“Then I’ll have to ask when we’re alone.”
“Don’t bother. It’s none of your business.”
Any other day, she would have taken an interest in the dude sitting next to her. Jewell didn’t imagine too many women whose fascination he couldn’t grab. His facial features were perfectly formed to keep your eyes traveling back to them over and over. His long fingers caressing the side of his soda showed he was a sensualist. Every word he spoke hit her in the nether region, making her feel as if each word was flicking her clit.
“Ready to clear your tab?”
Her wayward libido went ice-cold. “How?”
“Answer me two questions truthfully, and I’ll wipe the slate clean.”
“Okay.” She wasn’t going to get off that easily, was she? “Go ahead.”
“Tell me why you’ve taken an immediate dislike to me.”
“Look around you.”
Rory turned his head to face the group in the living room.
“You see how many men are in here?”
“Hard to miss.” He turned his gaze back to her.
“I’ve known with The Last Riders since I was eighteen. There isn’t anything about men I don’t know. It took me less than two seconds to figure out you’re a player, and I don’t play with anyone who doesn’t belong to The Last Riders.”
“How does someone become a Last Rider?”
“You want that to be your second question?”
“Yes.”
“You could have asked any of the brothers, and they would have told you for free.” Jewell gave him a real smile, feeling relieved that she was out of his debt. “You have to take on four of the brothers of your choice in a fight. Going by the way you look, you wouldn’t get past the first one.”
“You really don’t think I could get past the first one.”
His confident gaze gave her pause, but then Jewell remembered the men in the room. “No,” she answered, even though she knew it hadn’t been posed as a question.
“You’re hilarious.”
Jewell wanted to nail his balls to the stool he was sitting on at the amusement she could hear Rory trying to hold back.
“You think what I told you was funny?” She grabbed her soda can, about to fling it in his face. Shade hadn’t said she had to be nice to the fucker.
“You don’t?”
“No.”
He took the can away from her and set it aside. “You’re basically saying every man here can beat my ass.”
“Yes. What’s so hilarious about that?”
“If they’re so big and bad, why did they call and ask for my help?”
Chapter Four
“Take a seat.”
“I’ll stand. My ass is numb from sitting so long,” Rory told the president of The Last Riders after entering the dining room. Shade had come to get him after the men’s wives and children had left.
Viper gave him a penetrating stare before moving to the front of room where everyone could see him. “Going to try to make this meeting short. Rory, King says you’re able to keep what’s told to yourself. I’m going to have to trust his word for it because we need your help.”
Rory didn’t glance at Jewell as Viper continued talking.
“There’s a woman who is in extreme danger, and unless we move quickly, she’s going to be too out of our reach to save. The woman is an employee of a lab that made the vaccine. Arin, who owns the lab, is a friend of the club. Not only that, but Reaper has put his own personal money to assist in making the vaccine. With Reaper providing the money that Arin needed, she was able to cut out the top pharmacy companies, and without that money, they would have been able to make off with the discovery. She has stated publicly that she isn’t going to patent how to make the vaccine. One of the employees working with Arin was kidnapped, and we have been trying to find and get her released since she was taken. With the trials over and the vaccine approved, Arin has been blackmailed into not fulfilling the rest of her promise.
“Reaper has been able to use his contacts to find where they are currently stashing Elizabeth. She is moved to a different location every three or four weeks. Reaper’s contact just found where she is currently being held. She’s been there for two weeks, so unless we make a move now, Elizabeth could be moved at any time. Then the contact will have to start searching all over again.”
“Using the police isn’t an option?” Rory braved interrupting Viper.
“The information wasn’t gained legally. We also want not only the kidnappers, but the person who orchestrated Elizabeth being taken.”
“You have enough manpower and experience in this room alone; you shouldn’t need me,” Rory stated the obvious.
“Any hint of trouble, the kidnappers will kill Elizabeth, and the real person responsible will remain free and sight another person to get Arin in line.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t just kidnap Arin.”