“Whatcha got going on?” He leaned against the counter.
“A date.”
“With who?”
“No one you know.” She bent down and pulled out her purse.
“Does Animal know him?”
Jada rolled her eyes. “My brother doesn’t know everyone I go out with. Besides, I don’t need his approval. I’m twenty-one years old now.”
“That doesn’t matter. You’re like a sister to the brothers. You can be seventy-one years old, and I’ll still be asking you the same questions. You have to be careful. There are a lot of guys out there that only see a chick as a piece of ass.”
She laughed. “And you and the other Insurgents know all about that, right? Have you ever seen a woman as anything other than a sure thing?”
“I’m not talking about chicks who like the wild side; I’m talking about good girls.”
Another laugh erupted from her lips. “Good girls. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you are old-fashioned as hell. The fact that you, my brother, and well, all of you are staunch supporters of the double standard is a given. So will you cover for me for the next half hour?”
“Yeah, but don’t let this asshole mess with you. Tell him he’s got a whole lot of bikers to answer to if he does.”
“He already knows about my brother and his badass friends. Every guy in the county does. I’m surprised I have any dates.” She took out a tube from her purse and swiped some shiny stuff over her lips. “FYI: Colton is not an ‘asshole.’ He’s a nice guy who’s in my chemistry study group at college. I’m sure you’ll share that with Animal.”
Diesel grunted. “I’m not a fuckin’ gossip.” He pushed away from the counter and went behind it. He’d mention it to Animal when he saw him at the club later that night, but there was no need to let Jada know that.
“Yeah … right.” Breezing by him, she said, “See you in the morning.”
Diesel angled the miniature desk fan toward him. The cool air hit his skin. The relief was sweet. He pulled out his phone to check if Myla had texted him, but there was nothing. He scrolled through his missed calls on the chance that Freddy had called, but again, nothing. He rocked back on his heels and stared out the front door. A light wind swayed the tops of the trees, dotting the center parkway. As usual, a few people were out jogging or walking their dogs. While he watched them, he thought of his brother. Where the fuck are you? He knew in his gut that Freddy wasn’t dead … yet. Darkness took hold of him, and his body shook. It was only a matter of time before Freddy’s days ran out, and he had to find him before that happened.
“Where’s Jada?” Wheelie asked.
Diesel pushed down his thoughts and looked over at his business partner. “She had a date.”
A frown creased Wheelie’s forehead. “With who?”
“Some nerd in her study group at school.”
“I wonder if Animal knows him.”
“She says no, but he will after I see him at the club. Are you coming by?”
“I can’t. Sofia’s not feeling so good, and I have to watch Macy. She’s having a rough time of it this round.”
Diesel could hear the concern in his buddy’s voice. “I’m sure she’ll be okay. You got one of the best docs in town watching out for her.”
“Yeah. Once this baby is born, we’re done.”
“Two kids are good. Is Macy cool with being a big sister?”
Wheelie laughed. “Oh yeah. She’s excited as hell about getting a brother. She can’t wait to boss him around.” He crossed his arms against his chest. “Any news about your brother?”
“Not yet. I’m gonna have to take some time and see what I can find out in San Diego. I’ll put out some feelers in metro Denver.”
“I feel for you. This shit fuckin’ sucks.”
Diesel nodded. He knew Wheelie could relate since he went through all the bullshit when his sister was murdered a few years back. It tore him up, and now Diesel was feeling the same anger and frustration in not knowing what the hell was going on with a loved one.
“Take whatever time you need, bro. Bones and Klutch can help out around here.”
“Puck said he was down with it too. Why don’t you take off? I can close up.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Julio and Dave can help.”
“Okay, see you in the morning. Let me know if you need anything.”
The two men bumped fists then Wheelie walked away.
Rebels Car Wash & Detailing was a thriving business. He and Wheelie had each put in fifty percent. Wheelie did all the heavy work, like purchasing the equipment, renovating the building, and a ton of other things that transformed the place into one of the most popular car washes and detailing businesses in the county.
While Wheelie was doing all that, Diesel was sitting his ass in a prison cell, racking up more time because he couldn’t keep his temper in check. Once Wheelie, Hawk, Throttle, and Rags finally got through to him, he kept his fists unclenched, his head down and bided his time until he got the hell out of there. After the doors clanged behind him, Diesel swore he’d never be back and meant it.
When he was inside, the biggest problem was sheer boredom. Then Myla started writing to him. He was suspicious at first and thought maybe she was a reporter or a college kid trying to do research for a bullshit paper or something, but when Freddy confirmed that Myla was his girlfriend, he began to write back. Diesel was surprised that a woman who’d never met him wanted to correspond with him to cheer him up and to make his time less boring.
Initially, her letters were all about Freddy and what he was doing. Sometimes she’d write about Diesel and Freddy’s parents and how she and her brother visited them for Christmas or the Fourth of July. It had been years since Diesel had seen his parents, and he was fine with that. They never acted like parents, so he didn’t feel he owed them squat, but Freddy was always trying to please them and gain their affection and attention. Some things hadn’t changed in life.
Then their letters became more stimulating in that they “talked” about life, death, politics, philosophy, and a slew of other topics. They became more frequent and more personal. Diesel was beginning to feel something for her, and he quickly shut that down. Myla was his brother’s woman. However, in his defense, he hadn’t fucked a woman in a long time, so his dick governed his feelings. At least, that’s the way he looked at it.
He was taken aback when he met her the day before at the diner. He didn’t expect her to have such beautiful long brown hair and dark lashes framing the most gorgeous green eyes he’d ever seen. And that mouth of hers was a perfect pout. Fuck. He bet her curvy figure drew a lot of attention from the men, and the way she was nicely stacked added fuel to the fire.
Diesel shook his head to dislodge the memory of her from his mind. She’s Freddy’s woman, and he’s missing. The reality of the situation hit him square in the gut. One way or the other, he had to find his brother.
He pulled out his phone and tapped in Zach’s number. Diesel had met him when they were both doing time. Growing up on the streets of Denver, Zach knew the ins and outs of the city’s underbelly.