Page 31 of Deuce

“Yup.Is Willow okay being left alone?”

“Yeah, doesn’t seem to bother her.My dad made a run back up to his homestead to pick up some supplies or he’d stay with her.She’ll just jump up on my bed and make sure there’s Willow dust on my pillow when I go to bed tonight.”

I pretended to wince.“Yikes.A passive aggressive pint-sized attack dog.”

Sophia shook her head.“Yeah, but I cheated.I pulled my pillows off the bed and put out a couple of spare ones.She might be cute, but I don’t relish waking up with dog hair in my mouth.”

I put Willow down and she ignored us both, trotting back to her water dish.She made impressively loud slurping sounds as she took a drink.

I glanced at Sophia.With the leather jacket and a pair of biker boots, she looked good enough to eat.I felt my cock twitch at the idea.I hastily shifted my position to hide the sudden bulge at my crotch.

I took a deep breath.I didn’t want to put a damper on the date, but I needed to do this and I figured I might as well get it out of the way.It could help us find the trafficking ring.

I pulled the papers out of my pocket.“Before we go, I have a couple of pictures to show you.Shadow managed to track down the guys who deleted their profiles from that dating app the day you got abducted.Want to take a look and see if any of them look familiar?”

She frowned.“Sure.Shadow is the computer whiz, right?”

“Right.”

She reached out and I handed over the pictures.She studied them carefully, shaking her head at the first two.When she got to the third one, her eyes widened.“That’s him,” she snarled.“That’s George.The son of a bitch.Can you track him from here?”

I took the picture.Not the guy I’d shot, so he was still out there somewhere.Not for long though.I had a new goal in life.Find George and kill him.Slowly.Painfully.

“Shadow will be able to.That kid is a wizard with a computer.”I filed the picture back in my pocket and sent Shadow a quick text to let him know we had a positive ID.I put the phone back in my pocket.

“Ready to go?”

Sophia nodded.“Where are we going?”

“I thought I’d take you to the bar the club owns.Should be safe enough with all the bikers around and as a bonus, there’s karaoke tonight.”

She looked intrigued.“You sing?”

“Very little, and surprisingly far off-key.How about you?”

She wrinkled her nose.“A little less than very little, but I love to listen and tap my feet.”

“Sound like a plan then.All those wannabe singers need an audience, right?”

“Absolutely.”She locked the door behind us and tucked the key into her purse.Slinging it over her head and shoulder, she twisted it around behind her.Smart.It was firmly attached but wouldn’t get between us on the bike.

I handed her the helmet I’d picked up for her earlier before fastening my own.The one I’d bought her was pink and girly as fuck.I wanted her to have her own, not the spare I kept for anyone who happened to need a ride.

Sophia was special, and she deserved to be treated as such.

A questioning look crossed her face as her gaze slid from the shiny new helmet to me, but she didn’t comment as she fastened it on her head.She slid the visor up and down a couple of times as if testing how well it worked.

I slung my leg over the bike and kicked the starter.Newer bikes all had key starts but I liked the feel of a kick-start.My ride was my pride and joy, a burgundy-red 1985 FXSB lowrider that I’d spent many an hour tweaking and working on.I could tell if she needed a little TLC just by the sound of her engine.

Sophia clambered on behind me and snuggled up close, wrapping her arms tight around my waist.I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feel of her against my back.

After my old lady ran out on me, I figured I was done with that couples shit, but now I realized I just hadn’t met the right woman.Sophia was that woman.My woman.

I savored that thought as I dropped the bike into first and puttered down the street at a stately pace.No point in giving the neighbors reason to think poorly of me, or of Sophia by association.

I’d told her we were going to the bar Riptide owned, but I planned to take the long way getting there.Instead of heading downtown, I took a right at the end of the street.

It was a beautiful night for a ride.The sun was just starting to set, throwing a pink and gold glow across the landscape.The smell of pine and damp earth hung in the air as I headed for the road that curved around the lake.Mature trees overhung the pavement, and the generous shoulders on the road made for an exhilarating ride.Once clear of town, I sped up, sweeping through the curves at speeds probably not approved of by the local police.But they weren’t here.They were out on the main highway, handing out tickets to the tourists passing through on their way to all the attractions in the bigger cities.

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