Page 26 of Devil's Queen
I straighten up and use the wrench in my hand to brush my hair out of my face. Rex stands with his arms crossed tightly against the T-shirt straining against his muscular chest. Heat pools low in my belly at the sight of him. Of all the men in this city, my body clearly has its mind set on the one person I can’t and won’t have in my bed again. Nothing good would come from inviting the devil back into my bed.
“I didn’t call you here to fuck, Rex.”
His eyebrow arches as a cocky smirk crosses his lips. “I certainly didn’t expect that, but hey, you said it.”
“Don’t,” I warn him. “That part of our relationship is long over.”
“Doesn’t have to be,” he admits.
“If you’re looking for someone to suck your dick and then make you a sandwich after, you’re barking up the wrong tree. My knees don’t bow down to guys like you anymore.“
“I seem to remember you liked sucking me off not all that long ago.”
“I was young and dumb back then. I know better than to put dirty things in my mouth.”
“The only thing dirty about my cock, Rem, is how I use it.”
The memory of our last time together flashes in my mind, but I shove it down. It’s a distant memory I don’t need or want to think about. I just wish my body could also get that memo as I press my thighs together so the thought doesn’t dissipate.
“I can’t do this,” I growl, walking away from him.
“Hey, you’re the one who invited me here, remember?” Rex calls out after me. His heavy footsteps follow me until I stop short at the stairs to the office.
“I invited you here to talk about something,” I hiss, turning on my heels. “I didn’t invite you here to walk down memory lane, Rex.”
“Fine,” he answers. “What did you want to talk about? Because I’ve got to be honest, Rem, after this morning, I didn’t think I’d hear from you again.”
I sidestep around Rex and stalk back over to the workbench, Rex hot on my heels. I retrieve my iPad from the top of it. With a swipe of my finger, I pull up the social media video Maya had found and shove the tablet into his hands.
“Watch it,” I demand.
As Rex watches the video, his eyes steadily move from my face to the screen and back again. “Is this the box truck I saw leaving the shop this morning?”
“Keep watching.”
His gaze returns to the screen. I can see the gears turning in his head, and I know I have his attention now.
“The driver was found dead, and the cargo is missing.” My tone is accusatory, and Rex picks up on that immediately.
“You think we did this?”
“Can’t say the thought hasn’t crossed my mind. Seems a bit convenient you show up here out of the blue, and not long after, this happens.”
The tension in the room thickens, and I can feel the weight of suspicion hanging in the air. Finally, he sets the tablet down on the workbench, his gaze meeting mine.
“Rem, you know me,” he says firmly, his voice tinged with frustration. “I would never do something like this. I may have my faults, but I’m not involved in this.”
“What about your club? You came here this morning to warn me that the old guys still want this shop. Could it be them?”
I search his face as he contemplates his answer, looking for any sign that he’s lying to me or, at least, trying to cover shit up for his club. He gives me nothing.
“I can’t vouch for them all. We have a new garage over in the garden district. One of the guys who has been the loudest about your dad’s shop was there when I arrived this afternoon. I can find out. Pike was at the shop for me.”
There’s something in the way he mentions not being at the garage until the afternoon that sends warning bells going off in my head. The Rex I knew was always the first to get there and the last to leave anything. Why would he not go into the club’s garage until the afternoon? And since when did he let someone else cover his work for him?
“That’s a name I haven’t heard in a while.” Pike had been one of my dad’s confidantes until right before the end. One night, I’d walked in on them having a knockdown, drag-out fight. After that, Pike wasn’t around the clubhouse much. Truthfully, I can’t remember if he even attended Dad’s funeral. “Figured he’d be long retired by now.”
“Don’t let him hear you say that. Pretty sure he’ll die at the table if he has his way.” He chuckles.