King of Diamonds (Desert Sons MC Book 3)

CHAPTER ONE

Jack Carter tipped the heavy planter over so Tina Harris could retrieve the key hidden beneath. “Got it,” Tina said as she picked up the key and straightened.

Jack took the key from her and unlocked the front door. “Left, through the kitchen, is the garage. Open the garage door so we can get the bikes inside,” he said as he pressed the thumb latch and opened the door.

While Jack disarmed the squealing alarm with the code Marshall had given him, Tina took care of opening the garage. The chance that one of the neighbors—or the police—would see them or their bikes and recognize them as the two people wanted for the theft of the six classic Ferraris was low. Most people were at work, and the police weren’t likely to cruise by, but why take chances?

The moment the alarm went silent, Jack walked out through the garage and pushed his bike inside, then did the same for Tina’s. There was plenty of room with both Marshall and Nicole’s cars gone, but he lined the hogs up beside Marshall’s at the front of the garage so they could get their cars in when they returned from work. The moment he was inside with the second bike, Tina started the big double door closing.

“Made it,” Jack said with a grin as he pushed Tina’s bike into position.

“I never had any doubt,” she replied with a smile of her own.

“Uh-huh.”

“Okay… just a tiny bit of doubt,” she amended as her grin grew even wider.

Tina and Jack had been on the run from the law for nearly a week. After the Desert Sons had successfully stolen six classic Ferraris, worth over one hundred million dollars, the buyer of the cars had backed out. That had left them in a bind. They sat on the cars for a week while they scrambled to find a new buyer, but eventually the cops had been tipped to the location of the cars.

Fortune had smiled on them and they had managed to get away before police kicked their door in. They had bolted on Jack’s restored 1939 Knucklehead Harley, the bike that had belonged to his great-grandfather and was his most prized possession. Tina had followed on his other bike, his daily rider, a one-year-old Harley Softail.

They had run with nothing but a few changes of clothes, some cash, and a prayer. They left behind the Desert Sons clubhouse, Jack’s Audi, and all the possessions in his apartment.

“You want a beer?” Jack asked as they stepped back into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and pulled out two beers in dark bottles.

“Please.”

He cracked the lid off of one and handed it to her before he did the same for himself.

She took the bottle and turned it to read the label. Michelob… She smiled and took a pull from the bottle. The Sons were spoiling her. Breaking into the clubhouse of the Desert Sons motorcycle club and getting caught had been the best thing that had ever happened to her.

Jack took a long pull off his own bottle. “It’s not a Squirt, but it’s pretty good,” he said as he motioned to her with his bottle.

She snickered around her mouthful of beer before she swallowed. “I agree. At least it’s cold and wet.”

Jack moved off the counter he had propped on and dug around in the refrigerator. He began to pull out lunch meat and cheese. “You want a turkey sandwich or a turkey sandwich for lunch?” he asked with his head still in the ‘fridge.

“Uh… I think I will have the turkey sandwich.”

“Good choice,” he said as he straightened.

“Will Marshall and Nic mind if we raid their fridge?”

“Nah,” he said as he opened the pantry for the bread and chips.

Tina started opening drawers until she found the utensils and pulled out a knife to spread the mayonnaise. In the meantime Jack loaded the bread with meat and cheese and sat the sandwiches on a plate before he carried them to the table.

She smiled at Jack as she sat down. From stealing his food to helping him prepare lunch in only three weeks.

Not that she minded
that
much. Over the past three weeks she had fallen, and fallen
hard
, for Jack. He had taken her in and accepted her just as she was. He had given her back something she thought she had lost forever: her self-respect. Then, just two nights ago, he had admitted he was falling for her as well. And now here they were, at Marshall and Nicole’s house, where Jack was going to try to pull the greatest robbery in New Mexico history as far as she was concerned. He was going to steal the same six Ferraris again… this time from the police.

“When are you going to break the news to the rest of the Sons?” Tina asked.

“I’m going to have Marshall round them up for tomorrow.”

“Do you think they will go for it?”

“I don’t know. I hope so. This is going to be an all-hands-on-deck effort. If we don’t have everyone, it is going to be a lot tougher. But I’m not going to try to force anyone to sign on for this.”

“Will they still get their cut even if they don’t go for it?”

“I think that’s only fair, don’t you?”

She made a face. In her opinion. he was being overly generous. “Why would they join up then? If they sit it out, they get all the reward and none of the risk.”

“Because if we fail, nobody gets anything.”

Tina had to accept that logic. “I’m not a ‘Son,’” she said as she made quotation marks in the air with her fingers around the club name, “but you know I’m in.”

He smiled at her. He thought he had lost her this morning, but before he could settle up with the motel she had returned and announced her intention to join him on this crazy idea of his.

“As far as I’m concerned you are a Son in all but name… and if there was going be a Desert Sons after this, I would see to it that little detail was attended to.”

She smiled. It felt so
good
to be wanted again.

***

Jack and Tina were sitting in the family room, half asleep with the television on, when they heard the garage door rumble up. Jack switched off the television and they met Nicole—Nic to her friends—in the kitchen.

“So good to see you, Jack,” Nic said as she took him into a long hug. Tina could feel the green monster peeking out, but she kneed him the crotch and stuffed him away. Nic was the wife of Jack’s longtime friend and Sergeant at Arms of the Desert Sons, Marshall, and Jack had known her for years. She would fight tooth and nail for Jack, but she knew she didn’t have anything to worry about with Nic.

Nic released Jack and then pulled Tina into a hug. “Thank you for being there for him.”

Tina was so flabbergasted by Nic’s actions she didn’t know what to do at first, but then smiled and relaxed into the hug. “Someone had to keep him in line,” Tina replied.

“That’s a full time job,” Nic teased as she released Tina. “How ever did you get away without getting caught?”

“Did Marshall tell you the clubhouse was searched?” Jack asked.

“Yeah,” Nic replied. “I wonder how they knew?”

“Don’t know. Anyway, I guess the cops weren’t sure of their information after they came up empty at the clubhouse. The managers of the storage units called and asked me to come open the doors so the police didn’t break them down. That first call reminded me that Tina and I had pressing business in Roswell.”

Nic giggled. “I guess so. I see you got your hog fixed.”

“Yeah. But it put a pinch on the finances.”

“You’re welcome to stay here—you both are,” she amended with a smile at Tina, “as long as you need to.”

“Thanks, Nic. I knew I could count on you and Marshall. But we won’t be here long.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m working on a plan to disappear.”

“Disappear?”

“Yeah. As in start a new life with a new identity.”

Nic was quiet a moment. “Will we ever see you again?”

“After a while… maybe. But I’ll stay in touch.”

“You better. Marshall would pout if you just up and disappeared,” she said with a ghost of a smile.

“I wouldn’t do that to Marshall. Or you. He’s been my best friend forever, and you almost as long.”

“Yeah… nearly fifteen years.” She paused, then grinned at Tina. “And boy, do I have some stories to tell you! Remind me later and I will tell you the story of how Marshall caught him with not one, not two, but three women in his bed.”

Tina looked at Jack as he blushed furiously. She could believe that. The night she broke into the clubhouse she had…
interrupted
him with a woman. “Oh… do tell!” she teased.

“I was a lot younger then,” Jack protested.

“You were thirty, Jack,” Nic said with mock disgust.

“Okay… but things have changed in the last five years,” he said with a gentle smile at Tina… a smile that made her tingle all over.

***

Nicole and Tina had dinner almost ready when Marshall stepped through the door two hours later. He greeted Jack with a handshake and a slap on the back, and Tina with a warm hug.

“Since you didn’t call, I assume he has stopped talking stupid shit?” he asked as he held her.

“About turning himself in… yes. But wait until you hear what he is planning now.”

Marshall released her and looked to Jack. “Do I even want to hear this?”

“Probably not.”

“Oh hell… I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Can you get the Sons together tomorrow? We have business to discuss.”

“Business? What business?”

“I’ll fill everyone in on the details tomorrow.” Jack grinned. “I don’t want you doing any arm twisting, one way or the other.”

“What’s he planning?” Marshall asked Tina.

“I’ll let him explain it. But it’s a doozy.” She smiled.

“And you’re okay with it?”

“No. But I can’t talk him out of it… and believe me, I tried.”