Dangerous Secrets (Knights of War MC Book 2) Read online

  Hem smirked. She was obviously young if she called a twenty-something dude sir. “Let me have a medium skinny mocha and two black coffees.”

  She tapped the screen on a tablet. “That’ll be ten dollars and thirty-two cents.”

  Hem laid a ten and a five on the counter. “Keep the change, sweetheart.”

  Her face lit up. “Thanks. Give me five minutes.”

  “Sure.”

  While Hem was waiting on the barista, Carlos walked by talking on his cell phone. Hem stepped to the side of the coffee cart to watch him. A red F-150 pulled up into the parking lot. Carlos leaned into the window. Hem took out his cell phone and tried to be inconspicuous as he turned on the video recorder.

  The dude in the passenger seat of the truck had what looked like gang tattoos up his arm and a diamond earring in his right ear. He handed a wad of cash to Carlos, and then Carlos opened the back door to the crew cab and patted the seat. The Great Dane jumped in, and Carlos shut the door. He bumped fists with the passenger, and the truck pulled away. Hem was sure to get the license plate on the truck on film. So, this fucker was adopting dogs and then selling them. For what?

  “Here’s your coffee, sir.”

  Hem picked up the cardboard cup carrier with three coffees in it. “Thanks.” When he turned back to the parking lot, Carlos was gone. “Son of a bitch.”

  He put his phone into his pocket and walked back to where Holly and Hunter were giving treats to Daisy.

  With the coffees distributed, he checked his phone to see if Callie had called. “So, did Holly tell you about her idea to run a feature to help get these dogs adopted?”

  “Yeah,” Hunter replied. “I think it’s a great idea. Good for the dogs, good for the club, good for the magazine.”

  “Agreed,” Hem said. His phone buzzed. There was a text from Calliope asking where he was. He responded quickly with his location and added that Rubio had bailed after selling the dog.

  A few minutes later, Callie pinched him on the arm. “Hey.”

  She wore a pair of black slacks with boots and a white blouse. She looked good. “Hey.” He pulled her in for a hug. “Hunter, Holly, this is my friend, Calliope Cooper.”

  Holly smiled big and stuck out her hand. “Hi. It’s so nice to meet you.”

  Hunter nodded. “Hey.”

  “Callie and I were in the Army together,” Hem offered.

  “Oh, neat.” Holly came around to the outside of the tent. “So, you were a soldier?”

  “Yes. I was in communications, so I wasn’t in combat, though.”

  “Still. That’s impressive.”

  “Thanks.” Callie looked a little uncomfortable. “It was a good experience. And paid for my college.”

  “Where did you go to school?”

  “I went to UTA.”

  “Awesome. That’s a great school.”

  “So, do you want to go look at the dogs I told you about?” Hem asked.

  “Sure.”

  “We’ll be right back,” he said to Hunter and Holly.

  Holly winked at him like she knew some secret. Hem smiled.

  Once they were a few feet away, Hem pulled out his phone and showed Callie the video.

  “Do you recognize that guy in the truck? Or his tattoos?”

  “I don’t work gangs, but the tatts look like the gang-style. I’ve never seen this guy, but I can run his face through the recognition program back at the station.”

  “Is there a racket for adopting dogs and then selling them? Have you heard anything like that going on?”

  She shook her head. “Strange. I wonder what they’re doing with these dogs.”

  “That’s become the million-dollar question. I’m almost more worried about the dogs than the people we’ve been looking for.”

  “Yeah. I hear you. We know what’s happening with the people, and there are forces trying to stop that already. Nobody is looking out for the dogs. I’ll also run that license plate when I get back and see if I can get an address. Then I can go see if the dog is there, at least.”

  “Is there some kind of fraud statute for adopting a dog then selling it?” Hem asked.

  “I don’t know. I’d have to research that. Even if it’s illegal, it’s probably a petty crime, a misdemeanor.”

  “That’s bullshit. Why aren’t animal offenses charged as felonies?”

  “You’ll have to take that up with Congress. I don’t make the law, only enforce them.”

  “I know. Sorry. This just gets my back up, you know?”

  “I do. It bothers me too. Text me that video. What’s in the cup?”

  Hem held up his cup. “This? Just black coffee. You want some? Or you want something else? The coffee cart is pretty good.”

  “I don’t do straight black coffee. I’ll order a latte.”

  Callie got her coffee, and they stopped in to look at the dogs. Once they were back to Hunter and Holly, Calliope’s phone rang.

  “Cooper … Yes. Okay. I’ll be there in twenty.” She turned to Hem. “I’m sorry. I have to take off.”

  “It’s cool. We’ll talk later.”

  “All right.”

  “It was nice meeting you all,” Calliope said to Hunter and Holly.

  “Likewise,” Holly said. “Hey, we’re having a dinner at the clubhouse tonight. Why don’t you stop by?” She winked at Hem again.

  “Um, sure. Yeah. That sounds fun. Can I bring anything?”

  “Nope. Just bring yourself.”

  “Thanks. See y’all tonight then.”

  Holly waved at her. “Why didn’t you tell us you were seeing someone, Hem?”

  Hem rolled his eyes. “We’re just old friends.”

  “Sure, you are. I saw how she looks at you.”

  “How does she look at me?” Hem took a drink of his coffee and waited for Holly to analyze Callie.

  “She has stars in her eyes. You dazzle her. I know that look. Women know these things.”

  Hem nodded. “Well, that would be news to me. We’ve been friends for years, and she’s never given me that vibe.”

  “Mark my words, Hem. She’s into you. And she’s super cute and professional. I like her. What does she do for a living?”

  “She’s a detective with Dallas PD.”

  “Wow. Well, talk about opposites attract. It’s like a romance novel.”

  Hem laughed. “You’re too much, Holly.”

  “Just telling it like it is.”

  “She does that a lot,” Hunter said and laughed.

  “Are you complaining?” she asked.

  Hunter shook his head. “Nope. Not a bit. I like it when you tell it like it is if you know what I mean.”

  Holly blushed.

  “You two should get a room,” Hem remarked.

  “Oh, we have a room,” Hunter said.

  “God, I don’t want to hear it while I’m not getting any,” Hem said.

  Holly laughed and kissed the dog on the nose. “You will be.”

  Did Holly see something that he hadn’t? Was Callie interested? He’d had thoughts about her from time to time. She was a catch, all right. Probably too good for him. They’d be like the romantic version of cops and robbers. But Holly had planted the seed in his mind now, and he watched Callie drive out of the lot.

  Chapter Nine

  Calliope

  Calliope turned on her computer and transferred the video Hem had sent her to her computer. She moved through the footage, looking for the best angle of the passenger in the truck. The facial recognition program worked best with a photo looking straight at the face, but it was possible to get a hit with a partial face and profile image.

  She put a cropped image into the software and then went about running the license plate. Since this guy wasn’t driving, it probably wasn’t his vehicle and would be a dead end. But she planned to check it out anyway.

  There was no hit on the guy’s face. But the plate came back to Ernesto Harris. The registration was current, and the address was i
n a known drug area. She ran Ernesto for wants or warrants, and he came back clean. No record at all.

  Next, she tried to isolate the tattoos on the passenger’s arm to see if they matched up to any gang tattoos the PD had in their gang intel database. He had a spider web on his elbow and a picture of a sexy girl with long hair and big boobs on his forearm. There were some Roman numerals along the side of the girl, along with the initials “SSV.” Calliope guessed that stood for South Side Vatos. But she checked on it in the gang database anyway to confirm.

  A lot of the low-level gangbangers were mules and dealers for the cartel. She suspected that’s what he was. But what was the connection between dogs and the cartel? She wracked her brain but came up empty. Maybe she could brainstorm it with Hem later. In the meantime, she picked up the phone and called her sergeant.

  “Pierce.”

  “Sergeant Pierce. It’s Calliope Cooper.”

  “Hello, Cooper. What can I help you with?”

  “Do you have a contact in gangs? I have a quick question but don’t know who to call.”

  “Call Detective Matthias. He’s been working gangs and organized crime for the last decade.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Anytime. What’re you looking at?”

  “Just wondering if SSV are involved in any gambling, dogfighting, that sort of thing. I’m helping out major crimes on an investigation.” That last part was kind of a lie, but she knew that Pierce wasn’t going to press her on it. As long as he didn’t have to do the legwork himself, he wasn’t going to check up on what she was doing.

  “All right then. Keep up the good work, Cooper.”

  “Yes, sir.” Whatever cases she cracked made him look good. He was nearing retirement.

  Calliope called down to the gang division and asked for Detective Matthias. He picked up the line.

  “Hi. This is Calliope Cooper in cybercrimes. Sergeant Pierce said you’re the guy to talk to about gang activity.”

  “Pierce is a good dude. What can I do you for?”

  “There’s a suspect on my radar in a case. He has South Side Vatos tatts, so I’ve pegged him as a banger. What I’m wondering is if you have any knowledge of this gang being involved in gambling like dogfighting or cockfighting. Anything like that.”

  “Hmm. The Vatos are basically bitches for the Colombian cartel. Heavily involved in drugs, guns, and prostitution. There’s possibly some low-level gambling like illegal sports betting, but I haven’t come across any involvement in animal fighting. They mostly peddle black and shoot the wrong people in drive-bys.”

  “Big contributors to society.”

  Matthias laughed. “Right? I wish we could scoop them all up and drop them on a deserted island.”

  “Then we’d be out of work, though.”

  “True that.”

  “Well, cool. Thanks for your time, sir.”

  “Not a problem. Take it easy.”

  A knock on her door startled her. “Come in.”

  Leah stuck her head in. “Got a minute?”

  “Yes, sure.” Calliope switched screens on her computer. “What’s up?”

  “I just wanted to check in and see if you found anything on the hard drives.”

  “I’m still going over the contents. Sorry, it’s been a busy couple of days.”

  “No problem. Rubio bailed out. We’re keeping tabs on him while we pull this case together.”

  “Okay. Great. Can you give me another day or two?”

  “Absolutely. Give me a call when you’ve got something?”

  “You bet. I’m about to check out and go grab some dinner, but I’ll be back at it tomorrow morning.”

  “All right. Have a good night, Callie.”

  “You too.”

  Calliope closed the files on her computer after encoding them with her passwords. She grabbed her coat and purse and headed out to the elevators.

  The dinner invitation had been unexpected, but she was looking forward to it. Holly seemed nice. A little bit on the high energy side for Callie’s taste, but the woman wasn’t pretentious at all, very friendly. She’d pick up a bottle of wine to bring. She hated showing up emptyhanded. Holly looked like a white wine kind of woman. She’d grab a nice bottle of Chardonnay on her way over.

  * * *

  There wasn’t time to go home and change, so Calliope was still in her work clothes when she pulled into the parking lot at the Knights of War clubhouse. She’d been to the bar a few times, but this was the first time she’d been to the club. With the bottle of Robert Mondavi clutched in her hand, Calliope knocked on the door. She wasn’t sure if it was customary to just walk in since she’d been invited. But to be on the safe side, she waited outside.

  There was a picnic table with an ashtray in the center beneath the covered awning that ran the length of the front of the building. The logo for the club had been stenciled on the wall a few feet away from the door. She noticed a doorbell, but she’d give them another minute or two before she pressed the buzzer. The sound of a bolt disengaging had her turning around to face the door.

  Holly stood in the doorway with a grin. “Hi, Calliope. Come on in.” The woman was small-framed with straight blonde hair and a curvy body. She was attractive and well-spoken and, honestly, a little out of place in the MC. Calliope wondered how she’d ended up with a biker.

  Upon entering, she was immediately met with the smells of garlic and something sweet, maybe tomato sauce, probably an Italian meal. Thank goodness Chardonnay paired well with Italian. “Oh, here.” Calliope offered the bottle of wine to Holly. “I wasn’t sure what you liked to drink.”

  “Thank you, this is perfect. I love a dry white wine.”

  The inside of the club was cozier than Calliope had anticipated. There were dark brown leather couches to the left that were set up to encase a chest-style coffee table. To the left was a bar shined to a high gloss with a lot of top-shelf whiskey behind it.

  A buffet table covered by a white linen tablecloth was situated in the center of the room with nice folding chairs. The place settings were plain white dishes with cloth napkins in rings. Heated silver trays were lined up on the bar. Calliope’s stomach rumbled. Aside from a breakfast sandwich and some coffee, she hadn’t eaten all day.

  She looked around for Hem. Two men wearing the club vests stood next to the bar talking and drinking. Calliope waited awkwardly near the end of the bar.

  Holly handed the bottle of wine to Hunter. “Will you open this, babe?”

  “Sure.” Hunter’s beard had some gray peppered into it while Holly looked barely twenty-five. There was some truth to opposites attract. They were from two different worlds for sure.

  Hem appeared from a back room. He smiled when he saw her. “Callie. Glad you could make it.”

  An older woman with her arm hooked around the elbow of a guy who looked similar to Hem came walking into the room. The man pulled out a chair for her, then sat beside her.

  “Come here,” Hem said. “Have a seat. What can I get you to drink? Roy Rogers?” He winked.

  “That sounds great.” A little sugar and caffeine were just what she needed after the long day she’d had.

  Holly sat down and looked at Calliope. “How was your day?”

  “Wow. I don’t get asked that often.”

  “Everybody should be asked how their day was.”

  “It was a good day. Just a long one.”

  “Well, I hope you’ll relax tonight.”

  “What’s the occasion? Or should I assume you all eat this way every night?”

  “Oh, no. We don’t do this all the time. But that would be nice. We’re discussing some plans for our wedding, so I figured I’d have dinner catered with some dishes we’re considering for our reception.”

  “You’re getting married? That’s exciting.”

  “Hunter doesn’t care about food or cakes or flowers, so this is one way to get him to try the food I’m considering.” Holly pushed her hair behind her ears.
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br />   “Smells great. Italian?”

  “For starters, we have a Caesar salad, a lobster bisque, and a shrimp cocktail. The entrées I’m considering include a lasagna dish paired with garlic breadsticks, a pecan-crusted halibut with grilled asparagus, and chicken marsala with roasted potatoes. Then we have three different types of cake to try. A lemon custard-filled vanilla cake with fresh whipped cream frosting, a raspberry mousse-filled dark chocolate cake with chocolate ganache, and play on strawberry shortcake.”

  “My goodness. None of that sounds bad. Thanks again for including me.”

  “Of course. It’s nice to have another woman around besides my mom.”

  So, the older woman was Holly’s mom, and she appeared to have a thing with Hem’s brother. What an interesting group this was.

  Hem set a glass in front of her. “There you go.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Let’s eat,” Holly’s mom said. “Bring your plates over to the bar and try a little bit of everything. There’s a small survey card under your plate, I’d appreciate it if you’d rate the dishes you try.”

  “Jeez, Mom.” Holly rolled her eyes. “My mom is a little too formal.”

  Calliope laughed and sipped her Roy Rogers.

  “Grab your plate,” Hem said as he stood. “It’ll be like chow hall back at Ft. Sam. Get in line and fill your plate.”

  “Man, it’s been a while since I thought about that.”

  “The food was good, though, right?”

  “It really was. When I enlisted, that was one thing I worried about. I had visions of like prison food, but our cooks were pretty awesome.” That thought left her mind when Calliope looked into the first tray. The halibut smelled amazing and was what she was most looking forward to, but she took a little of each. Hem ladled some bisque into two small bowls and carried them to the table. Callie’s plate looked like she’d just visited a Las Vegas casino buffet.

  There was light conversation during the meal. Holly and her mom bantered about details on the flowers for her bouquet. Hem served coffee with the cake samples, and then everyone scattered. Holly’s mom and Hem’s brother disappeared. Holly and Hunter stayed at the table. Hem led Calliope over to the couches.

  He seemed as anxious as she was to talk about the case. “So, any new info?” he asked.