I shook my head and snapped my notebook shut. No, I could do this. I was used to catching idiots who thought with their dicks. This was just a smarter opponent. Whoever had orchestrated Zoe and Hector’s fate was more complex and certainly smarter. Catching them would take more time, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t up to the task.
I stood up, shoved my notebook back in my bag, and walked out of the bathroom. I collided right into Pin’s chest. “Oh, sorry.”
He gripped my arm to steady me, and my heart melted at the feel of his hand on my body.
“No worries,” he said. “I was actually just looking for you, I thought we might head out soon.”
“Ok,” I said. “No rush, I’m having a good time.”
“Yeah,” Pin said. “Me too.”
The light in the bar was dim and intimate, and we were tucked into the hallway with the bathrooms, alone and secluded. Pin was giving me major bedroom eyes, as if to say that yeah, the barbecue was fun, but he could think of better things we could do in private.
Before I could stop or remind myself that I was playing a dangerous game, I stood on my tiptoes and brushed a kiss against his lips. I couldn’t help it. He had been so nice all day, always staying by my side so that I wouldn’t be alone, but allowing me to be myself and ask questions. And all the other bikers had been so kind. I could see that they just wanted Pin to be happy.
Pin placed his firm hand on my lower back and pulled me closer. He leaned down and placed a row of fluttery kisses on my neck.
“Not here,” he whispered in my ear. “If the guys catch me, they’ll never stop giving us shit.”
I chuckled and pulled away. “I can believe that.”
We walked hand in hand back out to the fire pit. Only a few of the younger crowd remained. It was getting late, so everyone had drifted off. Most of the older guys had wives and kids (another thing that didn’t quite add up with the Drug Ring theory).
Moves appeared at Pin’s side. His easy manner and smile were gone, and I was immediately on high alert.
“Hey, I gotta run,” Moves muttered.
He wasn’t speaking so only Pin could hear, but he also wasn’t shouting out the news. The Enforcer, I remembered. Moves was the enforcer. What needed enforcing?
“Trouble?” Pin asked.
“Just some bullets that need to be put back on their shelf,” Moves said with a dark look.
I furrowed my brow and stared at the ground. What did that mean? It didn’t sound good.
Moves disappeared, and I contemplated whether to say anything. I decided it was normal to ask. A normal girl would ask a guy on a second date why his friend was muttering about bullets and trouble. “What was that about?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Pin said.
I pursed my lips at his words, even though his tone was gentle. He wasn’t shutting me out, he just didn’t want me to fret. Even so, I didn’t appreciate being kept in the dark.
“It’s just territory issues,” Pin said. “We’re in charge of this side of La Playa, in a way, so we like to keep it as clean as possible.”
It wasn’t terribly enlightening, but I could tell it was all I was going to get. I nodded and tried to think of a different topic. I could search the news tomorrow to see if anything went down tonight.
“So do brothers usually bring second dates to this kind of thing?” I asked.
It was a genuine question. Over the course of the barbecue, it had become clear that it was pretty exclusive. Members and serious girlfriends or wives only. It was strange that Pin had invited me, but also flattering in a way.
I also wanted to try and steer the conversation towards dates in general. Maybe Pin would let it slip that a brother had shown up with a much younger – some might even guess high school age – date about six months ago. Maybe it would be a brother that Pin didn’t know very well. Maybe Pin wouldn’t be aware of any dirt I uncovered. A girl could dream.
“Not really,” Pin said. “I guess I kinda threw you to the wolves.”
“No, no,” I said. “Everyone was really nice. I just get the idea that it means something to take someone to this.”
“It does,” Pin said.
He led me to a bench outside the main circle of people, and we sat down. The fire pit’s glow barely reached us, so half of Pin’s face was darkened by the shadows of night.
