Page 18 of Wicked Games

Groaning, I grab my phone off of the desk as I stand up before heading for the door as I slip it into my pocket. Goddamn it. I would rather do just about anything than meet with this girl but I know it’s my best bet. Every other leads we’ve managed to track down has been a dead end and we need a new angle – even if that angle is someone I can’t stand. I yank the door open with more force than necessary and Moose turns to look at me with wide eyes as he stops in front of his and Juliette’s room with a cup of coffee in each hand.

“Everything okay?”

I nod. “Yeah. I just realized I need to talk to Tawny, though.”

“Shit,” he whispers with a wince and I can’t say that I blame him. If anyone knows exactly what Tawny is capable of, it’s Moose. “Take back up.”

“You volunteering?” I ask and laugh when some of the color drains from his face. He shakes his head.

“Absolutely fucking not.”

Moose and Tawny were hooking up for a while before he met his wife, Juliette, but she got it in her head that they were getting serious when they couldn’t have been further from the truth and when he ended things with her, she fucking lost it. Blaze had to kick her out of the clubhouse and the next thing we knew, the police were talking to Moose because she had filed assault charges against him. In the end, the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence and we thought that was the end of it until Tawny showed up at the clubhouse a few weeks back. She told us about the guy she met in a bar who had encouraged her to let him punch her in the face so she could press charges against Moose and mess up the club’s image. There is no way in hell this isn’t the same guy and if she’s had an up close interaction with him, I need to speak to her.

“I’m serious, Streak,” Moose says, snapping me out of my thoughts. “I won’t get anywhere near her but you need someone with you. The last thing any of us needs is her claiming some shit again.”

I nod. “I hear you. I’ll go see who’s up.”

Nodding in approval, he turns and slips back into his room as I head downstairs to see who is awake and willing to go along with me. I can’t believe I was really about to go talk to her, all alone, when I know what she’s like. If you’re going to be around Tawny, you need fucking witnesses. The bar is quiet when I walk in and I sigh, glancing back toward the stairs.

Shit.

People usually give me a hard time about sleeping until noon but lately I’ve been up before everyone else, my mind constantly working over the case as I try to find some answers, even in my sleep. Not that it’s done a damn bit of good. A door opens from down the hallway and I turn my head as Rowan steps into the room in fresh clothes, a jean miniskirt and t-shirt, with her dark hair piled into a bun on top of her head.

“Hey,” she says, flashing me a loaded smile that has me thinking about taking her back up to my room.

She’s going to be the death of me.

“Anyone else up?”

She shakes her head, her gaze dropping to the keys in my hand. “I don’t think so. You going somewhere?”

“Yeah…” I sigh, looking over at the door before turning back to her. “Actually, you want to go with me?”

“Where are we going?”

I laugh as she comes out from behind the bar and stops next to me. “Is that a yes then?”

“Obviously,” she shoots back, rolling her eyes and I shake my head as we start walking toward the clubhouse door. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Uh… we’re going on a little mission and I need backup.”

She studies me as we step outside. The chilly early morning air wraps us up and she crosses her arms over her chest to keep herself warm. “I hate to tell you this now that you’ve chosen me to go with you but I’m not good in a fight. Like, if someone comes after you, I’m no Tate.”

“Thank God,” I answer, laughing, and she grins at me. “And it’s not like that. I need to go talk to someone and it’s best to have witnesses when around this particular person.”

“Why?”

We reach my car and I open the passenger door for her as I reach into the back seat and grab one of my hoodies before handing it to her. “It’s kind of a long story but I’ll fill you in as we drive over there.”

“Okay.” She takes the hoodie with a smile and pulls it over her head. She’s swimming in it and it covers her skirt, too, making her look like she’s not wearing anything else, but she doesn’t seem to care as she sinks into the bucket seat of my sixty-nine Impala. Once she’s in the car, I shut the door and jog around to the other side, sliding behind the wheel. The rumble of the engine makes me smile and as I pull out of my parking space, she turns to look at me. “Start talking.”

I arch a brow. “You’re a bossy little thing.”

“I seem to recall you liking it last night.”

Well, she’s got me there. Shaking my head, I ignore her comment and begin telling her the Tawny saga as we drive through Baton Rouge to her apartment, starting with the way she worked her way through several of the guys, trying to get one of them to make her their old lady before settling on Moose and then framing him for assault. When I’m done, she falls back in her seat and releases a breath.

“Okay… well, now I see why you needed backup. Who the hell lets a stranger hit them so they can blame it on someone else?”