Page 67 of All Wrong
“Shoot.”
“How did you and Lina end up together?”
Kyle was big, dark, and rough around the edges, a biker down to his very soul. Celina was the exact opposite. Beautiful, sweet, golden, and feminine from the top of her blonde tresses to the tips of her manicured toes. Not to mention, Celina’s olderbrothers, Johnny and Michael, ran in the same biker club as Kyle and were the protective sort.
Nick said as much, ending with, “No offense.”
“None taken,” Kyle said with a smirk. “I can’t believe it myself sometimes. But thatcroieshit? It’s for real.”
Kyle then went on to tell him how he and Celina had first met. How she’d been dating his brother, Jamie, at the time and Jamie came to him, asking for advice on seduction. “I thought he was fucking crazy,” Kyle said, “and then I met her.” He shook his head. “And still, I fought it. Wasn’t until I thought I’d lost her that I got my head out of my ass. Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” Nick said. “Just curious.”
“Bullshit. It’s the cute blonde, right? Corinne?” At Nick’s shocked expression, Kyle barked out a laugh. “Yep. Thought so. You two were eye-fucking each other at the fair a couple of weeks ago. Or at least, that’s what Lina said. Lina’s grandfather agreed. Said you were perfect for each other. He’s never wrong, by the way. What’s holding you back?”
“It’s not like that.”
Kyle’s smile was feral. “Ah. Denial. I remember it well. Come on then. Let me show you what I’ve been working on.”
An hour later,Nick was crossing the river again. Beneath his hands were the custom grips Kyle had designed. He barely noticed. His mind was still swimming from the bombs Kyle had dropped. The guy had to be wrong though. Kyle was a fucking genius when it came to motorcycles, but he didn’t know shit about him or Corinne.
Sure, Nick thought about her a lot. And, yeah, the thought of her being with anyone else was like a punch in the gut. And, fuck, the sex had been off-the-charts fantastic. But it didn’t mean anything.
He made a left instead of a right at the intersection to do a cruise past Corinne’s building. The parking lot and the street were filled with U-Hauls and Ryders and moving vans.
Shit. It was her moving day, wasn’t it? Had she found a place?
He scanned the lot, looking for vehicles he recognized. Surely, someone was helping her.
He saw no sign of Corinne, or her sister, or any of the Callaghans. Maybe they’d already come and gone.
He swung by the garage. Nicki and Sean weren’t around, so he went to Jake’s Irish Pub. The familytended to gather there on Sundays. He found Jake and Ian behind the bar, Sean and Shane in front of it, and a new guy, Danny Donovan, who was some long-lost cousin or something. The wives were nowhere to be seen.
Nick received head nods and various called out greetings, which he returned. He couldn’t think of a way to ask about Corinne’s move without being obvious, so he took a seat and ordered a beer.
“Any news?” he asked.
Ian leaned forward. “Maybe. Nicki said she told you about the money angle, yeah?”
Nick nodded.
“Corinne agreed to do some poking around for us, and in the process, she found some major discrepancies. Next thing she knew, the manager was escorting her out the door and telling her in no uncertain terms to keep quiet and take some time off.”
Nick’s stomach twisted further. “Shit.”
“Yeah,” Jake said, his smile dark. “The good news is, she was able to upload the worm Ian had given her before they booted her out.”
“Is she in danger?” Nick couldn’t help asking.
“We don’t believe so,” Shane said slowly.
“You don’tbelieveso?” Nick echoed.
“Right now, there’s no evidence of anything other than incompetence.”
“But you’re keeping an eye out, yeah?”
“As much as we can,” Shane said. “It’d be easier if she moved in with us, but Rinn is adamantly opposed to that idea. Got herself another place.”
