"Why are you lookin' at me like that?"Bianca shook her head and looked away. She had been staring at Layne, she realized. Taking a drink of her Margarita and dipping a chip in their queso, she looked back at him. "You probably think I'm crazy, but I feel like I know you from somewhere else besides the club."From where he sat on the other side of the table Tyler smirked, as did Jagger. "Go ahead, assholes, laugh it up." Layne took a drink from his beer bottle and ran a hand through his hair. Reaching over to the side of the table, he grabbed a toothpick and put it in his mouth, chewing on the end."What's so funny?" Meredith asked. She had also gotten the feeling that she knew Layne from somewhere, but didn't know where. "Yeah, why are you guys acting like it's some secret?"Layne cleared his throat and lifted his eyebrows. "You might remember a few years ago—it was all the rage for members of the service to ask celebrities to their balls?""Oh yeah," Meredith smiled.
"It's colder than a well-digger's ass out here." Jagger shivered as he pulled his bandana up around his mouth and breathed heavily into it."No shit." Layne stomped his feet to try to get some warmth into his body. "This weather makes my damn leg hurt," he grumbled."Well you'd never know it by lookin' at you. You're a fighter."Layne had heard that his whole life, and while he agreed, it sometimes just annoyed him. "I'm not special at all. Some of my friends didn't make it back from over there.""You think that's why you joined up with us?" Jagger asked, pulling a cigarette from his pack. He held it in his hand, appearing to contemplate whether he really wanted to light it or not. That would require him to move his bandana over and might make him more cold."Don't know," Layne shrugged. "Maybe I just have a death wish and I never really knew it."That, Jagger could understand. From a young age he had been force-fed Christianity and God. He knew without a doubt that was why
Bianca gazed around the room, looking for Jagger. She had seen other members of Heaven Hill walk in a while ago but had yet to see him. Being that Jagger should have been with Layne, she was nervous. Layne had given her a look as he walked through, and it made her uneasy. Had something happened to Jagger and they were scared to tell her? The house lights of the club went down, and she looked around quickly. It was unusual for that to happen unless they were about to have someone on stage. The last girl had gone on a few minutes before, and it would be a few more minutes before the next one came on. Dominic, the head bouncer, nodded at her, letting her know it was okay. She watched as Sparkles came out on stage."How's it goin', everybody?" she asked.The crowd was loud and just a little bit rowdy so they gave her a loud ovation, clapping roughly for her. "Good to hear. We got a bit of a surprise for y'all tonight. Normally we advertise this little hottie's shows weeks in adva
"You want to come home with me?" Jagger asked, his lips next to her ear.They had been wrapped up in one another for a long time, she wasn't sure how long really."Sounds good to me." She stretched her arms up, encircling them around his neck, and pulled him down, kissing him softly on the lips."Do I need to follow you back to your apartment to get your clothes?"She shook her head. "Nah, I did laundry today so all my clothes are in my car."He squeezed her around the waist tightly, her feet coming off the floor briefly before setting her down again. "Good, I'll follow you to the clubhouse then.""I need to tip out and stuff. You can go before me," she offered, reaching down to pull her underwear back up around her waist."No." His eyes hardened. "Is that asshole here tonight?"Bianca didn't know who had tipped him off to Money Bags, but she really wished they hadn't. "He's not causing me that much of an issue, but he is here.""Any issue is enough for me to be worri
Jagger quietly let himself into his dorm, surprised to find Bianca still awake."What are you doin' still up?" he asked, shutting the door behind him.She sat in the chair facing his bed, a textbook in her lap. Grinning, she answered, "You forget that I'm a complete night owl. Usually I don't go to bed until 2 a.m. It's the nature of having the job I do.""When you actually get into a full-time teaching position, it's gonna be rough on you," he laughed, taking his cut and shirt off."Don't I know it? How'd your meeting go?""Good," he nodded, not elaborating on anything. It was best to just leave things open ended. Bianca watched as he continued taking his clothes off and then pulled the covers of the bed back. "Are we going to bed?" she asked, her eyebrow raised."I don't know about you, but I'm tired." She stood up and divested herself of her clothes too, leaving her naked. "Can I have a shirt?""You know where they are." He pointed to his dresser and watched as s
Plans were coming together for the Heaven Hill MC. Somehow they had to prove that Raymond Tucker and the Vojnik knew each other. After discussing it for hours, the decision was made to break into Raymond Tucker's home and see what they could find. Everyone agreed that if there was something that would prove the connection Raymond would be cocky enough to have it at his home. It was obvious the way he went about things that he thought he was untouchable."I'm tellin' you and Layne right now. Don't get caught." Liam pointed a finger at Jagger as he and Layne were getting their equipment together.Jagger's palms were sweaty. He wasn't the type of person to do a B&E. He would do it though, just like he explained to Bianca the night before. Bianca. What he wouldn't give to still be lying in bed with her rather than preparing to do this. "This can't come back on her," he warned the group again."It's not going to," Tyler assured his friend. He clamped a hand on Jagger's back. "I hat
Jagger pulled his phone out of his pocket and sighed as he saw a missed call and two texts from Bianca. "Shit.""What's wrong?" Layne asked as he walked over to where Jagger sat.The two of them were at a local coffee shop, waiting to meet with their sheriff friend, Rooster. "Friend" was actually too strong a word, but he was useful sometimes and they all tried to work together whenever possible."B called and then texted twice. I should probably see what she wanted," he said as he dialed and put the phone to his ear.On the other end, Bianca answered. "Hey, I was tryin' to call you earlier.""I see that. I had some business to take care of for the club, so I was out of cell range. What did you need?""Full disclosure...I'm teaching tomorrow."Immediately, he stopped everything. "At the middle school?"She sighed. "Yeah. I know you don't want me to be doing it, but I have to get my hours in. The way for me to do it is student teaching and substituting. I have to do what
Bianca could hear her heels clicking against the concrete as she made her way into the school. Her heart thundered in her chest this time for different reasons than the first time. She was no longer nervous about how she would do, she was now nervous about who would be there and what might be said to her."Good morning, Stacey." She did her best, but the smile didn't exactly meet her eyes as she signed in at the office."Morning, Bianca. Here's everything you need for your classes today." The other woman handed her a badge and what looked to be lesson plans. "Thanks." Their greeting was awkward and Bianca wasn't sure why. She cleared her throat and tapped her toe against the carpeted floor. "I wanted to say thank you again for the email you sent me after the last time I was here. I really do appreciate it.""You're welcome. I think you're a nice woman, and from what I've heard about you, you've worked hard to make your dreams come true. The kids need someone like you around. Y