Hard to Be Good (Hard Ink #3.5)

  “Dude,” Jeremy whispered. “There’s a one-eyed cat staring at us.”

  The corners of Charlie’s mouth quirked up at the obviousness of the statement. “I noticed. Do you think he was in the building when it collapsed?” Dust and little bits of debris covered his fur.

  Jeremy nodded. “Maybe. I’ve seen him around from time to time. But he’s never come this close before. I didn’t even know he only had one eye. Poor guy.” Slowly, he extended a hand. “C’mere, kitty dude.”

  The cat tensed and his ears flattened. Jeremy stretched a little closer, and the cat bolted across the second floor.

  “Damn,” Jeremy said.

  Charlie rose to his feet. “Probably spooked by the explosion.”

  Jeremy stood, nodding. “Yeah, he wouldn’t be the only one. So, about that, thanks. Okay?” Those pale green eyes blazed sincerity.

  Charlie frowned and wondered if Jeremy was seeming totally normal because he actually felt normal, or if he was pretending to act normal to ignore the hundred-pound almost-kiss in the room. “Uh, sure,” Charlie finally said. Because he had no clue.

  “Guess we better get back,” Jeremy said. “Going down might be slipperier than climbing up, so let’s take it slow.”

  Charlie nodded, and they started down the rubble pile. About halfway to street level, the bricks slid out from under his feet, and Charlie almost went down. But Jeremy grabbed his good hand just in time and helped him the rest of the way.

  Charlie tried to ignore how damn nice it felt to have someone hold his hand.

  It was an unusual reaction for him. After his mother died, he withdrew in lots of ways, including from being touched. His father had never been touchy-feely, but their mother had smothered him with hugs and kisses. And then she’d left him.

  Becca had tried to be something of a mother to him. She really had. But their mother’s death made him feel like if she’d leave him, he couldn’t trust anyone else not to do it, too. Computers were much more trustworthy that way.

  When they reached the street, Charlie slipped his hand free. “Thanks,” he mumbled.

  “Sure,” Jeremy said, raking his hands through his unruly dark hair as he turned back toward the building, his gaze scanning over the ruined façade one more time.

  As bad as Charlie felt for Jeremy, he was glad to know someone understood just how profoundly his life had been turned upside down. Which was another reason Charlie shouldn’t have attempted that kiss. He’d never made a friend as easily nor interacted as comfortably as he did with Jeremy. That kind of friendship was rare. No way should he do anything to jeopardize it.

  “Okay,” Jeremy said to himself. He turned back to Charlie, then did a double take.

  The orange cat sat at the top of the brick pile.

  Jeremy held out his hands as if the cat understood gestures. “Well, you coming with us, or what?”

  The cat pawed at the top brick as if testing it for stability. But he stopped about halfway down and eyed them suspiciously.

  “Maybe if we walk, he’ll follow,” Charlie said. Maybe the cat wanted to be close to them, but didn’t know how to let himself trust them to actually get close. Gee, that sounded familiar.

  “Yeah,” Jeremy said, coming up beside Charlie. They walked around the rubble to the sidewalk that ran along the street side of the L-shaped warehouse. When they turned the corner along the undamaged side, Jeremy looked over his shoulder. “You’re a genius. We’re being stalked.” He winked.

  Charlie peered over his shoulder. Sure enough, the cat padded after them, occasionally pausing to assess his surroundings. At the other end of the building, they waved to a camera and waited for the electric fence to let them in and then turned left into the gravel driveway. A few moments later, the cat peeked around the corner.

  Jeremy chuckled. One of Charlie’s all-time favorite sounds. This man found joy in so much of life’s littlest things, and Charlie couldn’t help but admire that.

  They turned the corner to the back entrance to Hard Ink, the tattoo shop Jeremy ran, and Jeremy punched in a key code that unlocked the door. “Come in, quick,” Jeremy said, and then he bent and wedged a stop under the door that held it open a few inches. He gestured for Charlie to follow him up the metal-and-concrete steps.

  Once again, the cat followed them in and to the bottom of the steps.

  This time, Charlie grinned. “What do you think Eileen’s gonna do?” Eileen was a three-legged German shepherd puppy that Becca had rescued off the streets. And the dog was awesome.

  “Dunno,” Jeremy said, mischievousness filling his green eyes. “But it should be fun to watch.” He waggled his brows.

  Two doors stood on the second-floor landing. They took the one to the cavernous warehouse space that had been a gym, but now served as the team’s war room and everyone’s dining room, too. Jeremy unlocked the door and propped it open.

  They ducked behind a big shelving unit full of gym equipment. Moments later, the cat stuck his head in.

  Beckett Murda came up beside them. “What’s going on?” he asked in a deep, no-nonsense voice. The guy was linebacker big and always serious. If Beckett hadn’t been involved in his rescue, Charlie would’ve been even more intimidated by him.

  “Sshh,” Jeremy said, so not intimidated that he didn’t think twice about shushing the guy. “You’ll see. Watch.”

  The cat came in, eyeballed them with its one big yellow eye, and bolted around them and behind another shelving unit.

  “Seriously?” Beckett said.

  Jeremy grinned and nodded. “Dude. It’s a one-eyed cat. He fits right in.”

  The scars around Beckett’s right eye became more pronounced as his gaze narrowed, but the gym door pushed open again, cutting off whatever he’d been about to say.

  “Hey. Why are the doors propped?” Kat asked, kicking the doorstop away. “The outside door downstairs was, too. I closed it.” Jeremy’s younger sister had arrived three days before and Charlie had nothing but respect for her, especially after she’d hightailed it up on top of the building yesterday to help defend them during the attack.

  “Because we found a cat,” Jeremy said excitedly. Charlie looked away for a moment, because he was sure they’d all be able to read just how frickin’ cute he found Jeremy when he was all worked up about something. The guy radiated a positive energy that just made Charlie feel . . . alive.

  Brow arched, Kat frowned at Beckett. “You found a cat, Trigger?” she asked, the nickname resulting from the fact that Beckett had apparently pulled his gun on Kat the first time they met.

  Beckett glared, shook his head, and walked away.

  Kat chuckled. “He’s so easy.”

  “The cat was in the other half of the building,” Jeremy said. “He only has one eye.”

  “From the explosion?” Kat asked. She was way shorter than Jeremy, but otherwise the family resemblance was clear. Chocolate brown hair, green eyes, an expertise in sarcasm.

  “No. Looks like it’s been that way a while. But he followed us home. Isn’t that awesome?” Jeremy asked.

  Kat laughed. “You always were the king of the stray animals, Jeremy.” She patted his arm, pushed onto her tiptoes, and kissed his cheek. “One of the many things I love about you. Hope Nick doesn’t mind.” She winked and walked away.

  “Shit, don’t tell him yet,” Jeremy called.

  She waved. “Good luck with that.”

  More people poured into the room, including Nick. The family resemblance between the brothers was clear, although Nick was about a million times more serious than Jer. Which, despite the fact that Nick had personally hauled Charlie’s half-conscious body out of his prison two weeks before, made him pretty damn intimidating, too. Plus, Charlie couldn’t help but wonder what the guy would think of his interest in his brother.

  “There you are,” Nick said to Jeremy. ??
?I can’t believe you skipped out on our celebratory breakfast. Becca even put chocolate chips in the pancakes.”

  Jeremy shrugged and the humor from moments before faded from his face. “Sorry.”

  “No worries,” Nick said. “But we’re meeting as soon as everyone’s done eating. You in?”

  “Yeah, of course,” Jeremy said. Charlie nodded, knowing he’d be helping Marz set up additional computers so more people could work through the documents they’d discovered on the microchip.

  “Then come on over,” Nick said. “Because we’ve got work to do.”

  Chapter 3

  JEREMY DESPERATELY WANTED a few more quiet moments with Charlie. He didn’t think he’d imagined the guy’s embarrassment after their phones had interrupted their almost kiss. Hell, Charlie hadn’t even wanted to look at him. So Jeremy really needed to let him know the only thing he regretted was that it hadn’t happened.

  Because Jeremy’s heart was still racing at how close he’d been to getting something he’d wanted for weeks. If he closed his eyes, he could almost feel Charlie’s breath teasing his lips. And since he was standing right behind Charlie’s seat at Marz’s big makeshift desk, he actually could smell the cool, clean scent of the Ivory soap with which he’d showered.

  But there wasn’t a damn thing Jeremy could do right now. Not when they were surrounded by Nick’s team, all their girlfriends, and a handful of the Ravens, too. The only person missing from their usual group was Ike Young, who had worked as a tattooist for Jeremy the past couple of years and was also a Raven. Ike had facilitated the alliance between the motorcycle club and the team and was bringing the rest of the club to help them later this morning. That alliance had finally given Nick and his guys the manpower they needed to fight the Church Gang, who’d kidnapped Charlie, and a defense contractor named Seneka they’d only recently realized was somehow involved.

  “Okay, let’s get started,” Nick said, standing in front of Marz’s desk. His gaze ran over the group. “We’ve got a lot on our plates today.” He counted off on his fingers. “First, Marz and Charlie are going to network more computers this morning so that more of us can read the documents we uncovered at the same time. I’d like all hands on deck for that so we can get through as much as possible in the next few days and ascertain what we’ve got and how we can use it.”

  Nods all around. Everyone had volunteered to help. Jeremy was just glad to have something he could do that actually contributed.

  “Second, we have a number of security measures getting put into place today. Detective Vance will be here shortly to set up roadblocks around the neighborhood. The official story is that a major gas-main break caused yesterday’s explosion and the area needs to be cordoned off while authorities assess safety and undertake maintenance. He thinks that should buy us a few weeks of security, especially since this area is so sparsely populated and there aren’t many people to protest the roadblocks.”

  Kyler Vance was a Baltimore police detective. He’d earned the team’s trust after Nick’s longtime friend, private investigator Miguel Olivero, vouched for the guy. Vance had proven his trustworthiness when he’d shown up to help during the attack. When Miguel had been gunned down as their enemies fled, Vance had vowed to help them however he could, starting with forming a cover story for the building’s explosion and setting up a roadblocked perimeter that would, hopefully, keep them safe and allow them to stay put.

  Nick sighed and frowned. A wave of grief knotted Jeremy’s stomach. Miguel had been a good friend and something of a mentor to Nick since his discharge from the Army. But this situation allowed no time for grieving, did it? The thought had Jeremy turning to Emilie Garza, who sat in a folding chair behind Marz. Less than twenty-four hours earlier, she’d found her brother Manny’s dead body in a gutter outside of Hard Ink. Her brother had worked for their enemy, Seneka, which was what led Marz to Emilie in the first place. But Manny had apparently become a liability, because Seneka had dumped him on the street during the attack. Jeremy wasn’t sure he’d ever seen anything more gut-wrenching than Emilie’s reaction.

  “Third,” Nick finally said, “Beckett is going to set up snipers’ roosts in abandoned buildings across the street so we have a better chance of seeing what’s coming at us.” Nick turned to Jeremy. “You have more knowledge than anyone of the surroundings. Will you help Beckett?”

  “Absolutely,” Jeremy said, giving the other man a nod. At this point, there really wasn’t anything Nick could ask that Jeremy wouldn’t give to keep his brother and their friends safe. Jer’s tongue flicked at the twin piercings on his bottom lip as he began brainstorming locations. He’d explored a few of the abandoned buildings in the neighborhood over the years, and one place leaped to mind as a good possibility.

  Gesturing toward Dare Kenyon, the president of the Raven Riders, Nick continued, “Dare will help with that, too, since his guys will be taking shifts with us. And he’ll work up a security detail schedule using his men and ours.”

  Tall with long, dark hair, Dare always seemed serious and reserved. There was a stillness about him that revealed he was always watching, always observing, always assessing. And nice as he’d always been to Jeremy on the few occasions when they’d met, Dare gave off a dangerous, lethal vibe that commanded respect, if not a little fear. “The rest of the club will be here in a few hours,” he said, his face set in a dark scowl. The Ravens were out for blood after two of their guys died yesterday. If they knew it was because of Jeremy . . . “So we’ll be up and running later today.”

  Nick nodded. “Appreciate it—”

  “We’ve got company,” Marz said, stretching to look at one of the monitors. Jeremy’s gaze followed to the screen, which showed Ike rolling in through the gate on his Harley. A helmet hid the identity of a passenger behind him. “Ike’s here.”

  “Already?” Dare asked, frowning further as he exchanged glances with another Raven.

  Moments later, Ike came through the gym door, his bald head making him identifiable even from a distance. Jessica Jakes, Jeremy’s piercer and doer-of-whatever-needed-done down at Hard Ink, followed after him. What the hell was she doing here?

  Ike’s expression was so pissed it was almost glacial, whereas Jess, usually full of sass, was subdued. Almost . . . scared?

  Jeremy came around the desk. In addition to being his employees the past couple of years, they’d also become good friends. And something was very definitely not okay. “What’s going on?” Jeremy asked, looking from Ike to Jess. “Why are you here?” he asked Jess. He’d closed his shop to keep his employees and customers safe, so the last thing he expected was to see her back here.

  She tucked her wavy black hair behind one ear, which highlighted one of the bright red streaks that ran through it, and looked to Ike.

  “Someone broke into Jess’s house last night,” Ike said. “Ransacked the place.”

  Jesus. Would the madness never stop? “Are you okay?” Jeremy asked as Nick stepped beside him.

  She blew out a breath and nodded. “I hid in a crawl space at the back of my bedroom closet until they left, and then I called Ike.” Her brown eyes cut to Jeremy. “I knew you guys were shut in over here after what happened yesterday.”

  Nick nodded. “Did they take anything?”

  Ike nailed Nick with a cold stare. “Only her computer.”

  “This makes no sense,” Jeremy said, guilt flooding his gut for a whole new reason.

  “Unless someone knows she works for you,” Nick said. “And thought she might know something about me and the team.”

  “That’s why I brought her here,” Ike said. “They didn’t steal enough to make it feel like a run-of-the-mill robbery, and the way they tossed the place seemed like they were looking for something.”

  Jess hugged herself, the position highlighting the colorful ink that ran up her arms—a lot of which Jeremy and Ike had done themselves. “But t
hat’s just it. I don’t know anything. Hell, I didn’t even know what all of you were doing here until Jeremy told me a few days ago.”

  Yeah, and that conversation hadn’t gone great. He and Nick had lied to Jess initially, which Jeremy had hated. They’d thought she’d be safer if she remained in the dark regarding the team’s investigation and enemies. In hindsight, Jeremy should’ve known better. Jess had made it crystal clear what she thought of their secrecy.

  “Did you see the people who broke in? Did they say anything?” Nick asked.

  “I didn’t see anyone,” Jess said, “but when they searched my closet, one of them said they needed me, whatever that means.”

  Becca came up beside Nick, and Jeremy was glad for the millionth time that they’d found each other in the midst of all this chaos. Because Becca was awesome and so damn good for his brother. “This feels like what happened to my and Charlie’s places all over again. Someone looking for us and information they thought we had.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Charlie said in a quiet voice from his seat at the desk.

  “Shit,” Nick bit out. “Yeah.”

  “Goddamnit,” Ike said in a tone close to a growl. He scrubbed his hands over his bald head.

  Jess’s bottom lip quivered. “What now?”

  Jeremy hadn’t seen Jess this rattled in years, not since her dad had died within a few months of her starting at Hard Ink, and he couldn’t hold back wanting to make her feel better for even one more second. He pulled her into his arms and petted his hand against her silky hair. She was so short that her head just touched the bottom of his chin. “For now, you stay here. I’ll help you put your place back together when all this is over. Okay?”

  A quick nod. “Thanks.”

  “Don’t mention it, Jess.” Her muscles trembled within Jeremy’s embrace, and it was clear she was trying with all her might to hold back her emotion. But after having her house broken into and tossed in the middle of the night, who would blame her for falling apart? No one here, that was for sure. Jeremy looked toward Ike. “Thanks for being there for her, man.”