Order (Tattoos and Ties Duet #2)(99)

“We’ll be there,” Alec said, again his tone was swift and firm, leaving no question as to whether what he said would be done.

“Call me when you get a minute. I want to know what’s going on,” Clyde said, inserting himself in the swirl of tension surrounding them that seemed to be multiplying by the second. Then Clyde said what Keyes should have. “Thank you for everything, Alec.”

“I’m sorry you had to leave work. I didn’t realize he called you or I could’ve stopped you,” Alec said with attitude and accusation in his tone. They seemed to be following him, and he pushed through the door, seemingly ignoring everything as he scanned the parking lot and beyond, looking for any sign of his brothers.

The door swung shut behind him, momentarily drowning out their voices until Clyde was there, pulling him into a hug, a comfort Keyes didn’t want and didn’t deserve. He kept his body rigid but bent enough to allow Clyde his moment.

He didn’t participate in any of the rest of the conversation as he walked the length of the sidewalk down the side of the building. He knew the club members’ practices for surveillance better than anyone. They were sneaky bastards. There was no hiding in plain sight, which caused his anxiety to double.

Alec walked about three feet behind him, following as he turned the corner. Keyes scanned every direction, looking for threats.

“My car’s this way.” Alec took a step off the sidewalk, walking out in front of him. Keyes resisted the urge to grab his arm in a protectionary move and put Alec behind him. Instead, he double-timed it to pass Alec, walking several feet ahead of him. He heard the doors of the car unlock, and again, he scanned the entire parking lot from this new angle, his inner thoughts chanting a kind of prayer, willing himself to not miss one single detail.

As Alec opened the driver’s door, Keyes lowered inside the vehicle on the passenger side. Instead of starting the sports car, Alec placed both hands on the steering wheel and stared out the front windshield as he said, “Why didn’t you call me?”

“Why would I call you? Why are you here?” he asked in a sudden burst of anger, turning to face Alec.

“Because you went to jail today, Key.” Alec swung his head Keyes’s direction, but he might as well have said, “You’re the dumbest person on the planet, Key” with all the condescension lacing every syllable.

“And you put yourself right in front of the club. They had to have seen you, Alec.” He tried to mimic that same “you’re dumb” tone, but failed.

“They can’t possibly know who I am. I never spoke to any of them. Clyde handled the whole group. I stayed at a distance even as your friend got irate. They left pretty quickly after arriving. There’s no way they could have known who I was or that I was there for you.” Alec explained all this as if the notion was absolutely ridiculous, and he reached out to push the button to start the car, pressing the gas pedal to add to the loud rumble.

“Goddamn, Alec. This is serious.” Keyes slammed a hand on the dashboard, drawing Alec’s gaze. The lawyer lifted a brow and stared at him, a fire lighting in those green depths.

“I don’t know that you understand how serious this truly is,” Alec countered in that fucking way the man had of yelling without ever raising his voice, but Keyes wouldn’t be sidetracked.

“Why did you come? They’ve seen you and that’s all it takes. If I get locked up, I can’t protect you, and I guarantee, they’ll figure out who you are. Somebody in that fuckin’ jailhouse is being paid by the club, and they’ll rat you out in a hot second. We got eyes every-fuckin’-where,” Keyes shouted, trying to make Alec understand he was playing with a loaded gun.

“I’ve worked the entire day trying to get you out of that place,” Alec said calmly, but this time his tone carried a warning. “You should have seen the trumped-up charges they wanted to pile on top of you. You’ve got yourself in a situation where you can’t even begin to understand the gift you’ve given that vicious DA.”

What the fuck did that have to do with what he’d just said?

“You shouldn’t have come,” Keyes repeated, holding firm to his argument. They glared at one another, neither giving a single inch. Finally, Keyes rolled his eyes and gave in, facing forward to stare out the front window, refusing to put his seatbelt on as he crossed his arms tightly over his chest and fumed.

After a minute more, Alec put the car in gear and started driving them out of the parking lot.

“You’re being mean. Why are you being so mean?”

Keyes stayed silent, staring out the window. He didn’t know how to make Alec realize the threat was real.

“You’re never mean to me. I did what I had to do. You have to see that.”

Keyes narrowed his eyes and mashed his lips together to help keep his silence.

“I’ll have security on me tomorrow then, is that better?”

This was what Alec did regularly, he underestimated the badass nature of his bike club. A little rinky-dink personal security company was child’s play. They’d get past them before Alec could hit the panic button.

Maybe as much as five minutes later, Keyes forced the shift in his thoughts and grumbled out, “How much did it cost today?”

For a first time in their relationship, Alec remained quiet which told him all he needed to know. Alec was always chatty; he talked and talked and talked.