“No, Henry will take care of it.”
“All right then. It was nice meeting you, Lily’s father.” She moved toward the door.
“Are you a friend of Lily’s?”
“I like to think I am, yes.”
“Her husband?”
“Yes.”
“How close?”
Evie openly gaped at him. What was he trying to ask? “I have known Lily since she was a senior in high school, and I met Shade when we were in high school and served in the military together. So, I guess we’re pretty good friends.”
“I was just wondering since you stepped in for Beth today.”
“Oh, I used to work with Beth a few years ago before the factory opened. I help out whenever she needs an extra hand.”
“I see. It was nice meeting you.”
Evie nodded her head, feeling as if he was dismissing her. She opened her mouth to say something then snapped it closed, remembering her friendship with Lily and Beth. She really didn’t want to make them angry by calling Lily’s father an arrogant asshole, but he was definitely riding the line of being just that with his attitude.
Evie went out the door, leaving it open, aware that Henry was following behind her. She walked to the front door, about to open it, but Henry reached out and opened it for her.
“He can be a little abrasive.”
Evie heard the humorous edge to his voice; it probably wasn’t the first time he had witnessed his boss pissing someone off. “No shit.”
“He grows on you.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” Evie went out the door and to her car, sliding in. She had begun looking forward to a vacation with Penni this morning after Shade had asked her to investigate King’s businesses; now, she wasn’t so sure. She had a feeling it wasn’t going to be as simple as she had thought it would be. He sure as fuck didn’t share his daughter’s sweet personality.
* * *
“I think you made her angry.”
King finished buttoning his shirt before giving Henry his attention. He lay back against the headboard of the bed. “I intended to. I wanted to see her reaction when I mentioned Shade.”
He reached into his nightstand, pulling out a thick sheathe of papers then laying them across his lap as he continued reading the facts Jackal had been able to gather on The Last Riders. He wondered how much of it Beth and Lily were aware of.
“It’s more of a sex club than a motorcycle club.” King’s hand tightened on one of the papers as he read.
Henry remained silent; his friend and bodyguard always knew when to keep his mouth shut, sensing his moods.
How could they become involved with such a group? He couldn’t imagine Lily participating in the club’s activities with her background, so he had to assume she was clueless.
“Lily and Beth both live in houses behind the club.”
“Beth went back and forth between the club and her home before her house was built,” King said. “Lily only moved into the clubhouse when the man Digger contracted to kill her botched up.”
“Yes.”
King continued reading. “Seems Evie is a little more than a nurse; she’s a nurse practioner in the club, she was the first woman who became a member.”
“So… she?”
“Participates in all the club’s activities. She’s over the women.” King lifted another paper, his face turning grimmer as he read. “We were right about Shade.”
“How bad?”
“He’s an assassin for the military. He also contracts out to other groups.” A whistle left his lips. “He commands a pretty hefty fee to perform. How sure is Jackal about some of these hits?”
“Jackal doesn’t make mistakes.”
“I wish he had this time.” King looked down at the paper in his hand. Lily’s husband was a lethal bastard. His hits had a varied background and some he had heard of, some he hadn’t. The ones he had were no loss; he would have killed them for free given the opportunity. It still made his gut clench that Lily was married to a man who could kill so effortlessly.
“Did you see his psych report? Jackal said he had to pay extra for that piece of information,” Henry noted.
King picked up the report. “Make sure he’s compensated.”
“Already taken care of.” Henry was efficient, managing to keep all his businesses under his watchful eyes.
King read Shade’s psych report. When he finished, he knew there was no way he could allow the man to remain married to Lily. He read through the remaining papers, finding out all the relevant information he needed to know about the remaining members.
“They’re a deadly group of men; each has his own particular skill.”
“It won’t be easy taking them on.”
“When have I ever been afraid of a challenge?” King eyed Henry.
“She won’t thank you for it. She’s in love with him.”
“There’s no way Shade’s in love with her. I’d be surprised if he even bled. The psychiatrist who did that psych doesn’t even think he’s fucking human.”
“According to women, he’s human.” King stared at his friend coldly, letting him know he didn’t appreciate his humor.
“He has to be hiding that from Lily. There is no way she would let him dominate her; she was too traumatized as a child.”
This time, Henry remained wisely silent.
King sighed, throwing the papers to his side.
“What are you going to do?”
“What in the fuck do you think I’m going to do?”
Chapter 3
Evie went back to the clubhouse. Once inside, she decided not to take her nap; instead she pitched in to help Bliss and Raci cook dinner.
“So, what was he like?” Bliss asked.
Evie didn’t have to ask whom she was referring to. “He’s younger than I thought he would be, and kind of sexy.” Both women stared at her. Evie grinned, raising her hands in the air. “Well, he is.”
“I’ve got to see this guy,” Jewell said.
“Who?” Beth asked, coming into the kitchen.
The women went silent.
Evie decided she might as well tell. “I was just telling them that King was younger than I thought and not bad looking, either.”
“Yes, he is attractive.” Beth didn’t seem to be disturbed by everyone talking about her cousin. “How did it go at his house today?”
“Pretty well, considering I think he was fishing for information on Shade.”
“I thought he might. He asked me a few questions about Shade, too. I think that’s pretty understandable.”
“Why? It’s not like he raised her,” Raci butted in.
“No, but he did keep an eye out for her.” Evie could see Beth was going to defend her cousin, so she changed the subject to getting dinner done. One by one, the men came in from the factory, filling their plates. Evie fixed her own plate and then took a seat at the table. She was tired and didn’t really pay much attention to the conversation going on around her, so when she was finished, she got up from the table.
“Evie, I forgot to ask, would you mind taking care of King again tomorrow? This one patient I have has me behind on all my others, and Ton has the flu. I wanted to stop by his house and check on him tomorrow.”
“Sure, I don’t mind. Should I take him lunch? He didn’t seem happy that I came without it today.”
Beth blushed. “I’ve been fixing him a plate at lunch and taking it. If it’s not too big a hassle, would you mind?”
“That’s fine. I think it put him in a bad mood.”
“That’s his normal personality.”
“Then I’d hate to actually see him in a bad mood.”
“Hell, Evie, what man can stay in a bad mood with you around?” Train came up behind her, putting his hand on her ass.
“Plenty,” Evie said, moving away from his touch; she was too tired to mess around tonight.
She stacked her dirty dishes then went upstairs to her room, getting ready for b
ed. She turned out her light then locked the door. It had been a while since she had locked the men out, but she needed a good night’s sleep. She was getting older; the all-nighters were becoming fewer and fewer.
She didn’t know if it was because she was getting bored, but she had told Shade the truth—she was looking forward to a vacation. Working at the factory all day and partying all night was becoming old. She had begun thinking lately of going back to work with Beth or the hospital. The time in Queen City would give her time to make her mind up.
Evie rolled over onto her stomach, thinking about Lily and the expression on King’s face. She had a feeling King wasn’t happy with Lily’s marriage. She hoped the man kept his thoughts to himself; Shade wouldn’t be happy with his interference.
Evie shivered under the covers. She hated the thought of the two men not getting along. King and Shade both were used to getting their own way, and while King might be used to dealing with the seedier side of life, she was sure he had never dealt with someone of Shade’s caliber. If he took Shade on, it was a battle he wouldn’t win, and he would very likely end up out of Lily’s life forever.
* * *
The next day, Henry opened the door before she could knock. She flashed him a smile as she stepped into the house, handing him the plate of food Beth had made for him.
“You’ll need to reheat that before giving it to him.”
“Okay.” He walked her down the hallway, knocking on the door before opening it for her and closing it behind her.
As she entered, she saw King was sitting at a chair by the window.
“Hello. How are you doing today?” Evie asked brightly, her chirpy voice making her wince at herself.
“Fine.” His mocking gaze had her smile disappearing. “Do you want me to move to the bed?”
“No. I can do it where you are.” Evie set her satchel on the desk, opening it to put her gloves on. When she turned around, King hadn’t unbuttoned his shirt. “You can unbutton your shirt.”
He unbuttoned his shirt, keeping his eyes on her the whole time. Evie waited patiently, not letting him embarrass her. When he finished, she jerked the tape off.