Jack of Hearts (Desert Sons MC Book 1) (10 page)

“But there is more than that. What about your hog? Or your wallet. Why are you buying me clothes? Why haven’t you tossed my ass out on the street? That’s what anyone else would have done. Or turned me over to the cops. Or worse.”

Jack stared at Tina.
Good questions all
, he thought. “I don’t know. Does it matter? I like you. I would like to see you … get up on your feet.”

“Jack, you don’t know me. I’m a fuck-up. I’ve always been a fuck-up. I steal cars and break into people’s homes. I pulled a gun on a woman and her two kids! Jack, I’m a fucking
ex-con!
Why should you give a shit about me? Nobody else ever has!”

“I’m not everybody else.”

“I know! But why?” she cried plaintively.

“Because I like you. I like the fact that you are tough and resilient and don’t take any shit off of people. The night you broke in and sassed Ms. Jeep, whatever the fuck her name was, I had to look away so you wouldn’t see me smile. You didn’t know what was going to happen, but you were still full of piss and vinegar. Then you told me about the gun, and how you wanted me to have it so when you took what was coming to you I wouldn’t find it. I remember thinking how you looked like a dog that had been kicked all the time. I guess I felt sorry for you. Everyone deserves a second chance, Tina.”

“Not me.”

“Yes, Tina, even you.”

“Why?”

“What’s your name? Your full name? I don’t even know your last name. And how old are you?”

“What?” she asked, momentarily thrown off by his questions. “Tina Louise Harris … and twenty-four. Why?”

“Okay, Tina Louise Harris, not everything is always as it seems. I don’t think you are as bad as you act like you are. I think you are mostly just a woman that has been dealt a tough hand in life and she has made the best of it she could.”

She was quiet for a long time. “Thank you, Jack.”

Jack took a leap of faith. “So the question is, what would you give to start over again with a clean slate?”

“Anything.”

“Anything?”

“Well … almost anything. I don’t think I could kill anyone.”

Jack picked up his fork and knife, stabbed a piece of meat, and placed it on her plate. He pointed at her plate with the fork. “Eat. We have some things to discuss after dinner.”

CHAPTER NINE

Dinner done and dishes in the washer, Tina sat in one of Jack’s two easy chairs. She hadn’t asked any questions, but she had wondered all through the meal what Jack wanted to talk to her about. He joined her, handing her another glass of wine as he sat in the other chair.

“What do you think the Sons do?” he asked, coming right to the point.

“I don’t know. You said you sold cars. Seth and Marshall work at the Harley Davidson dealership. Nic said she worked at the DMV, and Michelle … err … I forget what she said she did.”

“She works at Walmart as a store manager,” Jack reminded her. “But there is also Rog, Roger, who drives a truck, and Greg and Karen and Steve, and all the others.” He took a deep breath, summoning his courage. “But there is another thing we all have in common, besides being members of the Desert Sons.”

“What’s that?” she asked when he didn’t continue.

“I’m going to tell you something, and if you repeat it I will deny to my last breath that I ever said it, and I will ruin you. Do you understand what I’m saying? This is just between us.”

She nodded and wondered what she had become involved in as a cold chill passed through her.

“We’re also thieves. Just as you are. We steal cars. Well, I steal them. The others, they help move them.”

“You steal cars?” Tina repeated, her disbelief clear in her voice.

“That’s right. The BMW and Jag out there? Those are waiting for customer pickup. We steal them, change the VIN numbers, get the paperwork legal, and sell them on.”

She stared at him a moment. “Bullshit. What game are you playing?”

Jack smiled. “No game.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Want to see?”

“Yeah.”

“I tell you what. I bet I can open any one of those cars faster than you can.”

“Oh? What’s the stakes?”

“If I win, you have to spend the night with me tonight.”

Tina grinned. She might let him win for that. “And if I win?”

“What do you want? How about I buy you a bus ticket tomorrow to wherever you want to go and you walk away free and clear,” Jack offered.

“I want something else.”

“What?”

“If I win, you have to spend the night with me, and you have to fix me breakfast in bed tomorrow.”

“Pretty high stakes,” he teased.

“What are ya? Chicken?” she teased in return.

“You’re on.”

“You have tools?”

“I do,” he confirmed.

“You’ll let me use your tools, right?”

“Fairs fair.”

“Push the green button to start the clock, the red to stop it,” Jack said, handing Tina his cell. “Don’t you sandbag me,” he warned.

She grinned. “I won’t need to.”

Tina had looked over his toolkit and agreed that his tools would work for her. The bag was unzipped but sitting on the floor. “Go!” Tina barked, starting the clock. Twenty-eight seconds later, the BMW was unlocked. She turned the phone around so he could see.

“Not bad,” he said, satisfied with his time.

“Pfft. I can half that.”

“This ain’t a Honda, kid,” Jack said with a smile as he slammed the door and locked it. “And don’t forget, if you scratch it, it’s a fifteen-second penalty.”

“We didn’t agree to that!” she protested.

“Yeah, well, I just made it up. I didn’t scratch it, so I can do that.”

“You cheatin’ asshole!” She grinned. “Okay, fine. I’ll still whip your ass.”

“In your own time.”

“Go!” she called again, a fraction of a second after she started bending down to pull the shim out of the bag. “What’s my time?” she called the moment the locks clicked.

“Let’s see if you scratched it, first,” he said holding the cell so she couldn’t see the time. “Is that a scratch?” he asked, minutely examining the area where the shim had slid between the door frame and the car roof.

“What?” she squawked as she looked for herself. “There’s no scratch! I beat you, didn’t I?” She grinned. The BMW was harder to open than a typical Honda, but she was still pretty quick.

“I don’t know. That looks like a scratch to me.”

“What’s my time?” she asked, trying to turn the cell so she could see.

He held the cell above his head where she had no hope of reaching it. “I really think that is a scratch.”

“There’s no fucking scratch! What was my time?” she exclaimed as she tried to jump up and get the phone.

He grinned and turned the phone toward her so she could see. Thirty-two seconds.

“Huh-uh! You cheated me!”

“Nope. That’s the time.”

“Well… shit!”

“Actually, that’s pretty fast. European cars are tough.”

“Yeah, but I was looking forward to you spending the night with me. And breakfast in bed.”

“How about you spend the night with me and we talk about what to do in the morning.”

Tina grinned. “Okay. I guess that works for me.” But then she sobered. She had gotten carried away in the excitement of the competition. “Why are you telling me this, Jack?”

“I’m offering you a way out. A new start.”

“How?”

“Do I have your word that what I’m about to tell you goes no farther than this warehouse?”

“Yes, Jack.”

“Have you heard of the
Cars as Art
exhibit that is coming to town?”

“No. What about it?”

“It is a traveling show of about thirty classic cars. It is on tour around the country.”

“Okay … so?”

“There are six cars in the show, six classic Ferraris. We’re going to steal them.”

Tina was shocked into silence. “How?”

“We’re just going to push them out, put them in some trailers, and haul them away. The cars are already sold. Twenty-two million for the set. As soon as we get them, they will wire the money. We then send them to LA, they get put on a ship, and we all retire.”

“Why do you need me?” Tina asked, her heart pounding in her chest. “And how does that help me get a new start?”

“You can take your cut of the take and buy a new identity. I can set that up for you.”

“What would be my cut?”

“Same as everyone else: a million.”

She almost couldn’t breathe. A million dollars was more money than she could ever dream of. “What would I have to do?”

“I need you to use your nimble little fingers and get the keys to the building.”

“That’s it?"

"That's it. Is that worth a million dollars?”

“What if I get caught?”

“You know the code. You don’t talk. But I will help you every way I can. It will only be for pickpocketing, after all. You should make bail, maybe, and if you do, I will set you up and get you out of town.”

“But … but … I have a record. And I probably have an arrest warrant now, as well.”

Jack shrugged. “If you want in, it’s a risk you will have to take. Don’t get caught.”

Tina stared at him for a long time. “I need to think about it.”

"Okay, but don’t think long. The job is Friday.”

“This Friday?” she asked incredulously.

“That’s right.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. You got here just in time.”

“Lucky me,” she muttered.

Later, as they lay in bed snuggling before they got down to the serious business of fucking, Tina turned Jack’s offer over in her mind. A million dollars … It was so much money. She could get away, get a new identity, and start over. Jack had said he would help her.

“Jack?”

“Hmmm?”

“How would I get a new identity?”

“I have my ways.”

“But how?”

He sighed. “The Sons … we have key people in places to help with the sale of the cars. They can also help with new identities. It’s not what we do, but it can be done.”

“Nic! She works at the DMV! She can get a driver’s license!” Tina guessed.