Out of view of the locals, he exceeded a male's average speed, using his enhancements.
Within fifty yards of the kid, Keenan dug in and caught up with him. He clamped his hand down on Zach's shoulder, spinning him around and forcing him to stop.
Zach swung out. "Let me go."
Bonnie's son was supposed to stick close to home and not wander off into the forest. He'd made sure Bonnie understood the temporary restrictions and would keep her kids at home.
"I'll let go, but don't run." Keenan let go and held his hands out to his sides. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going to find Trina." Zach glared. "You can't stop me."
The kid had balls. But he also knew that he wouldn't stand a chance against him.
"She's gone for a bit. She'll be back. You'll have to wait for her to return." Everyone knew Zach and Trina had grown close over the last several years. They shared a friendship that appeared closer than the normal teenage infatuations he'd witnessed the local kids going through. "I'll walk you back home."
"Where did you take her?" Zach refused to budge. "Is she with Speeder?"
The club had split the kid's family down the middle and sequestered them. His step-dad was gone. Trina, his best friend, had left. He probably understood the other bikers were missing. To Zach, that wasn't normal around Avery Falls.
"Speeder wanted Laurel and Trina with him. I'm not sure where they went. Maybe on vacation. Trip is dealing with club business outside the area for a while, but he'll be back." He motioned for Zach to move. "I wouldn't do anything to piss off your mom if you plan on seeing Trina when she returns."
"This isn't fair," grumbled Zach. "Everyone is gone."
"Life isn't fair." He clasped Zach on the back of the neck. "Being an adult doesn't make everything easier."
They went the rest of the way in silence, with Zach marching ahead of Keenan. At the main road, he stayed back, watching Zach jog across the bridge toward Trip's house. Once the kid was out of sight, he headed over to the RV Park, where he left his Harley when he'd spotted Zach running away and decided to follow him.
Several campers raised their hand in greeting as he passed them. He nodded, walking straight through the campground. Getting on his motorcycle, he turned around and headed over to the store. He'd missed four days of pickup.
Parking off to the side of the entrance, he strolled through the automatic door. Mr. Guthry stopped in front of him on the way out.
"Keenan." Mr. Guthry nodded. "The gas station is down to one pump. If the tourists take all the God damn fuel, that club of yours better not hike the price up when the truck comes to refill."
Shit. He'd forgotten about the gas. Usually, it was Ruger overseeing that the bi-monthly deliveries were paid in advance.
"I'll get right on that." He slapped Mr. Guthry on the shoulder. "Have a good day."
He went in search of J.J. and found her on Aisle 3, stacking green beans on the shelf. She glanced up and found him approaching and turned back to the cans, not even giving him a smile in welcome.
He stopped beside her. "How's your day going?"
"Just dandy." J.J. clunked the can down and grabbed another off the cart.
"Do you have the money for me?"
"Yep."
When she made no move to retrieve the bag, he stepped closer and lowered his voice. "Problem?"
She gripped a can, squeezing until her fingers turned white, and faced him. "I'm this close to being done with you."
"What are you saying?"
Her eyes almost disappeared between her black lashes. "I stayed in Avery Falls because of the club. There was nothing here, and I believed my life belonged in St. Maries or over by the chain of lakes where I had access to nightlife and people and parties, and more opportunities than this mountain town offered me. But the club needed me, so I stayed."
"We pay you double the amount of what you could get somewhere else."
"You did."
A customer walked past, pushing a cart. He waited until they were alone again, but J.J. wasn't going to give him time to come up with an excuse about what was happening lately.
"Yesterday was payday." J.J.'s face flushed. "Carol's rent is due today, and she's worried. Barb owes Mrs. Baker for babysitting Davie. Janelle's washer went out, and she relied on her next paycheck to get a new one. When my employees are upset and can't concentrate on their work, everything gets behind. I have freezer items stuffed in the fridge in the back because I'm the only one available to work this morning, and I can't keep up with the tourists running amok. The club needs to do something quick, or we're all going to walk off the job."
"Okay." He inhaled deeply. "Go get me the money. I'll divide out enough to cover everyone's paycheck."
As the treasurer, he was responsible for dividing the money and making sure the employees were paid. It hadn't entered his mind what day it was.
"How long is the club going to be gone?" J.J. put the can down. "The town is falling apart. The Conroys caught a group of tourists trespassing on their property last week. They left tracks all over their yard, and you know Mrs. Conroy hates the off-road vehicles on their side of the mountain. So guess who had to hear about it the last three days? Me. Everyone comes to me with their problems, and there's nothing I can do about it all."
"They trust you." He softened his voice. "You grew up around here and understand what the locals are going through. That's why the club respects your opinion on any changes we make in Avery Falls."
"It's. Not. My. Job."
J.J. was the spokeswoman between the club and the locals. They depended on her.
The club also recognized that they'd have to make her happy to keep her in Avery Falls. It used to be that letting her hang around the club, party with the members, and free reign to have sex with the bikers was enough to keep her happy.
He could see that had changed.
"I'll deal with it." He stuck his hands in his vest pockets. "Next week, the club will be back. Things will return to normal."
He couldn't promise Avery Falls would ever go back to how it was, but he hoped in a few days he'd have enough men who could hold it together to deal with a few hours of business without raising suspicions about their behavior. It all depended on if the remaining members gave them problems and created more of a mess.
By this time next week, there could be nothing left of Avery Falls.
Hell, he could be carted away in a cop car on his way to a prison cell. Not only for the crimes he'd committed but for kidnapping Grace.
Twenty minutes later, he had taken out the money owed to the employees of the store. He walked out with the rest of the profits. He'd need to deal with the gas station next. No doubt, they were in the same position. The rest of the businesses were either shut down or put in "help yourself" status for the tourists.
When all was said and done, and the club was back in a position of running things, they'd need to recoup their losses. He couldn't guarantee the boats, bikes, ATVs, and rental equipment would be there next season.
It would be a small price to pay for surviving something none of them were trained for or saw coming.