Page 12 of Lockout (The Vikings MC: Tucson Chapter #11)

Keely

I made a terrible Jezebel. Despite all the thoughts I’d been having of Lockout, the many delicious, muscular, naked thoughts, and one erotic dream last night that had me wishing I’d packed my vibrator, I still hadn’t worked up the courage to do any actual pouncing.

He’d knocked on my door this morning and instead of pulling him inside my apartment and having my way with his sexy tattooed body, I’d handed him my keys—after he demanded that I give them to him—and followed him downstairs.

I’d been quite docile about it all. And not docile in the ‘good girl’ way either.

Which was probably why he kept shooting me suspicious looks as we drove downtown to my law office. Docile wasn’t usually a term that described me, and he was wondering why I wasn’t pushing back. His next statement confirmed my theory.

“You’re worried.”

I glanced over at him and sighed. There wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to tell him that I was fretting over trying to seduce him, so I brought up the other thing that was bothering me.

“This is a good idea. Going to speak with the partners at my law firm,” I explained when he arched a brow.

“But I’m not sure they’re going to do what we want. ”

“Why not?”

“They pushed pretty hard to get me to take the FBI’s offer to begin with.”

He frowned at that. “You didn’t want to go?” He was staring at the road, as if he didn’t want to look into my eyes when he asked that question. Or when I answered it, one of the two.

“I- I did.” Sort of. There were a couple different reasons that I’d taken that damn civilian contracting position. And I was regretting letting all of them push me toward accepting it now that I was in deep trouble.

“You don’t sound sure about it,” he said, his voice low.

“I thought it would be a good experience.” I shot him a rueful smile when his eyes darted over to me at that. Then he looked back at the road. His forearm muscles flexed as he gripped the steering wheel of my car.

Stop drooling over him. Then the devil on my other shoulder interjected, or you could crawl over there and lick him from top to bottom.

I wasn’t sure I could follow my inner voice’s order, but I’d try.

And I was going to completely ignore that little devil voice because now wasn’t the time.

Maybe later, but not now. “But mostly it was because the partners really wanted the accolades that would come along with having one of their lawyers working with the FBI.” And because I couldn’t stand to be around a certain biker and not fall in love with him.

Lock was the third reason I’d taken that position, but I wasn’t about to tell him that.

“So they might not want to have them release you early because it won’t look as good as if you stayed and helped them make the bust,” he concluded.

I nodded. “Yeah. It’s big accolades for the firm if one of their lawyers is attached to the arrests and prosecution.”

“Anything you can say that would change their minds?”

“I’m going to tell them either they tell the FBI that they need me back home, or I’ll quit my job with them.”

His eyes narrowed and he looked over at me again. My hand squeezed the handle on my passenger door as the car kept moving forward at breakneck speed while he stared me down. I motioned forward. “Eyes on the road, Lock,” I squeaked.

Of course, if I ended up a splatter on I-10 then I wouldn’t have to worry about the LoS killing me. There really was a silver lining to everything.

“Why wouldn’t you have said that before?” he asked, but he focused back on the road. “Why are you only telling that to them now?”

“Because it will ruin my chances at a partnership with their firm,” I ticked off the reasons on my fingers, “put me on their radar in a bad way, if you know what I mean. And,” I added, “if I really do quit, these guys will likely have me blacklisted from any significant law firm in Tucson. Maybe even the state.”

“Can they do that?” he asked.

“Unfortunately, yeah.”

“What about Static’s firm?”

“I couldn’t ask him to put his reputation on the line for me like that. If the partners really wanted to, they could make my life a living hell.”

He grunted in acknowledgment of my statement, but didn’t say anything.

I could see the wheels turning in that mind of his. I knew him well enough to know his first thoughts were of throwing my partners out a window. His second thoughts were probably of how that would affect me, and why he couldn’t go about it that way.

The man was incredibly protective, but he was also intelligent.

Most people probably didn’t look past the tattoos and rough attitude.

That was their loss. He was smart, kind, and loyal as any man could be.

Lock was exactly the kind of man you wanted on your side.

The only problem was, he had a habit of sacrificing everything to make sure those around him were taken care of.

I’d always wondered who was left to take care of him?

“And you’d be willing to make that ultimatum?” he finally asked after a brief silence.

“Yes.”

He glanced over at me again. “You should only make it if you’re willing to take the consequences of them calling you on it.”

“I know,” I said, my lips twitching. Despite living at his clubhouse for an extended length of time, he didn’t really know me that well yet. He’d seemed to do his best to keep away from me. Or at least that was how it always seemed to me.

“Better black-listed, than dead,” I added.

“Not the best bargaining chip.” His nod was short and clipped. “If that happens, we’ll take care of it.” His promise echoed through the car.

I didn’t respond because I wasn’t sure how to. The connections he had baffled me. He’d been in the military. Ran the club. I knew they were into illegal shit, though I never asked anyone for specifics on anything. And he had his business.

Lock owned an air charter business. He owned a few different planes, jets, and even a helicopter. Billie told me that he’d flown that helicopter to her ranch the night that Jonathan Brently’s men had tried to kill her, Toxic, and Daryl.

He employed different pilots and even stewardesses to cater toward the rich and famous and flew them all over. The only reason I knew was because I allegedly snooped in his office one night, found the name of his business on a letterhead, and then looked into it.

Lock was in charge of a seriously huge company that many powerful people utilized.

They even took people out of the country when needed, for a price.

And judging on how much his company was worth, according to my internet search, it was a big price.

I could only imagine how many people he knew. How many favors he could call in.

Then there was his connection with the Wyoming club. Cypher was a big fucking deal. His security firm was known all over the country. If you were a lawyer and didn’t know about it, you had to be living under a rock.

I didn’t speak as Lock pulled into a parking garage. Or when he got out and came to open my door. I didn’t even complain when he escorted me into my law office. I wasn’t stupid. There were people trying to kill me and he was my best shot at living.

And it really wasn’t a hardship to stick close to him. If I pushed the whole ‘people trying to kill me’ part aside, it was really nice to be escorted by my own biker.

I looked back and forth between Joseph and Gary. They ruled their law office with iron fists, and while usually I respected that about them, today it wasn’t playing out in my favor.

“I’m sorry, Keely,” Gary said with a shake of his head. “We’re not willing to risk the reputation of our company.”

“Is the reputation of your company worth my life?” I asked, scowling at them. I’d told them everything. So either they didn’t believe me, or they didn’t care.

“Yet, you have no proof that this group is after you,” Joe said, letting me know in no uncertain terms that he didn’t believe me. He arched his brows at me.

“You want me to wait until I’m riddled with bullet holes, then come back?

” I snapped. Then I forced myself to take a deep breath.

Pissing them off wasn’t going to help my cause.

“Besides I’m not ending it early,” I clarified.

“The position was for six months. That time frame came and went. I’ve been with them for eleven months. ”

“Semantics,” Gary said with a wave of his hand. “You knew they would keep you longer if they needed to.”

“But, we could use those semantics to argue-”

“No,” Joe said, cutting me off. “We’re not willing to back out of a contract with the FBI.”

They weren’t in the damn contract. Bastards.

They didn’t care what happened to me. I really didn’t want to have to give them my ultimatum.

I’d worked so hard for my reputation, for my career, not to mention I didn’t want to embarrass my mother or put a black mark on her own reputation.

It didn’t matter that she was retired. She’d made a name for herself and having her daughter tarnish that was bound to upset her.

But my mother loved me. And if I explained the situation, she’d understand. So would Dad. Steeling my nerves, I gave the two men a grim look. “Then I’ll be handing in my resignation to Durrett and Loe, effective immediately.”

Gary’s jaw dropped and it gave me a small sense of satisfaction to see that I’d shocked him.

Joe, on the other hand, was a much tougher cookie.

His jaw muscles flexed as he stared me down.

If he thought that was going to intimidate me, he wasn’t aware of the reputation of the woman he’d hired years ago.

I was known as tenacious and unbending. I didn’t let men intimidate me into backing down. Women either. Going toe to toe with people was my job. And I was damn good at it.

“If you do that, you’ll regret it,” Joe all but growled at me.

When Lock did that deep, agitated sounding tone with me, it put me in mind of a dangerous animal.

When Joe did it? He sounded like a Chihuahua.

All bark, no bite. I shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. I have my reasons to want off this task force, Joe.” I didn’t bother to include Gary.

He wasn’t making the decisions here. “Either you help me get off this task force, or I’ll quit and do it myself. ”

“Quitting will tank your career,” he threatened. He wasn’t saying that he’d do the tanking, but all three of us knew that was what he meant.

“So be it,” I said with another shrug. My hand clenched into a fist in my lap. “If you want to keep me, that is what I need from you, because at the end of the day my life is more valuable to me than my career.”

“You’re being paranoid.”

It pissed me off to hear that, because that was exactly what everyone else had said. Everyone except Lock. But I didn’t argue with Joe’s statement. I’d given my terms, he either needed to meet them or decline.

Joe leaned back in his seat, considering me. Now it was just up to whether they considered me worth more than honoring a deal with the FBI and the bragging rights that came with that.

I had my answer far faster than I thought I would. I figured they would take some time to think about it. Show some kind of concern for my well-being. My head spun as Joe glared at me.

“Then there’s no reason to keep you, Miss Bradford. We here at Durrett and Loe wish you the best of luck at your next place of employment.”

My heart sank, but I steeled my spine and kept my expression neutral. I’d liked working here. And I loved my job. And now I’d be lucky if I was able to ever practice law again. “Have a good day, Gentlemen,” I told them as I tossed my ID badge and lanyard onto the desk separating us.

I’d already cleared out my stuff months earlier, when I left for D.C., so that it wasn’t taking up space in the office area. So all that was left was to walk out with my head held high. I strode out of their office, and out of the building, as if my world wasn’t crumbling around me.