Thief: Devil's Own MC (3 page)

Chapter Four

Sarah

I spent the whole weekend trying to think of a plan. Anything. Something. Even though I knew it was a long shot, I figured that some good old-fashioned brainstorming could help me evade Roger and whatever sleazy proposition he had for me. But that was about as far as it got. I didn’t have the guts to call Julia, not even to ask if she had a job for me. Julia was a real estate agent. She hadn’t gone to college either, but unlike me, she actually had something to show for her years of hard work. The best thing she could have done was told me about some temp gig in her office, and I didn’t want that charity. I couldn’t stand to hear the pity in her voice.

By Monday morning, I knew that Roger was my last chance. I hadn’t been able to scrape together any other support. Even combing through the back pages of the paper hadn’t done anything. A few years ago, I saw gigs for amateur strippers. Now there was nothing. Even though the whole thing was sordid, it still had to be better than dealing with Roger.

I took my time getting ready and wore looser, straight-leg jeans with a baggy sweater. I put makeup on—I didn’t want to look sloppy, but I didn’t want to look appealing either. The park where he’d wanted me to meet him was on the other side of town. When I got into my car and started it up, I had a panicky moment where the engine wouldn’t turn over. Just as I started feeling like I was going to cry, it finally jumped to life.
Thank god,
I thought. The last thing I needed was for my car to go, too.

Roger’s white pickup truck was parked on the edge of the parking lot. I looked around nervously; it was a nice fall morning, but meeting him here seemed so seedy. The air smelled fresh, but when I got closer to his car, the reek of cigarettes was pervasive.

Roger grinned when he saw me. “Hey, baby,” he said in a teasing voice, and I fought the urge to shudder. “You wanna hop in and go for a ride?”

I rolled my eyes. “Let’s talk over there,” I said, pointing to a gazebo. It was in plain view of the street, and I didn’t want to be in his car. Even though he’d promised it wouldn’t be anything weird, I still didn’t trust him.

Roger frowned. “You’re a tough sell, baby,” he commented.

I started walking through the grass when I caught sight of him fussing with a cigar and a lighter in the wind.
Men
. Were they all so goddamn self-absorbed?

“So what’s the job?” I asked warily.

Roger leaned in so close that I could smell his nasty cologne. “Helping me out,” he said, grinning and pointing at his chest. “You’re gonna be real good at it baby, I just know it.”

I grimaced. “Roger, can you stop calling me that? Please. It’s gross.”

Roger threw his head back and laughed. My feeling of uneasiness doubled and I felt my stomach twist into a tighter knot than before. “Whatever, baby,” he said finally, tossing his hand in the air. “Shit, you women go through women’s lib and think y’all own us,” he said teasingly. “You wouldn’t wanna act like that, now would you?”

“Just get to the point,” I hissed.

Roger let out a loud guffaw. “Why, baby? You got somewhere to be?”

We both knew that I didn’t. A blush rose over my cheeks and neck as he leaned in and gave me a more thorough looking-over. “What?”

Roger folded his hands over his chest. “You’re gonna be helping me,” he repeated. “Don’t you wanna help me, baby?”

I sighed. “Yes, Roger. I want to help you.”

He smiled. “Good. That’s the first agreeable thing you’ve said, Sarah.”

The way he said my name made me want to shudder. “This is a little research project,” Roger continued. “You think you can handle that?”

I frowned. Research didn’t sound so bad, but I had a feeling there was a catch. “What?” I looked up at him. “What do I have to do?”

“I’m gonna give you a little list of things, and you’re gonna scout for me.” He handed me a sheaf of paper; the cover page had a large coffee stain on it. “You’re gonna go through this little guide here and then tell me where all of the items are in the store.” He grinned at me. “It’ll be like a little scavenger hunt,” he added. “You think you can handle that?”

I nodded again. “Yeah,” I said after a beat. “That’s not so bad. What else?” A bad feeling was forming in the pit of my stomach. I knew that what I’d be doing would be counted as abetting a crime. But I didn’t have any other choice; I had to do it.

“Tell me some other things, you know, tell me anything that a little birdy might like to hear. Find out where the back room is. Tell me what the employees look like. Tell me how many of them there are.”

I nodded. Each task sounded worse than the previous ones, but I went along numbly. “What are you going to give me?” I asked finally. I winced as I said it and Roger grinned; by finally acknowledging it out loud, I knew that he had me. Hook, line, and sinker.

“I’ll give you five thousand,” Roger said quietly. “Seven if you do a really good job, you got that?”

I blinked. “Wow,” I said uneasily. “Are you sure? That’s a lot of money.” In my head, I tried to calculate how long I could go to jail for something like this. Years, probably. I shuddered. It seemed pointless to do it if I’d get caught. But if I didn’t do it, and I lost my apartment…

“I’m sure, baby,” Roger said, his lascivious grin back in place. “Besides, maybe you can use some of that money to buy back some pictures from me.”

My mouth went dry. “What?”

Roger pulled a second envelope out of his pocket. He opened it and pulled out some snapshots, keeping the pictures facing him. I could only see the Kodak paper on the back. He looked at me coyly. “Wanna see?”

My heart was thudding but I nodded. “Not really,” I said quietly. “But show me anyway.”

Roger did a little twirl and presented me with the photos. I gasped and covered my eyes with my hands. They were all of me, of course, stark naked. I knew them immediately. I’d posed for an amateur photographer when I was first getting desperate about acting. The post had lied; I thought I was going to the set of a B-movie, but really it was just some creep’s house. He’d paid me five hundred dollars to sprawl around on his furniture naked. There hadn’t been enough showers in the world that could have cleansed me of the feeling of knowing I’d lain naked where unimaginable things happened. The worst of the photos showed me masturbating. With Roger holding them in front of me, I felt myself start to shake and cry. The humiliation of confrontation was even worse than the memory of having them taken.

“Don’t cry, baby,” Roger said. He patted me on the shoulder and I pushed his hand away quickly. “I’d say these are only worth a grand or two. Use some of that money you get from me to take charge of them, eh?”

I groaned and stared at him. “You’re a sick fuck,” I said finally. “You’re making me help you, and then blackmailing me for money?”

Roger grinned. “All in a day’s work, baby,” he said cheerfully as he stuffed the pictures back in the envelope.

My heart thudded in my chest and I stared at him. For a moment, he just seemed like a guy trying to make a buck. He didn’t seem creepy, or even that weird. But he seemed dastardly, and I hated him, and I knew that I owed him a lot in return.

“I’ll do it,” I said finally. “But I want the pictures back. Now.”

Roger shook his head. “No good, baby,” he said. “They’re gonna be posted online unless you deliver. That’s part of the incentive.”

Every remotely nice thing that I’d thought about him the moment before suddenly left my brain. I glared. “I hate you,” I spat. “You knew I’d have to say yes, even if I had another choice.” The despair radiating through my body was a new personal low. I had to realize that even if I had come up with another option over the weekend, the naked pictures would have forced me right where Roger wanted me. Angrily, I blinked back tears.

“Don’t take it personally, baby. Trust me, this ain’t nothin’ new. I just need some help here.”

“I said I’d do it and I will.But this is the last time that you’ll bother me. After you give me those pictures back, they’re mine. And you’re on your own.”

Roger rolled his eyes. “You need me, baby,” he said in a low voice. “Remember that. You need me.”

His words haunted me as I walked back to my car. I hated to admit it, but he was more right than he knew.

Chapter Five

Blake

Music was blaring from the bar as I walked up, shoving my hands in my pockets and looking around. Even after a careful search, I didn’t see her anywhere.

“Yo, you lookin’ for someone?” Jimmy had to practically shout in my ear to be heard over the music.

I thought about telling him for a moment, then shook my head. For some reason, I thought it was a better idea to stay quiet.

“Jeanne!” I called. “I haven’t seen her and I want a fuckin’ drink!”

Jimmy laughed and clapped me on the back. “All in good time, brother,” he told me. “We have a pitcher. Come over.” He pointed towards the corner of the back where I saw Red sitting at a table. I nodded

“Be there in a sec,” I told him. “I’m getting a shot first.”

Jimmy let out a burst of laughter, then sauntered back to the table and slid down. I could tell that he was pleasantly drunk; no surprise, but I would have liked to have caught up. After the day I’d had, it only seemed fair.

When I told the other guys about the Aztecs, no one took it seriously. Even Abel, our president, gave me a sidelong glance. “They just wanna scare you,” he told me, cuffing me lightly on the shoulder. “They just wanna think they’re in charge.”

I hadn’t fought back; going against the prez wasn’t something that most of us did lightly. But I wondered if Jimmy had any answers. After all, Abel was his father.

I didn’t recognize the bartender. She was a cute petite girl with a crop of black hair and tattoos all over her arms. She flashed me a smile and I saw that she was adorable, but seemed too high-maintenance. I envisioned the two of us in bed, her clutching the Kama Sutra and barking out commands like a mistress.

“Hey, baby,” she called in a friendly tone. “Can I get you somethin’?”

I shook my head. “Is Sarah around?”

The girl frowned. “Who?”

“Sarah,” I called in a louder voice. I mimed big curves as I talked. “She was built like a brick house,” I said in a joking tone. The girl frowned at me. “Sorry,” I said. “Anyway, red hair. Green eyes. Kind of feisty-looking.”

The girl nodded. Her demeanor towards me had cooled noticeably. “Oh, her,” she said. “Yeah, she got laid off a few days back. Budget cuts and all that.”

That was when I realized the girl was familiar. “Wait, you’re Tony’s older daughter,” I said, feeling like an ass. “I didn’t recognize you.” The only reason I
could
recognize her was from the faded photos clipped to the back of the bar. In them, she gallivanted around, six years younger and with pigtails.

“Yeah,” she said, her face darkening. “That’s me.”

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the crowd. Laid off? Then what the fuck was she doing in a jewelry store?

Something wasn’t right here. I scratched my head as I tried to figure it out. She didn’t seem like the type to stage a grand burglary of a chichi jewelry store. It just didn’t add up.

The next morning, I woke up alone, thankfully, and took a long shower before heading over to Tinder’s. I wasn’t working that day, but I wanted to hang out for a while and see if she’d show up. Sure enough, I’d only been waiting on my bike for about half an hour when she waltzed up, dressed to the nines, and carrying a designer bag.

Frowning, I followed her inside. The guard on duty nodded to me. “Hey, man, what’re you up to? You’re off today, right?”

I nodded. Suddenly, it didn’t seem like a good idea to tell anyone else about my suspicions. “Yeah,” I said. “I just wanted to see if my paycheck came in.”

The guard started laughing. “Blake, you’re dumb as a post,” he told me. “You know payday is Friday, right?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, whatever,” I said. There was a large crowd of people inspecting engagement rings, and Sarah breezed right past them onto the more expensive sets. She was wearing this killer fuchsia silk dress that ended with a slit in the back. I found myself tracing the slit up her back, imagining how delectable her ass would be.
Stop it
, I thought to myself.
This chick might be trouble
.

From a distance, I watched as she leaned over the glass counter and started flirting with one of our clerks. He grinned at her and happily reached inside the case, pulling out a black velvet display glinting with diamonds and emeralds. Stepping close, I pretended to be interested in a watch so I could listen to their conversation.

“This is gorgeous,” Sarah gushed. She looked up at the clerk and fanned herself a little. “I think it’s getting hot in here,” she teased. “Or maybe it’s just the diamonds!”

He laughed politely and removed the necklace from the display backing. “This would be beautiful on you,” he told her. “You want to see?”

Sarah grinned. “Oh, I couldn’t,” she simpered. I rolled my eyes. “But I really want to,” she said in a breathy tone. I practically saw the clerk’s boner rise from where I was standing. “Can you fasten it for me?”

“Sure,” the clerk said with a wolfish smile. I watched as Sarah lifted her hair up in a voluptuous pile on top of her head. She leaned over and winked at the clerk, making him blush. After their little display was over, I walked over and looked down into the case.

“That’s beautiful,” I told Sarah. “But don’t you think emeralds would set off your dress?”

When she recognized me, a hot flush spread over her face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. Her voice faltered once and I smiled evenly, like I hadn’t even noticed. “This is the most beautiful thing I’ve seen,” she said, trailing her hand over the diamonds. “Just like something my mother used to have.” She looked up at me and it was clear that she wasn’t going to reference the other night. I sighed.

“Are you shopping for your mother?” I smiled at her. “That’s so sweet of you.”

She blushed again and stammered when she opened her mouth. “No, no. I’m just looking today.”

The clerk behind the counter looked thoroughly confused. “Ma’am, is there something else you’d like to see? Can I show you any of our other pieces?”

Sarah shook her head more emphatically than she needed to. “No,” she chirped. “I’m fine.”

“Can I walk you out?” I turned to her.

She bit her lip. “Sure,” she said carefully, a touch of her old confidence coming back. “Of course you can.”

I extended my arm and she looped hers through, resting her pale fingers on my skin. When she touched me, a bolt of desire shot through my loins. It was tempting to just hike up her skirt and take her right then and there, fogging up the glass display cases with the heat from our bodies.

Sarah tilted her head up towards mine. Her green eyes sparkled in the sun. “What are you doing here today?” she asked pleasantly. “It’s your day off,” she added.

I nodded. “It is, but sometimes I like to stop in and make sure everything’s going well. You know. Old habit.”

She bit her lip. “Sure,” she said. “Well, I have to be going.” She mimed a yawn and stretched her arms high over her head. Her breasts pushed at the front of her silk dress like melons and I felt my cock twitch as I thought about burying my face in her cleavage. “I have a long shift ahead of me tonight.”

I looked at her. Her face gave no indication she was lying; was it possible that they hadn’t told her about laying her off yet? But even if they hadn’t, it didn’t seem likely that a girl like her would be haunting a jewelry store for two days in a row. It wasn’t as though she’d shown up and asked for an application.

“I bet,” I said carefully. “So you like tending bar?”

She wrinkled her nose.
Damn, she’s a good liar
, I thought. I was almost awed. “It’s okay,” she said, pursing her plump lips. “It’s not really ideal.”

I looked down at her. “No, I wouldn’t think so,” I said. There was a beat of silent awkwardness between us. “Well, I have to get going. Bye, Sarah.”

She nodded. “Bye,” she called out.

I was going to offer her a ride, but first I wanted to see what she’d do. She walked away and then turned around about fifty feet later. When she saw that I was watching her, she waved again. The next time she looked around, I saw that she was checking the street to cross. She snuck one final glance back in my direction. She was far enough away that I couldn’t read her face, but it looked like irritation and panic.

Sarah walked up to the bus station and sat down on the bench. Shaking my head, I got on my bike and drove off. Something very weird was going on here, and I was starting to think that maybe she really was involved in something bad.