Page 31 of Devil to Pay: Cutter

“You should know Vlad’s been in the doghouse since he ran you off.”

Aja’s eyes grow huge.

“Oh yeah, Nic told me. If Reaper ever tried running off one ofmyfriends, he’d get a whole lot worse than thedoghouse. I can promise you that.”

“I never meant to cause trouble,” Aja says. She has her hand pressed to her forehead. Damn, if she’s not really worried about this.

Dusty simply swats her words away. “You didn’t cause trouble. From one biker old lady to another… these men, you give an inch, they’ll take a mile. So you have to learn to take five back.”

“Dusty,” I bark causing Aja to sputter out a laugh.

“What? Don’t Dusty me, Cutter. I don’t answer to you and Aja needs her girls to look out for her.” As she and Aja continue to laugh, Dusty says, “Please, let’s sit and eat.”

After a couple more minutes, Betty joins us. We’ve already got full plates.

“So,” Dusty says, “do you have computer experience?” She takes a bite of her rice.

“As much as anybody these days,” Aja says. “I can google search with the best of them and I tend to pick up new things quickly. So like if there’s a program that I’ll need to learn.”

“Good. That sounds real good.”

As Aja puts her fork down, she lifts her eyes to look right at Dusty. God, it’s so sad thatmychest aches from the pain of whatever’s about to come out of her mouth. “Dusty,” she says. “I thank you for meeting me, but I want to be totally honest with you. I don’t even have my high school diploma. The only jobs I’ve ever had involved stripping. The last thing I need is the club mad at me because they think I’ve somehow led you astray.”

“Honey, I don’t give a shit if you have a diploma. We’re a small group, so I need to trust you. Both Betty and I need to mesh with your personality—”

“Let me stop you right there.” Aja takes a deep breath. “I’m here because I stole from Cutter and he hunted me down.”

“I know.”

Aja’s head flinches back slightly, her eyes narrowed. I’m not going to lie, a confused Aja is damn cute. “Then how do you ever think you’ll be able to trust me?” she asks.

Instead of answering Aja, Dusty looks to me. “Cut, you let her go, I’ll castrate you.” She takes a bite of her chili, eyes closing in ecstasy. Then she turns her head to address Aja again. “People do things, act in ways they normally wouldn’t when caught in desperate situations. I don’t know your story, but going off the way you’ve stopped me twice now to make sure I have all the information, you’re not a person who steals because you don’t want to work. That means something else drove you to it.”

“Something else drove me to it,” Aja mumbles.

“Right. So why don’t we give it a two-week trial period? See if you like the job. I have no doubt you’ll learn the ropes just fine. Do you have a computer?”

“I have one.” I drink down the last of my Coke then go for another.

“Good. I have a training copy of the software I use. Patient files at the click of a mouse. But don’t worry, I’m not sending you home with actual patient files. They’re simulations. It makes check in and answering questions a breeze. You can take it home, fiddle with it over the weekend so you aren’t completely thrown, and you can start on Monday.”

“What if I’m not a good fit?” Aja asks while pinching the bridge of her nose. “Wouldn’t it be more profitable to bring someone on who already knows what they’re doing?” Okay, now I’m starting to get pissed. I know she wants the job. She needs to stop this nonsense.

“Aja,” I snap. “Stop. She wants to give you the shot.”

“I know, because she’s a nice person. I can tell right off,” Aja replies then turns to look at Dusty again. “But you don’t want to have to train another new person.”

“Just hearing you say that tells me that you’ll try your hardest. That’s all anyone can ask.”

“Okay,” Aj says, sighing and swear to God she’s got tears in her eyes. “Um… if you’re sure you want me.”

After a lifetime of being hurt by people, the woman needed someone to take a chance on her. I have and I knew of anybody, Dusty would want to give Aja a chance, too. By the time we leave her office, we’re full of delicious food with a copy of the training program and Aja has another member of her new girl gang.

I help her up into the truck but lean into her before shutting the door. “Happy, baby?” I ask.

“Tentatively. Dusty’s nice. She doesn’t have to give me a chance. Lord knows no one else would and I couldn’t blame them.”

“Don’t. You have to stop running yourself down. You did what you did, but that brought us together.” I bend in to press what is supposed to be a quick kiss to her lips, but like most times, once I get that first taste I end up sucking her bottom lip into my mouth. She melts as she simultaneously pulls me in closer, holding on to keep me from coming up for air until my lungs can’t take a second more of holding my breath. The woman undoes me. After a kiss like that, it takes a beat to recover before I peck her on the nose and close the door, running around to climb in, starting the engine.

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