“Nothing extraordinary. I’m enough of a germaphobe that I double-clean with the old stuff, then use the new stuff that I didn’t like. OSHA didn’t like that, though. I can fix it for their return. I’ll make sure it’s all good. Gotta head to one of the clinics outside town to talk to a family, and then I’m headed back here to work. How bad is it up here?” He points to the office.
“You’re in charge until Mathews comes back. Fucker embezzled a couple hundred thousand.” Grave begins to protest. “No,” I cut him off. “You’ll do this because I’m not going through this again.” I wave my hand at the fucker sniveling on the ground. “It’s only a couple weeks.”
“Prez, I’m not comfortable doing that.”
“Get comfortable, I can’t give up anyone else. Hammer, take the prick to the crypt. Find out anything he knows and why he did this. He’s hiding shit.”
“I’ll get the ovens ready,” Grave says as he turns and starts for the stairs again. He knows we’ll need to get rid of this fucker when we’re done with him.
“Nooooo,” the idiot screams and cries, but the sounds drift away as Hammer takes him out the back without breaking a sweat.
The sheriff enters through the front doors. He hears the man screaming and asks, “What did he do?” while taking everything in. “And who was that?”
“It was that new guy in town, Dean Perez. He embezzled money from us and used an inefficient cleaner in the workroom that got us put on notice.”
“He’s also suspected of a sexual assault.”
“You didn’t come tell me that before, Sheriff?” The Kings of Anarchy don’t own this town, but we run it and protect it. Nothing should happen here without me being kept in the loop.
We both walk out the front, me heading for my motorcycle and him for his SUV. We pause for a moment before he says, “I haven’t had time. The victim just came forward; she was afraid of him and her husband. Went out with some friends to celebrate, and he drugged and raped her. Her husband isn’t too happy either. Fucker is accusing her of cheating on him.”
“We’ll take care of it. Get the victim any help she needs, on us. Let the husband know we’ll be coming to talk to him unless he changes his fucking mind.”
“I can do that. She’s new to town, too, just moved here from Maine with her husband and two small children. She was in the process of opening the veterinary clinic up the road.”
“Shit, okay.” A new business start-up is important to Jupiter, and I do remember meeting with her. She was a petite little thing with red hair, and her husband was a dickhead who played on his phone and was outside vaping instead of helping her with their two children.
I make a mental note to swing by to ensure she’s okay and doesn’t need anything. Or that she hasn’t decided to run after what Perez-fucker did to her.
My phone rings in my pocket, and I pull it out. Not recognizing the number, I send it to voicemail, then ride to the clubhouse about fifteen minutes away. By the time I pull up to the expansive former lakeside estate at the end of Main Street, my phone goes off again.
“What?” I bark by way of greeting.
“Mr. Judge, this is Georgiana Rezos.”
I pause and take a deep breath before responding appropriately this time. “It’s just Judge, Mrs. Rezos. Sorry, it’s been a sh–, crappy day.”
“I understand that. Is now a good time to talk?”
I glance around at the property as the sun begins setting and decide that now is as good a time as any to have this conversation. Ever since running into her back in September, I’ve anticipated her calling in her favor. Guess it took a couple of months to figure out what she wanted. Ruby hasn’t spoken to me much about Evie or her situation, but I knew what I’d say if I were asked.
In the two months since seeing Evie last, my feelings for her haven’t changed; if anything, they’ve grown stronger. I’ve resorted to having Mal help me hack cameras in some of her usual places to watch her. Her phone’s ”share location” setting has been turned on, and I also stalk her from time to time. I can’t help myself; Gambit, the Shiver of Chaos’ president, gave me the idea. He told me what he did to keep his wife, and I have to say, I’ve had several of those thoughts myself, but I’m unable to make them true. Or, well, I shouldn’t.
Last week, when my parents checked in after their world cruise, and before leaving on their Australia trip, I finally spoke to my father about Cameron. He confirmed that they were acquaintances and reminded me of the importance of this favor. Not only did the Rezos’ firm help my grandfather, but they also kept my father out of prison when he was brought up on bogus federal charges. They were fishing, trying to shut down the club.
This puts me between a rock and a hard place. I didn’t tell my dad about the situation because I felt I could handle it, but I’m beginning to wonder if I ever will. The more time that passes, the worse I become. My temper has been on edge for weeks now. It’s why I nearly killed Perez. I’m not ordinarily this way.
“Sure. Let me get to my office first.” I sigh and walk toward the clubhouse entrance.
“Sounds good. Do you want to call me back when you get settled?” Her perfect, cultured-sounding voice reminds me again why Evie and I are from two different worlds.
“It will only take a moment.”
My long legs eat up the distance before climbing the couple of stone stairs of the grand entrance. Stepping through the massive wood and glass arched doors, I stomp through the main room, past the bar, and down the hall toward the back of the building, where my office overlooks the lake. I close the door, needing privacy for this conversation.
“Okay. What can I help you with, Mrs. Rezos?” I drop down into my cushiony brown leather executive chair behind the imposing formal desk that was my father’s before mine.
“I need to hire you.” She pauses, thinking through her wording. “I want to call in my favor. My Flint told me once that if I ever needed anything, any kind of help at all, to contact your father. But I think you and I have a common interest here.”
