Page 53 of Tuck & Roll

“Oh.” She stepped back and slipped the shirt off and handed it to him, leaving her naked before him. She was pleased as his eyes heated and skimmed her body from top to bottom.

“Goddamn, woman. You’re making it hard to leave.”

“Go on.” She pushed at his chest. “Get out of here.”

He pulled his shirt over his head and walked backward to the door. “Smells like you.” He pulled the collar over his nose and breathed deeply. “I’ll call you later.”

She smiled and waved goodbye.

He started to close the door, then stuck his head back inside. “Put some clothes on before Darren gets home.”

She rolled her eyes. “Duh.” She went and locked the door behind him.

There was nothing she could do, but wait. It didn’t mean she wouldn’t worry and fret the whole time. She decided to quickly get dressed and call Darren to see if he or one of the guys could come get her so she could get back to work on her investigation. At least, in this one area of her life, she could get something done.

As soon as Kylie got dressed, she called Darren. He sent Jed to pick her up and bring her to the clubhouse. She needed to do something to keep her mind off what might be happening at the doctor’s office with Tuck and Taylor. Digging into Clark Gussman was how she planned on doing that.

In under an hour she was able to find Clark’s driver’s license through the DMV database. The picture surprised her. He wore his gray hair shoulder length and slicked back from his face. She couldn’t tell if he used something to slick it back like that or if it was just greasy. His beady dark brown eyes and the mean smirk on his face made him look rough to say the least. The picture kind of reminded her of a mug shot. She needed to show this to Race.

She found him in his office sitting at his desk, Darren and Maverick taking up the two chairs in front of the desk and Jed on the couch. Knocking on the doorframe, she asked, “Do you have a minute?”

Race looked up and smiled warmly her direction. “Sure, sweetness.” He leaned back in his chair. “What do ya need?”

“I just ran Clark Gussman through the DMV and have a picture for you to look at.”

“All right. Let’s go take a look.” He got up, rounded his desk and followed her down the hall to her office. Darren, Maverick and Jed followed as well. They all gathered around her desk, taking up position behind her chair.

She woke up her computer screen, bringing Clark Gussman’s image to light.

“Fuck me,” Jed mumbled.

“Do you know him?” Kylie asked.

“Yeah, we know him.” Race confirmed as he exchanged frowns with the other men.

“From the conversation Kylie overheard, Chet was working with Clark, who we know as Crockett and they were using Whitener to do their dirty work. The Goddamn Phantom Furies have been stealing our money from right under our noses and I’m sure they were laughing at us behind our backs, thinking we’re a bunch of chumps.” Jed stared at the screen, murder in his eyes.

“How much money did they end up getting?” Race asked Kylie.

“$150,000, give or take.” The temperature in the room had dropped considerably when the guys recognized Clark, but it was downright frigid now.

“We need to take another look at his office,” Maverick suggested.

“Yeah. Looks that way,” Race agreed. “Darren, take Kylie to Bottoms Up so she can install the new program. Kylie, do whatever it is you do and go through that computer with a fine-tooth comb. I want to know everything that shithead was up to. Call me if you find anything.”

“Okay. I can do that.”

Race stopped at the door as everyone except Darren filed out. “Kylie, I know it goes without saying, but I can’t stress it enough. As the resident computer genius, you’re going to be privy to Sons business. Some good, some bad. You may even discover things about each of us you don’t like. Remember, whatever you learn is club business. That means you don’t discuss any of this with anyone. Not even the old ladies. And believe me, there will be times they are going to pressure you to spill. You cannot spill. Club business is sacred to us. What we do, we do to protect our club and our families. Get me?”

“Yes, Race, I get you.” She nodded her head in understanding, although she didn’t need the reminder to keep whatever she found private.

“Good. Let me know if you find anything, sweetness.”

Darren took her to Bottoms Up and into Chet’s office. She took the time to wipe down the office chair, computer and work area around the desk surface before she took a seat. While she was doing that and getting the software program set up to run, Darren was asking the bartender questions.

“When was the last time you saw Chet?”

“He left around 11:30 last night. Just walked out the back door. We wouldn’t have known he was gone if Ace, one of the bouncers, hadn’t been backstage checking on the girls and happened to come out as he left.”

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