Killer Curves (Dangerous Curves Book 3) (3 page)

He wasn’t anything close to convinced and she knew it. Quickly, she moved away from his laser-beam gaze. “I have to get back to work.”

“You do that.”

Dillon watched her scurry down to the back rooms and he just
knew
that she wasn’t right. He sighed and turned his attention to the group at the far table. They were getting loud and he walked in their direction, just to check in.

They were arguing about money, he heard now, so he leaned against a wall close by, in case thing got heated. When the fight broke out less than five minutes later, he and Wes had their hands full with controlling the drunken idiots pounding the hell out of each other. Dillon was so focused on sorting out the brawlers that he didn’t think about Gabi again until he saw his boss come in – and then all the worry for her came rushing back.

I hope she talks to Jax… if she doesn’t, I’ll push again. No way I leave here today until I know for sure what’s going on with her.

**

Jax Hamill turned on his laptop and took a sip of coffee. The last thing he wanted to do right now was call and beg any of these women to help him out of this jam – since he’d fucked every single one of them. God, here was yet another case of his man-whore days coming back to haunt him.

Why didn’t you keep your dick in your pants, man, just once in a while? At least have one woman on the on-call list who you hadn’t taken to the crash rooms? Dammit. Thank God you have Sarah now… your life was such a mess back then
.

Her beautiful face came to him now and he smiled. Sarah Matthews had just walked in to his life one night – totally by accident, totally by fate – and despite the fact that she’d rejected him and held herself away from him at first, here they were. Living together, loving each other, making it work.

She was still recovering from the attack that had put her in a coma and left the lower right side of her body numb and unresponsive. It was now going on eight months since her ex had beaten her almost to death, and she was walking well and her balance was good.

She still had huge gaps in her memory they may always be there and she still got tired far too easily for his liking. But she was bright and shining and healthy, and he thanked God every day that she was in his life. He’d never thought that he’d ever deserve a woman like Sarah and he’d never stop trying to be the best man he could – for her and for himself.

There was a quiet knock at the door now.

“Come in,” he called.

It opened and Gabi stood there. He smiled at her, waved her in.

“Mister Jax,” she said. “Could I please speak to you?”

He nodded. He’d given up years ago trying to get Gabi to just call him ‘Jax’. She’d been horrified at the thought and he’d never really pushed the issue. If it meant that much to her to show respect in this way, he’d let her, he figured.

“Sit down,” he said. “I hear you stayed with us last night.”

“Yes.”

“Everything OK?”

“Oh, yes. Great. Thank you.”

“So what can I do for you, hon?”

“I – I heard that Donna quit.”

Jax sighed again. “Yep. You heard right.”

Gabi fidgeted. “I was wondering if – I can – I was thinking…”

Jax leaned back in his chair and stared at her.

“You want to take her shift?” he asked.

Gabi stared up at him, her eyes surprised. “How – how did you know?”

“I’m psychic.”

She cracked a grin at that. “So what am I thinking now?”

“Uh.” He pressed his fingers to his temples, narrowed his eyes at her. “You’re hoping to trade off some work hours for the room last night.”

Gabi gasped. “How…”

Jax laughed. “So is that it? You’d like to do a barter?”

“Is that OK?” she faltered.

“Well, maybe. You got any waitressing experience?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t mean an Appleby’s or Pizza Hut, OK? I mean in a bar – preferably a rough bar with the kind of clientele you have to be able to handle a certain way.”

“Still yes.”

That
interested Jax very much. “Yeah? Tell me.”

“Every summer, my parents sent me to Mexico to work at my uncle’s bar in Guadalajara. It’s in a rough neighborhood and the bar was patronized by known criminals.”

“Your parents sent you to work at a place like that?” Jax hated to criticize the woman’s dead family members, but that really seemed like a questionable parenting decision, in his opinion.

Gabi shrugged. “Most of the criminals were members of my family. To this day, all my cousins are in and out of jail and back then they drank at the bar and they brought their friends. They watched out for me and I had nothing to worry about. Nobody would lay a hand on Hector or Bernardo’s cousin, believe me. In many ways, I was safer there than our family home in East Corfax here in Denver.”

“Oh.” That stumped Jax for a second. “So… you served up drinks to shady characters?”

Her smile was sweet and sunny. “I did. For about six summers. Great tips, I assure you.”

“Ever come across any trouble?”

“Oh, yes. Fights and drive-by shootings and strange meetings in the back rooms that ended up with someone getting stabbed.”

“Huh.” He stared at her, unable to believe any of this from the quiet woman sitting in front of him. He knew that Gabi was tough as hell, despite her reticence and constant exhaustion, but this caught him by surprise. “I guess Curves would seem tame by comparison.”

“Safer, for sure. Your bouncers are way more in control when things go wrong.”

“OK, then. You get a shift tonight.”

“Really?” A delighted smile lit up her whole face. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“A few things. Listen up, now.”

“OK.”

“Any sign of trouble, you get the hell out of the way. No bullshit, Gabi, you hear me? If you can, you head to the staff room or you get to Aidan behind the bar. If not, you get your back to the wall and stay out of the way. Yeah?”

“Yes.”

“Any tips you earn are yours to keep and I’ll not charge you for the room last night. Fair trade?”

“Ummm.” She hesitated. “One thing?”

“Name it.”

“Could I stay here again tonight?”

He looked puzzled. “You can’t go home?”

“No.” She took a deep breath and launched in to the lie. “My landlord is out of town until Monday and I have no way to get in before then.”

“Shit, Gabi. You want to come and stay with me and Sarah? We have two guest rooms. It’d be no trouble.”

“No, thank you, Mister Jax. I have to be back here tomorrow at ten o’clock to clean, remember?”

“Oh, we can forget that… I’ll call in someone else to cover the shift. You can sleep in, take it easy.”

“I’d rather not.” She hesitated. “I – I can’t lose the income, you see.”

“Ah.” Jax stared at her, took in her strained expression. “Yeah, I get it. So in that case, you’re right, actually. It’s better for you to stay here if you’re going to get up early to clean. We’ll figure out payment for the room tomorrow, alright? If things go OK tonight, I may need you to work tomorrow night as well. Donna was scheduled for Sunday, so maybe we can trade that shift for the room, too.”

Gabi almost fell over with relief. Thank
God
he’d agreed to one more night and no Spanish Inquisition about any of it. She had some extra cash coming to her from waitressing and she had another night someplace safe, maybe two if she got a shift tomorrow. And – best of all – by being on the bar floor and mingling with the patrons, she’d hear if anyone was talking about Miguel.

Wow. It just couldn’t have worked out better, really.

“Just one last thing.” Jax looked a bit uncomfortable.

“Yes?”

He gestured at her clothing. “You got anything else to wear?”

Horror-struck, Gabi stared down at herself, at her baggy stained shirt and torn jeans and sneakers.
Shit
. She hadn’t thought about
this
part of it. Thank God she at least had clean panties.

“Sorry to sound like a sexist asshole, but you ain’t gonna get any tips in your cleaning clothes. Not in this place.” Jax grinned, his dark green eyes twinkling. “You’re going to have to show a bit of skin.”

“No, I know. You’re right.” She bit her lip. “I guess – I guess I could go and buy something?”

“And lose any money you’d have earned from working tonight? That makes no sense.”

“No, it doesn’t. But…”

“OK, how about this. I’ll call the girls who are working tonight, see if one of them can loan you something.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You’re close to Kenleigh’s size and she’s a sweetheart. She won’t mind.”

“Yes, I know her. She’s great.”

“She and Tessa are working tonight. Maybe I’ll ask them to come in a bit early, help you get ready, yeah?”

“You think they would?”

“Sure they would.”

“Well, then… yes. Please. If it’s OK with them.”

“It’ll be fine, don’t worry.” Jax smiled at her. “So… anything else?”

Gabi stood up. “No. I’ll finish cleaning, then I’ll maybe get a bit of rest before tonight.”

“Good. And thank
you
, Gabi. You really helped me out by being able to take the shift.”

“You’re welcome, Mister Jax.”

He watched her leave his office and he shook his head in bafflement. Gabi working in a bar in Mexico? Serving up shots to sketchy guys – who were her cousins? Going back to work the day after a drive-by?

Fuck, man. Just goes to show you, huh? You never know where someone’s really coming from, do you?

**

Ace threw his coffee cup out his car window and scowled back at the woman with the baby carriage walking by. Fuck, these people just kept breeding, huh? Like the world needed more of them.

He looked around Gabi Torres’ neighborhood again. Nothing but brown people, everywhere he looked. This was a known Mexican area and Ace had been here before – to pick up some drugs. Beyond that, he’d never had any reason to set foot in this slum again. Until now.

Fuck you for making me sit here for hours on end, Gabi Torres. One more reason to fucking want to beat your head in, bitch.

His cell phone rang and he jumped to attention. “Trigger?”

“Yeah, man. Any sign?”

“No. None. I’ve been here since nine this morning and she hasn’t shown up yet.”

“OK. She’s definitely in the wind. She won’t be going back there.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. She’s hiding.”

“You think she’s at Curves?”

“Maybe. I’m going to send a few guys in there tonight to check it out.”

“Not from our club?”

“Fuck, no. Hamill’s boys would have them out of there so fast, it’d make them dizzy. Naw, I called a few guys I know who aren’t in the club. They’ll go for a few drinks on me, scope the place. See if she’s staying there, maybe.”

“Or maybe she’s staying with family.”

“Yeah, that’s possible, but from what I’ve found out so far, her parents are dead. Died a year ago in a car wreck and I can’t find any other relatives that aren’t back in Mexico. I’ll keep looking, though, just to be sure.”

“So what do you want me to do?”

“Stay put. You never know… she may decide to sneak home later tonight. I fucking doubt it, but bitches do stupid things when they feel cornered.”

Ace rolled his eyes but knew way better than to let Trigger hear any complaints from him. “Sure thing, man.”

“If you clap eyes on her, you grab her, no hesitation. Feel free to slap her around a bit, if the mood strikes, but not too much. I want to talk to her and that’s easier if she’s conscious and has all her teeth. Yeah?”

“With pleasure,” Ace said grimly, furious about being stuck in this car until his President told him otherwise. “Nothing I’d love more, believe me.”

Chapter Three

Gabi stared at herself in the bathroom mirror, simply unable to believe what Kenleigh and Tessa had dressed her in.

“It’s – I look – ummm…”

“You look
hot
!” Kenleigh exclaimed. “Who
knew
you had all this to show off, Gabi? Why do you live in baggy clothes, again?”

“I – because I – I’m a cleaning woman,” Gabi mumbled. “Just a cleaning woman.”

“A damn beautiful cleaning woman,” Tessa piped up. “I mean –
look
at you!”

The three women stared at her reflection some more, then Kenleigh smiled at her.

“So… hair and makeup, yeah?”

“Oh,” Gabi protested. “Oh, no.”

“Oh,
yes
,” Tessa said, digging in to her purse. “We came prepared so just relax. We got this.”

“Are you sure?” Gabi trailed behind them, out of the bathroom and back in to the room she was staying in. “It’s not too much trouble?”

“Are you kidding?” Kenleigh said. “I’m having a blast.”

“Me too,” Tessa said. “Come on, Gabi, just sit. Let us make you look great. OK?”

“OK,” she said. “What are you going to do?”

“Just wait and see,” Kenleigh told her. “Trust us. You? Are going to be a damn knock-out.”

“Yep,” Tessa agreed. “And that’s putting it mildly.”

**

“So where’s Sarah?” Shane ‘Mac’ MacIntyre asked Jax. “I thought she was going to be here tonight.”

“Nope.” Jax drank some beer. “Noah’s taking her to dinner. His treat.”

“Yeah? How’s he doing, anyway?”

“Oh, great. Got his girlfriend, got his painting, got his own money. The man is a force of nature, I swear.”

“That’s great,” Mac said. “Thank God for Naomi’s art program, huh?”

“Yep.” Jax grinned. “And thank God for King’s niece… Callie’s the best thing to walk in to Noah’s life in some ways.”

Matt ‘King’ Kingston nodded his dark head. “The feeling is mutual, believe me. We had to suffer through quite a few assholes trying to take advantage of Callie. Noah’s the real deal, we know that.”

“Wait, what?” Aidan said. “Who took advantage of Callie?”

King shrugged and took a drink of beer. “Guys who thought that just because she’s autistic she’s dumb, or vulnerable, or easy to talk in to something.”

The other men stared at him, appalled.

“Fuck right off,” Jax said.

“No, it’s true,” King said. “In some ways, she’s a sixteen-year-old in a twenty-one-year-old woman’s body – and that makes her an easy target for a certain kind of guy. And she’s not all that street-wise, you know, so she didn’t always understand what they were angling for.”

“I had no idea,” Mac said.

“Yeah, well, me and her Mom worked for years to get Callie to recognize trouble when it came at her, but it hasn’t been easy.” He sighed. “Noah’s great, though. We trust him and I mean totally.”

“Are they – what if they…” Mac said tentatively. “Have you thought about what happens if they want to get… you know. Physical?”

“Oh, yeah. Me and Lori and Sarah have talked to them, together and individually, about the responsibility of that kind of decision. It’s tough, you know, because legally they’re adults, but they do need some guidance because of their autism and all the challenges that brings.” He turned to Jax. “By the way? Noah said something about asking you for help with kissing, so get ready for that.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jax said. “That will be – weird.”

“Uh-huh. Talking about kissing with your girlfriend’s twin brother? The potential for awkward is kinda huge. Also?” King glowered, his gray eyes stormy. “Tell him to keep his tongue in his mouth and his hands on the sofa, man.”

“Christ.” Jax ran his hands through his dark hair. “I swear, these ain’t even our kids and we’re acting like lunatic fathers.”

“Yeah.” King sighed. “Tell me about it.”

“And the thing is, knowing Noah, he’ll want as much detail as possible,” Jax said. “I may need a drink before we have the talk.”

“A kissing talk!” Mac said. “From a former womanizing bastard… God, I’d
pay
to hear that one.”

“I’d pay double if Jax gave him a demonstration,” Aidan said and Mac laughed, delighted.

Jax scowled at his bartender. “Don’t you have customers to serve?”

“Nope. Not at the moment.” Aidan glanced up, looked around the room. “Where are the ladies, anyway? It’s getting busy and we need some table service.”

Bang on cue, they came around the corner from the crash rooms, strolled on in to the bar area. The men looked over at them, wondering about the looks on Kenleigh and Tessa’s faces. Then they stepped aside to reveal the woman behind them and the men knew what those satisfied expressions meant.

“Gabriela?” Aidan gasped. “What – how –
what
…”

“Wow,” Mac said, his blue eyes taking her in. “Sweet thing, you look incredible.”

“I do?” Gabi said. “It’s not too much?”

“Nope,” King said, grinning. “It’s just right, believe me.”

“Just right?” Aidan choked out. “It’s – Gabriela…”

“What?” she said, shy and uncertain. “Do I look bad?”

Aidan stared at her, trying to put his thoughts in to words. Did she look
bad
? God, no. No way. Quite the opposite, actually: the woman looked totally delectable and completely fuckable and he had a hard-on raging in his pants right now.

She was wearing the tightest black jeans known to man –
goddamn
, those things looked painted on. Her legs were curved and toned and went on forever and the waist on the jeans was low, so he saw her perfect little belly button peeking out. He wanted to kiss it, work his way down, dip his tongue in to her pussy until she moaned and begged. But maybe he’d have to start the kissing and teasing with her breasts, because in that cropped top? They were totally on display, and they were surprisingly full and tempting.

Aidan had worked with Gabi for almost three years and God knows he’d spent hours looking at her, talking to her, getting to know her. He’d always known that a heartstoppingly gorgeous woman was hidden under all that exhaustion and those oversized clothes – but seeing her revealed in all her glory was an overwhelming experience.

She turned a bit now to scan the room nervously and he caught a glimpse of her bare lower back. For some reason,
that
was his undoing. Not the deep cleavage, not the jeans cupping her pert ass, not her wild, tousled hair tumbling over her shoulders, not even the way the makeup made her eyes huge in her beautiful face and brought out those kissable lips. Nope – her lower back. That sweet, achingly vulnerable spot on her lean, athletic body.

Fuck, I want to see her naked on her stomach, lying on my bed, that perfect curve of her back all mine to touch with my fingers and my tongue.

“Bad?” His voice was hoarse. “No, not bad. The boys at your tables won’t have a clue what hit them.”

She grinned. “So… shall we get to work?”

“Go on,” Jax said in a mock-stern voice. “I don’t pay you to stand around and look gorgeous, ladies.”

Kenleigh rolled her blue eyes. “You totally do, Jax.”

“Hush up,” Jax growled. “Serve.”

“Well, yes sir.” Tessa gave a little bow that ended in a shimmy. “We’re off to do your bidding.”

The four men watched the women head off to their assigned tables, watched the reactions of the male patrons. All three of them were stunning in their own ways, and that hadn’t escaped the attention of the men in the room for even one second.

Aidan couldn’t take his eyes off Gabriela. She was smiling and laughing with some guys from the Road Devils MC, all confident and sexy as hell, and those fuckers were right in to it. Even Wolf Connor, the President who was famous for his wild sexual exploits, was eating her up with his dark eyes. His hot gaze was running up and down her far-too-exposed body hungrily, and he was leaning towards her as he talked.

Aidan gave Jax a furious glare. “What the hell are you doing, letting her work in this place?”

“
You
work in this place,” Jax pointed out.

“It’s not the same thing and you damn well know it.”

“No?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Because she’s a gorgeous woman being ogled by customers?”

“Yes,” Aidan hissed. “She isn’t up for the kind of bullshit that goes on in here, the crap that the girls put up with.”

“Come on, man, chill out,” Mac said. “That’s what Curtis and Alex are for, yeah? And us too… you know we don’t let the guys touch the ladies.”

“But sometimes they still do before one of us can get over and help! That’s what happens with these dickheads! Gabriela shouldn’t be working in a place like this!”

Tessa wandered over with her drinks order and she overheard Aidan’s comment. She grinned at him, her green eyes dancing. “Um.
I
work in a place like this. Should I not be here? Should I take my delicate flower ass home and do some knitting?”

“Sorry, darlin’,” Aidan mumbled. “I didn’t mean to insult you…”

“Also?” Jax said. “What do you mean ‘a place like this’?” Something
wrong
with my place, man?”

Aidan saw that he was quickly losing this battle and he scowled. “Shut up, y’all.”

“Why are you so interested, anyway?” Mac said innocently, knowing the answer perfectly well. “You seem overly invested in Gabi’s welfare. Any particular reason?”

“So what do you need?” Aidan asked Tessa, ignoring Mac.

“Four beers and eight Alabama Slammers.”

“Slammers, huh?” Jax glanced over at the table. “These boys partying tonight?”

“Yep. Looks like it,” she said. “Something about a successful run.”

“Say no more,” King warned her. “Keep your ears closed around that table, OK?”

“You know it,” Tessa said. “I don’t hear anything except drinks orders.”

“Good girl,” Mac said, nodding; his long blond hair fell over his handsome face and he pushed it back. “You need any help, you let us know. Yeah?”

“Yeah.” She set the first round of shots on her tray. “Thanks. But I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

The men watched her walk back to the table, watched the four men lean back to leer at her.

“Yeah. No,” Jax said to his friends. “I’m not so sure about that.”

**

Gabi smiled at the two men who had just come in and sat in the booth closest to the door. They gave her the creeps for some reason, but hey, a paying customer got drinks, no matter how much she disliked being within ten feet of their stalkery vibe.

“Hi, guys,” she said. “How are you doing?”

“Good, honey,” the one guy with the heavily-lidded gray eyes said. “Bring me a double shot of whisky, OK? Neat.”

“Sure thing. And for you?” she asked his friend.

“The same.”

“OK. I’ll be right back.”

They watched her go and give their order to a blond man glaring at them from behind the bar. They exchanged glances.

“Well, that’s her,” Don said. “But damn, man… she’s way fucking hotter than the picture that Trigger showed us.”

“Yep,” Lenny agreed. His eyes were cold and light gray and they were the reason everyone called him Lizard. “So let’s have a few drinks and then go tell Trigger she’s here.”

“Sure.” Don looked around Curves, spotted Kenleigh and Tessa. “The view is fucking great here, huh?”

“No shit.” Lizard stared at one especially cheap-looking piece of ass at a table of scantily-clad women. “I wonder if we should visit those famous crash rooms with one of these bitches?”

Don followed his gaze. “Yeah. Why the hell not, yeah? Might as well enjoy our night out.”

“Damn right.”

Over at the bar, Aidan was barely holding on to his cool. He’d spent the past three hours watching Gabriela move around the room, serving customers, laughing and flirting, deftly avoiding grasping hands. She was the brightest thing he’d ever seen and he was having trouble staying focused on what he was doing. All he wanted to do was watch her.

“How’s it going?” he asked her now as he poured out the whisky. “You doing OK?”

The smile she gave him stunned him with its brilliance. “Honestly? I’m having so much fun.”

“Yeah?” He was slightly disbelieving.
Fun?

“Yeah.” She leaned her elbows on the bar. “It’s kind of nice to
talk
to people at work, you know? When I’m cleaning, it’s me and the vacuum and the mop and all I’m thinking about is finishing on time so I can get to my next shift. But this is great.”

“Huh.” Aidan found himself grinning at her delight and enthusiasm. “Maybe you’ve found your professional calling.”

“You think so?”

“Sure. Maybe you want to work here more often.”
With me keeping an eye on your every move. And please wear those jeans every shift, yeah?

“No, I don’t think so. This is just a time-out from my real life. An – an escape.”

Something in her voice made him look up sharply. “Escape from what?”

She jumped. “What?”

“You need an escape from something?”

“Oh. Oh, no. It’s just an – just an expression.” She grabbed the full tray and he saw her hands were shaking. “I’d better get these served.”

She strode off, curved hips swinging, long legs pumping and Aidan watched her go, his heart in his throat with lust which was now mixed with worry. Seeing her like this was doing his head in. She’d always been sweet and funny, but tonight was a whole other side of her. Sexy. Sassy. Slinky. Maybe she really just needed a break from the grind of cleaning for sixteen hours a day? Or was it more?

But Jesus Christ. Having her here looking and acting like this is actually, really, truly, going to kill me.

For fucking real.

**

Two hours later, Curtis was standing against the wall, massive arms crossed, watching Tessa serve the table of assholes their fifth round of beers and Slammers. He didn’t like the vibe that group was giving off and he was observing her carefully, watching her body language to see if she was afraid or tense around them. He always kept an eye on the female staff, of course, but Tessa was something special and he’d never even pretended otherwise.