Calming the Riot Read online

  ***

  Liar put a plate down in front of Andrea, who was seated at the two-seater Formica table that looked like it saw its hey-day sometime around 1959. Her hair was thick and hanging a little differently on her scalp. As Liar moved away from her, he realized it might be more oily than normal, and his mind conjured up an image of her with that thick mane in a braid. It would be perfect for taking a much longer ride on his bike; then wherever they wound up, he could use that braid in ways certain to satisfy them both.

  Shaking his head, he knew he had to clear those visions from his mind. There was work to do today, and he needed to focus. Back at the stove, Liar cracked two eggs into the skillet and put two slices of Pumpernickel bread into the toaster. After he flipped his eggs, he pushed the toaster handle down and loaded his plate up with four rashers of microwaved bacon. By the time his bread was lightly toasted, the eggs were ready to be plated.

  No sooner had he sat down with Andrea than Rage stumbled out of his room in nothing more than his Harley-Davidson boxers. Ordinarily, this would be no problem, but with Andrea sitting opposite him, Liar wasn’t on board for this action. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes to say, “Rage. Got company this morning.”

  The man either didn’t hear him because he needed his caffeine fix; or what Liar suspected was more likely the case, the man chose not to hear him because he needed his caffeine and he wanted to get under Liar’s skin first thing in the damn morning.

  “Mornin’ Li,” Rage said tearing his bulky hand through his tangled, wavy brown hair. As he ambled over to the coffee pot, Liar kept his eyes on Andrea. It didn’t take her long to realize Rage was under-dressed, but she didn’t seem rattled by it.

  Liar cut into his over-easy eggs and used the side of his fork to break off a piece of bacon. He dragged the bacon through the goo of the egg yolk and put it in his mouth. Rage had poured himself a cup of coffee, and Liar didn’t need to have eyes on the man to know it. The man was notorious for the noises he made while he woke up and downed his first cup of java each morning.

  After a few more moments, Rage cleared his throat. “You weren’t shittin’ me. We really do have company this mornin’. How goes it, Andi-girl?”

  Andrea’s lips twisted ever-so-slightly which only added to Liar’s disdain for Rage calling her by such a name. Liar turned his head to see Rage leaned into the corner of the countertop. Rage’s eyes were pinned to Andrea, and it was then Liar realized his mistake. He never should have let Andrea sit her ass in the kitchen area in her skimpy pajama set. It covered her, but it also left nothing to the imagination. Man like Rage added to the mix, and it was a really fuckin’ bad combination.

  Liar turned back to Andi and gave her a pointed look. It seemed she understood it, and then he turned back to Rage. “Andi’s wakin’ up same as you. Unless you’re makin’ yourself somethin’, it’d be nice—”

  “Don’t ask me to go back to my room, Liar. That shit ain’t cool, and you know it. Brought her out here, that’s all on you. Gotta take the good with the bad, man. Besides, I ain’t all bad anyway.”

  Andrea shaking her head caught Liar’s gaze, and he turned to her fully.

  “It’s not a big deal, Li. I hesitate to mention this to you, but there are some clients who have no qualms whatsoever about being in the buff on my table.”

  Before Liar could ask her to clarify, Rage slammed his coffee mug on the counter as he roared with laughter. It was a miracle the mug survived the abuse.

  “You got men on your ‘table’ naked, it ain’t because they have no qualms, Andi-girl.”

  Liar shoveled in another mouthful of eggs and bacon on top of the bite he had taken in while Rage spoke. He looked to Andrea’s plate to see it was basically empty, and the relief he felt was substantial. Andrea was looking between Rage and Liar and her struggle with how to respond to Rage’s declaration couldn’t be any plainer. If it had been anyone else to say that shit to her, Liar would have found her struggle downright funny; but with Rage, Liar knew the man had no boundaries. Unless the woman was claimed in church, and even then, he’d been known to overstep a time or two, but really unless there was a property cut on her shoulders, Rage had no issues with sharing or even taking if the situation warranted it in his mind.

  The only problem with Rage’s stance on women was that in this case, Andrea didn’t know that about him. Liar stood up with his plate and headed to the sink where Rage was still leaning against the counter. Rage gave Liar an expressive eyebrow arch as he watched Liar put the last bite of his breakfast in his mouth.

  “You in some kind of hurry, man?” Rage asked in an amused tone.

  Once Liar had his food swallowed, he rinsed his plate while addressing Rage. “You might say that, Rage.”

  Andrea sidled up beside Liar with her plate. He took it from her, rinsed it and loaded it along with his plate into the dishwasher.

  Rage chuckled low in his throat. “Forgot how sweet it is to see new love in the clubhouse. You two just about make me sick, I have to say.”

  Liar closed the ancient, but still fully functional, dishwasher and ushered Andrea out of the kitchen.

  Once his door was closed, Andrea turned to him and gave him a demanding look. “What was that all about?”

  Liar ran his hands through his hair. “Don’t matter babe. What it is, is done, that’s for damn sure. We showered together already, so you get dressed. I’m gonna brush my teeth, and then you can have your shot at the sink. I’d say then we’d do what we should’ve done over an hour ago, but I gotta get you to your office, so then I can get to the Hock pawn shop.”

  After he was done in the bathroom, Liar expected to see Andrea wearing her scrubs, but to his surprise, she was sitting on his bed wearing a pair of army green shorts and a black t-shirt with white text reading “Soulrocker Family.” There was more text beneath the heading, but Liar didn’t have time to focus on that.

  “What’s the deal, Andi? Why aren’t you wearing your scrubs?”

  Her smile was nearly devious. “Most Mondays are my day off. Not always, since you might remember that I saw Frankie on a Monday, which brought you to my apartment afterward, but I try to keep Sundays and Mondays as my off days. This week, I’m taking on the poker room in earnest on Friday, so I figured it was almost imperative that I give myself a break today.”

  He clenched his fists. She had the day off and didn’t mention hide nor hair of it to him until now. Part of him wanted to tell her he was going to tan her ass for such an indiscretion, but another part of him was pissed he didn’t think to ask her about her schedule. If he had, he might have tried to spend the day with her. Mentally, he shook himself. He couldn’t possibly spend an entire day with her when there was some damn asshole out there following him, and her by extension. He needed to focus and get to the bottom of this bullshit.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Andrea

  For a moment I thought Liar was going to pounce on me as I sat on the edge of his bed in my casual wear. It was not lost on me how tightly he clenched his fists at his side. I wasn’t sure why he was doing that, but it seemed clear it was a restraining mechanism on his part. Or so I thought until he stalked to where I was sitting on the bed, then he wrapped his arms around my waist, and he laid me on the bed with his body on top of mine.

  I gave him an irritated look, but he was impervious. “You’re certain you wanna work the poker room during the holidays?”

  My eyes bulged even as I thinned my lips. “Well, I already did a short stint with them to get the lay of the land so to speak. Besides, it isn’t like there aren’t cameras there and an entire security team, Liar.”

  He nuzzled his face into my neck, and I had to bite back the gleeful giggle coming from my belly. A surge of warmth rolled through my torso, as his lips started working at my neck, and my head tilted reflexively. When I felt his mouth begin to suck on my neck I tried to pull away, but his arms tightened, and he sucked harder.

  “Liar, it’s
not exactly professional if clients see me with a damn hickey on my neck.”

  He squeezed me and lifted his head from my neck. “That’s exactly my intention. Should be back on Friday, but that could change. This way, some schmuck thinks to get the nerve up to talk to you, he’ll think again.”

  I glared at him. “Or they might think just anyone can suck on my neck.”

  His lips tilted into a small grin. “No, they won’t. ’Cause I’m not done.”

  I tried to push him away, but he showed me just how strong he was, and I didn’t get angry because he gave up the hickey in order to kiss his way back up my neck to my mouth. In the back of my mind, I could swear he said he had things to do today, so I was surprised this seemed to be going somewhere, but then he broke the kiss. My eyes opened to see him smiling softly at me.

  “What’re you doin’ on this day off of yours?” he asked as he stood up and held his hand out to help me off the bed.

  Once I was standing, I shrugged. “Depends on what Janie’s got going on. We’ll probably do lunch or something.”

  I could see he was debating something. After a deep breath, he said, “Don’t care if this sounds crazy, but I’m either droppin’ you at her house or she needs to meet us somewhere. Better yet, I’d love it if she’d come here.”

  My hands went to my hips. “Craziness aside, what are you talkin’ about, Liar?”

  He slid his hands onto my hips right above where mine were. “I told you someone followed us yesterday. They left a note, and while that threat seems directed at me, I am not takin’ any chances with the safety of the woman I’m fallin’ for.”

  He was falling for me? Holy cannolis! I told myself to school my features, but I knew that was not gonna happen. Him saying that made me so damn happy I felt like I could go dance on the moon! I looked back to him, and I knew my thoughts were written all over my face.

  “I see you like that.”

  I grinned. “Well, of course, I like that! I never get the guy I want, so this is a first for me, and it thrills me. Though, it also surprises me to no end—”

  His eyebrows shot together. “Why the hell would it surprise you? Except the ones that are taken, there ain’t one of my brothers who wouldn’t give his left arm to be where I am with you right now.”

  I put my hands on his shoulders. “That’s just physical, Jim. It doesn’t count.”

  His hips tilted into mine. “It counts for quite a bit, babe. Don’t try to downplay it. Now, you think your girl will come here to pick you up? I won’t leave until she does, so I don’t want to cramp her style, but I need her to get on that.”

  I went up on my toes to kiss his stubbled jaw. “I’m sure she can come get me.”

  ***

  Four days later…

  It used to be that Shayla, Paula and I worked seven-hour shifts at the poker room. I had always pushed for just six hours with a single break in the middle, but they outvoted me, so we worked seven hours with three breaks. Our time began at five, and we left at midnight. None of that was ideal in my eyes back then or now. I’d rather work five to eleven. It made little to no sense, but something about leaving the poker room parking lot at midnight never sat well with me, and it still didn’t. Since this was temporary, I kept my unease to myself.

  It was five minutes to seven and Shayla, and I were taking our first break. We were even with the small bar area for players waiting for tables or taking a break when I saw Martin talking to one of his security staff. He caught our eyes and gave us a nod. I broke away from Shayla and went downstairs. I didn’t think there would be so many people at the poker room on Black Friday, but boy was I ever wrong. It was a crush upstairs, and the greyhounds were racing tonight, so things were pretty busy downstairs too.

  The night races were actually a good thing for me because it meant the concession stand with the more affordable eats was open. Crazy as it might sound, this particular stand had some of the best fried chicken I had ever had, and it was under five dollars. I was placing my order and fishing in my pocket for some cash when Martin sidled up next to me.

  “She’s working upstairs, Betty. She doesn’t pay.”

  I shot Martin a slightly annoyed glance, but muttered, “Thanks, Martin. You know I didn’t mind paying for my food.”

  “Appreciate that, Andrea, but you can pay for your food when you come back to gamble. While you’re working for Best Bet, your meal’s comped.”

  I knew better than to argue with him, and he quickly moved away toward a corridor where some local deputies were standing watch.

  Once I had my food, I turned to find a table but found Liar standing right in front of me instead.

  “Hey! I didn’t think you were gonna make it.”

  Liar took the paper plate with my chicken from me and found a nearby table. He put it down, grabbed my soda and put it on the table too. Then, he wrapped one arm around my waist and a hand wrapped around my neck so he could kiss me very thoroughly.

  When he was done, it took me a moment to open my eyes, and when I did, he was smirking at me. “Hey, to you too, baby.”

  I squeezed his waist. “I must say, your greeting is much better than mine.”

  “Two-way street, Andi. Missed you.”

  A strange sensation rippled from my belly up through my chest. “You were only gone for two days, Li.”

  He shrugged one shoulder. “Still woulda preferred havin’ you on the back of my bike with me for this trip. Fuckin’ Beast wouldn’t shut up about you and me, so now Gran is chompin’ at the bit to meet you.”

  I chuckled. “Well, that feeling is mutual. The way you talk about her, I’d love to meet your Gran. You want some chicken? I’m on a short dinner-break, so if you—”

  “Sit. I’m good. Just happy I caught you in between clients. Sorry, I didn’t call you yesterday. You have a good Thanksgiving?”

  I nodded as I swallowed a bite of juicy leg meat. “Yeah. Volt and Jackie had me over along with Cal and Mallory. I felt a little fifth wheel-ish, but not too bad.”

  His hand darted out and his swiped a bit of crispy crust from the corner of my mouth. “Glad to hear that, honey.”

  I wasn’t sure if he’d called me honey before or not, but for some crazy reason, I liked that even better than him calling me baby or babe. Before I could contemplate that any further, Beast joined us.

  “Okay, lover boy, you’ve seen your woman. Let’s go. This place is pretty sad. It makes me miss Biloxi because this is nothing like bein’ back there in a real casino, and it makes me hate bein’ a degenerate gambler all at the same time.”

  I looked at him askance. “Don’t you play poker? Cal and Volt are up there right now.”

  A puzzled expression crossed Beast’s face. “Up where?”

  I had finished my chicken and stood up with my soda in hand. “Upstairs. C’mon. You might approve of the poker room, or maybe not. Who knows?”

  Liar

  Liar watched the globes of Andrea’s sweet tush lead the way up the stairs to the poker room. He couldn’t wait for her to be done with this shift so he could follow her back to her place. It had been a while since he had a regular woman in his life. He craved her almost all the time, and that scared the hell out of him.

  When they cleared the last of the stairs, Liar noticed Cal and Mallory standing off to the far side near a door marked “Employees Only.” He was making out with her as if they were in the clubhouse or even their own home if the roving of his hand on her ass was any indicator. Seeing them like that made Liar happy because after all the bullshit those two went through, they deserved every bit of happiness they could get.

  Andrea turned to him, and there was a light blush on her cheeks. “Well, um, I gotta get back to it. I know you’re a biker like Cal and everything, but I don’t think I have it in me to get into a carnal display like that with you in public. Especially not when I’m technically working.”

  He chuckled but pulled Andrea to him with an arm hooked behind her neck. Her lustrous brow
n eyes gazed up at him with apprehension. Rather than tell her he wasn’t going to do that to her, he leaned down and gave her a short, sweet, but chaste kiss.

  “Believe it or not, I understand, babe. Go do your thing. I’m gonna get my name on a list for a table.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Liar had his name on a wait list that was seven players long. It wasn’t likely he would get called for another hour at a minimum. He and Beast were seated at the small bar area having a beer. They were the only two men in the area, and it was no wonder because it was decorated in garish hot pink with neon lights running through the soffits. After four hours on the road back to Jacksonville, Liar already had a mild headache working, and this area wasn’t helping. The problem was there wasn’t anywhere else to hang and hear your name called.

  “You think Gran’ll beat it this time?” Beast muttered his question.

  He sighed because he didn’t want to say his thoughts out loud. It was hard enough just to have those thoughts while he was visiting for the holiday.

  Liar meant to answer gently, but his voice was gruff. “You really gotta ask me that? Your dad wasn’t supposed to come down for another week and a half, but he was there on Wednesday. Surprised the fuck outta me, and you didn’t seem to be aware of his travel plans any more than I was. Think that tells us everything we need to know.”

  Beast turned his beer bottle on the cardboard coaster. “Sucks, man. I really wanted to make her into a Great Grandmere, but that ship sunk faster than the Titanic years ago.”

  Liar snorted. “Let’s not go there, man. Both of us haven’t had the best luck with women.”

  Beast took a healthy swallow of beer. “Yeah. Probably learned that shit from our fathers.”

  Liar pinned him with a harsh glance, and Beast added, “Sorry, man. I know your dad didn’t choose a bad woman, but he got the losing hand in love regardless.”