Knox's Stand

Chapter Three

Diamond went into her office, followed closely by The Last Riders. Holly was filing papers in the cabinet when she turned to see who came in. Diamond wasn’t surprised when the woman’s mouth fell open as the office filled with several of the bikers.

“Holly, I’ll be in my office if you need me.” A nod was the only response the woman could manage besides the look that begged her not to leave her alone with the dangerous looking men that were taking a seat on the few chairs and small couch she had available for seating.

Winter, Viper and the heavily tattooed biker followed her inside her private office. Diamond went behind her desk, placing her briefcase on the neat surface before taking a seat.

“What’s going on, Winter?” Diamond decided not to beat around the bush; the faster she found out what they wanted, the faster she could get rid of them.

“One of our members has been arrested in the murder of Samantha Bedford,” Viper answered her question. Diamond blew out a breath of air. She had been expecting that, thanks to the brief information that Caleb had told her before court. Drug possession, assault, DUI;those were what she had dealt with since moving to Treepoint. She had never thought to represent a case for a client with the seriousness of a murder charge.

“I am going to save us both some time. I don’t have the experience to defend a murder case.” Diamond started to rise to her feet.

“The best criminal defense lawyer in the state of Kentucky just walked out on us. That asshole will defend anyone for the right amount of money. Knox pisses everyone off. There’s not a lawyer that won’t become angry and quit with his attitude. I don’t want to be looking for a new lawyer everyday, we need someone that isn’t going to run away the first time that Knox gets angry and scares the shit out of them.”

“I’m sorry.” Actually she wasn’t, Diamond thought again, rising to show them the door.

“I’ll pay whatever fee you want,” Viper stated, looking around her office. Diamond sat back down.

“If money is no object, then you can afford any lawyer you want,” Diamond protested, but then paused, rethinking whether she really wanted to talk them out of hiring her.

“Money didn’t prevent Harris from walking out on us,” Viper said in disgust.

Diamond just bet. Lawyers were notoriously uptight, leaving the men like Knox to the lower lawyers to deal with. Diamond swallowed. She was one of the lower lawyers hungry enough to need the money and the exposure the case would bring.

“How much money are we talking about?” Diamond asked.

The gleam in Viper’s eyes said he knew he had her. Diamond forced down her anger and mentally added another figure on for his being an asshole.

“Let’s cut to the chase. You prove Knox is innocent, I’ll give you five hundred thousand dollars.”

Diamond’s figure went out her open door, liking his much better.

“I take it you believe Knox is innocent?” Diamond queried.

“I know he is,” Viper stated without pausing.

“You can’t be so sure. Everyone has a breaking point, and from what you’re telling me, Knox isn’t the sweetest man in the county. Perhaps they got in an argument—”

“If he had killed her, Ms. Richards, no one would have found the body.”

Diamond’s eyes widened at Viper’s calm reply while Winter winced, but didn’t speak up, which led her to believe that she felt the same way. She stared out into her outer office at the men who were listening and saw the agreement on their faces.

Damn. Diamond knew she shouldn’t touch this case, however the money was too much to resist. Even if she bailed, they would still have to pay her for the hours she billed.

As if reading her thoughts, Viper stated, “Of course, if you quit on us, I won’t pay you one fucking dime.”

Diamond started to protest, but she could see that this part was nonnegotiable.

“All right, you have a deal.” Diamond heard herself agree while at the same time she wanted to smack herself silly. Her eyes saw one of The Last Riders get up from his chair in the lobby and go to Holly’s desk, leaning against it as he spoke casually to her. She could tell from the seductive smile on the man’s face he was making a play for her quiet secretary.

She was right. The sound of a chair hitting the wall sounded in the outside room and Holly all but ran into the room, coming to stand behind Diamond’s chair with her face flaming red. The man gave a smile and came to stand in the doorway, watching with a predatory gleam in his eyes.

“Ms. Richards, your next appointment is due in ten minutes.” Holly’s voice was surprisingly firm, but she remained behind her desk. The Last Riders didn’t try to hide their amusement at Holly’s reaction.

“Stop it, Rider. Go on outside,” Winter snapped at the man who then turned and walked away with a final wink at Holly.

“Thanks, Holly.” Diamond stared hard at Viper. “After I’m finished with my next client, I’ll go down to the sheriff’s office and see what they have on him. I’ll keep in touch. Get a bail bondsman ready for a call. I’ll see what I can do about getting him out. Is he going to be a flight risk?”

“Knox wouldn’t run if you pointed a gun at him. It’s not in him; he is a soldier. He stands and fights.”

“Good to know because, if he takes off, I’ll still expect my money, and you can find yourself another lawyer.”

“Deal,” Viper said, walking out her door and taking his men with him.

Winter paused before leaving. “Thank you, Ms. Richards.”

Diamond nodded her head, watching as her office emptied and Holly came to stand next to her.

“You took a case involving one of them?” she questioned.

“Yes,” Diamond said grimly. “I did.”

“What did he do?”

“They arrested him for killing Samantha Bedford.” Diamond kept staring out of her office, seriously thinking about running after them and telling them to find another lawyer.

“Can I quit?” Holly asked her boss, gripping the desk.

“No.”

* * *

Diamond took a deep breath to steady her nerves before going into the sheriff’s office. The small office wasn’t very busy as the dispatcher sat behind the front desk and watched curiously while Diamond approached.

“Hello, is the sheriff in?” Diamond requested.

“He sure is, honey. You wanting to see him?”

“Yes, thank you.” Expecting the woman to pick up the phone, Diamond jumped when the woman yelled.

“Sheriff! You have someone here wantin’ to talk to you.” The office door at the end of the hall opened showing the sheriff.

“Come on back.” His loud voice filled the office. Diamond hid her wince at the lack of decorum.

“Sheriff.” Diamond extended her hand towards the large man who everyone in town respected. Diamond had met him before, several times, at the courthouse.

“What can I do for you, Ms. Richards?”

“I’d like to talk to my client, Knox Bates. I’ve scheduled a hearing in the morning to set bail.”

Diamond didn’t see surprise on his face when she told him she was representing Knox.

“Have you met Knox before?”

“No, but I know he must be a little difficult if his other lawyer quit,” Diamond answered.

“Little doesn’t describe anything about Knox. Prepare yourself.” Diamond ignored his warning. Thanks to her parents’ lifestyle, she had been exposed to some hardass bikers and she had held her own. She wasn’t worried about dealing with Knox.

The sheriff went into his office again before coming back with the keys and then walked down the short hallway, Diamond following behind. The steel door was unlocked and pushed opened.

Diamond walked into a large, grey room containing a small window and long table with several chairs placed around the table.

“Have a seat. I’ll bring him out.”

Diamond sat down, opening her briefcase and pulling out her writing pad as well as a pen. She looked up when the sheriff returned with a huge man that Diamond recognized instantly. It wasn’t like you could forget something that big and bald.

The huge biker was wearing faded jeans and a blue t-shirt that covered a muscled chest that she had seen the day that she had gone to The Last Riders clubhouse to interview Winter. He had been wearing only jeans then and his muscled chest had been bare, showing the tats on his chest and arm. He had also had his hands on two very attractive women who had obviously just been very intimate with the biker.

Diamond was more than familiar with the loose sexual atmosphere of a biker club, but from the way the trio acted, Diamond suspected it went beyond what even she had been exposed to.

Observing the man as he came across the room, Diamond was struck by his sexual aura. His cleanly shaven head and fierce expression were intimidating. He wasn’t ugly by a long shot, however he wasn’t handsome, either. The huge body, she was sure, had caused more than one man to back down from the threatening looking biker.

Diamond stood to her feet. “Hello, my name is Ms. Richards…”

“I know who you are.” Knox took a seat at the table across from where she was standing, ignoring her outstretched hand.

Diamond’s eyes narrowed at his interruption. “Then you know that Viper hired me to represent you in court.”

“Viper told me. When you getting me out of here?” Knox asked bluntly.

“You have a hearing in the morning. If they set bail and your friends come up with the bond, you can be released afterward,” Diamond explained.

“They’ll have the money; just get me out of here.”

“I intend to. Now, I looked over the case and I would like to ask you several questions. Sheriff, if you don’t mind, I’d like to be alone with my client.”

The sheriff gave her an amused look. “Certainly, if you need anything, just yell,” he said, leaving with a warning look towards Knox who gave him a stubborn one in return.

Opening the file that Holly had put together for her, Diamond tried to ignore his hard stare.

“How well did you know Samantha Bedford?” Diamond started her questions.

“If you needed to know how she fucked, I could tell you anything you want to know. Personally, not a damn thing,” Knox answered crudely. Diamond looked up at him from her papers to show him he wasn’t going to get anywhere by trying to shock her.

“Okay. How long had you been fuck buddies?” she rephrased her question.

“Not buddies, we just fucked. You have to like each other to be buddies. I hated the bitch.”

“I see. How did she feel about you?”

“Nothing. Sam didn’t feel emotion other than the need to fuck. Had to have it all the time, didn’t care who gave it to her or where as long as she got off,” Knox said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms across his massive chest.

“Can you give me some names of other men she had a sexual relationship with?”

“No.”

“Can’t or won’t?” Diamond tried to clarify his answer.

“Sam wasn’t allowed to hang with The Last Riders anymore. Since she quit being a hang around, I don’t know who she’s been fucking. I didn’t care enough to ask.”

“You had sex with a woman and didn’t inquire about her sexual history?” Diamond couldn’t believe that a man could be so stupid in this day and age not to check out a partner’s health status.

Knox shrugged, unconcerned. “I used a condom. Didn’t let her have my mouth. She was safe enough to fuck.”

Diamond’s fingers tightened on her pen. This man was a living,-breathing jerk. Taking a deep breath, her mind kept going over and over how much she needed the money that defending Knox would bring.

“Let’s move along. When did you meet Sam on Friday?”

“I didn’t meet her. I crashed my bike and she was driving by and offered me a ride about four o’clock,” Knox estimated.

“She offered you a ride?” Diamond looked up at him. “So how did her giving you a ride end up with both of you at the hotel? Are you sure you didn’t have plans to meet her?”

“I’m sure,” Knox stated.

“Okay, so she gave you a ride and you both decided to go to the motel?” Diamond asked. Trying to get the chain of events straight was like pulling teeth.

Knox sighed. “I called for a lift. While I was waiting for Viper to call me back, we sat in her car. She made a move, I didn’t say no, so we went back to her hotel where we fucked for an hour. Viper returned my call, so I left to meet Rider. End of story.”

“Do you have any witness to that fact? Did she come to the door and someone see her?” Diamond asked hopefully.

“No, she was still lying on the bed when I left.” Damn. Diamond should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Was she breathing?”

Knox’s eyes narrowed at her caustic reply. “Yeah, she was breathing.” Knox leaned forward. “If I was going to kill the bitch, I wouldn’t have left my condom in the trash can. They wouldn’t have found my fingerprints and they fucking would have never found her body.”

Diamond shivered at his harsh answer. She was definitely understanding why the rest of his club had no doubt that he spoke the truth. This man would cover his tracks.

Diamond again looked down at her paperwork. “She had bruising around her mouth and vagina. Were you aware of that?” Keeping a professional appearance was hard when she was fighting the embarrassment of her question.

“Sam and I both enjoy sex that gets a little rough. “ Knox shrugged.

“You have bite marks on your hand that are consistent with the bruising around her mouth.”

“When Sam comes, she likes to scream; the walls at that motel are paper thin.” This time Diamond wasn’t able to prevent herself from blushing.

“I see.”

“I doubt it,” Knox said sarcastically.

Diamond looked up at his reply, meeting his mocking gaze. She smothered her irritation once again, thinking about the money she would earn defending him.

“How often have you and Sam seen each other since she was no longer allowed at the clubhouse?”

“Friday was the first time.”

“Can I ask why, if you disliked this woman so much, did you have sex with her?” Diamond didn’t think he seemed the type to be swept away with passion.

A look of self-disgust flashed across his face. “Not many men would turn her down. Sam was not only good at sex, she enjoyed it. She was one of the few women that could give it to me the way I like it.”

Diamond wasn’t going to touch that answer. Gathering her paperwork, she began putting it back in her briefcase.

“The hearing is first thing in the morning. If you think of anything else that’s important, ask the sheriff to contact me. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Hastily Diamond stood up without looking at him directly.

Diamond went to the door and yelled for the sheriff to let her out. He rushed out of his office, looking at her in surprise.

“Finished?” he asked, looking over her shoulder at Knox still seated at the table with an amused expression on his face.

“Yes, I have what I need.” As soon as the sheriff opened the door, Diamond rushed through it, well aware she was making an ass of herself.

“Thank you, Sheriff.” Without waiting for a reply, Diamond walked through the office, ignoring the receptionist’s curious eyes. Once outside, she took a deep breath, trying to gather her composure. As she stood there, several people passing by gave her inquiring glances, which she ignored. When Knox had described Sam, he hadn’t been trying to embarrass her. He had merely been stating a fact.

She hadn’t really been all that embarrassed, either. No, she had left quickly to escape the feeling of arousal that had stormed her body at his blunt revelation. Diamond had only known a few lovers in her life. One, her high school sweetheart, who she had mistakenly thought would be with her forever; another when she had graduated college and began law school; and the last, who’d thought he saw a meal ticket on her forehead. Diamond enjoyed sex with each of them, but she had a feeling that what Knox participated in was something she had never experienced and had no intention of introducing in her life.

Walking back to her office, she went to her car parked in the lot. Shakily opening her car door, she was finally able to regain control of her wayward body; now angry for making a fool of herself. The next time she was around Knox she would be able to manage her composure and keep her traitorous body under control.

One thing her parents’ life had provided was an insight into the life Knox led and she wasn’t about to find herself attracted to a man involved in a lifestyle she hated.