For Her Honor (14 page)

“I’m just saying play it out, bro. You’re four years shy of forty. I’m past that. Can’t be dicking whores the rest of your life.”

Taz cocked his head.
“Pardon me, Dr. Phil. But ain’t that the pot callin’ the kettle black?”

Aero took another sip of coffee.
“Not…..lately.”

“Oh?”
Taz folded his arms. “Care to expound upon that, bro?”

“Channeling Tanner.
Got me a little something just over the border.”

Besides Ben and Vic
, who were married, Tanner had an old lady and kid who lived outside Tippitt. Doug and his brother shared a house while Taz, Wes and Aero made the clubhouse their residence. Wes was still young and often crashed at his parents from time to time, and Taz did the same at his ma’s, but Aero – who was slightly younger than Doug – lived like a true bachelor. Until now. “What? You got an ol’ lady secretly stashed away?”

“Ain’t that…..yet.” He went to feel his hair again which was now becoming more of a habitual twitch.
“Not sure. This,” he jerked his head behind him, “gets old. Fuck, I’m getting old. Want something a little more stable. A place I can go to escape the noise in my head. I got that with Laura.”

“Laura?”

Aero finished his coffee. “Thirty-six, widow. Husband worked construction. Fell off some scaffolding. She got a nice little settlement. Owns a hair salon in Steubenville.”

Taz gave him a brilliant smile.
“Free haircuts every week? Yep, she’s your dream woman. Gonna bring her around?”

Aero shrugged.
“Maybe.”

Taz s
uddenly shook his head. “What the fuck, bro? I just played amateur surgeon on some guy last night before Ben plugged him and his friend, and we’re standin’ here talkin’ bitch?” Maybe Janice Morrell’s match-making Kool-Aid
was
in the water? “This is whack.”

“Can’t stop a moving train, bro.
Don’t fight it, just go with it.” Aero went to go back inside before turning around. “That is, if Karen’s background checks out.”

“It will.”
Wow, Taz really was quick to defend her.

“Good.
Cuz the last thing we need is another secret daughter of a crime boss popping up.”

~~~***~~

“Put the phone away, ma.”

Janice regarded her son in the driver’s seat.
“I still have a business to run whether I’m there or not,” she told him. “The bakers opened up and Tina’s taking care of the front.”

“Good.”
He pulled the phone out of her hand. “Now relax.”

“I’ll relax when I get home.
Which reminds me, you two clean up from…..whatever last night?”

Sometimes that close relationship with his ma was just a bit too close.
“Don’t know what you mean. You told me not to ‘entertain my lap candy in your house’.”

“Karen’s not some club bunny.”

He knew that. He just wasn’t about to agree with his mother and enter into the same kind of conversation he’d had with Aero earlier. “The house is fine.” Taz took a bunch of shortcuts once they got into Tippitt to get his ma home and settled so he could get to the shop. Driving down one street, they were besieged by a couple of squad cars with flashing lights ahead of them. “What the…..?”

“That’s John Owens’ house.”

Aside from Tanner, John was another cousin of Charles Owens, who lived in town and was head of Planning & Zoning. Taz slowed the car down as they approached Officer Rick Taub standing in the street. From the town selectman to various elected officials to the police department, the club maintained good relations with the higher-ups in town – courtesy of one Elle Connors. “Hey, Rick.”

Rick
nodded. “Taz…..Mrs. Morrell.”

“What’s goin’
on?”

“Home invasion.
Thankfully, no one was home. Some vandalism. Checking to see if anything was stolen.”

There wasn’t a lot of crime in Tippitt, especially since the MC who resided here were the biggest criminals.
“Any idea who did it?”

The officer shrugged. “
End of summer. Could be some out-of-town kids blowing off steam before going back to school. When something like this happens, they usually don’t hit the same spot again. But keep your doors and windows locked.”

Janice peered out the driver’s window.
“Why John’s house?”

“Not sure.
Could’ve been just a random thing, or whoever could’ve been casing the place. Listen, you folks move along.”

Su
fficiently dismissed by the law, Taz drove on until he got to his ma’s house. He got her inside, settled and promised to get dinner for them later on before hopping on his bike. Checking his phone, he saw a message from Ben that he’d gotten the wood chipper on loan from the mill and wanted to know if he was free the next day to finish the yard work. Yeah, that would do – grinding up stumps while wondering what body parts would look like going through that thing. Man, he was a sick-thinking motherfucker sometimes.

As he headed for the clubhouse, Officer Rick’s theory nagged him.
Taz had been a kid once – one of the worst. He’d blown off steam by sneaking out at night, ditching school to get high and soaping up the entire town the night before Halloween. Breaking and entering and theft were a little too extreme for a bunch of kids to get their summer jollies. It was too random to be just that. Maybe John had put the kibosh on someone getting a zoning permit? Still, was that enough to vandalize the guy’s house? It just seemed……odd.

Chapter Fourteen

It wasn’t her parents luxurious
home in Loveland Estates, nor was it her St. James high-rise in Cincinnati, but the cottage-style rental Karen stood in the middle of was just enough for her. Glad to finally be out of the Super 8, the little three-room home suited her just right. After practically living out of her trunk and suitcases for almost three weeks, she considered this spacious. There wasn’t cable, a garbage disposal or even a dishwasher, but it didn’t matter. Karen would learn to live without the basic amenities in exchange for an affordable roof over her head. It was sparsely furnished, with a bed stripped to the mattress, oak dresser, oval coffee table, couch and chair. The living room was a large, open space which fed into the kitchen area separated by an island counter. Other than an apartment-sized refrigerator and old Mr. Coffee, the only appliance of convenience was a small microwave.

It was perfect.

She arrived early Saturday morning after signing the lease, handing over a security deposit and getting the keys. The place was pretty clean, as Eva had told her Ben was quite the neat freak who’d kept the place simple and uncluttered. It smelled of freshly dried paint and a hint of soap from the shampooed area rug which covered a good amount of the beautiful hardwood floor underneath. After putting her clothes away in the bureau and arranging her toiletries in the tiny bathroom, she knew it was time to make a list when she realized she hadn’t enough hangers in the closet for her good clothes.

She opened the front and back doors, keeping the screens locked, as w
ell as the windows. One luxury she could really use on the biting August day was an air conditioner, however the landlord had left a large oscillating fan from when he’d painted. Hopping on one of the island stools, she pulled out her day planner and pencil. First and foremost – groceries. She also needed linens, clothes hangers, cleaning supplies and maybe some DVDs for her laptop. Putting her pencil down, Karen stopped to listen. It was surprisingly quiet for a Saturday morning in the summer, and she swore she could hear the rushing falls of the reservoir down the street. She blushed as she immediately thought of Taz.

“Knock, knock.”

Turning on the stool, she saw Eva on the other side of the screen. A pretty, blonde woman was with her. “Eva.” Jumping off, she undid the latch and let them in. Eva was carrying a laundry basket while the young blonde had two large shopping bags. “What is all this?”

“Happy housewarming.”
Both women put their stuff down. “You said you’d be here early and I figured you didn’t have the basics. I went through some stuff I stored away when I moved into the house. Had some towels, sheets, a small dish set and cutlery. Oh and a pot and a pan.”

Karen lifted the linens to reveal kitchen stuff underneath as the blonde woman came around the other end of the island.
“I’m Kelly. My ol’ man works with Ben at the mill. Tanner’s working this morning so I asked Eva if I could tag along. I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all
.” Karen thought her smile would split her face in half. “Thank you.”

“I got you
some cleaning stuff, dishwashing liquid and laundry detergent. Oh, do you even have a washing machine?”

Thankfully, yes.
“In the basement. Landlord says it’s old, but it works.” Again, she surveyed everything. “This is really nice of you. Thank you. So much.” She felt like crying. Here was her boss she’d known for three weeks and a young woman she’d known three minutes trying to make her feel welcome, when her own mother made her feel like an embarrassment. “I’d offer you something, but……”

“It’s okay.
I have to get to the store.”

“And my mom can only watch my son for the morning,” Kelly said.

This woman had a son with Tanner, who worked with Eva’s husband, Ben. Since Kelly referred to him as her ol’ man, Karen assumed he was a member of the Skulls as well. It was hard for Karen to wrap her head around these tough bikers being family men. Even harder was this outpouring of kindness that she didn’t know how to express her appreciation of. “Thank you so much – for all of this, really.”

“I’m sure you’re going to want new stuff.
This’ll just get you by until you do.” Eva checked the time, then remembered something. “Oh, do you have plans tomorrow?”

Yeah, Karen’s social calendar was overflowing.
“No.”

“I’m having a little c
ookout at my house. Noon-ish. Nothing big, just family.”

Family.
Translation: the club members. Which meant Taz would most likely be there. She’d already met Ben and that older guy, Doug, at the medical center. And this Tanner belonged to Kelly. She wondered just how many more of them were. Even though she still felt a bit out of place in this town, Eva was her boss – and a friend – and appreciated being included. “I’d love to. What can I bring?”

“Just y
our appetite. Trust me. Ben finished cleaning up the yard. I’m picking up all the meat this afternoon and making sides tonight. Janice is bringing the dessert and the guys are bringing the beer. We’re pretty covered.”

“Oh, good.
Janice is feeling better.” Karen had heard from Taz once since Wednesday, when he’d called to make sure she was set to move in Saturday. Other than that - nothing.

Eva nodded.
“She took it easy the rest of the week, but she’s ready to bust out.”

“Eva, I can’t show up empty
-handed.”

“If you want you can bring
wine.” She rubbed her pregnant belly. “I’ll just sniff the bottle.”

“Done
.”

After the two women left,
Karen went to unpack the stuff, when she heard rustling outside through the back door. It led from the end of the living room area to a small yard with a line of privacy trees which buffered the house behind her. It was so quiet it made even the tiniest sound stand out. Nothing was out there, and she figured it was a stray cat or a squirrel. She was able to see through the trees to notice the back end of a white pickup truck parked on the street. Not until she turned away from the door did she hear the truck immediately pull away.

She spent the rest of the day shopping for groceries and essentials
, then detoured to the plaza to pick up wine at Ticker Liquor. She rarely - if ever - picked out wine, as she either ordered it in a restaurant or was served at her parents’ house and usually something grossly expensive.

“Help ya, miss?” It
was one of them. Doug was his name. He was older, mid-forties, maybe closer to fifty, with bits of gray littering his sideburns and beard and sporting a bit of a paunch. “Karen, right?”

He obviously recognized her
, and she nodded. “Yes. You work here?”

“Club owns the place.
I run it for ‘em. What’cha lookin’ for?”

“A bottle
of wine. Something good, but not expensive.”

Doug rubbed the side of his face
, looking confused. “Yeah, wine’s not exactly my area.” He then put his tongue between his teeth and whistled – loud. “Yo, Perri. Over here.”

Perri
turned out to be a very tall woman with wild black curls and clothes which were a tad snug. “Yeah, Dougie?”

“Help her out.” He jerked his head towards Karen before looking at her.
“See ya tomorrow, I guess?”

“Excuse me?”

“Ben’s. Taz bringin’ ya?”

How did he……?
“Eva just invited me this morning and, so far, I’m going alone.”

Doug snorted a laugh.
“Yeah, whatever.” He gave Perri a quick kiss. “No charge.”

“What’cha need, hon?”

Karen repeated and Perri immediately went in search, coming back with a bottle cabernet. “Not too dry or sweet.”

“Wrap it up.”

After running her last errand, Karen went home and put everything away. The house was stifling, being closed up while she was gone, and the oscillating fan did its best to cool off the area. She gave the bathroom a good scrubbing, put clean linens on the bed, then finally made herself something to eat. As it began to get dark, she took a nice, cool shower. She squeezed peaches and cream gel into the mesh scrubbie and washed away the day’s sweat – a very productive day at most. After drying off, she heard something through the open bathroom door. Wrapping herself in the towel, she cautiously stepped out. “Hello?” No answer and dead silence, then a loud crash out back, which caused her to jump back and scream.

“Karen!”

That was Taz’s voice and it had come from the other side of the front door. Mindless of only being in a towel, she sprinted to the front door and tore it open. A pair of fiery, black eyes examined every inch of her in seconds. “What happened? You a’ight?”

Clutching the towel, she pointed towards the back. “Something crashed out back.”

Removing his gun from under his leather, he ran towards the back door, Karen right behind him. “Stay here,” he ordered.

She had no problem complying and went to her bedroom to toss on shorts and a tank.
He came back in as she was rubbing the towel through her wet hair. “What was it?” Her eyes went to the gun as he placed it on the dresser.

“Trash can next door
got knocked over.”

“That’s it?”

“Why? Somethin’ else happen?”

She was letting her mind play tricks with her ever since he
’d fed her that story about Preston’s victims possibly coming for her. “No. Sorry, didn’t mean to scream like that.” She paused, “What’re you doing here?”

He gave her a quick kiss.
“A simple hello’ll do. C’mon, hold the door open for me.”

She followed him
to the front as he went outside, hoisting something from the ground near his bike. She couldn’t make out what it was in the dark – until he got closer. “Is that a….?”

He carefully
placed a small, window air conditioner on one of the stools. “Prospect followed me in the van. Won’t cool off the whole place, but we can put it in the bedroom. Least you can sleep in comfort.”

Fr
ee house goods and an air conditioner. Today was quite a day. “Wow, thanks. Where’d you get it?”

“My room at the clubhouse.”

“But, don’t you need…..?”

“You’re welcome,” he cut her off.
“I’ll live. I’m all about pleasin’ the ladies. Not to mention,” he closed the space between them, “maybe I can cop an invite and share some of that overnight coolin’.”

Karen had to admit he was cha
rming to the bone. Those devilish looks only heightened the appeal. He was making his case to spend the night here. “So you think I’ll feel bad that you sacrificed your air conditioner and let you sleep here?”

He dragged his lips against her neck.
“Never know when the boogieman’s gonna be creepin’ around your back yard again.” He trailed up to ear. “It might be a good idea to have a man around.”

Karen felt her body go limp as he nipped at
her skin. The sensation sent a tingle all the way down the center of her body as she fisted the edges of his short, black hair. “Mmm,” she hummed. “I think I may find use for you.”

“Use me, sweetheart,” he mused, moving to kiss her temples and forehead, “use me.”

“Taz?” She couldn’t believe she wanted to talk right now. “What’re you doing to me?”

“Ain’t it obv
ious?”

“No.
Yes, I mean.” Again, his lips against her skin distracted her. “I just haven’t heard from you since Wednesday morning and now you just show up and……..”

He immediately stopped and pulled away.
Running a hand through his hair, he paced to the door and back. “Shit, Karen. I don’t know how to do this.”

“Do what?”

He motioned between the two of them. “This. You and me.
Us
.”

“So, you’re saying there’s an
us
?”

Damn, he looked confused.
She didn’t mean to make it worse, but a woman sometimes needed things spelled out for them, whereas men thought they automatically got the hint. “Taz, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to put you on the spot.

“You didn’t.
I did it myself.” He blew out a hard breath. “We’re both tryin’ somethin’ we ain’t ready for. I don’t know, maybe I am, I just…..I just don’t know how to navigate a…….”

Karen backe
d up to sit on the stool. “A what?”

He looked as if he was biting back the word he was about to say.
“A relationship. Never did one before and hadn’t planned on one movin’ into my town.”

“But I thought you were avoiding that?”

“Thought you were too, sweetheart. So, what, you wanna just be fuck buddies? Shit, Karen, that’ll make you no better than the girls at the clubhouse. You ain’t them. I can’t……I just…….fuck I don’t fuckin’ know.”

“You talk a lot.”

He stopped himself and smiled. “You really
are
gettin’ to know me.”

“So do you want to shake hands and part ways?”