Dirty Desires (Devil Kings MC #3) - Nicole James Page 0,3
other visitors and inmates. There are no smiles, because there is no love lost between us. This man is a stranger to me, and I to him.
I slide one of the cold cans toward him, condensation dripping down the side. He takes it, his eyes on me, and pops the top, then chugs down a good portion of it. Then he reaches for a bag of chips and rips it open. He eats three before he speaks.
“Why’d you come?”
“Hello to you, too,” I bite out. I still have a little of my mother’s spunk and that Covington stiff spine my grandfather had, after all.
“I know you didn’t miss me. And I know you don’t give a shit about me, so why you here, Tess?”
“Don’t you want to know how Mother’s doing?”
His eyes shift to the side, scanning the room. “Nope.”
“You’ve been together thirty years. The woman fell apart when you were sent here. None of that matters to you?”
“Why the fuck do you care? You haven’t been around for years.”
My coffee is already cold, but I still want to throw it in his smug face. Did this man ever love me? Ever love my mother? Ever love anyone but himself? I shake my head. “Even now, you’re going to be a dick?”
He eats another chip and looks away again. “We had a fight.”
“So I heard.”
“She pissed me off.”
“She always does.”
“How is she doin’?” Finally, the bravado drops.
“Hanging on by a thread. Losing you, losing the club… It’s all she’s known since she was nineteen. How do you think she’s doing?”
“She send you here?”
“She drove me.”
He huffs, but continues eating the chips. He finishes the bag and starts on the second.
“She’s out of money, Growler.” I call him that, because the word “dad” sticks in my throat. He doesn’t seem at all bothered by the lack of endearment.
“What does she want me to do about it? Tell her to get a job.”
“You know she has issues with anxiety.”
He huffs again, as if to remind me that yes, he does know. “Nothin’ I can do for her now.”
“Surely you have some money stashed somewhere.”
His eyes flash to mine, then move off as if he doesn’t know what I’m talking about. But he does.
“Where’s the key to the safe deposit box?”
“Think I’d tell you. I’ll need that money for when I get out. Like I’m gonna let her piss it all away on booze and dope.”
“That’s forty years from now.”
His eyes narrow on me. His hand tightens into a fist before relaxing, and he blows out a slow breath. He glances over at the guard, then back at me. “Maybe not.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m appealing my conviction. I didn’t get a fair trial.”
This is news to me. “How so?”
“Never you mind.” He runs a hand over his mouth and cocks his head to the side, studying me and I can see the wheels turning behind his eyes. That’s not good. That’s never good. Whatever scheme he’s cooking up I want no part of it.
“You want the key,” he says, “you do something for me first.”
“What do you want me to do?”
He strokes his chin again, thinking.
A chill runs down my spine. “If you think I’m helping you escape or smuggling you in something, forget it. I’m not going to jail for you or anybody.”
“Calm down.” He glances over his shoulder at the guards. “You want them to come over here.”
“Just tell me where the damn key is.”
“You been to the clubhouse?”
I frown. “The MC? Why the hell would I go there?”
“I need you to get some information for me. Give it to some of my old brothers.”
“What do you mean, old brothers?”
“It’s club business, okay. You don’t need to know.”
I actually huff out a laugh. I hold all the cards right now. “If you want my help, you’ll tell me.”
“You want that key, you’ll do what I say, no questions.”
I shrug and start to stand.
“Sit down,” he hisses.
I do. I’ve made my point. I can walk out the door, and he won’t see me again.
“Okay, look, I want to know what my club’s been up to. Is that so much to ask?”
“So, call them.”
“It ain’t that easy.”
“What do you care what they’re up to? What difference does it make?”
“Like I said, don’t plan to be in here long. My attorney says I got a good shot at getting this conviction overturned.”
“Really?” That’s not good news. Although he is my father, the world is a better place with assholes like him off the streets.