Chapter 10: Cash

Ten

Cash

Present Day

Q uin won’t stop giving me that disapproving look from the passenger seat. I have every right to be pissed off but she just blames my reaction on my “red-headed temper” and doesn’t even see how it’s racist…

“This is important, Tanner. What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is… We have to leave Avery with my Aunt Deb and you’re pregnant. I don’t want you anywhere near this danger.”

Quin rolls her eyes. “I’ve spent most of my pregnancy hitting up the gun range with Juliette. I’m a lot better at shooting than the last time.”

“That’s not the point…”

She knows the point. I swear Quin loves infuriating me because of the incredible make-up sex that tends to follow our arguments.

“Nothing’s going to happen, Tanner. You worry too much. I heard the entire phone call. Southpaw said your cousin has everything under control. We just have to pick up the one girl who has no place to go, check in on Ruger and take her to Hunter’s place in Texas. This doesn’t even sound difficult.”

“I should be keeping you out of trouble. Not dragging you into it.”

“We’re helping someone,” Quin says. “Not getting into trouble. Don’t think of it that way.”

Her good heart was the reason I fell for her. The way she loved Avery. The way she wouldn’t let anything get in the way of her loving someone once she started. It’s the type of loyalty you want in a wife… But Quin’s good heart comes with some serious drawbacks. I’m not always the good man she needs me to be.

“Text Deacon that we’re outside and let’s just… do this.”

I look at the woman sitting next to me, wondering when I came to rely on her for so much support. She looks incredible in her latest maxi-dress purchase — a black dress with orange and red tropical flowers patterned all over it. The fabric hugs each one of her curves and her gentle baby bump.

Each day I know her, Quin gets even hotter… She has me wrapped around her finger, and I don’t know if she can tell.

“Fine,” I mutter. “I’ll text Deacon. But if shit gets crazy… I need you to take this truck and head back West.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Quin says. Our eyes meet. Just looking at this woman tugs on my heart strings. I lean over and kiss her, reassuring myself of our connection. That she has my back and our loyalty is mutual. That she’s the one I put first in every situation. When I pull away from her, I pull my phone out and text my cousin. He responds within seconds.

Deacon: Come on in. Lots going on here.

I don’t like the sound of that. Quin and I get out of the truck. She’s never been to Deacon’s place before. He owns several properties in the area, mostly because he’s constantly on the run from some offended ex-lover who wants him dead.

This place looks like a typical Midwestern McMansion in a small subdivision of houses – four couples that most likely hate his neglectful attitude towards lawn care. All the other lawns are bright green and trimmed neatly. He doesn’t do shit to take care of the backyard, so it’s about as sparsely landscaped as our place in Texas.

“Does he have a wife and kids?” Quin asks, most likely noticing that this house is far too big for one man.

“No. Deacon doesn’t have what it takes to get married.”

“Damn, Tanner. That’s harsh.”

I put my arm around Quin’s waist and pull her close. She’ll meet Deacon soon and understand what I mean completely. Until then… I’ll allow her to bask in her incorrect self-righteousness. At least she’s close to me and suited up in the sexiest maxi dress I’ve seen her in yet. That baby bump looks ripe. I love watching her grow with my kid. Our second.

I ring the doorbell just to let him know we’re there and hold it open for Quin to walk through — and not just because I want to get a good look at her ass.

She walks through the door — with a fantastic looking butt, I might add — and we’re both hit with the unmistakably strong smell of bleach. Quin turns around to look at me with a confused and concerned look on her face. Ever since I knew her, Quin hated the smell of bleach. She never cleans with it and when she smells it she looks like… this.

Quin stops moving and reaches back for me instinctively. My hand grasps hers. This woman has a past that never stopped her from moving forward, but that doesn’t mean certain ghosts don’t haunt her. I move closer to her and kiss her cheek.

“It’s probably nothing.”

“I heard Southpaw mention the killings,” she whispers.

“HELLO COUSIN!”

Quin gasps sharply, nearly jumping out of her fucking skin as Deacon appears around a concealed corner of his hallway. I swear this house has so many hallways, nooks and crannies, it's like it was built for a vampire and not a human. He looks about as pale as a vampire without the lights on.

“Christ, Deacon. Turn the lights on and stop being a creep,” I grunt.

“Sorry,” he says, turning the lights on and immediately letting his gaze fall on Quin. “Didn’t mean to scare your girl.”

Deacon’s single second of eye contact with Quin is enough for me to pull her closer to me. My man-whore cousin doesn’t need to get any dirty ideas about Quin or her maxi dress, especially considering they’ve never met.

“I’m Deacon. You must be Quin. His mama told me all about you and said you had a nice ass like Megan Thee Stallion.”

“Have you lost your fucking mind, Deacon?” I growl at him, swatting his hand away as he reaches to shake Quin’s.

“Tanner!” Quin says. “People notice my butt. It’s not illegal. But… maybe certain comments we could keep to ourselves.”

“My apologies, ma’am,” Deacon says. “Welcome to Missouri. If Tanner ever gives you any trouble, call me and I’ll kick his ass.”

“You couldn’t kick my ass if I was paralyzed,” I grumble, forcing away the urge to hit my stupid cousin in the face. “Now can you stop hitting on my wife and take us to the prisoners.”

“They’re not prisoners,” Deacon says calmly. “Southpaw was very clear about that. We are transporting this woman across state lines as a friend of the family…”

“Right,” I say. “Then Hunter and Juliette will help her get on her feet and find a home… most likely with Magnum Sinclair.”

Deacon makes a strange face. “Good luck with that.”

“What do you mean?”

“We had no problems getting the Indian girls out of there with Oske. Called Ethan down to come get the white chicks out to Missouri since one of them has family in Joplin. Owen says he knew one of them and she went with him. But the last one… I don’t know.”

Quin chimes in, disobeying my specific instructions not to say a word to my cousin without my permission.

“What’s wrong with her?”

Deacon looks at her, delighted by a second of female attention. My cousin has been living proof that men can be sluts since he first got his dick wet.

“She’s fucked up and crazy,” he says. “That’s what’s wrong with her. She called me a racial slur and then threatened to bite my dick off and drain the blood from my balls.”

Quin raises an eyebrow suspiciously. “She said that out of the blue?”

“Well I sure as shit didn’t make her say it,” he says. “She’s out of her fucking mind. The Indian chicks said the Midnight SS had her on drugs to keep her quiet and I get it. She won’t stop talking gibberish.”

“What kind of gibberish?” Quin asks, perking up again and ignoring my pointed glare. I knew I shouldn’t have allowed her to spend so much time with Tamiya, Juliette, and Anna on those foolish “group calls”. Ryder has the good sense to keep Joslin away from these female schemes, but the more time Quin spends with these questionable influences, the more she fancies herself somewhere between a gangster and a private investigator.

I can tell I’ll have to put a lot more bodies in the ground to keep this woman safe, and I’ll go grey because of it.

Deacon delights in answering her.

"She keeps talking about how there's a Nazi conspiracy, cursed Indian land and when she gets all riled up she keeps repeating 'the desert cult rises'," Deacon says. "Whatever the fuck that means."

"Where did she come from? Did you ask her any questions?"

Deacon looks more upset than embarrassed. "Why would I ask her any questions? I kept telling her to shut the fuck up because I couldn't take all the hollering. She was scaring the other girls."

"Maybe we should talk to her," I suggest to Deacon, although he should have the brains to think of that on his own.

"Talk to her all you want. Take her ass off my hands. Please."

"Where is she?"

"Basement."

"Go get her. Quin and I will wait here."

Deacon shrugs and walks off. I don't want this to turn into too much of a social call. Once he's out of earshot, Quin turns to me with concern.

"I don't think those are random statements," she says. "You should tell Southpaw or whoever the hell is in charge of you people."

"Tell him what? Deacon most likely scared the hell out of her and she started speaking in tongues."

"Neo-Nazi bikers murdered your friends in the desert," Quin says. "We know there's some mess going on with Wyatt Shaw and Oske."

"The desert cult rises? That's some drug addict bullshit. Quin, I know I keep you protected from the world but... some people do heroin."

"You don't know that she does heroin."

I have to hush up instead of answering her because Deacon comes back with a tall, curvy woman with tone shoulders and a warm, honey-toned complexion. Her eyes are a pale shade of brown, pretty set against that skin. She doesn't look crazy. She looks... like she doesn't belong here. Quin and I exchange glances.

Deacon has her restrained with black cloth tying her hands behind her back and silver tape covering her mouth. Her golden-brown eyes wander over me first and then once they get to Quin, she just stares.

My wife becomes her usual nurturing self.

"Don't worry. My husband and I are going to help you."

"I restrained her violent ass for a reason," Deacon says. He looks red-faced, like he had enough trouble getting her up here. The woman might not be short like Juliette or thin like Tamiya, but she doesn't look strong enough to cause a good old boy as strong as my cousin to break a sweat.

"We'll help as long as you listen and trust us," I add. "First, we have to make a stop in Indian territory. You earn privileges with good behavior. Once we're done in Indian territory, we're taking you to Santa Fe."

Her eyes flicker with some strong emotion. Quin steps in, clearly assuming that I scared this woman or something.

"Nobody will hurt you anymore, I promise," Quin says. "If you don't want to trust him, trust me. And in Santa Fe, we're going to meet my best friend Juliette. We're not gonna let anything happen to you."

I clear my throat before Quin promises the woman a brand new Toyota Camry while she's at it.

"The faster we leave, the faster we get there," I tell them. "Let's go."

It's a good sign that she walks away from Deacon on her own.

"I'm warning you," he says. "She's not as demure as she looks. Don't take those binds off unless you want your eyes scratched out."

"Tanner can handle it," Quin says, taking my side so strongly that I no longer worry about my cousin's possible lust for her. "I trust him."

"Hm," Deacon says. "Might not be a matter of trust."

"We'll be in touch," I respond, eager to end this experience and get back to the road.

Deacon nods. "Bear and I have the unpleasant task of questioning the bikers that survived the shootout. Two idiots named Troy and Rolf. I'm sure you'll hear all about it at the club meeting."

"See you around, cousin."

"Nice to meet you, Quin," Deacon says.

"Nice to meet you too," Quin says politely, but I can tell she's focused on the woman with the binds and the tape.

"Can we at least know her name?"

"Zayna," he says. "Though it should be Lucifer."

She gives me a dirty look. Quin gestures for her to get closer to her and Zayna listens. If I can't get this woman to listen, at least Quin can get the job done.

"We'll take Lucifer off your hands then."

"Good luck with Ruger."

I grunt disapprovingly. I don't relish the idea of seeing Ruger again. That situation he has with Darlene rubs me the wrong way and it's only a matter of time before it all goes... fucking wrong.