by Brook Wilder
They thought they had scared me.
All they really had done was piss me off.
***
Thirty minutes later, I pulled up in front of the DHMC clubhouse, staring at the bikes that lined the yard. It was already night. The sound of laughter and music drifted out of the building that was well known to the rest of the community. One didn’t just walk up to the clubhouse without an invite, but I was going to create one. I needed to know if Zack or anyone else had just attempted to kill me and tell them to back off in the process.
If I needed to speak to Grant Travis, I would. I needed his cooperation to stay the hell out of my way while I tried to find his daughter and not make it more complicated for me to do so.
Drawing in a breath, I checked the gun in the holster one more time before climbing out. I had come prepared tonight, my gun snugly under my arm, another tucked in my boots. At the last moment, I had forgone the bullet-proof vest, not anticipating any gunfire tonight. I wanted them to see that I was serious, but not a threat.
Not yet. If they were the ones that shot at my house tonight… well, then the game changed.
As I walked up to the clubhouse, I kept my eyes straight ahead, reminding myself over and over that I was here for one specific purpose. I was here for Hayley Travis.
Luckily the first person I ran into was Amy.
“Sydney?” she asked, stopping in her tracks. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to see your father,” I said evenly, looking directly at her. “It’s important.”
Amy staggered back.
“I-is it Hayley? Did you find her?”
I shook my head.
“I haven’t yet, but… well, I need to talk to him about his interference.”
She looked at me for another minute before realization dawned in her eyes.
“You’re talking about Zack,” she said flatly. “He’s the reason you’re here.”
“Yes and no,” I answered, hating the fact that I had to even admit that. “Is he working on Hayley’s case as well?”
“Why don’t you just ask me?”
I turned to find Zack behind me, his massive arms crossed over his chest. My heart thudded in my chest as it always did whenever he was around, and I swallowed against the flood of emotion that was threatening to overrun me. I was here to do a job.
“Are you working on Hayley’s disappearance?”
He didn’t answer, grabbing my arm instead and walking me into the clubhouse. I barely had time to register the jaw-drops as I passed, the whispers and laughter that followed causing my cheeks to burn. If he was intentionally trying to embarrass me, he was succeeding.
I was going to kill him.
Zack walked me into a small room and shut the door, leaning against it.
“Why did you do that?” I countered, crossing my own arms over my chest.
His eyes followed the subtle motion, and I fought against not undoing my arms, knowing his eyes were on my breasts.
“I’m a police officer, for God’s sake.”
“And it’s going to get your ass killed,” he said evenly, no hint of emotion on his face.
Well that wasn’t true. His jaw was clenched so tightly that I was surprised he wasn’t breaking teeth.
“Why are you armed to the teeth, Syd?”
I straightened my shoulders, comforted by the fact that I could shoot him if I wanted. No one would blame me, thinking I had gone rogue after years of embarrassment. Hell, Don might even represent me.
“You have a gleam in your eye. I don’t like it.”
Shaking out of my devious thoughts, I shifted my stance.
“Again, I’m allowed to carry my weapons and rarely go without them. Did Grant order a hit on me tonight?”
Surprise registered on Zack’s face.
“What? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Someone shot at my house tonight,” I said, my voice not shaking, even though I was inside. “They missed.”
“Fucking hell,” he swore. “Of course not. I wouldn’t… no one from this clubhouse would dare attempt to kill you, Syd. Shit. What kind of person do you think I am?”
I wasn’t so sure. There had been a time I thought he was the best person on earth, and then he had shattered my heart and my reputation in one fail swoop.
The emotion must have shown on my face for he held up his hand.
“Don’t answer that. I promise you. I would never. Grant would never put out a hit on you just for arresting me. I’m not that vengeful.”
I watched him for a moment. He looked rattled at my news, at my accusation. Could I believe him? I wanted to. Despite the history between us, I wanted to not believe he was the monster that had been portrayed to me. I wanted to believe that, still locked inside, there was some resemblance of the guy who had made me feel like the most special woman on this earth.
Most of all, I wanted to know he cared, even if it was just a tiny bit.
“I believe you,” I forced out. “But you need to be honest with me. Are you working on Hayley Travis’s disappearance?”
He eyed me for a moment before blowing out a breath.
“Hand-picked by Grant to find her. You must be the cop Amy gave the case to.”
Chapter Eight
Zack
Sydney was here, in the clubhouse.
Sydney had almost died tonight.
God, what a rollercoaster of emotions she had just put me through.
I ran a hand through my hair as I stared at her, not sure what to do about her. A part of me wanted to push her against the wall and search for bullet holes myself, my rage barely contained at the thought of someone shooting at her.
The other part of me wanted to lock her up in this damn room and throw away the key. At least she would be safe.
“I am,” she finally said, dropping her arms to her side.
I noted she had changed out of her outfit from earlier, wearing jeans and a shirt that molded to her breasts. Hell, with that holster and her dead-ass stare, she was turning me on something fierce.
“That’s why I was at the bar today. I was trying to follow a lead.”
“Me too,” I admitted. I might as well air it all now that she had figured it out. “I have to find her, Syd. I can’t back off.”
She blew out a breath, her hands on her hips. Her shapely hips that would fit damn good in my hands. Shit, she was bound to notice the tent in front of my pants if I didn’t focus on something else and quick.
“I can’t either,” she finally said, looking put out about the thought. “This is my job Zack. I can’t just let it go.”
She called me ‘Zack’. That had to be a start to something.
“I’m not asking you to. Maybe we should pool our resources and work together.”
Her eyes found mine and I was surprised to see the hesitation in them.
“Do you think we can?” she asked in a small voice.
“We can try,” I offered.
If we did work together, I could protect her from whoever had taken a personal vendetta against her.
I could find a way to apologize.
She thought about it for a moment before shrugging her shoulders.
“Fine. We can team up, but I am going to need you to tell Grant to back off. If he wants his daughter found, I need to focus.”
“It wasn’t us,” I reminded her again, put out that she thought it could be.
If I found out that it was one of the DHMC, they would be dead even if she wasn’t hurt.
“You can trust me Syd.”
The moment the words were out of my mouth I wanted to shove them back in. Her eyes widened, and I knew exactly what she was thinking about, how the last time I had said those words had led to ruin for her. What she didn’t know was that I had meant them then as well. Circumstances had led to the ruination.
She lifted her chin, and I found myself begging for her to respond.
“Please don’t say that to me again,”
she said softly with a steel undertone.
“Got it,” I forced out, not wanting to fight with her right now.
There would be a time and place for everything, and tonight was not that time.
“I need for you to leave now, so I can talk to Grant.”
“I want to talk to him as well,” she said stubbornly.
“Not tonight,” I growled, opening the door. “Give me this time, Syd.”
She looked at me for a moment.
“Fine, but don’t hide anything from me, Zack. If I find out you are, this truce is over with.”
“Noted,” I said, motioning toward the door.
Sydney walked out, and I followed her, shooting a dark look to anyone that dared to approach us as I got her outside and to her jeep. She climbed in and I shut the door.
“I’ll be in touch.”
“I-I’m living in Mrs. Green’s old house,” she offered, reaching into her console. “Here’s my cell.”
I took the card and tucked it into my back pocket.
“Thanks. I’m sure you can find my number in my records.”
She shot me a dark look.
“That’s not funny Zack.”
I gave her a half shrug.
“It’s true. Go home. Call me if you have any more trouble.”
She started the engine and I stepped back, watching as her taillights disappeared in the distance. I wanted desperately to follow her, to make sure she got home safely, but I knew she would hate me for it. Sydney Warren had made it clear she didn’t need me to protect her.
I just couldn’t help but wonder who was going to protect me from her.
***
The next morning, I located Grant in his office, having his morning coffee. Amy was also there, and by the looks of their red faces their conversation had been quite heated.
“Got a second?”
Grant looked up, motioning me in.
“Sure. You have word?”
I shook my head, glancing over at Amy.
“I don’t, but I do have some help from an unlikely source.”
Grant’s eyes narrowed.
“Sydney Warren. I heard she showed up last night, spouting some nonsense about us trying to kill her.”
I didn’t react, knowing that there were spies in the clubhouse that listened to every word that was exchanged there.
“I set her straight on that fact. She’s agreed to work with me.”
Grant looked at his daughter.
“Do you trust her?”
Amy shrugged, giving me a peculiar look.
“I guess so. I believe she will be looking out for Hayley’s best interest. Chief Turner spoke highly of her, and I’m sure Zack wouldn’t be wanting to work with her if he didn’t trust her as well.”
Grant sniffed, sliding his glance back to me.
“I know your history with her.”
Hell, him and all of Cibolo knew of our history.
“So? That’s exactly what you said. ‘History’.”
The leader chuckled, shaking his head.
“If I know anything about women, they never forget when they are wronged. Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I can keep the police presence to a minimum,” I added, not caring what he thought about if I could handle it. “She will listen to me.”
“Are we talking about the same person?” Amy asked under her breath.
I knew what she meant. The shy Sydney I had known was long gone and in her place was this woman I didn’t know how to control.
“Fine,” Grant finally said, waving his hand. “I want updates though. My daughter is out there, and I want to know who fucking took her.”
“On it,” I said before walking out.
With each minute we wasted, Hayley was in more danger. I needed to push to find her, and now that I had the resources from the police department, I might get it done in half the time.
The only problem was that Sydney was that resource.
I hopped on my bike and drove back to my house, located not far from the clubhouse. While I had been offered a room in the main house years ago, I was not like Amy. I wanted my freedom, my privacy, when I needed it. The place was small and ugly, but it was private.
Opening the door, I threw the keys on the counter and reached for the fridge, pulling out a water. That had gone better than I had expected and now that Grant knew I was working with the police, it gave me free-rein to be around Sydney. She had been a complication I hadn’t expected, but one that I was glad had happened.
Unscrewing the top, I took a long drink, thinking about what might have happened if I hadn’t made that mistake all those years ago. Sydney and I had something good going for a while there. She was so much more than just a gorgeous woman. She had made me want to be a better person for her.
That stupid fucking initiation.
I set the water on the counter, thinking about that night and how two words had changed my life and hers forever. If I hadn’t uttered her name, I would have never gotten into the DHMC. She would have graduated from high school, and I would have been right there to congratulate her.
Then, as we had talked about, she would have attended the community college and I would have gotten a real job, one that could have supported us as our relationship grew. It would have been far from the white picket fence dream, but I could have made her happy.
We would have been happy.
I ran a hand over my face, feeling the weight of what I had done heavy on my shoulders. I had given up the one thing that had made me even remotely happy for this business, for this chance to be part of a brotherhood. At the time, it had seemed like the only thing that mattered.
***
I swallowed hard as I was sat in the chair, my vision blinded by the bandana on my face. I knew where I was, anticipating this day was coming, and now that it was here I couldn’t believe my luck.
I was going to be a Devil’s Horseman.
The bandana was removed but not the zip ties. As the room came into focus, the first person I saw was Grant Travis, the President of the club, flanked by numerous members.
“Zack Hale,” he announced, a grin on his face. “Rumor has it that you want to be part of this club.”
“It’s not a rumor,” I said, clearing my throat.
I could be one of these men. I could be the best man he ever chose.
“Well then,” he said, sitting on the chair in front of me. “We have a series of tests you are going to have to pass to get in.”
The rest of the room snickered, but I looked him directly in the eye, not caring what they thought.
“Bring it on.”
“Big words,” Grant mused, pulling out a knife.
I didn’t flinch, not knowing what he was going to do with it. It couldn’t be any worse than what I had already been dealt with in my life.
“First question,” Grant said, testing the tip of the knife with his thumb. “Have you ever seen the devil?”
Oh many, many times. Every time my old man beat me as a kid, I saw the devil in him.
“He’s never far away.”
Grant looked at me, seeing something in my expression that pleased him.
“Have you ever spilled blood before, son?”
I shifted in the chair, keeping my gaze on the leader.
“More times than I care to mention.”
I was forever getting into skirmishes on the streets. No one ever died, but they came damn close.
“I believe you,” he said with a shrug. “There’s something in your eyes, son, something that reminds me of me.”
The others murmured amongst themselves, and I sat up straighter. Grant Travis had just given me the biggest compliment of my life.
“Last question before we get to the fun,” he said, getting a rile out of the group. “Ever spill virgin’s blood?”
Sydney’s face flitted through my mind and I swallowed hard. I hadn’t anticipated this question. What she had given me… it was not something
that I wanted to share.
But if it meant getting me into this elite group, would I be willing to share?
