such a turn-on. There’s no predictability with him. I just know one thing for sure: he’s going to make certain I’m satisfied.
And as far as I’m concerned, that’s all I need to know.
Chapter Sixteen
“You look familiar,” one of the customers says to Cam, who is having none of it.
“I used to do porn, so maybe that’s why,” she replies, flashing him a sarcastic smile and walking away.
I try to stop myself from laughing, but I can’t. Still, I pull myself together as the man approaches me with some merchandise in his hands. “I’m guessing that’s a no, she doesn’t want to give me her number,” he grumbles, placing the helmet and jacket down on the desk.
“You should try some new lines,” I suggest, smiling. “But she is seeing someone, so they probably wouldn’t have worked anyway.”
“Noted,” he replies, nodding. “How about you? Are you single?”
I blink slowly at the man, any sympathy I have for him being rejected by Cam disappearing. Do men really think women would take them up on an offer of being second place? Surely not.
“No, I’m not,” I reply, placing his items in a bag. “That will be three hundred and seventy dollars.”
He pays in cash and leaves without saying anything further, which I appreciate. Cam comes back out, laughing when I tell her what happened.
“Men are something else.” She smirks, shaking her head. “Lucky Crow isn’t here or he’d be leaving without a limb.”
“And if Billie was here?” I tease.
“Probably without one of his nuts.”
“So you two are all good then?” I pry, sitting back in my seat and wiggling my brows. “Exclusive, even?”
“Well, we haven’t put a label on it,” she admits, not seeming bothered by that fact. “I don’t know. We’re just having some fun. I’m just going to take it as it comes. Ha, as it comes.”
“You’re the worst,” I deadpan, just as Nadia steps into the warehouse and beelines for me.
“Hey, Bronte.”
“Nadia. What’s up? Is everything okay?” I ask, standing.
“Everything is fine, I just have some information for you,” she states, handing me a folder. “I typed out some of the conversations I overhead from Jean for you. I think you might find them interesting.”
Eyes widening, I pull out the first piece of paper, and read.
“It’s Freddy’s daughter, Jasper, she knows something. I don’t know what to do, I think I should leave town. Why else would she come to my studio? She knows.”
“That snake,” I murmur to myself. “Jasper. Where have I heard that name before?”
“He was on the list,” Nadia says, crossing her arms over her chest. “He’s one of the men trying to take over Grayson’s territory.”
“Who the hell is Grayson?”
“Your uncle Neville,” she explains, telling me how apparently he goes by different names. Nothing my uncle does at this point is going to surprise me.
“So Jean has ties to Dad and to one of the men on the suspect list. What do you do now?” I ask, frowning. “Tell me what I need to do.”
“I think we should wait and see what else she says,” she says, looking down at the folder. “We need more proof and we need to know what their plan is before we go in guns blazing.”
But it’s not looking good for her. Did she kill my dad, or was it Jasper? Or both of them?
I read the rest of the conversations, but they don’t give anything else away. I still don’t know how she is connected to Dad exactly, and I still don’t know what she wants.
But I will.
* * *
When Crow comes over that night, he lets me listen to the new recording. It’s so much better actually listening to her voice instead of reading it.
“They are onto us, I know it,” Jean says. “I want to close the studio and just leave town. It’s not safe for me anymore.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jasper replies. “You will do what I tell you to do.”
“So Jean and Jasper are working together,” I say when it comes to an end. “Maybe she’s hiding something for him? Maybe it was him calling Dad from her phone.”
“Maybe.” Crow nods slowly. I know he wants to say something, but he’s hesitating.
“What?” I ask.
He touches the stubble on his jawline. “I’m surprised you haven’t come up with the most obvious conclusion, which is that your dad and Jean had something to do with each other.”
My mouth opens and closes again. “My dad never dated anyone after my mom. He said he never would, because there was no one