Page 30 of Phantom
My dad shrugged. “Nah. We’ll be all right.” I didn’t know quite how to take that. In the past, my dad had all but insisted that the VP be around frequently because my duties to and for the club were important. All of a sudden, he was okay with me being gone every day for three weeks? My dad sighed. “What, Val? I see those gears turning.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me or something?” I asked.
My dad recoiled a little. “What? No. You’re just the only one who I trust to make sure things are on the up and up, and I trust you to handle it yourself if things aren’t.” He leaned in a little. “I mean, I know Taylor could handle himself if shit hit the fan, but I think we all know I’m not about to send him out there.” He leaned back. “Tess, you know I think your role around here is vital. Where’s this coming from?”
The sincerity in his eyes made me feel as if I’d jumped the gun, accusing him of anything untoward, but the fact that it still didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me kept me paused. Whether it was trust or something else, it wasn’t like I could do much about it. “Okay.”
“Yeah, come on.” He was boisterous in a way that let me know he’d been drinking already.
He didn’t abuse liquor like my grandad did, but on occasion, he let the guys get a little too much in him, and he suffered for it. His hangovers were not pretty. My dad put a finger in the air and nodded, and a few minutes later, Cara was back at our table with a glass of whiskey. He knocked back nearly half the glass in one shot and then slammed it back on the table.
“So, CJ. Is the bike back up and running?” he asked.
Colin nodded. “Yeah. It’s in the lot right now. Got some cosmetic changes to make, but that’s the easy stuff.”
My dad snickered. “Yeah. I always hate that part. The nitty gritty, I like, but then I usually dump mine at a body shop to be bea-u-tified.” He let out a roaring laugh as if he’d told a hysterical joke, then threw back the rest of his whiskey.
“Dad, maybe you’d better relax, or you’re gonna end up like Grandpa.”
My dad winced. “Oof. Hit me where it hurts, why don’t you, pumpkin?” He pushed his glass away. “Fine. I’m on water for the rest of the night.”
“And a ride home?” I replied.
“And a ride home,” he mocked in a grumbling voice.
“Good.” I looked at Colin. “Are you ready? I’m tired.”
He nodded back at me. “Sure. Let’s go.”
“Actually.” My dad tapped his fist lightly on Colin’s shoulder. “Can you hang out for a little bit longer? I’d like a chance to speak with CJ.” He narrowed his eyes. “Alone.”
Colin and I exchanged glances, but he seemed just as lost as I was. “Um.”
“Ah! Don’t be so clingy!” my dad barked. “Just a quick card game.”
“We had a five-hour round trip, Dad.”
“It’s okay,” Colin said. “I can spare a few minutes. Especially if it’s for cards.”
My dad laughed. “I knew I liked this guy.” He stood up from his chair. “Come on. Join me in the back.”
He didn’t wait for Colin before he started off for the bar, and after a few minutes of hesitation, Colin stood up. I watched him, but he avoided my gaze as he walked around the table, followed my dad behind the bar and through the doors, and moved out of sight. If I wasn’t already uneasy, the fact that, when I turned back around, I had an unobstructed view of a seething Taylor in the back corner of the bar was the nail in the coffin.
Chapter Eleven
Phantom
He’s just a man,I told myself over and over,just another man.Yes, Nicholas Nicholas was just another man, but in my life, he was several different men. He was the boss of my current motorcycle club, the boss of my former motorcycle club’s rival, and definitely the man who would murder me if he found out who I used to run with. On top of that, he was the father of the woman I was rapidly reigniting my love for and the only man keeping his rabid dog of a son from slitting my throat for that love. Running through the multitudes of reasons why Nick would suddenly invite me back to his warehouse for a one-on-one chat, my brain refused to settle anywhere other than on the possibility that Nick had figured out who I was.
That sent me into panic mode.
Thanks to Tess distracting me, I hadn’t done a careful enough sweep of the bar’s patrons. Apart from the few women who’d been bothering me, I didn’t notice how many other club members were actuallyinthe bar. The people who Nick was playing pool with weren’t club members, so any number of them could be waiting in the warehouse to jump me as soon as I got through the doors.
Was there any other way out?
We walked through the small kitchen between the warehouse and the front of the bar, and I did a scan, but there were no other doors in sight. There had to be a back door, something that led to a dumpster or alleyway. I kept my eyes on a few of the cooks, but they all threw their scraps away in trash cans scattered around the kitchen, and when one of them happened to notice that the can he was going for was full, he just found a different one to discard his items in. The reality of the situation was obvious. If a building has a warehouse, the back door was probably in it.
So as much as my body was leaning toward theflightin fight or flight, I pressed on through the kitchen and followed Nick through the swinging door that led to the warehouse. He pushed it aside, and when I swung it out so I could walk through, I fully expected all of the Steel Knights members to come out of any shadow that could conceal them.
