Page 29 of Flick

“Where are you?” Beth asked.

“I’m hanging out in Bootstrap’s office since I wanted a little quiet. It’s quite interesting. This room is meticulously clean, which makes the way the clubhouse looks even more strange. Quit avoiding the question,” Winnie said.

Beth sent the pictures to Cowboy, then stood up and left the room. Not seeing Flick in the bedroom, she walked in and flopped down on the bed.

“It’s complicated,” Beth said. She tried to outwait Winnie for her to say something, but Winnie was quiet.

“I kissed Flick on assignment last weekend. One, to hide what we were doing, but two, to see what he tasted like. Since all of you mentioned dating my best friend, I haven’t been able to think of much else.”

Winnie chuckled. “Hmm, and?”

Beth blew out a breath, buzzing her lips against the phone.

“Funny,” Winnie said, then did it back to Beth.

“Now I can’t get him off my mind, and I might have dressed in tiny panties and a camisole after my shower. I made a move, and the heat was flaming hot. Until his brothers called, and he couldn’t miss it. His brother Brody in the Army has been unavailable longer than normal,” Beth said.

“We’ll get back to the brothers in a minute. So what’s next?” Winnie asked.

Beth rolled her eyes, even though Winnie couldn’t see her.

“He’s going to use his brothers as an excuse to tell himself we shouldn’t. Flick is going to run, at least as much as he can in the house we share,” Beth said.

“Well, you know a Franks sister…” Winnie said and paused.

“Always gets her man,” Beth completed the phrase.

“So whatcha gonna do to get your man?” Winnie asked.

Beth thought about what she wanted. She wanted Flick, and even though it seemed quick—she wanted him forever. But really, they’d been building to this; she just hadn’t known it at the time. The only way she was going to get him was if he got on board. Would chasing him get him on board, or should she back off a little to let him get comfortable?

“When hunting, a skilled hunter needs to know their quarry. The elusive biker and best buddy needs to be thrown off his game, or he’ll retreat into his shell. I think I’m going to act like nothing happened on the couch and enjoy time withmy good buddy Flick. Then when he’s all relaxed because he thinks everything is back to normal—kapow, I’ll pounce, and the sexy man won’t know what hit him,” Beth said in her best documentary narrator accent.

Winnie giggled. “Oh, I can’t wait for this. By the way, are you coming to the clubhouse this weekend to go over stuff again? Bootstrap wanted to know, and so do we.”

Beth thought through what they’d learned and what was still missing.

“Yeah, and maybe we need to have a game night and get our minds off the case and hit it fresh Saturday morning. I feel like whatever this is could be right in front of us, and we’re all missing it. The monotony of surveillance is real, and sometimes it’s easy to miss things,” Beth said.

“I agree. Let’s do partner games. There seems to be some tension between Della and Brew. I’d love to see them have to work together.”

“Oh, we haven’t messed with him in a while. I’m all in,” Beth said.

She and Winnie chatted some more, then hung up. Beth decided to go to sleep. She wouldn’t want to be awake when Flick came upstairs. Every quarry needed to think they were safe. She giggled to herself. Oh man, if her mom were alive, she’d be getting after Beth for calling Flick that, but she wasn’t doing it in a degrading way. Once her eyes were opened, she realized that he could be her happily ever after, and sometimes, a woman had to fight for it in any way she had at her disposal. Game on, Flick. Game on.

Chapter Nineteen

Beth finished putting away her items at the clubhouse. Completing their one-and-a-half-hour circular route while changing disguises and cars twice made Beth ready for a game night and some food.

Flick had been thrown off his game when they’d gotten up the next morning after their interrupted make-out session, and she’d acted like his friend again. She had been happy to find out Gunner was going to be in Texas with them and that Brody would be in Bluff Creek for the Fourth of July. Now to see how today went. She was going to relax, and then hopefully, with all the data they’d collected, Saturday morning would give them a break in this case.

Winnie had already done her part and picked the games for them to play and assigned teams. Winnie was all sunshine and roses that hid a devious mind sometimes. Of course, Winnie had the man of her dreams, but she’d fought for him too. If anyone could help her get Flick, Winnie could.

Walking out to the main room, she grabbed a glass of water and then heard voices coming from outside. She walked out there, and Flick was hugging who she assumed was his brother Gunner. Seeing how happy Flick was with Gunner did her heart good.

The Bluff Creek Brotherhood MC had welcomed Flick, but over the years, she’d noticed how much he’d missed his brothers. She was sure the Fourth of July couldn’t come soon enough for him to lay eyes on Brody.

“Beth, come meet my brother,” Flick called. Beth smiled and walked over to the men, cataloging the differences. Same dark hair as Flick, though Gunner’s was longer than Flick’s and not as styled. Gunner was the same height as Flick. But where Flick had lean muscles, Gunner was bulky. Where Flick didn’t have tattoos, Gunner had plenty.

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