Raptor’s eyes flashed, and he ran a slow hand through his hair. “I understand what we’re dealing with, Tank. I get it. Nothing’s clearer to me than the situation, but I’m out of options. My son comes first, and that’s just the fuckin’ way it is.”
Clenching his jaw, he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Got it.”
Silence stretched between them, leaving Tank to struggle with surprised sadness, as well as the slow burn of anger building inside of him. He swallowed past the emotions, trying to come to terms with what the club’s future would be now that Raptor was out for the long haul—maybe forever. One thing was for sure: Raptor would never get the power back once Hammer took control.
“You know this means war—brother against brother. You do fuckin’ understand that, right? The club will be torn in half between you and Hammer.”
“It’s been like that for a long while now. It’s nothing new.”
“So that’s where we are with it, then?” Tank sighed and rubbed a hand down his face.
“That’s how it is.” Raptor took one last drag and snubbed out the butt. He took a step back and put both hands on either side of his head, looking through the bay window into his house.
Tank saw shadows behind the curtains.
Raptor looked over at him. “Look, I gotta go. Something could be happening.”
“Yeah, go. Don’t let me hold you up.”
Raptor nodded but hung back, his hand on the doorknob. When he spoke, his voice was gruff and hard. “Have a good night, brother.”
“Yeah, right.”
Before Tank could turn around, Raptor walked inside the house and closed the door. He’d made his choice, and in doing so, he’d sealed the club’s fate, forever closing the door between the past and the present.
There was no denying or putting it off anymore: shit was going to go down.
With a heavy heart, Tank started his Harley, pulled away from the curb, and blended into the traffic.
Lena
Lena’s nerves had been rattled all day long, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. While she did the preliminary paperwork for a new hire, she kept glancing over her shoulder, convinced that the two thugs were lurking about. I’ve got to get a hold of myself. Those bastards haven’t made an appearance since that first night. Besides, Sheriff Windsor promised he’d get to the bottom of it. She’d told him the date the thugs were supposed to come to the restaurant, and she had every reason to believe that the sheriff and his deputies would catch them in the act, making the whole extortion BS stop.
The previous night, after work, Lena had stopped at the grocery store on her way home. She saw a couple of men in the meat department wearing the same vests as the bastards who’d come into the bistro ten day before. Fear seized her, but when she’d realized they weren’t the same assholes, she took out a pen to jot down the name on the back of their vests, when one of the guys turned to look at her. He said something to the other man, who also turned around. Scared out of her mind, Lena picked up a package of boneless pork chops and hightailed it out of there.
After she’d come home from the store, the only thing she’d remembered on the vest were the initials MC. A quick search on the computer made her blood run cold. The thugs who’d come into her store that night were part of a motorcycle club.
A knock on the bistro’s front door startled Lena out of her thoughts. The shop had closed at eight, and it was now nine o’clock. When she’d locked the door at closing, there hadn’t been very many people on Main Street. Since the assholes’ visit, Lena had made sure that the restaurant’s front door was always locked behind the last customer.
She picked up the yellow highlighter and continued going through her paperwork when a thunderous pounding on the front window made her jump. All the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. What the hell? Grabbing an old baseball bat she kept around, she slowly crept out of her office. A sick feeling twisted in the pit of her stomach as she headed toward the front of the eatery.
When she came upon the white swinging doors that looked as if they belonged in a western saloon, she paused before peeking over the top to look at the front door that was lit by the street lamp outside. Pulling back, she slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the whimpers crawling up her throat. She rushed back to the office and shoved the papers aside on the desk, searching for her phone. Then a powerful bang reverberated throughout the bistro, followed by loud voices.
“Open the fuckin’ door or I’m gonna break it down!”
Where’s my damn phone? And why the hell did I only buy one cordless phone to keep up front?
Panic spread through her like wildfire.
“I’m countin’ to one and we’re smashing windows!”
Got it! With her heart nearly crashing through her chest, she dialed 911. When the dispatcher answered, Lena screamed, “I need help. Two bikers are breaking into my restaurant.”
“Are you at 229 Main Street?”
“Yes. The sheriff knows about these guys. Bring help. They’re trying to rob me.”
“One!” the man yelled.
“They’re going to break my front window. Hurry.” Slipping the phone into her pocket, she rushed to the front of the store. It was better to let them in than to deal with more damage she couldn’t afford to fix, especially after she was forced to pay them. Lena shakily made her way to the door and clicked the lock open, just as one of the bikers—the dangerous one—pulled his arm back. She barely had time to move before their large bodies pushed through the door.
“What’s your problem?” she asked, her anger slowly replacing the fear.
“What the fuck took you so long?” the one with the Billy club huffed.
“I was in the bathroom.” The sheriff should be here soon. I have to stall until he gets here. “You said you were coming back in two weeks.”
The dangerous-looking one pressed against her. “We wanted to see you again, sweet cheeks.”
She fought the impulse to push him away and tell him off. Instead, she looked at his leather vest and saw the name Cougar stitched across it. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Then this should be a nice surprise,” the other biker said as he walked up to the new display case. “Do you bake all this shit?”
“Pretty much. I have an employee who helps me.” The surrealism of the situation didn’t escape her. Never in her wildest imagination did she think she’d be talking about her baked goods with two gangsters who were taking her money. “Would you like a cookie?” Where the hell are the cops? This town isn’t that big.
Cougar laughed. “My brother and I will take a box, but you’re not getting a discount on what you owe us.”
They’re brothers. I’m sure their mother is real proud. “I didn’t expect one.”
“You learn fast.” Cougar patted her behind. “Good girl.”
Lena gritted her teeth and hurried away. I can’t wait to see you in handcuffs.
“You got chocolate chip?”
Nodding, she slipped open the case. I can’t believe how long it’s taking for the deputies to get here. She bent over and snatched six cookies with a piece of parchment paper. Standing back up, she was startled when she bumped into someone.