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“Well, aren’t you going to introduce me to your little girlfriend, Martino?” His voice was unreadable. Was this a test?
“Sure. Cole Bailey, this is Winter DeLaurie. Winter, Cole is Marcus’ brother.”
Winter twisted around to better see Cole. “Nice to meet you.” She smiled at him politely, resting her hand in his when he reached for it.
“Nice to meet you, Miss DeLaurie…you wouldn’t be Charles DeLaurie’s daughter, would you?” He didn’t let go of Winter’s hand. I couldn’t look away.
“You know my dad?” Winter wondered.
Cole shrugged. “Not personally. I know of him, of course. How could anyone in Hade Harbor not. His friend, Duncan, though. We go way back. We used to do business with the Fitzgeralds.” I opened another beer for Cole and held it out to him, until he finally dropped Winter’s hand and took it. I knew the name Fitzgerald. They were a big deal in Hade Harbor. Rich, but without the illustrious reputation of Winter’s family.
“Oh.” Winter frowned, clearly trying to imagine this tough-as-nails biker and people in her father’s stuffy upper-class social circle doing business together. There were certain businesses that men like Cole were involved in, and none of them were white-collar office situations. Looked like the Fitzgeralds were even sketchier than I’d suspected. Of course, you didn’t get to be as rich as they were without something illegal in your history, not unless you were born into money, like Winter and her family were. In that case, the shady stuff was just further back in their history.
“Yeah, going back a long time…upstate, near Bar Harbor. The Fitzgeralds have plenty going on over there.”
“The Cove, right? Duncan’s son, Trent, mentioned it,” Winter said. Trent? Who the fuck was that? It was becoming clear that possessiveness was an unfortunate side effect of my game with Winter.
“Did he? Don’t let him talk you into going,” Cole said. “It’s not for you.” His cryptic words were flat and nonnegotiable.
Winter just nodded. “There’s no danger of that. I couldn’t be less interested. Duncan is just my dad’s old college roommate. They’re in an investment club together, but I don’t think it meets outside Hade Harbor. It’s just a bunch of old college friends, really. They meet at The Dunes once a month, or they used to,” Winter mused.
“An investment club?” I repeated.
Winter eyed me. “Yeah, the most boring social activity in town.”
Cole chuckled. “If it’s boring, you can safety assume it has nothing to do with the Fitzgeralds’ real interests, or their place upstate. Anyway, it was nice seeing you kids. Martino, take care of this one, she seems like the kind of broad who gets a guy in trouble. Miss DeLaurie.” He nodded to Winter before heading for the door.
His gang of fellow bikers followed.
My shoulders didn’t inch down from under my ears until every last one had left.
After, the bar felt empty, the tension that the MC carried with them slowly dissipating.
“That’s Marcus’ brother? He’s so scary, and Marcus is so not,” Winter said.
I shook my head. “Don’t believe that for a second. Marcus is like that cheerful clown who keeps everyone laughing all day long, but under the suit, there’s someone else entirely. He and Cole are very similar…both of them take after their dad.”
“Their dad? Isn’t he in jail for like…murder, or something?”
I nodded. “Exactly. Now, you’re leaving, right?”
Over Winter’s shoulder, I saw my replacement come in. I’d been on my feet for hours. I was ready to go home, but first, I had to make Winter leave.
“You’re such a bully.” Winter scowled at me. She picked up her glass and downed her soda. “And your drink sucks.”
“Ouch, hitting me where it hurts, soda quality in a dive bar. Grab your jacket,” I snapped at her.
She rolled her eyes and picked up her coat, sliding it on. “I could stay if I wanted to,” she argued.
I nodded. “Yes, you could.” I leaned on the bar and murmured near her ear. “But any minute now my man Tank, at the end of the bar, is going to start trying to fart along to the jukebox, so…if you leave this second, you might be spared.”
She reared back, and her expression of horror made me smile.
She headed for the door without another word.
“Hey, you mind if I head out? We’re slow tonight,” I told my replacement who’d just wandered behind the bar.
“Go for it.”
