He climbed out and slammed the door. The guys pulled away from the truck at his approach.
“Sorry it took me a bit to get here. What’s going on?”
They seemed to be a group of brothers, or at the very least cousins, all with a similar shade of blond hair. Then he got a good look at one—Fiona’s brother he’d manhandled in the bar that night. Damn, he had the worst luck.
One extended his hand to Dixon, and he shook it. “Thanks for comin’. We think it’s a belt.”
“Most likely. Truck looks pretty new.”
“Yeah, but it’s got a lot of miles on it,” the guy said.
“I can take a look under the hood, but not much use until I get it to the shop. Unless you want me to tow it somewhere else?”
“Nah, your shop’s fine. We live about forty-five minutes from here.” He centered his attention on the rolling hills and beautiful purple sky hanging over the mountains.
“Let me move my truck around the front and get you hooked up. I didn’t expect to have four passengers, and you won’t all fit in the tow truck. Can you get a ride off someone?”
They exchanged a look, one to the next. “We can’t call Fiona. Her bar’ll be packed.”
Dixon’s head jerked up, and he and her brother exchanged a look.
“You know her?” one of the others asked.
“I know her.”
“What’s your name again?”
“Rothchild.” He pointed to the name painted on the side of the tow truck. “Dixon Rothchild.” He narrowed his gaze on the man he’d met. “How you doing?” he asked her brother.
“Fine.” The guy gave a nod.
The other three looked at him. “You know this dude, Noah?”
“Yeah, met him down at Fiona’s bar one night.”
All three eyed Dixon. “How do you know Fee?”
Dixon scuffed his knuckles over his jaw. “She’s a friend of mine.”
“Well, we’re her brothers.” The one who did most of the speaking squared his shoulders.
Dixon shook his head and then barked a laugh. “I knew she had one brother but not four. No wonder she’s such a hard ass.”
One sidled up to him. “Exactly how well do you know our sister?”
He shifted his shoulders, preparing for a fight he didn’t want to have. “Well enough. Look, do you want to get your truck off the road, or what? Let me tow you, and there’s room in the cab for two of ya if we squeeze in. It’s illegal for anyone to ride in a truck that’s being towed, but since it’s dark, I think we can get away with two of you ridin’ back there.”
A brother sporting a shirt with a beer logo chuckled. “No wonder Fiona likes this guy. He’s an outlaw.”
Clearly Fiona wasn’t lying when she told him she’d seen her share of bad guys.
He tipped his jaw toward the brush along the road. “Two of you go ahead and jump into your truck. The other two, step away ’til I get hooked up.”
Minutes later, he hauled them all down the road to Mersey.
From the passenger side of the truck, the broadest of the four brothers spoke up, “If you know Fee, then you know she’s having trouble with a biker gang.”
“She didn’t tell you that a buddy of mine and I threw a few of them out a few days ago? Things have been quiet since.”
“You some kind of deputy or something?” The other brother sat with the gear shift between his knees, which made for some awkward shifting on Dixon’s part. Feeling up their sister was one thing, but he drew the line at her brother.
“Nah, only happened to be there when they were giving her trouble.” He didn’t add that he hung out in the parking lot for hours waiting to ensure Fiona got to her car safe.
Just then a series of pings filled the cab as one of their phones went off.
“Fuck, Syd. Fiona called half a dozen times.”
“Dammit. Let me see, Lake.”
Dixon’s own cell went off as they reached service range. He whipped out his phone and glanced at her number.
“She called you too?” Lake asked.
“Yeah,” he ground out as he brought the phone to his ear. He ignored the brothers’ heavy questioning gazes as he listened to three rings…and finally Fiona’s voice message.
“Voicemail?” Syd asked.
“Yeah. You try.” His guts burned.
She called me and I missed it. If something happened to her…
He gave a low growl.
“Exactly how close are you to our sister?” Lake demanded.
He stabbed the call button again and didn’t look at him when he answered, “Close enough for her to call me when shit’s going down. Dammit.” Again, it rang to voicemail. He stomped on the gas but couldn’t reach very high speeds on the twisty road leading from the mountains while hauling a vehicle full of Fiona’s brothers.
“Call her again,” he commanded Lake. “We’re heading straight for the bar.”
At that moment his cell rang, and he yanked the device to his ear. “Fiona?”
“No, it’s Tank. Dude, where the fuck are you? Shit’s gone sideways here, and you’re nowhere to be found.”
“At the Painted Pig?” he barked.
“Yeah. Someone got shot.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.”
“Mayhem member pulled a gun and pumped three bullets into a guy.”
“Holy fuck!” He felt like roaring. Not only had he failed the people of Mersey, he let down his brothers…and Fiona was a whole other level of guilt.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can. Where’s Fiona?”
“Talking to the state police.”
A relieved sigh trickled from his lips at knowing she was safe.
“Tell her I’m coming—and I’ve got her brothers with me.”
Chapter Six
Fiona couldn’t be more shaken, but when she spotted her brothers crossing the parking lot to her, she hoped none of the horror of the past hour reflected on her face.
Lake reached her first, enveloping her in his stronghold. She pressed her cheek to his chest and drank in the brotherly comfort.
“What the hell happened?” he muttered against her hair.
“A fight broke out. Things got out of control.”
“That’s a goddamn understatement.” He released her and stepped away to look her over. What he saw made him shake his head and pull her back into his embrace.
Noah lined up for his turn.
“How did you guys get here so fast?”
“We were up in the mountains ridin’ dirt bikes on the trails. The truck broke down and we got a tow from Rothchild.”
She stared at Noah. “Dixon?”
“Yeah. What’s going on with him?”
She waved off his question. Damn if she knew herself. Right this moment, she hardly cared about herself. Someone had been shot in her parking lot tonight. He might not live.
At that moment, Dixon walked out of the flashing lights, right up to her, and yanked her into his arms. The initial crush of his big body on hers soothed away all her fears, but then she remembered how he’d let her down and jerked free.