“You’re our eyes here,” Diaz said to her. “Since you’ve met him, you’ll be the primary lookout for Crush and his gang. Signal if you spot them.”
She nodded and they took off when the light turned green, cruising through the town, blending in with everyone else as if they were just another couple of bikers checking out the action. Vendors here and there, lots to see and do, which was great, since no one paid any attention to them. They could get lost in a massive crowd like this, gawk as much as they wanted, and search for Crush.
By the time they had ridden for two hours, it was obvious Crush and the Skulls weren’t there. They found a place to park at the top of the hill near the beer garden and went in for a cold drink.
“You sure you didn’t spot him?” Spence asked.
Jessie shook her head. “They wear distinctive patches, and a lot of them have special jackets with their gang symbol on the back. Skulls with devil horns. You can’t miss them.”
“Rally starts today,” Diaz said. “Maybe they aren’t coming.”
“He’s coming,” Jessie said, propping her feet up on the vacant chair at their table. “He asked me if I’d be here.”
Diaz frowned. “When?”
“That day he rescued my bike. We stopped and ate together, remember? I told him I was on my way back home after a bike rally, and he told me about this one in Fayetteville because it was near where he lived. He gave me the details on location, what went down around here, and what time of year it was, then asked if I’d come. I told him I would. So I assumed his gang would be here, especially since this is Devil’s Skulls territory. Trust me, he’ll be here.”
“He’d better, or this will be one short assignment.”
“We could always head into the hills and look for them,” Spence suggested.
Diaz nodded. “We’ll do that if we have to, but I think Jessie meeting up with him should look more like chance than design.”
They sat at the beer tent for a while and nursed a few beers, listened to the band, and watched bikes cruise down the main drag. Jessie focused on keeping watch for Crush or anyone else wearing the Devil’s Skulls insignia.
After a couple of hours they’d seen nothing, and it was getting late. They got up and did a bit of walking, venturing into the main activity area, into the buildings and tents, hoping to find Crush there. He wasn’t.
“Let’s go,” Diaz said. “We’ll grab our bikes and take another ride around and see if we can spot them. Maybe they’re all parked somewhere else.”
They looked everywhere, then swung back around and rode the main streets again, but finally Diaz called it quits and they headed to the hotel where they’d made reservations and checked in. As they walked down the hallway toward their rooms, Jessie’s stomach gnawed with disappointment.
Her first day of her first assignment and absolutely nothing had happened.
She reached her door and turned to the two of them. “You want to get something to eat?”
Spence shook his head. “I’m going to stow my stuff, then head back to one of the bars on the main drag and keep watch for any of the Skulls.”
“I’m going to do some research into their gang, so I’ll stay here,” Diaz said. “Jess, you can go with him if you want.”
Research? What kind of research was Diaz going to do in his room?
“I’m tired. I think I’ll just hang here,” she said.
Spence nodded and moved down the hall to his room while Diaz unlocked the door across the hall from hers.
Jessie went into her room and closed the door, quickly unpacking her things. She sat on the bed, staring out the window. Pent-up anxiety kept her from relaxing.
It was early. She had nothing to do. She needed some action.
Research. That’s what she needed to do, find out what kind of research Diaz was doing. She picked up the phone, called down to the hotel restaurant and ordered two sandwiches, then took a quick shower and changed clothes.
Thirty minutes later she stood in front of Diaz’s door with a bag of sandwiches and sodas. She raised her hand to knock, then paused.
What if he had a girlfriend in this town and he’d just made up the research excuse so he could be alone with her?
No. That was stupid. Why would he lie? Because they were supposed to be working and he was goofing off instead? What difference would that make? If Diaz wanted to get laid, he’d just say so. Wouldn’t he?
Her stomach panged at the thought. Had to be hunger. What right did she have to be jealous? She had no claim on Diaz. They didn’t even have a relationship. They had . . . nothing.
He was definitely researching. But what? And how?
She meant to find out. Besides, she’d brought him dinner, a legitimate excuse for knocking on his door.
Oh, quit debating and knock, dumbass.
She rapped three times, hoping like hell some half-naked woman didn’t answer. Her instincts were usually right. Diaz would be working, not screwing some biker babe.
She’d hate for this to be the first time she was wrong about something.
THREE
DIAZ CURSED WHEN HE HEARD THE KNOCK AT THE DOOR. HE pushed back from the too-small desk, cursed again when he bumped his leg, and hobbled to the door, mentally letting loose another string of obscenities when he saw who it was through the peep-hole.
Jessie.
He unlocked the dead bolt and pulled the door open.
“What?”
She arched a brow. “Wow, you’re grumpy. Do you need a nap?”
“No. Just some solitude.”
“Too bad.” She slid her way past, carrying a bag and two cans of soda, which she put on the nightstand next to his bed. “I brought dinner, figuring you wouldn’t order anything since you had some sort of research to do.”
She kicked off her sandals and climbed onto his bed, pulling one of the pillows out from the bedspread and tucking it behind her back. “Hope you like turkey.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Weren’t you listening? I brought dinner.” She opened the bag and laid two sandwiches on the nightstand, then popped open the top of one of the soda cans. “I’ll take care of setting things up, so, don’t let me disturb you.”
Too late. One look at her and he was distracted. One whiff of her as she passed by, her br**sts brushing his chest, and he was definitely disturbed. Deeply, profoundly disturbed. She smelled like sunshine, outdoors, and Jessie. He wanted to lick her neck.