Hunted (Dauntless MC Book 1) (15 page)

Luke sat at his desk and twirled the expensive pen he held between his fingers. He had one thing on his mind and that was how to discredit Talon or, better yet, have his ass imprisoned for life.

He was disgusted with the fact that those losers had weaseled their way into the ICE agency’s good graces. How could they be so stupid as to let that biker chick out of charges being pressed against her? What was it going to take? The girl had killed a man! There had to be a way to take Talon down. Grace was so enamored with him that talking to her did Luke no good.

He picked up the phone and dialed a number he had resisted dialing up until this point. Sometimes the only way to fight fire was with more fire.

“Hello,” a gruff voiced answered on the other end of the line. Luke wasted no time making his needs known.

“This is the lawyer who got your ass off on those charges of theft back when you were in jail with Talon.”

A loud burp travelled through the phone line.

How disgusting,
Luke thought as he cringed.

“I hate that motherfucker. He stopped me from beating that rich ass white boy’s ass when we were in the clinker together. That dude named Bill Covington who got that book wrote about him called
Don’t Judge a Book
, or some such shit. I mean, really, he acts all high and mighty because he’s in that motorcycle club. I would like to catch him away from that group of boys and see how tough he is then.”

Your fat ass wouldn’t stand a chance if you did. I hate having to resort to getting a loser’s help,
Luke thought to himself. This guy had no idea how Luke really felt about him.

Another belch sounded over the line and Luke decided to get this over with before he slipped and said something he didn’t want to.

“Look, I’ve got a job for you. Meet me at the club downtown where we met before so we can talk.”

“Yeah, I’ll be there.”

“You better be or I won’t be there the next time you get your fat ass in trouble.”

He hung up before the man had the chance to belch again. He’d heard enough.

Talon took the chance to work on his bike while Grace was at her office. He kept his FLHX Street Glide in top running condition. It was the love of his life. The only things he loved more than that bike were the club and Grace. He, above all people, knew that those who rode in cages never kept their eyes open for bikers and having his bike in top running condition was important for not only the pride he took in the bike, but safety as well. A bike in top running condition could get you out of the way of motorists not paying attention to the road.

They had lost one of their guys to a woman who had been texting while driving five years ago and it had just about crushed the club. The irony of it all was that the bitch had gotten off on all charges and her only punishment had been six months of probation. The club had taken care of the member’s old lady who was pregnant at the time he was killed. She still lived at the compound. Nothing could heal a heart that had broken the way hers had but the club made damn sure she was taken care of financially. They took care of all of her living expenses and though they had encouraged her to get a new old man, she just couldn’t do it.

Talon spoke to Tiny and Raven as he changed the oil and brake fluid on his Street Glide.

“I’m glad to see Red and Scooter together. That girl turned out to be a real badass, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, she’s my kind of chick. I would definitely want that badass bitch on my side if I had a run in with somebody,” Raven answered.

“Who the fuck would have thought she would have ended up getting abducted alongside an ICE agent?” Talon shook his head in disbelief.

“Oh, the irony of it all… That not only got Derrick off your ass, Talon, it secured us having an insider on the other side of the law… and
that
is priceless.” Tiny was shaking his head, still baffled by the
irony
of it all.

“I’m just glad he’s off my ass and all my charges were dropped. Having a lawyer for the club works out well too, though that isn’t why I’m with her.” Talon wanted to be sure to reiterate that fact. He didn’t want anyone thinking he was with his old lady for any other reason than he loved her.

“When are you going to marry her?” Raven joked.

“She won’t marry me. She’s too damn independent.”

“You always have liked those strong, professional women. That’s what you get with one of those type of women, Talon.”

“Oh, she’s my property. I can assure you of that and no piece of paper is going to change it.”

Luke made his way into the downtown yuppie bar and grabbed a drink. He made his way over to a darkened table for two reasons: he didn’t want to be seen with this loser he had to resort to calling, and he didn’t want anyone linking him to the hit he was putting out on Talon.

He would have used a more reputable hit man if he could have but the club had close ties to Miller who was the best in the business. If he had made the mistake of soliciting Miller to kill Talon, Miller would have killed Luke for even trying to put out a hit on his brother. Rumor had it that those two were close and Luke wasn’t about to have this shit he was cooking up backfire on him.

He looked up and saw the unkempt slob at the bar and waved him over. He could remember specifically telling him to wear something decent and, yet, here he was, in all his glory, with his gut and plumber’s crack hanging out for the world to see.

I’ll kill him with my bare hands if he doesn’t get this job right.

He strode over, talking loudly like they were old friends. “Hey, Lawyer, how you doing?”

“Sit down!” Luke’s voice came out like a disgusted growl.

“You don’t have to be rude,” the man sulked.

“I don’t want anyone seeing us together.”

“What? I’m not good enough for you and your country club friends?”

“That isn’t it at all,” Luke lied. “I don’t want it coming back later to bite us in the ass.”

“Oh yeah, that’s smart.” He nodded his head in agreement.

“Look…” Luke started his statement as he removed an envelope thick with money and slid it over in the man’s direction. “Not so fast,” he jerked back when the man went to grab it. “This is five thousand dollars now and five when you finish the job.”

“How do you want him killed?”

“I don’t give a fuck. Cut the brake lines on his bike for all I care.”

“You may be on to something there.”

“Like I said, I don’t give a fuck… just get rid of him.”

“You do realize I’m at work don’t you?” Grace sat at her desk trying to concentrate on the files in front of her.

“Take it off of the fucking speaker and you won’t have to worry about censoring my call. I’m NSFW and you should know that by now.”

“I learned long ago that you’re not safe for work, Talon.”

“Well, be ready to leave at five because today is the day you go for a ride on the back of my bike.”

“What am I supposed to do with my car?”

“Leave it in the parking garage and we’ll come back for it later before we head back to the club.”

“I can’t sleep at the compound every night.”

“Then sleep at the compound tonight and I’ll sleep at your place tomorrow. Besides, you’ll sleep where I tell you to, girl.”

“You’re relentless. You think I need to be with you every night?”

“I think I need to fuck you every night. That hot, sweet, little pussy of yours just feels like home, girl.”

“You’re right, you are NSFW.”

“I told you.”

“Okay, I’ll be ready by five to join you on your motorcycle. Be careful with me though. I’m precious cargo.”

“Yes, you are, young lady. Yes, you are.”

Grace was glad she had taken the phone off of speaker when she looked up and saw Luke eavesdropping.

What is it with this guy?

“What can I help you with, Luke?”

“You can’t go on a motorcycle ride with him, Grace!”

Grace shook her head taken aback by his statement that sounded more like a command to her.

“Luke, this has gone far enough. I’m not worried about what people think of me being with Talon.”

“It isn’t safe!”

“Oh my gosh, I can assure you that I’m far safer in Talon’s hands than I am anywhere else. If he is anything at all, he is a diligent protector.”

“Motorcycles are dangerous, Grace.”

“Not that I owe you any explanations, but I’m going on this bike ride.” For added measure, she stressed, “With my boyfriend.”

It took all Luke had to hide the panic he was feeling as he turned away. Not saying anything else, he quickly made his way into his office. He had to cancel this hit. He had never counted on putting Grace in danger and he knew in his gut that dumbass would use his idea of cutting Talon’s brake line. He could only hope the fact that getting to his bike was not an easy feat had worked in his favor.

Luke would never forgive himself if Grace got killed on the back of that bike because of him. Luke shut his office door and picked up the phone to dial the man he had hired to kill Talon. All he got was an answering machine that he left a hurried message on. “Clive, pick up the damn phone. Okay then, call me as soon as you get this!”

No, Luke would never forgive himself if he caused the death of the woman he loved.