Jack of Hearts (Desert Sons MC Book 1) (12 page)

“How do you do it?” she asked.

“Ah, ah, ah. I asked first.”

Tina grinned. “That is the B&E. I would break in, steal the key, and then come back for the car. What I had been looking for, before I decided to go straight, was a master key book. You know, like they use in tow trucks? But I hadn’t been able to lift one before I got caught. So how do you do it?”

“I have a key book.”

“Nuh-uh! Where did you get that?”

Jack smiled. She certainly knew her stuff. “Let’s just say I had a little birdy tell me where one might be located.”

“You stole it,” Tina accused with a grin.

“I stole it,” Jack confirmed.

“I bet somebody got fired over that.”

“Probably did. Should have, too, for leaving it in the truck overnight where I could get it. But their loss is my gain.”

“That’s pretty slick. Are you in charge of this operation?” she asked as they settled into Jack’s car.

“More or less. I don’t do it alone, as I explained. But I built the organization, yes.”

“And you hide in plain sight as a motorcycle club?”

“More or less. It explains us hanging out together, all the coming and going, and working on bikes and cars, etcetera, don’t you think?”

“You steal bikes, too?”

“If we get an order for one. But only high-end cars and bikes. The risk isn’t worth it on the lower end stuff.”

“How many cars and bikes do you move in a month?”

“On a good month, may fifteen or twenty.”

“Wow!” Tina said, impressed. That was a big number, considering the high-end cars they shuffled.

“Yeah. We pretty much own New Mexico, Arizona, the Texas panhandle, and the southern half of Colorado and Utah.”

“Big operation.”

“For this area, yeah. We can’t compete with LA, for example. There’s just not enough demand or supply of cars. Well, up until we make this score. Then we will be in the big leagues.”

“Twenty million. That’s a lot of moolah!”

“Twenty-two … and yeah, it is.”

“What happens to the rest of the money?”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Well, a million times eleven, the number of members of the club plus me, unless you count wives and girlfriends separately, is only eleven mil. Where does the rest go?”

Jack debated how much to tell her, then decided to go with the truth. “Some will be put back for club expenses, but the rest goes to me. About ten million.”

Tina was quiet. That was the answer she had expected. “Because it’s your operation?”

“That ... and because it is my ass on the line. Everyone else is mostly protected from detection. I’m the one that will take the fall if this goes bad. Greater risk, greater reward. It has always been this way. I get half, the other half is divided among the rest of the Sons, with a little hold back for club expenses. Does that bother you?”

“No. I suspected that anyway. Thank you for being honest and upfront with me about it.”

“Well, you’re sort of an honorary Son now, so you deserve the truth. The Sons, we don’t lie to each other, and we help each other out. We’re like a family.”

That evening, Tina took Jack out to dinner again, this time pulling the money she had hidden from him all this time out of her pocket and actually paying for the meal. She felt sheepish for having lied to him about not having any money, but if he was offended, he made no mention of it.

That night, as they lay in bed, Tina fretted over lying about the money. “Jack?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry I lied about the money.”

“You mean when you said you didn’t have any?”

“Yes,” she said softly.

“How much do you have?”

“Now? After dinner? Not quite three hundred.”

“That’s all?”

“Yes. I’m sorry I lied.”

Jack thought for a moment. He probably should have been mad, but he wasn’t. If their roles had been reversed, he would probably have hoarded his supply of cash as well. “No more lies, okay?” he said gently.

“I promise. No more lies.”

“That’s my girl,” he said, then smiled. That was twice he had said that to Tina … the same phrase he used to say to Collette. Tina reminded him of Colette in so many ways it was scary. Tina had the same can-do and fearless attitude that Collette had before … He shoved the thought away. Best not to dwell on times past. What happened, happened. He couldn’t change it. But now that he realized the connection, the thoughts continued to try and intrude.

“Jack, what’s the matter? You are not upset with me, are you?” Tina asked, sensing the change in Jack’s mood.

“No.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Nothing to do with you.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, her concern clear in her voice.

“Nothing to talk about. I was just thinking about a robbery that went wrong a long time ago.”

“Yours?”

“No. A friend of mine.”

“You’re worried about Friday?”

“Yeah. A little.”

“You told me the plan. It sounds as foolproof as you can hope. Why are you worried?”

“No reason,” he said, but the reason was right there in his arms. He was putting her at a hell of a risk. With her record, the armed robbery and probable arrest warrant for parole violation, she wouldn’t get just a slap on the wrist for pickpocketing if this went down wrong. She would be facing more hard time.

She couldn’t figure out what had come over Jack all of a sudden. Even in the gloom of the room with her back to him, she could feel the change in him. She turned to face him, propping her head on an elbow so she could look down into his eyes. “Jack, what’s wrong? Talk to me.”

“It’s nothing, Tina. I’m just worried.”

“About me?” she guessed, taking a stab in the dark.

Jack sighed. “A little. Tina, you could go back inside. And it won’t be for a year this time. You could do some real hard time.”

“I know. But I know what I’m doing. To get free of my past, to have a chance to start again. It’s worth the risk.”

Jack stared at her for a moment, then seized her face, pulling her lips to his as he breathed deep. She was caught off guard by his sudden move, but recovered quickly and flowed into the kiss. After a moment, he broke the kiss and pulled her tightly to him, holding her snugly. She relaxed into his embrace and enjoyed the closeness, smiling as she drew lazy patterns on his chest with her finger.

He held her in the crook of this right arm, her head resting comfortably on his shoulder. His right hand caressed her back, his left her arm. They lay quietly, the only sound their breathing. He could smell her, the almost undetectable scent of flowers from the shampoo, and never had that cheap shampoo smelled so sweet. Tomorrow, Tuesday, they would walk the halls of the exhibit hall to see firsthand where the cars would be displayed and give Tina a chance to watch the guards. The cars would arrive either Thursday evening or Friday morning, and the show would open to the public Friday afternoon. By Friday night, Tina could be on her way to her new life. He smiled, a bit sad at the thought. He was going to miss her.

They were still in the same position, comfortable in their closeness, as first Tina, then Jack, slipped quietly into sleep.

***

“Do you understand art?” Tina asked the next afternoon as they strolled through the large open hall where the cars would be displayed.

“Not a bit.”

“Me either. I mean, look at that,” she whispered as she gestured at a splash of color on canvas. “What is that supposed to be?” Tina squinted at the small plaque underneath. “It says
Glory Spent,
but to me it looks like what happens after eating a bad spaghetti dinner.”

He snorted, then coughed before breaking into a chuckle. “I think you know more about art than you let on. I didn’t know what I was looking at until now.”

She giggled. “Well, it does. And that!” she said as she gestured at a sculpture. “If that isn’t a cat fucking a violin, I don’t know what it is.”

He snickered and looked at the large sculpture that stood in the center of this group of temporary walls holding the paintings. It took him a moment, but then he saw it and laughed softly as he stepped up and looked at the plaque. “Guess what the name is.”

“What?”

“Viola … Feline … Love…”

“It is not!” Tina whispered harshly as she strode up and read the plaque herself. “It says
Energy,
dumbass!”

“Oh, sorry. I must have read it wrong.”

They were still giggling over the her scathing commentary when the guard passed by again. He smiled and nodded to them as he ambled. It was the second time they had seen him as they wandered among the many freestanding walls.

“What do you think?” Jack asked when the guard was out of sight.

“Assuming everything you need is on the key ring or in his wallet? No sweat. Can you arrange a distraction?”

“How much of one?”

“Not much. But I need something to shift his attention if you want both.”

“I think that can be arranged. Maybe I will have Seth and Michelle come up here and get rowdy. They’re good at that.”

“Really?” Tina asked in surprise. She hadn’t gotten that vibe from them at all. Well, maybe Michelle a little from her comment about wanting to fuck Jack. But having had a taste of Mr. Jack Carter, she could see why.

“Oh, yeah,” Jack chuckled. “They like to go out honky-tonking and stir up shit. There are a couple of places they are banned from reentering.”

“I would have never guessed.”

“Yeah. That meek and mild exterior is a carefully cultivated disguised,” he said with a grin. “They’re good people, though. They would do anything for you, and he has been good as the president of the Sons.”

“You and Seth are friends?”

“Yeah. All the Sons are friends.”

“But not as much as Marshall?”

“How do you know all this stuff?”

“Nic told me. She said you and Marshall grew up together.”

“Yeah. Don’t tell anyone, but really, Marshall and Nic, they are kind of my best friends. They are the ones I pal around with when it’s just Jack and not Jack Carter, VP of the Desert Sons.”

“Your secret is safe with me, Mr. Vice President.”

They wandered around a bit more, ostensibly looking at art, but really scoping out the building. They located the alarm panel and all the doors, including the big roll up door the cars would have to come through.

“Can you lift the key ring from the guard, and maybe his wallet?”

“Now?” Tina asked in surprise.

“Yeah. I have an idea.”