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That’s the job I’d been doing for Ruthless and his team.

See, in the joint, I’d met a lot of men with… a special set of skills. Men who were now on the outside and wouldn’t blink an eye at helping an innocent woman get away from a man trying to hurt her.

“Got a friend who just moved to California. You may have heard of his club. The Outlaw Saints?”

Ruthless’s tired eyes flared. “Yeah. I have. That’s fuckin’ perfect.”

“My boy Jekyll is a member of the SO-CAL chapter in Devil’s Cove.” I tapped the folder. “The club owns the town. They’ll be able to find a position for her and pay her cash so her prick husband can’t find her. And if he does come looking for her.” I smiled wickedly. “He’ll fuckin’ wish he didn’t.”

Ruthless considered it for a long moment, then nodded. “Set it up.”

“You got it.”

We went back and forth for twenty more minutes until his sister came out with a cup of coffee and a plate of warm donuts for her brother. “Why didn’t you come in the back and tell me you were here?”

He nodded at me. “Had a meeting with this joker first.”

I watched her closely, wondering if she’d gotten over her snit, but didn’t have to wonder long seeing as she refused to make eye contact with me when she said, “I see.”

She was still pissed about being dismissed.

I sighed.

Ruthless’s eyes bounced between us. He was working something out in his head and I had a feeling I knew exactly what it was.

“I’ll come back there before I leave, yeah?”

Joy rolled her eyes. “Don’t bother. I’ve got some stuff to do anyway.”

“Don’t be a brat.”

“I’m not being a brat. I’m busy.”

“Whatever,” Ruthless said as his sister flipped him off, then headed for the back.

Once she was gone, he turned his full—suddenly looking more awake—attention on me. “So… You and my sister, huh?”

“Not even close.”

He smirked. “You’re full of shit.”

I didn’t say anything, which sort of was an answer, I suppose.

Ruthless studied me closely. “You know Drew’s gonna find out,” he said. “And when he does, shit’s gonna hit the fan.”

There was nothing for his brother to find out. I wasn’t going to do a damn thing with his sister.

I was pushing forty, and she was… well, I didn’t know exactly how old she was—but I knew she was under twenty-five. I’d done ten years for offing a cop, and she’d never been in trouble a day in her life.

No matter how I felt about her, Joy deserved a better man than me.

“There’s nothing for him to find out.” I said the words out loud.

Ruthless’s lips twitched. “Sure there’s not.”

Grabbing his coffee, he chuckled, then got to his feet and left.

Fuck.