Hunted (Dauntless MC Book 1) (2 page)

Grace sat in her car giving herself the same pep talk she had given herself a hundred other times. It took a certain kind of mindset to go into a correctional facility. The inmate she was going to visit was currently being held in the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections—jail. If she didn’t get his ass out of the charges brought against him, he’d be going to prison. She wanted to avoid that or things were going to be a hell of a lot harder on both the inmate and her.

After she checked her make-up and gave herself another quick pep talk in the mirror, she made her way towards the jail. She could feel her apprehension, not from fear of the inmates, but from the thought of being locked in a room and out of control.

She wished she had her phone, her purse, or something, anything, to hug or hold. She felt bare and naked for some odd reason, as if she needed a type of security blanket. Until this guy decided he wanted her to work his case, she wouldn’t even be permitted to take her briefcase in.

She could feel eyes on her before she even entered the correctional facility and knew from previous experience that it was the voyeuristic eyes of a guard watching through a camera. Someone was sitting behind a desk and watching her every move on a monitor. A chill coursed through her at the thought of being watched against her will. It was odd to be affected that way when the people watching were supposed to be the good guys…

She made her way to the window and was pulled from her daydream by an authoritative female voice.

“Empty your pockets, ma’am. No cell phones, jewelry, or personal items.”

“Oh, I left everything in my car.” Grace smiled but the gesture wasn’t reciprocated by the no nonsense guard.

Once again, a chill went through her as she was directed down a hallway and her nerves made her jump when she heard the screech of the large metal door clang closed behind her. She was led to another window where she was greeted with the same demeanor but on a different female guard. This one had the same lack of smile but was smacking on gum and it was more than evident to Grace that these guards were just going through the motions.

“Who are you here to see, ma’am?” Grace resisted the urge to become irritated with the guard’s gum smacking. For some reason, the sound seemed to become more magnified and she was getting annoyed. Grace knew it was due to her lack of control and the fact that she was clueless about the client she would be addressing today. She would feel much more comfortable when she knew that she had secured his case and she became more familiar with him as a client. She was walking into this case blind and she didn’t like it.

“And… I need to see an ID.”

Grace gave her the name of the gentleman she hoped she would be representing in court and handed her the one thing she had been permitted to enter with: her driver’s license.

“I’m here to see Tate Williams.”

She felt like a fish out of water as all eyes scanned her. She was the only one dressed in business work attire and it was obvious she was either someone’s lawyer or social worker.

Grace made her way to the metal table and eyed the man she hoped would soon be her client. She was immediately taken aback by what she saw when the man sitting at the table rose upon her entrance. He was absolutely massive and she had to strain her neck just to look him in the eyes. He was clearly an American Indian, complete with a braid that went all the way down his back. His black eyes and creamed coffee colored skin immediately drew her in. His wrists were bound in chained manacles and she wondered if the guards cuffed him due to fear. He was huge and all of it was muscle; the man exuded power. He was, in fact, the most beautiful specimen of man she had ever encountered. She shook off the surprise and firmly got her professional persona in place. She was always professional with her clients, no matter the circumstance, and she refused to be shaken.

She found herself wishing she had her briefcase to open and shift papers and documents around as a way to vent some of her nervous energy. It was taking all she had to keep her demeanor set in professional mode and it would be much easier if she had some sort of shield. Instead, she found herself using the only distraction that she had on her—the glasses she was wearing. She pushed them up on her nose and she began speaking. What he said only threw her more off of her game.

“Tate…”

“My name is Talon.”

“Excuse me?”

He leaned in as if he was sharing a secret with her and huskily whispered, “I go by Talon.”

“Okay… Mr. Talon.”

“Not Mr. Talon, just Talon.”

“Okay, Sir.”

His eyes pierced through her as he chuckled softly. She needed to get control of this meeting. He was making her nervous and she didn’t get nervous when she was working with clients. Talon was anything but the normal client though, and it wasn’t taking her long to discover that fact…

The cold chain manacled to Talon’s wrists clinked against the metal as he shifted to try and hide the raging hard on this little, blonde Barbie doll sitting in front of him gave him. He just knew, at any second, she was going to notice his tented orange coveralls and he was glad for the table that shielded her view from his hard cock and prevented her from seeing it. This little lady was everything he had a weakness for—the exact opposite of him. She was light to his dark; her hair color, skin tone, and eye color were everything he craved in a woman. They say you’re always drawn to your opposite in coloring. All he knew was that he damn sure was drawn to this long, tall drink of water sitting in front of him.

He licked his lips and, starting at the top of her pinned up blonde hair, began to size her up. He resisted the urge to tuck a wisp of it that had fallen around her face back behind her ear. He made his way down to her blue eyes and the black-framed glasses she kept toying with out of nervousness. Her skin looked like peaches and cream and he allowed his eyes to move down to her full, pink lips. His cock jumped as he tried in vain to push away thoughts of what those plump, little, pink lips would look like wrapped around him. His eyes scanned down to her chest and the white button up shirt she was wearing under her pinstripe suit that couldn’t conceal the rash of nervousness that had sprung up. He made his way down to her perfectly manicured hand that was nervously flicking the one thing she had been allowed to bring in—her license.

“Mr. Talon?”

He allowed his eyes to slowly make their way back up to her face without even trying to conceal the fact that he was checking her out.

“The name’s Talon. I thought we’d already settled that. Take your glasses off, please.”

“Excuse me.”

He leaned in and looked her directly in the eye. “Ma’am, I’m certain as educated as you are that you not only heard, but understood, what I said. Take. Off. The. Glasses.”

“Excuse me, I don’t understand. I need my glasses to see.”

“And I need to be able to see your eyes to know you aren’t lying to me. My house, my rules, lawyer lady.”

He watched her hand tremble as she removed the glasses. Once again, his cock jumped when he observed he had her right where he wanted her—out of control…

Grace shifted in her chair to gain her bearings. The confidence and power this man exuded was very distracting and it was going to take all of her concentration to gain control over this visit.

“Mr. Talon, we only have an allotted amount of time for a visit and I would much rather it be spent on your defense. I’m a lawyer; of course I lie. I’ll do whatever it takes to win a case but I can’t do anything until you agree to let me defend you.”

“I’m nobody’s charity case, sweetie.”

“And I’m nobody’s sweetie. Now that we have that straightened out, tell me you’ll hire me.”

“Look, lady, if you need to save the world to be able to sleep at night, that’s got nothin’ to do with me.”

This time, Grace leaned in and glared. “Don’t flatter yourself, Mr. Talon. This isn’t about you. This is about a dirty cop who is taking money on the side and harassing those who won’t pay. I’ve done my homework and I know the officer in question is on the take. I also know when he confronted your motorcycle club and was denied payoff, he started going after members. Now, either you’re going to hire me pro bono, or I’m going to get up, walk out of here, and find someone else with enough cohones to take this guy down. What is it going to be,
Mr. Talon?
”

She ignored the dark shadow that crossed over his face as he confirmed that he would hire her.

“Guard, I’m ready to go.” She never removed her eyes from the powerful mass of man seated in front of her until she got up and made her way to the cell door. She could feel his eyes glaring at her backside in a mixture of anger and lust. She just kept telling herself in her head, over and over, not to show her real feelings. This guy intimidated the hell out of her but the only thing that was going speak to a man of his nature was guts—guts to do whatever it would take to get him off the hook and keep him out of jail. She looked back over her shoulder and simply stated, “I’ll see you tomorrow in court.” All she heard in response was a low, sinister chuckle and though her hackles rose, she straightened her back with confidence and made her way out of the room. Her newest client might scare the shit out of her, but she had no intention of revealing that fact to him.

Grace used the short jaunt from the downtown jail to her law office, conveniently located in the same area, to get her head wrapped around what just happened. The intimidating client had almost seemed amused with her confrontation of him.

Though the outburst had partly been due to the fact that he was being offered help and taking it as a slight, it was only half of the reason she had reacted the way she had. The other half had been an attempt, on her behalf, to gain some kind of control over the enigma of a man she was dealing with. She wasn’t used to being around people who were as intense as Mr. Talon. She would certainly make it a point to be on top of her game the next time they met.

With her phone at her ear and her briefcase and coffee in tow, she made her way into her office. It felt good to be back in her own familiar territory and a wave of relief washed over her. She looked up when she heard one of the other lawyers with her firm enter her office shortly after her. She was barely seated behind her desk before he started in on her. Unfortunately, she could see what kind of day it was going to be already so she did what she always did on fucked up days like this. She put it on coast and went through the motions. She had learned how to turn off her emotions a long time ago. Sadly, in her line of work, it’s the best recourse because anything else is seen as weakness.

“Out saving the world again?”

“Some of us choose to use our monetary gain to help those less fortunate rather than spending it on two thousand dollar suits.” She answered the man standing in the doorway without missing a beat.

“Now that is funny.”

She looked up at the handsome, sandy blonde haired lawyer standing in front of her desk. She was certain he must have more than his fair share of female company due to his looks and bank account and, yet, here he was, trying to provoke her. She leaned back in her chair, removed her glasses, and gave him an impatient look. She started toying with a pen as she eyed her fellow lawyer.

“And what does that mean, Luke?”

“Talon is the fucking Treasurer for the motorcycle club,
Dauntless
. That’s a major deal, sweetie, and it is a high position in the hierarchy of MC clubs. I bet you five bucks he got offended when you offered to take his case pro bono.”

Now
that
got her attention. “Yes… he did.”

“They’ve got more fucking money than this law firm does. I can assure you that Talon is nobody’s charity case. Still want to save the world, Grace?”

“Still want to be a self-absorbed bastard, Luke?”

She watched as he put his hands in his pockets, rocked back on his heels, and smirked. “That’s why I like you,
Gracie
. You’ve got spunk.”

“Gosh, Luke, that’s what I’ve always wanted—your approval. Now if that’s all, I have work to do. Oh, and by the way, the name is Grace.”

He turned to make his way to the door but not before he looked over his shoulder and issued her a warning. “Be careful, Grace. You’re in the big leagues now. Those guys don’t play and you may just be getting more than you’ve bargained for.”

Though she tried to act like his words didn’t bother her, there was a part of her that knew what he was saying was true. Mr. Talon was a very dangerous man…