BAD BOY ROMANCE: DIESEL: Contemporary Bad Boy Biker MC Romance (Box Set) (New Adult Sports Romance Short Stories Boxset) (20 page)

“Niall, this is Sinclair.  Sinclair, please meet Niall; he’ll be working with you on what I’ve requested.”

Sinclair moved her green eyes nervously to Niall.  She didn’t want to work with anyone!  She was only supposed to be there to give Enrique all the information she had on Joseph, that’s it!

“Uh…I didn’t realize I would be “working” on anything.”  She made quotation marks in the air, her voice low and unsure.  Niall could smell fear coming off of her and he supposed Enrique could as well.  His slow spreading smile confirmed it.  His kind loved fear.  It worked like an aphrodisiac for someone like him. 

“I’m sorry you misunderstood.  You will lead Niall to Joseph, work with him in whatever capacity he desires, then when Joseph has been brought to me…”  He shrugged casually.  “I’ll dismiss charges against you.” 

“And the bail money my mother posted?  I mean she put her
house
up.”

“She will be more than compensated for her trouble.”

Sinclair glanced at Niall again.  He almost felt sorry for her.  She was trapped; damned if she did and damned if she didn’t.  She nodded slowly. 

“Alright.” 

Enrique clapped his hands together once.  “Wonderful!”  He stood and handed Niall an envelope sized manila envelope.  It was thick and barely able to contain what was inside.  Niall looked inside and forced his eyes to not widen.  He had no idea how much cash was in there, but it was more than enough to get him back home.  In style. 

“That’s half of your retainer and money you may need for expenses.”  Enrique waved his hand carelessly.  “You’ll receive the rest of the retainer when I have Joseph Nash Overman standing in front of me, and I have what he took from me back.” 

Niall nodded and stood as well.  He could see the woman slowly rise, unsure of what she should do.  

“Do I…”  Her voice trailed off.

Enrique smiled.  “You will stay with Niall until I’m satisfied with the outcome.”

Under normal circumstances Niall would have vehemently protested such an arrangement, but this wasn’t normal circumstances, and having his bounty by his side was just killing two birds with one stone. 

Sinclair nodded once and rested her green eyed stare on Niall.  He stared back impassively. 

“Let’s go.” 

Sinclair felt her stomach tighten.  What a mess! 

The warm air had a salty taste as she licked her lips.  It was something she had never quite gotten used to living in Palm Beach.  What had she been thinking coming here anyway?  It had been two years previous, a trip on a whim.  Sinclair had learned a hard lesson: never think an internet romance will ever be as good in person as the lies promised over Wi-Fi. 

“Where’s your vehicle?”

“Down the street.” 

Sinclair followed Niall in silence.  He had a look about him she couldn’t quite name.  He wasn’t overly tall, 5’10” maybe, and his frame was muscular enough but lithe.  He moved with a silent feline grace which she found rather sexy.  Sinclair closed her eyes on the thought.  This was no time to indulge in romantic fantasies over strangers. 

When Niall walked faster as they approached a black Suburban, it all made sense.  Law enforcement.  He had the look and attitude of someone in law enforcement. 

Niall waited patiently for her to catch up, and held the passenger door open for her before slamming it shut behind her.  Sinclair looked nervously at the police scanner mounted just below a CB radio.  A blue light that could be shoved onto the dash was thrown carelessly on the floor board. 

Niall sighed and twisted slightly in his seat to look at her.  Sinclair darted her eyes to him before staring straight ahead. 

“You know there’s a bounty out for you, right?”

Sinclair worked her mouth before speaking.  “You’re a cop right?”

“No, I’m a bounty hunter.”

Her eyes darted back and stayed fixed in a sidelong glare. 

“So this was a setup?”

“No.  Enrique wasn’t lying.”  Niall shoved the key in the ignition and started the truck.  “This was coincidence.” 

“How fortuitous for you.”  She said and fixed her gaze back on the windshield. 

The grin that ran across Niall’s lips was both unexpected and out of character.  He liked this woman.  He had no idea why, but there was something there that made him want to know more. 
Dangerous
. 

“Let’s get something to eat, and you can tell me all about Joseph Overman.”  

Sinclair looked at her hands clasped loosely in her lap.  “I didn’t rob Enrique.” 

“You were just there to drive the getaway car.”  Niall replied dryly. 

“No…I mean yes…but I didn’t know that’s what it was.  He just said he needed to take care of something for Mr. Arrays.”

“You didn’t find it odd that
Mr. Arrays
wasn’t home?”

“No.  From what I understand, he’s powerful and successful.  That equates to busy, right?  It wasn’t odd for him to not be home.” 

“How many times had you been there?”

Sinclair shrugged.  “A couple before that night.  I never got out of the car, though.  I was just there to pick him up.” 

Niall pulled into the parking lot of a small Cuban restaurant and got out.  He waited for Sinclair to get out as well and follow him inside.  The place was crammed and colorful, with a cracked linoleum floor.  The smell made Niall’s mouth water. 

“I hope you like Cuban cuisine.”

“It’s one of my favorites actually.” 

They walked to the counter and scanned the overhead menu.  A bored young woman with a black ponytail watched them while popping the gum in her mouth. 

“Picadillo over rice and a coke.” 

The woman looked to Sinclair. 

“Side of plantains and an empanada.”  Sinclair requested quietly.

“Coke?”

“Do you have Sprite?”

“Sure.”  The bored girl said and meandered to the kitchen, where they could hear her giving the order in rapid Spanish.  She came back and motioned towards an empty table with her head.  “Go sit.”

The room had maybe a dozen small tables with two chairs each.  Niall was happy there was only one other couple there, and they were elderly at that.  The same girl brought two plastic glasses filled with ice and the respective cans of drink.  She laid straws on the table with two rolled sets of plastic ware.

Niall watched Sinclair and wondered if her lack of eye contact was a usual thing or something just reserved for strangers.  She seemed to be defeated and a little broken. 

“Why did you do it?”

“What?”

“Take the rap?”

“Because I was stupid.”

Niall was mesmerized with her eyes.  They were a bottle green, deeply set and wide apart.  The edges tilted upward slightly accentuated by her heavily applied liquid eyeliner.  The makeup reminded him of a mask. 

“Do you wear contacts?”

Sinclair looked confused just before her brow furrowed.  “Contacts?”

“Your eyes…they’re very bright.”

A slow frown tugged the edges of her lips downward.  “No, I don’t wear contacts.” 

Niall nodded, the trance he was being sucked into diminishing slightly.  It was his turn to look away. 

“So why did you really?”

Sinclair sighed.  “I thought I could help him, and I was a little flustered at the time.  I mean the alarm was blaring, and he just took off on foot without so much as a goodbye, kiss my ass, or anything!”  Her face contorted in anger.  “But, when the cops showed up and handcuffed me…I don’t know…I just thought there could be a chance to sort it all out.”

Niall stared at her without speaking.  The food arrived and he suddenly was ravenous.  Maybe it was more that he didn’t know what to say and the food could be a good excuse to not say anything. 

Sinclair was still picking at her food delicately when Niall shoveled the last forkful in.  She had barely eaten anything. 

“What’s wrong?  You don’t like it?”

“I do.  I just don’t have much of an appetite right now.” 

“I’ll get you a box or something then.” 

Niall paid for the food and left a reluctant dollar in the tip jar.  When he turned back to the table, Sinclair was gone.  He let out a curse, drawing a disapproving stare from the elderly couple and ran out of the restaurant.  He looked both ways up and down the sidewalk before turning back to see Sinclair staring at him strangely while standing by the table.

Niall took a deep breath and attempted a casual stride back in.  The gum popping girl finally showed some emotion; she was grinning as she held the Styrofoam box out to him. 
Pop
Pop
went the gum and she giggled.

“You honestly thought I had left?”

Niall didn’t answer, instead he concentrated on putting her uneaten food in the empty container.

Sinclair blew air threw her nose.  “Have you looked at me?  How fast and how far could I have ran?”

“Where were you?”

“Uh…the
bathroom
?”

“Oh.”  Niall felt like a fool, but at the same he didn’t.  He had been a bounty hunter for the past nine years.  He knew the tricks.  All the tricks.

Niall drove to his apartment in silence.  Sinclair kept her head turned to the passenger window.  When she finally spoke, her voice was soft and weary. 

“I need to go to my apartment and get a few things if I’m going to need to stay with you.” 

“Where is it?”  Niall bit down on the irritation.  She could have told him before they left the restaurant. 

“Village Crossing.”

“Oh ok.  That’s fairly close to me.” 

“Where are you at?”

“Pine Ridge.”

Sinclair simply nodded and resumed her inspection out the passenger window.  She had no idea how she would explain all of this to Tina.

Tina stared up at Niall nervously pushing her glasses back up her nose even if they weren’t slipping.  She opened and closed her mouth enough times that Niall grew weary of it.

“
What?
”

Tina shrugged and looked away.  “Nothing.  I mean…I just know Sinclair has never mentioned you to me…and I’m her
best
friend.  You certainly haven’t ever been here.” 

“That’s right I haven’t ever been here.  And why would she mention me since she just met me tonight.”

Tina’s face fell, and her eyes belied the trap she had been trying to set.

Niall took an intimidating step towards her.  “See, if she were your
best friend
, you wouldn’t have any reason to think she was lying, right?  And this crap would be one outlandish story if it were a lie.”

Tina let her arms drop defeated.  “Truth is stranger than fiction?”

“You’ve got that right.” 

Sinclair came back in the room, an overnight bag in her left hand and a purse in her right.  Niall thought she looked cute in denim capris with little white tennis shoes on her feet, the edge of baby pink socks barely visible above the edge of the shoes.  Her pink sleeveless blouse was unbuttoned just far enough to give him a teasing glance of cleavage.  He was glad to see that she wasn’t the type of woman to use breasts her size to her advantage.  He shuddered at the thought of a previous human bounty who had to have been a triple D or larger, and she had practically tried to smother him with her breasts, handcuffed behind the back and all. 

“Ready?”  Sinclair asked, her voice thin. 

“Yeah, let’s go.” 

Tina grabbed onto Sinclair.  “Please be safe.”  She whispered. 

“I will, kid.  Just make sure if my mother calls that you tell her I’m fine and I’ll call her as soon as I can.  If I call you, it will be on your cell.”

“There won’t be any calls.”  Niall said sternly from the door.

“Why not?”  Sinclair placed a hand on one hip.  “Just because I have to do this, doesn’t make me your prisoner!” 

“No, but we play by my rules.”  He stepped towards her, causing Tina and Sinclair to step back together.  “Do you realize what type of man Enrique Arrays is?”

Sinclair’s eyes darted across his face.  “A dangerous one?”

“More dangerous than you can imagine.”

Sinclair silently picked up her bag and followed him through the door.  She heard Tina sniff as the door shut quietly behind them. 

Niall’s apartment was not what Sinclair expected.  She really didn’t know what she had expected to begin with, but it wasn’t the rustic looking apartment that she walked into.  He had a tapestry which looked like it was made from quilt pieces hanging on the wall behind the high table with two bar stool style chairs.  The tapestry was in four parts: the first of a mother black bear with two cubs, the second was an eagle in flight, the third a buck and his doe in the shaded sanctuary of the forest, and the final piece was of snow caped mountains looking over a stream and a white covered field.  The table was a deep mahogany.