Finders Keepers (The Nighthawks MC Book 3) Read online

  “My hero,” Lily said, groaning. She laid back on the bed and worked off her bra.

  Ace laughed. “I rub your feet, and your bra comes off. Anything else I can rub?”

  Lily laughed tiredly and pulled off her tee. She slid her skirt off. Ace carefully picked up all her discarded clothing and put it on a chair. He took off his own tee. He then went to the bed, and pulled aside two of the pillows.

  “Flip over,” he said.

  “You ordering me around?” asked Lily, mock-glaring at him.

  “Never,” he said.

  He went to the bathroom, rooted around for and found Lily’s vial of almond oil, wet a washcloth with warm water, grabbed a fluffy towel, and came back to the bed. He started at her feet and legs, wiping them down and rubbing them. He then worked from the back of her neck to her butt with the washcloth, dried her skin, pulled her hair off her neck, and used a featherlight touch on her neck and the almond oil. He went deeper, starting with the tiny muscles at the base of her skull, digging into spots on her neck, and finding the nasty knots in her shoulders. She groaned. He dug in under her shoulder blades, moving her arms to get to the muscles underneath. He put her arms back and moved his way to her butt. He got all the muscles worked.

  He was going to turn her over, but she grabbed a pillow and moved it under her hips. He knew what that meant. He took a condom out of his jeans pocket, took off his jeans and boxers, and slid on the condom. He reached in and stroked her button from behind. She ground into the pillow and came in a rush of liquid and deep moans.

  He took her from behind, going as deep as he could. He took it slow, using long strokes. She went insane, pushing back on him, increasing the pace. He held onto her hips and had her choose the pace. She came twice, in great rushing gasps, before he let himself come. He withdrew very carefully, disposed of the condom in the trash in the bathroom, and came out with a fresh wet washcloth. He cleaned and dried her and himself, put all the towels and washcloths in the bathroom, and helped her dress in a T-shirt and shorts. He put himself in the same, then crawled into bed with her, with his arm over her back, and his leg over her. They were asleep in minutes.

  The next day dawned bright and clear, light dancing on Lily’s face. Ace kissed Lily and gave her straight caffeine in the form of sodas from the in-room tiny refrigerator. The boys were sprawled all over the beds in the next room, snoring deeply. Ace snuck Lily into the shower. He washed and conditioned her hair, and washed his own hair, then they soaped each other. He converted the shower to a bath, grabbed a condom, put it on, and slid her on top of him. She glided onto him, wrapping her arms and legs around him. They had absolutely silent sex, groaning into each other’s necks and hair. They both came, splashing. They carefully disentangled from each other, Lily first. She disposed of the condom, put it under some toilet paper in the trash can, and washed them both again. He dried himself and dressed, and left her to blow dry her hair.

  Lily got online and bought the amusement park tickets. She nearly groaned at the bill, but it was a vacation.

  Waking the boys took bribery. “Amusement park,” said Ace. “Going once, going twice…” That got them arguing over the bathroom. Pavel let Keiran go first, and sat, running his hands through his hair until it stuck up in spikes.

  “You okay?” asked Ace, sitting down next to the boy.

  “I cannot believe my mother will not call me, ask me how my week went,” he said. “She would usually call today.”

  “I’m so sorry,” said Ace. He hugged the boy.

  Pavel wiped away his tears. “She would not want me to cry,” he said. “She would say, life does not last forever. Live for the now, young man, for it goes soon.”

  “Wise words,” said Ace.

  Keiran finally left the bathroom. Pavel went in. “What’s with him?” he asked, once Pavel had shut the door.

  Ace gently smacked the back of his head. “His mom just died, murdered by his father, and Dimitri was involved. How do you think he feels?”

  “Wasn’t trying to be an asshole,” said Keiran. “I thought it was a new thing.”

  “He’s gonna be hurting for at least a year,” said Lily.

  Keiran gave her a withering look. “My mom killed my dad. I get it.”

  Lily raised her hands in surrender. “You’re absolutely right,” she said. “Actually, you two are super-lucky that you found each other. Really nice having someone who gets it.”

  Keiran sighed and said, “Yeah, the Murdering Parent Club. It’s a blast.”

  Ace cringed. “She’s my mom, too,” said Ace. “And she tried to kill my girlfriend right in front of me.”

  “Fiancé,” said Lily, holding up her ring. “Or have you forgotten already?”

  Ace walked over to her. “I didn’t forget. I’m the groom, remember?” He kissed her neck. She laughed.

  Pavel came out of the bathroom. “Lily! I have a picture of the dress.”

  He showed her a white dress with a halter top, silvery cutouts around the neck, and from the throat to the waist. There was a silvery belt. The bottom flowed down into a sheer overlay, and it was cut at the knees in front and dropping to the heels in the back.

  “Oh. My. God.” Lily was stunned.

  “Let me see,” said Ace.

  “No! You can’t see the wedding dress until the wedding!”

  Keiran laughed. “Outta luck, bro!”

  “Where’s the ‘Buy Now’ button?” asked Lily.

  “I did not know the size,” said Pavel.

  “I’ll order big and take it in,” said Lily. “Too small won’t work; too big is fine.”

  “Good to know,” said Pavel.

  He helped her pick a size, and showed her where to push Buy Now. She jumped up and down, and danced around the room when the confirmation screen popped up.

  Ace laughed. “Let’s eat!” he said.

  First, they took the dogs to a doggy day care, where they would be groomed and pampered. The dogs were delighted, especially when the workers there whipped out the snacks.

  They met the others at a coffee shop. They ordered platters of chocolate-banana-walnut pancakes, bacon and sausage. Then added bowls of strawberries and melon, and carafes of orange juice. They were all excited about the amusement park, describing which part of the park they would go to first, and which rides they would ride.

  They weren’t first in line, but they were close. They split up. Ghost, Alicia, and Lily wanted to hit up the water rides. Ace, Henry, Keiran, Pavel, and Grace got in line for the monster roller coaster. Ivy and Callie saw a show first, getting in the mood in the back of the theater. They went back out into the bright sunlight, blinking like moles. They hit up a monorail ride, then saw a bird show. Ghost, Alicia, and Lily had a lunch of hot dogs and sodas on the other side of the park. Callie and Ivy met the kids and their keepers for lunch. They sat down to burgers and fries, and ice-cold shakes.

  Then, they split up again. The kids and Ace and Henry went on every ride that didn’t induce projectile vomiting. Callie and Ivy found a very helpful worker willing to wrap Callie’s cast in a trash bag and tape it closed. Then they went to the attached water park to hit up the lazy river, and lazed together, floating around on inner tubes. The kids finally exhausted themselves from the regular rides and started going down water slides.

  Dinner was hot dogs, fries loaded with cheddar, bacon and sour cream, and a gallon of strawberry lemonade. Callie slept in the sun while Ivy took the boys on the daredevil rides and Grace to the less-scary ones.

  Grace scraped her skin on the last one. “Let’s get you a bandage,” said Ivy. “They’ve got waterproof ones at the first aid station.”

  “Okay,” said Grace. “Ivy, are you dating my mom?”

  “Yes,” said Ivy.

  “Is my mom gay?” she said.

  “I think we’re both bisexual. That means we like both men and women, but right now I think we only like each other.”

  “You’re nicer than my mom’s boyfriends,” said G
race.

  “Thank you,” said Ivy.

  “You gonna marry my mom?” asked Grace.

  “We’re a little early in the relationship to decide that,” said Ivy. “But, that would be amazing.”

  “You hurt her, you die,” said Grace.

  “Good to know,” said Ivy.

  They used a liquid bandage. Grace loved it. Ivy made a note on her phone to get some for the inevitable childhood scrapes. They went back to Callie, who was sleeping in the sun. Ivy tilted the umbrella to protect her face, and Grace gave her a butterfly kiss. They went to a nearby slide that had a double raft, and they went down together.

  “What’s my school like?” Grace asked while they were standing in yet another line.

  “It’s in the clubhouse.”

  “You have your own clubhouse?”

  Ivy laughed. “Yes, but it’s not in a tree. It has a bay where Bonnie and Ghost and Alicia work on bikes. It’s a surprise, but when we get back, it will be a real garage so they can close the door and get out of the heat. In the middle is a place for us to park our bikes, and your mom’s car, when we get her one. And there are picnic tables, then the clubhouse. There’s a snack bar and meeting rooms. We made the back, a meeting room; your classroom, with computers and stations for you to do your work. Then a reading room with bean bag chairs. There are little kids in a room down the hall. There’s a park nearby with playground stuff.”

  Grace thought about it. They got to the base of the circular ramp. “I can study what I want?”

  “Mostly,” said Ivy. “You’ve got subjects, like math and science, and you do each one for a little bit each day. As long as you’re in a class online on that subject, then you can do what you want, as fast or slow as you want.”

  Grace nodded. They took a step up the ramp. “There other kids?”

  “Six, I think, or seven. Most of them are about your age. Some older, some younger. A mix of boys and girls. You’ll be learning Spanish, too.”

  “I like to dance to mariachi music,” said Grace.

  “I do too,” said Ivy. They took two more steps. “I know enough to talk to people. I should probably learn more.”

  Grace nodded. “We’ll do it together,” she said.

  “Awesome,” said Ivy. They bumped fists.

  Getting the boys out of the park was easier than Lily and Ace thought it would be. They were dragging, unlike Grace, who was still bopping around and singing. They showered and changed into fresh shirts and shorts, and then they went to the hotel. They walked to a nearby Italian restaurant for dinner. The kids ate spaghetti like it would run off, and the adults had a little sangria with dinner with their cannelloni and tortellini. Predictably, the boys had a swordfight with breadsticks. They walked back, Grace arguing with Pavel and Keiran about who went down more slides.

  Ace walked with Henry behind everyone else. “The boys have some time left in school,” he said.

  Henry nodded. “Pricey school, but a top-notch education. And the boys are healthy, and they learn about animals.”

  Ace nodded. “I can pull off one kid. Two? We’re both taking on side jobs.”

  Henry nodded. “You know, they can graduate early.”

  Ace stared at him. “Early?”

  “They’re already attending summer school,” said Henry. “And, from what you’ve said, both kids are in advanced placement in history. You can very easily get them to take one extra class a semester, maybe even two. They can graduate a year or a year and a half early. It’s an IB school, which means they have access to the courses online.”

  “IB? Oh, the international baccalaureate thingy.”

  Henry snorted and said, “If they play it right, that baccalaureate thingy can get both of them taking college courses while they’re still in high school. Come to think of it, it may be cheaper to have them stay there and get a year or two of college in while they’re still in high school.”

  Ace nodded. “Still need a side job.”

  “The boys want to adopt shelter dogs and train them to become therapy dogs. Why don’t you and Lily do the same thing?”

  “Can we make money that way?” asked Ace.

  “Well,” said Henry, “you’ll have to get a house anyway, with two teenage boys. And, you and Lily may want a few of your own. Get one with a dog run already there, with attached doghouses and doggy doors, so the dogs can run in and out as they as they please.” He thought a minute. “I think I know of a place. It’s on the border with Green Valley, just a little farther out than the clubhouse. Still, a pretty short run, if you take back streets, to Dirty Vegas. Not much pre-built except for the dog door.”

  “How many bedrooms?”

  “Two plus loft,” said Henry. “You can get a movable wall for the loft and make it into an office, or put the office in the den and turn the loft into a play area.”

  “Excellent,” said Ace.

  “Not so excellent,” said Henry. “School district is so-so.”

  “Not a problem right now,” said Ace. “Plus, we have the club if, or when Lily wants us to have a child.”

  “And, it’s trashed. I mean, strip-it-to-the-studs trashed. A couple of meth heads lived there with some pit bulls. The pit bulls were adopted out when the meth heads went to prison.”

  “Were they cooking meth there?”

  “According to the cops, no. The owner is about seventy and has had terrible trouble selling. She thought she was renting it to ‘such nice boys.’”

  “We’ll take it,” said Ace.

  “No, you won’t,” said Henry. “Talk to Lily first. If you have some romantic shit in your head about giving it to her as a present, let it go. She must see the house and approve it first.”

  Ace mimed taking the romantic shit out of his head, squishing it into a ball, and throwing it away.

  Henry laughed. “Looks like we have a house to look at when we get back.”

  “Looks like,” said Ace.

  “If the missus approves, and you do decide to work with the dogs, I’ll set you up with Kaye.”

  “A dog trainer?”

  “Yes, she is. And Kaye is her last name, not her first name. Have no idea what her first name is. Been working with dogs and horses for twenty years. She’ll charge you for the lessons, but be sure that the money will go to feed her own menagerie. She’s rescued some horses as well as dogs.”

  “We can go as a family. We still have time before the boys get dropped off.”

  “There you go,” said Henry.

  “Thanks, Henry,” said Ace.

  Henry gave him a little shove. “Quit hanging around an old man. Go with your woman.” Ace laughed and caught up with Lily.

  Grand Canyon

  They intended to ride out in the morning, but they were all groaning from the previous day’s fun in the sun. After a dog-walking session, they finally managed to drag themselves to brunch at an outdoor restaurant. They had stacks of waffles and bacon, and carafes of orange juice.

  They rode through Gila National Forest. They rode until Glenwood and stocked up on sandwiches, potato salad, chips, hot dogs, hamburgers, marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate, juice, and soda.

  They hit the north end of the park and found a campground with little log cabins with bunk beds. They ate a late lunch of sandwiches and chips and salsa. The dogs went on a hike with Henry, Ace, Keiran, Pavel, and Grace. They ran around, catching thrown sticks and Frisbees and then tennis balls, filled with doggy joy.

  Everyone else set up a fire in the fire pit, and they settled in for the night. They brought out ukuleles and sang songs. They leaned on logs and set up portable chairs found in the cabins and moved very lethargically. They relaxed, and eventually cooked the hot dogs and burgers. They enjoyed roasted marshmallows for s’mores. They put out the fire and crashed early.

  They set out early in the morning, finding a waffle house for breakfast. The ride to the Grand Canyon was truly beautiful. First, they hit up the South Rim and ate lunch there. Of course, the
y went to the Hualapai Skywalk, a long, five-hour drive from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Everyone was stunned except Henry, who had come many times before to see friends. They then rode to Kingman, Arizona, and had a huge steak-and-baked-potato dinner.

  They made it to Las Vegas alive. Alicia and Ghost went back to the apartment they shared a few blocks from the Nighthawks Club. Henry went back to his home. The boys went home with Lily and Ace, and Grace and Callie went home with Ivy… and Daisy the dachshund. Callie got busy with water, food, and the dog bed. The hound ignored Callie and followed Grace around, with love in her eyes.

  “It ain’t much, but it’s home,” said Ivy. “You two take the bed, and I’ll crash on the couch.”

  “Don’t be silly,” said Grace. “I’m so tired, I can sleep on a rock.” She hopped on the couch. “Pretty good,” she said. “You got sheets?”

  “And pillows, and pillowcases, and even a light blanket,” said Ivy, moving to her minuscule closet. All the stuff was in bright yellow.

  “Awesome!” said Grace.

  Ivy made up the couch, and wisely moved Daisy’s dog bed next to the couch.

  “I’ll return the rental car,” she said. “It’s big enough for seven people. What do you want? A two-door, a four-door?”

  “A little one is fine,” said Callie. She sighed. “I’ll probably be asleep when you get back.”

  Ivy kissed her. Callie sighed. “Grace…”

  “I know you’re dating,” said Grace. “Got the memo.”

  Ivy and Callie laughed. “She told you!” said Ivy, and she headed out the door.

  Ivy returned the car and paid the astronomical bill. She texted the person selling a black ten-year-old Honda Accord on Craigslist. The seller was a mom named Donna with black, wavy hair, and a tired smile, trying to unload the car she had bought for her teenage son. The son had gone to live with his father, and the car was unnecessary since the dad lived in New York right on the subway line. The mom picked Ivy up, and Ivy checked out the engine, the brake pads, and the like.

  “Good,” said Ivy. “I can get most of the money out of the ATM, but the rest I have to get from my bar.”