Page 21 of Justice

Tobias smiles as he picks up his phone, sending a photo of his current view of the table across the street to Drake, wearing the same smile he had as he told Joanna her skills in the bedroom were lackluster at best, and not something he would ever want to try again. His honesty had granted him several cuss words and a hang-up, but in the end, she did go away, at least until now. With the death of her sister, he had no doubt she would have months of pent-up energy needing a release.

Drake didn’t disappoint as less than a minute later, his phone vibrated with an incoming call.

“I figured with all the crap being shoved down your throat today, you could use a distraction.”

“Couldn’t you think of something better to send me than his old, ugly face?”

Tobias leaned his bare arms against the table. The lines of ink covering his skin had gained him a fair amount of attention from the ladies working behind the counter, none of which were notable enough to take back to his room.

“Awe come on, boss. He was looking forward to being your date to the funeral.”

“I’d have taken him over Joanna.”

“Do I want to know?”

“Probably not,” Drake states matter-of-factly, his gruff tone confirming his irritation from last night still remained.

“But you’re going to tell me, anyway.” Tobias teases, not liking the amount of stress in his friend’s life at the moment.

“Right after you tell me I can have the Harley you stole from that dead motherfucker.”

“Deal, now what’s eating you? The woman you hated more than anything is dead, you should be sleeping with every hooker in town.”

“Joanna is calling for a Sororate marriage.”

Tobias pulled his phone back, glancing at the screen to make sure they were still connected.

“Are you serious?” Tobias asked dumbfounded, unable to believe what Drake had said. “I knew they had stock in the crazy train, but I wasn’t aware they owned the company. Please tell me you will not let them goad you into this? I mean, the practice of marrying your dead wife’s sister went out with the invention of the telephone.”

Despite Drake’s position of being the leader of the Family, Tobias had earned the right to call things as he saw them, advising his friend when he thought his decision was questionable. Unfortunately, as much pull as Tobias had with him, Francine, Drake’s mother, had more.

“Hell no! Ma got her way once, I won’t make that mistake again.” When Drake announced he was marrying Deidre, Tobias tried to talk him out of it. But the pressure from Francine, to make her a grandmother before she died, won out.

“Good thing, cause as much as you hated Deidre, I speak from experience when I say you would loathe Joanna.”

Both women were the equivalent of bathing in rubbing alcohol while covered in tiny cuts. Painful as hell, and swearing to yourself, no matter how beneficial it may be, you would never do it again.

“Speaking of loathing, what’s the word on Campbell?”

“As you can see from the photos, Red is trying to strengthen his numbers. He is dipping into the bottom of the barrel, willing to take anyone with a pulse. Did you happen to see anyone else interesting sitting at the table?”

Silence settles on the conversation as Drake examines the photo and Tobias waits for the moment he sees the man sitting next to Red.

“Well, Red certainly hasn’t changed much, still ugly as fuck.”

“You’re getting warmer.” Tobias teases, his internal gloat rising to the surface, ready to make an appearance at any moment.

“The guy beside him, Martin…no, Miller…no, Marino, yes that’s his name, Marino. Is he going to be a problem?”

The bell over the door chimes as Tobias opens his mouth to reply and in walks one of the most beautiful women he has ever laid his eyes on. Dark, wavy hair caresses her shoulders as it winds its way down her back. Blemish free skin, looks so soft it overwhelms him with the need to touch it. Lips stained red, perfectly proportioned to her face, and a body so tight it would make a monk’s dick twitch.

Tobias was mesmerized as he watched her walk across the room, taking a seat at the bar attached to the large windows at the front of the shop. He listens as she orders a black coffee, her southern accent not as strong as the others he had encountered in town. Still, it’s enough to make him want to hear her voice chant his name over and over as he pounded into her.

As she thanks the waitress, she shifts her hair over her shoulders and he is instantly jealous of the chair she rests her back against, as it is touching some of the places he desires to.

The scraping of a nearby chair leg against the tile brings him out of his lust-filled haze and back to the conversation with Drake, “Nah, man. He’s going to be an asset.”

Tobias ends the call, assuring Drake he will check back with any updates, sending his condolences one last time. Taking a sip of his rapidly cooling coffee, he steals a hard look at the girl by the window. Her table is absent of a laptop or cell phone, no book or handbag to occupy her time. From his position, he has a clear view of her profile, the way her eyes seem locked on the table full of bikers across the street, lids slanted in either irritation or poor vision. She doesn’t strike him as the typical cut slut, no visible tattoos or provocative dress.

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