smile he shot me was disarming.

“Do you want to dance?” he asked.

I looked around the room, seeing nowhere to dance, and then back to him.

“Where would we do that?” I asked curiously.

I’d never danced before. In fact, I’d go as far as to say I’d never wanted to dance before. However, I’d do just about anything with this man. If he wanted to dance with me, than I’d damn well do it.

I was on the verge of scooting over in the booth I was sitting at when Loki’s name was called by some woman I didn’t know, grabbing his attention from me.

I about choked on my tongue when I saw the woman that came out of the woodwork to stop next to Loki.

She leaned into him and spoke quietly in his ear before turning and walking away.

He watched her go, which made me see red.

However, he didn’t give me the chance to show him how mad I was. Instead, he walked over to me quickly, gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, and muttered, “I’ll be back.”

He didn’t wait to see what I had to say about that, only followed after the stunning blonde who, even if she gained thirty pounds and had a double chin, would still look better than me.

Fuck.

That.

I’d be getting my fucking dance.

Even if I had to piss him off before I got it.

Loki

“What did the chief have to say about you keeping me updated on the case?” I asked Eurie.

Eurie was another detective with the BPD.

She was also damn good at her job, and easy on the eyes.

The unsuspecting criminals always fell for her pretty looks before she whipped out a dick bigger than most men.

Well, not literally or anything, but she was a ball buster. She didn’t take shit from anybody: man, woman, or child.

I’ve considered her a friend for a couple of years now.

She was one of two female detectives on the force. She and Detective Hernandez often got paired up on assignments, and they had a clearance rate of ninety four percent, five percent above my own.

Which was to be expected.

I didn’t ever get the suspects to open up to me. All of my
accomplishments came from hard work and determination, not my smooth talking mouth.

“He didn’t care. He knew we were going to be sharing it with you. You have better insight on the inner workings of the rapists’ mind than we do. It’d be stupid to kick you off the case completely,” she shrugged. “I just wanted to come tell you that Detective Hernandez and I were partnered up, and that we’d be taking over, officially, from now on. If you get any leads, please call my cell.”

We’d hooked up when she’d first gotten on the force, and randomly on and off since then, but our relationship never went further than sex. She’d actually been my only sexual partner for going on two years now. Which had ended the moment I saw Channing a year ago.

She’d called only once in the past year, and I’d told her, immediately, that I was involved with someone. Then again, just because I wasn’t fucking her didn’t mean that I didn’t like and respect her.

“Good,” I rumbled as I surveyed our surroundings.

We’d gone outside, and then circled behind the bar so we could talk without any interference. Unfortunately, it left us more isolated, and I didn’t hear what was going on in the bar.

“Okay, I’ll check in with you tomorrow evening. I’ve got a date. Night, lover,” Eurie teased.

I rolled my eyes. “Night, Eurie.”

Shoving my hands into my pockets to try to alleviate the cold, I walked around the corner of the bar, and into a mad house.

“What the fuck is going on?” I yelled over the music to Cleo.

Cleo was sitting at the very first table that was off set to the door.

It was the only one in the little nook, and the only one Cleo liked to sit in.

He was sipping his beer and watching the crowd that had gathered in the corner of the room.

“Your girl’s dancing on the fire pole,” he said lightly.

I froze for a few precious seconds, reading Cleo’s face, and judging whether he was serious or not.

When I deemed that he was, indeed, serious, I whipped around and started shoving my way through the crowd.

I noticed, as I went, that I elbowed Silas out of the way, but at that moment in time, I could care less.