Goldie(Night Rebels MC Romance Book 4)(35)

"I disagree. The pattern is blonde, curvy, in her twenties, and connected to Cherry Vale. I think the others are random to throw us off his pattern. He thinks he's real smart, so he goes after women who aren't his actual type to make us think it's all random. He's attacking in all parts of town rather than one specific area. But the only thing he's been consistent about is the two women who work at Cherry Vale. That's his pattern."

"So the old people dying is to throw us off?"

"Could be." Barnard scrubbed his face. "We gotta get this bastard before he strikes again. I can guarantee the next attack will end in murder."

Jack Barnard knew his stuff. He'd seen a lot of horrible things people did to each other, especially when he worked at the Los Angeles Police Department. After years of the rat race, he decided to relocate to a smaller city. When he'd visited the southwestern part of Colorado, he'd fallen in love with it. He'd spent several vacations in the area, so when a position came up with the Durango police department, he applied. When he got the job, he was elated. He packed up the few things he had and never looked back. He loved working for a small department and being able to devote most of his time to his cases.

When his chief sent him to Alina to help out with the rapist case, he'd thought he'd be able to get in there, figure it out, and stop the bastard, but it wasn't playing out that way. Now a woman had been murdered, and that made Barnard madder than hell. This sick bastard thought he was smarter than the cops, but he'd made a mistake and left his DNA at the scene. That's the way it was with serial criminals when they started to feel too cocky. It usually happened that way, and that's when Barnard would zoom in for the kill. He just hoped he'd be able to find the killer before he struck again.

And the only thing certain was that the bastard would strike again.

Barnard would bet his life on it.





Chapter Twenty-Five





For the past couple of weeks, Hailey had been on top of the world, and her relationship with Goldie played a big part in her happiness. She'd never been involved with a man who made her feel as special as he did. And the sex was beyond fantastic. She never knew her body could feel so delicious. Since they'd given in to their desire, they'd been at it nonstop, and she didn't dare wear anything low-cut or too revealing because her body was covered with love bites. When she looked at them, her insides would flutter; she loved seeing his mark on her.

"That guy looks kind of suspicious," Ellie, one of her employees, said to her.

Hailey looked up and saw a man standing by the ribbons and bows. He looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she knew him from. "I'll take care of it," she replied to Ellie and walked over to him.

"Can I help you?" She racked her brain, trying to remember how she knew him.

"Hi. How're you doing?" he asked as his dark eyes bored into hers.

"Fine. I'm sorry, but you look familiar. Have we met?"

His eyes narrowed. "You don't recognize me? I'm Kingsley. I work at Cherry Vale."

She smiled broadly. "Of course. That's it. You're one of the CNAs. I'm sorry. I don't see you that often."

"I usually work the day shift." His piercing stare moved down to her bust and she quickly crossed her arms over her chest.

"What can I do for you?"

"Uh …  I came in here to get some flowers for my wife."

"How nice. What's the occasion?"

"Her birthday. She told me that I never give her flowers, so I thought I'd surprise her."

"She'll love it. What's her favorite flower?"

"I don't know. What do you like?"

"I'm all over the place. I love roses, lilies, sunflowers, orchids, and tulips. I could keep going. I can make you a beautiful arrangement. What's your wife's favorite color?"                       
       
           



       

"Red? Maybe blue. I'm not sure."

"Okay. What's your price range? I can fix up something real nice for you, and I guarantee your wife's going to love it."

Kingsley darted his eyes around, then shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'll come back." He rushed out the door.

That was strange. They have so many wackos working at Cherry Vale. I can't wait until Aunt Patty gets out of there. Hailey went back to the front desk and pulled out a book of arrangements. She'd promised to send over some samples to the couple she'd met with the day before.

"What did that guy want? He was sort of creepy," Ellie said.

"He's thinking about getting his wife some flowers for her birthday. He works at the rehab center where my aunt is."

"Oh. How's Patty?"

"Doing better every day. Her doctor said that if she keeps it up, she'll be able to come home in a month or so. I can't wait."

"Are you going to stay on when she gets back on track?"

"I'm not sure. It'll depend on what my aunt wants to do."

Hailey resumed what she was doing, not stopping until she heard Ellie say, "Damn, he's hot."

Lori, another employee, replied, "I'm waiting on this one."

Hailey looked up and grinned when she saw Goldie. Damn, he is hot. And he's all mine. A slight tug at her heart reminded her that she didn't really know where she stood with Goldie. They were having a good time and enjoyed being with each other, but he never talked about them in the future, only the present. She tried so hard to be cool with that and not let herself get caught up in her feelings for him, but the more time they spent together, the stronger her emotional attachment to him grew.

The one thing they never spoke about was Ryan. Of course, they mentioned him when reminiscing about the past, but he was the elephant in the room, and neither of them wanted to face it.

"Hey." He leaned over and kissed her deeply.

She pulled back a bit as all eyes were on her. Ellie's shocked expression was classic, and Lori's frown surprised Hailey. Several people in the shop turned away, pretending to be interested in plants and ribbons they hadn't even been looking at before Goldie appeared. And Goldie just didn't give a damn about what people thought. He was unfiltered, confident, and lived in the moment, and those were the things that made him irresistible-besides his drop-dead-gorgeous body and face.

"I came by to take you for a ride. It's too nice outside to waste it cooped up."

"Don't you have to work?"

"Nope. And you're taking off too. You work too damn much."

Hailey waved her hand over a bunch of notebooks in front of her. "But I have all this work to do."

"You taking one day off isn't gonna close down the business. You can pick it up tomorrow. Let's go."

"Let me get this straight. You're not asking me to go with you-you're telling me."

"Yeah. We're wasting time. You can put your purse in my saddlebags."

Ellie gently pushed her arm. "Go on. We can handle things in the store."

Giving Goldie a half smile, she shook her head. "All right. You win. I'll go get my purse."

When she came back out, Ellie told her that Goldie was waiting for her outside. His metallic silver bike glimmered in the sunlight, and he looked so badass leaning against it. The flirty smiles from the women who passed by him didn't go unnoticed by Hailey, but he didn't pay any attention to them; his eyes were fixed on her as she approached him.

"You look too sexy with your Harley. All the women want to climb on behind you and wrap their arms around you," she said as she handed him her purse.

He curled his arm around her and drew her to him. "You're the only one I want on the back of my bike," he whispered in her ear, then nibbled her neck.

She chuckled and planted a kiss on his soft lips. She'd never get tired of kissing him. He was hands down the best kisser. The way he held her and the intensity he gave to each kiss blew her mind. She figured he'd had a lot of practice with a bunch of women, but she didn't like to think about them. Especially the women who lived at the clubhouse. Sometimes it gnawed at her, so it was better to push it away and pretend they didn't exist.

"Climb on," he said.

When they'd gone to Dolores Canyon a few weeks back, she'd been petrified of his motorcycle. It was so big and there was nothing around her to make her feel safe. All sorts of graphic scenarios played in her mind as she settled herself behind him. At first it was damn scary, but as they rode, she let her body relax and move with the rhythm of the bike. The feel of the powerful engine vibrating beneath her made her admire the way Goldie maneuvered the bike around the curves. The landscape and the smells of the pines, the earth, and the rippling creek hugged her in a way she'd never experienced before. It was like she was part of the scenery and it was part of her, and it gave her an incredible sense of freedom. And holding on to Goldie, her front pressed against his back, her hands clinging to his tight stomach made her horny, which surprised the hell out of her.                       
       
           



       

After their outing, all she wanted to do was climb back on his Harley and hold him tight, melding her body with his as he rode into the great expanse.