"Oh, yeah?" Her stomach fluttered. "Does that turn you on?"
"Damn right." He walked backward and cocked his eyebrow. "That and what you're going to do to me afterward."
"What will I be doing?"
He winked, not telling her anymore. She caught her lower lip between her teeth. He was going to leave her all worked up and wanting him.
"You're mean," she said.
"Yeah," he said softly, knowingly.
He slipped out the door, but not before she noticed he'd turned the lock before he left. She sank down in the chair he'd vacated and sighed. She had three or four hours to wait until he returned. That was enough time to straighten the apartment, shower, and find her red heels.
Chapter 30Wyatt
PACO RODE OFF WITH Travis on the back of his motorcycle. Wyatt walked over to his Harley, prepared to ride back to the apartments and make good on his promise to Joey when Priest called his name, telling him to hold up.
He waited by his bike, taking out his gloves. The nights were getting colder. It wouldn't be too much longer, and snow would blanket the streets. Usually, with the arrival of winter, he grabbed a ride with Carter who lived a block away from the apartments when the snow kept him from riding to work.
The pressure of the upcoming season reminded him he needed to go buy a car. He hated to do it, but he couldn't rely on others to haul his kids around.
"You got a few minutes?" said Priest.
He nodded and followed Priest back into the clubhouse. The other bikers were arriving and filling up the main room. He weaved through the others, tagging Priest's steps.
Ushered into the back, Roddy came out of what he knew to be the meeting room and shut the door, joining them in the hallway. He looked between the two men, but neither one gave anything away on why he was asked to meet with them.
"I want you to look at something." Priest unfolded a paper and pressed it against the wall. Automatically, Wyatt held up a corner, studying to see what he was looking at. It appeared to be a map of the city of Missoula.
"As you know, we've been following Dean Miller for over a year. We've marked everywhere he's been spotted since day one. Yellow marks are the oldest, then red, and the latest ones are in blue—they coincide with the time that Claudia Miller was killed," said Priest.
Seeing the information was new to Wyatt. He followed the dots. There were a lot of markers around Dean and Claudia's house—or their old house. From there, the dots migrated to downtown Missoula near the college. Then, a blue cluster of dots surrounded Sixth Street.
He whipped his gaze to Priest. "Why the hell hasn't anyone told me he's got a pattern of staying around the apartments?"
"We did."
"Bullshit. I was told he was spotted twice. There are at least a dozen fucking dots within a block of my family." Wyatt studied the map, needing all the information. "How many Tarkio members are covering the apartments? What times are you there?"
Now that he knew, he also assumed Tarkio was watching his family, and that was the reason he hadn't seen or heard from Dean lately. If the bikers showed their presence, Dean would go in the opposite direction to escape them. At least that's what any sane person would do.
He couldn't understand why a man who wanted nothing to do with his kids when he was married to Claudia would risk his life to make contact with them.
"I want in." He let go of the map and faced Priest. "I want to know everything."
"What are you going to do with the information?"
He met Priest's eyes. "I'm going to kill him."
"Not good enough." Priest folded up the map. "He's killed one of our own. We'd hate to be on opposite sides with you, Carr. I understand your reasons for going after him, but he took out a member of Tarkio, and there are over a hundred members waiting for a chance to bring justice down in honor of our brother."
"If what you've told me is true, he killed my children's mother." He refused to back down. "I might not have loved her, and there were times that I wanted her out of my kids' life, but she was still their mom."
Priest never flinched. "Have you ever thought of riding under the patch?"
"Is that what it's going to take to get all the information and go after Dean?"
Priest's gaze hardened. "It's a start."
"I have children and a woman I plan to make a life with, a family..." He looked at Roddy, knowing he had been a member for as long as he'd been employed by Carr Construction. A dedicated worker. He never let his loyalty to Tarkio interfere with his job. Every time he'd needed help, it'd been Roddy who stepped up. The whole motorcycle club dropped everything to look for his son, numerous times and continued to protect his family. "I'll need to know more."
Priest held out his hand. "I'd show you the door if you blindly accepted."
He shook, agreeing to talk. The idea of riding in solidarity, of going after a common problem, and having protection for his family appealed to him. But there would be risks, and he had to find out if those risks would benefit his family or harm them.
"I'll let Roddy give you the information on what you could expect the first year if you agree to ride with us during a probation period before going in front of the others to be voted in, or out. Then, we'll talk in a few days after you have time to think about it." Priest stepped away.
"Wait." He stepped closer to the president of Tarkio Motorcycle Club. "Regardless of what decision I make, I'm going after Dean. Now that
