“Have you told her that you’re not going back with her?”
“Not yet.”
“You sure you want to do this? It’s not too late to back out.”
“I’m sure.” Pivoting, he strode back toward Harvey.
Ice knew what he signed up for. Thankfully, the other man had no clue about the nightmare heading for him. By the time he did, it would be too late.
This wouldn’t be the last time Harvey was used as a pawn. This Predator had a use for him, too.
CHAPTER 13
Grace looked at the corner of her computer screen, seeing what time it was. Taking her purse out of a drawer, she then pushed her chair back from underneath her desk.
“Can I get you something for lunch while I’m out?” she asked Penni, who was sitting at the desk close to hers.
“If you wait until I finish this email, I can go with you.”
“I wasn’t going anywhere in particular. I was just going to hit a drive-thru. I have an errand to run so I might be a little late coming back.”
Penni lifted her blue gaze to hers. “Where are you going? I don’t mind waiting for you to finish your errand.”
Grace knew her friend and boss wouldn’t let her leave until her curiosity was appeased. “I need to stop by the club, and I want to go alone.”
She could tell that Penni’s curiosity had risen even more.
Grace moved toward the door, wanting to get out before she was asked more questions. She didn’t make it. Penni caught up with her in the outer office where Stump was working.
“You never go to the club unless Ice is there, or if Sawyer, Vita, or I go with you. What’s up?”
“Nothing. If it was important, I would tell you. I’ll be back in an hour or two.”
Grace left before Penni asked any more questions.
She should have stayed home today. Penni told her she could have the day off since she just came back from Treepoint the day before, but since she had taken off so much lately she wanted to get caught up with the work that she knew would be waiting for her. Besides, the house was lonely without Ice there.
It was going to be a long two weeks.
Driving to the Predators’ clubhouse, she thought of several ways to accomplish her errand and finally concluded that she would just wing it.
Lizard was smoking a cigarette outside the door when she got out of her car.
“What’s up?” he greeted her, taking a drag on his cigarette.
“Not much.” Seeing the same curious expression on his face that had been on Penni’s and Stump’s, she hastened inside before he could say anything.
Hiding her nervousness behind a cool mask, she looked around the clubroom. Surprised, she saw Max sitting at the bar with Griffin. The woman behind the counter paled as she walked toward Max.
Grace ignored both Griffin and Rita.
“Hi, Max.”
The burly biker looked over his shoulder at her. “Whatcha doing here? Ice isn’t here.”
Grace barely kept herself from rolling her eyes, conscious of the other men in the room.
“I know. I’m not here to see Ice. I want to talk to Porsche. Is she around?”
“In the kitchen.” Max nodded toward the door behind the bar.
“Thanks.”
Grace was thanking her lucky stars that Jackal wasn’t there as she went around the bar.
Feeling the whole club’s eyes on her back as she went into the kitchen, Grace saw the woman she was looking for standing at the old four-burner stove, cooking something.
Grace didn’t let the disdainful glare deter her from walking closer.
“What do you want? If you want a grilled cheese, you can make it yourself.”
“No thanks. I just stopped by so that I could talk to you. Do you have a minute?”
“No, I’m busy.”
The woman’s breasts were bulging out of the push-up bra she was wearing under a white tank top. If T.A. hadn’t told her what purpose she was used for in the club, her clothes made it self-explanatory.
Steeling herself for the confrontation she was determined to have, Grave reached out and turned the stove off.
Porsche turned around, giving her an irritated glance.
“It won’t take a minute.” Grace gave her a cold look back. “Ice won’t be back for two weeks.”
“Bitch, tell me something I don’t know.”
Grace wanted to smack the look off her face but restrained herself, continuing as if she hadn’t heard the smart-ass comment. “That gives you two weeks to find somewhere else to live.”
The woman’s mouth dropped open before she closed it with a snap.
“I’m not going anywhere. If you don’t like me being here, you need to take that up with Ice. He’s the only one that decides if I stay or leave and, baby girl, Ice likes me here just fine.”
Refusing to return the woman’s barbs, Grace plastered a fake smile on her face. “Two weeks, Porsche. Or, should I say Colleen? Which one do you prefer? Personally, I would stick to Colleen. You don’t remind me of a Porsche at all.”
The woman had turned a sickly shade of grey at being called by her given name.
Grace gave her a feline smile. “The next time you want to brag about fucking someone’s husband, you should be smarter about whom you confide in. Not only is T.A. my stepmother, but she has friends that are bounty hunters. I’d really hate to use my relationship with my new stepmother to get rid of you, but”—Grace gave a careless shrug—“she did offer. I’d really hate to go that route, but hey, if you want to be here when Ice comes back, go for it. He won’t thank you when the cops come busting in here to arrest you.”
Porsche gave a half-laugh that Grace didn’t believe for a second.
“You wouldn’t. Ice would be furious at you for drawing the cop’s attention to the club.”
Grace widened her eyes in pretend indignation. “Me? I’m not the one that has an ex-boyfriend that robs banks and drove the getaway car. That’s all you.” Grace gave a low whistle. “Damn, I almost feel sorry for you. You’re looking at some hard time when you get caught.” Then she shook her head. “Never mind. I really wouldn’t care.
“By the way, your lie about fucking Ice and that he was going to leave me for you didn’t work. T.A. knew you only told her because you were hoping I would play right into your hand and cause trouble between me and my husband.” Caustically, Grace let the pain of the last three weeks roll off her back, releasing the last burden she had been carrying. “It might have worked if you had tried it with anyone else, but one thing you couldn’t have anticipated was that T.A. is used to dealing with sluts like you, which fortunately, I’m not.” Flipping the burner back on, she moved away from the stove. “You should make Max another grilled cheese. That one’s too burnt.”
Coming out of the kitchen, Grace came to a full stop at seeing Jackal, Penni, Stump, Griffin, and Max standing just outside the door while the other men were practically leaning over the bar to eavesdrop on the conversation she had just been having in the kitchen.
Grace waited for one of the men to say something about her telling Porsche to leave, but it was Penni who broke the silence.
“Can we go to lunch now? What are you in the mood for?” Penni hooked an arm through hers, leading them from behind the counter.
Grace’s eyes shied away from Jackal’s and the other men, knowing that they would be getting in touch with Ice before she and Penni were in the car.
Penni waited until they were outside before saying anything else.
“Why didn’t you tell me you thought Ice was having an affair?”
Grace looked at her friend from over the roof of the car. “Because if you found out he was, you would have told me the truth.”
Looking sympathetic, Penni rested her hands on the roof. “I would have told you that he wasn’t. Jackal says that Ice doesn’t even look at any of the women in the club. Not only that, he had already ordered her to get out before he gets back, Lizard has b
een trying to find her a place to stay, regardless she has to be out before he walks in that door again.”
“Well, hell.”
“That’s why you should tell your BFF these things.” Penni cracked up, trying to keep a straight face.
“Besides it wasn’t his looking that I was worried about.” Relieved that the altercation with Porsche was over, and she had been lying about Ice wanting her to stay.
“There will always be Porsches at the club,” Penni stated frankly.