by Lilly Atlas
“Sold.” Mav held his menu out to Toni. “With a side of all the bacon in the joint.”
“Make it two,” Zach said. That sounded so damn good, saliva pooled in his mouth in anticipation.
“You won’t be sorry. The second you get it in your mouth—” Her eyes widened as though she suddenly realized the implication of her words. “I mean, it’s delicious, or, um…”
Maverick didn’t even pretend to disguise his laughter and Zach let out a snicker or two as well.
“Oh, shut up. You know what I mean, you jerks.” With a huff, Toni snatched the menus, spun on her heel, and stomped away. This time Zach let himself watch the twitch and sway of her curvy ass as she stomped.
“You better watch yourself, brother,” Mav said before taking a sip of his black coffee. “Oh man, that’s damn good java.”
“Watch myself how?” Hot liquid filled his mouth and he wanted to moan. Good java was an understatement. This was caffeine of the gods.
“With that little filly over there. She’s the kinda woman you go after looking for a good time and before you know it you’re buying a long chain for her to hitch to her very heavy ball.”
Zach scoffed. “No worries. She’s leaving in five weeks. I’m not looking for any shackles. Unless it’s to tie her to my bed.”
Now it was Maverick’s turn to laugh. “We’ll see.”
Mav could think what he wanted, but Zach had one focus in his life at that moment. And that was his club. Fucking was fucking, but the club was his world.
They chatted about nothing but pointless bullshit while waiting for their meal. Thinking about anything but the Gray Dragons and the way they were fucking up his life was exactly what Zach needed. He’d spent the better part of the past three days putting processes in place to drive the heroin out of his town. And he’d spent some time with a few Gray Dragon members as well.
Zach had left them walking, but a bit more colorful and with a good fewer ounces of blood than they’d shown up with. Nothing that wouldn’t heal in a week or so, but Zach had to make sure they knew their presence wasn’t welcome in Double H territory.
“Here you go, gentlemen,” Shell said as she set a heaping plate of food down in front of each of them.
“Whoa, you guys don’t fuck around, do you?” Mav asked as he snatched up his fork and knife, licking his chops like a hungry bear.
Shell laughed. “No, Toni said she wants each person here to leave with pants unbuttoned.”
Christ. Was every comment destined to be an innuendo that day? Zach would do just about anything to get his pants unbuttoned around Toni. But she’d sent Shell over with their food. A message? A dismissal? Who the fuck knew? Though growing pickier and pickier about who he spent his naked time with, Zach never had a problem attracting a woman when he wanted one. They pretty much dove head first into his bed, losing all clothes on the way.
Apparently, he wasn’t doing an adequate job at hiding his disappointment. “Don’t worry, big guy,” Shell said. “Toni’s not blowing you off. She got a phone call from that guy she dumped. I left her in the kitchen rolling her eyes so far back in her head, they probably made a full revolution.”
Well, she hadn’t given him the brush off. That was a step in the right direction, but the ex calling pissed him off. For a moment, he thought about busting into the kitchen and taking care of that phone call for her, but a stern look and a wag of a finger from Shell kept him in his place.
“Eat,” she said. “Stay in your seat. Do not cause trouble for my new friend and maybe I’ll see what I can do to help you get in good with her. Okay?”
Mav snorted and Zach bit his lip to keep the foul curse inside.
He didn’t jump through hoops for a woman. If Toni didn’t want him, who cared?
“Oh. My. Fucking. God.” Maverick moaned like he was in the throes of an orgasm and placed his fork and knife on either side of his plate. His eyelids dropped closed and he let his head fall backward. “Keep talking. I just need a moment.”
“You are such a dork.” Shell swatted him with her order pad, but she was smiling. It was nice to see. Both before and after she left Townsend for the few years she was gone, she’d had a haunted look to her. Everyone in town attributed it to her unrequited love for Copper, but Zach was never fully convinced that’s all it was. After moving back home six months ago, she’d gradually come into herself and now resembled the happy girl he’d grown up knowing. Some ghost still haunted her, but it was in the background now. Maybe someday she’d bring it to the club.
And then they’d take care of it.
Because no matter how screwed up Copper was when it came to his feelings for Shell, he’d slay any dragon that came her way. No matter how hot the fire they breathed.
“Try it, Zach. If I’m going to die, make sure it’s right after I’ve eaten these waffles. No.” He shook his head and picked up his utensils once again. “Make sure I’ve fucked that new chick whose been hanging around the club this week, then had these waffles. Then, I could go with no regrets.”
“Shell’s right. You are a dork. A perverted one, but a huge dork.” The smell of cinnamon and sugar was so strong, Zach could practically taste the deliciousness without anything ever hitting his tongue. After cutting a huge chunk, he stuffed it into his mouth and froze.
Maverick was right. It was the kind of tasty that would make you not give a shit that death was right around the corner. “This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” he said around the mouthful.
“Right?” Mav smiled and both men dug into their breakfasts as though it was the last they’d ever get. When there wasn’t so much as a drop of glaze left on either plate, Zach leaned against the back of the booth. “Think they’d care if I took a nap right here?”
Toni chose that moment to stroll on over, looking just as scrumptious as the food. “Nope, don’t mind. But we do charge by the hour for snoozing. It was good, I take it?” she asked, her beautiful bright green gaze shifting between Zach and Maverick.
Instead of answering, Maverick pushed out of the booth, slid one arm around Toni’s waist and cupped the back of her head with his other hand. “Marry me,” he said a fraction of a second before he dipped her, Hollywood style. Toni let out a squeak of surprise as Zach’s ex-best friend planted his lips right on hers.
Even though it was Mav. And even though it was all in good fun. And even though it meant jack shit. And even though she smacked his shoulder. And even though the entire purpose was to be a jokester and get under Zach’s skin, he grew angrier with each of the seven seconds that passed where Maverick was kissing Toni.
If it had gone on any longer, Zach would have been in danger of risking his patch, because he was a heartbeat away from ripping Mav’s limbs from his body. The asshole must have sensed how close he was to death—not that he would have really cared after eating the waffles—but he wised up and righted Toni.
When she had her wits about her, Maverick released her and sat back down in front of his empty plate.
“Um,” she said then laughed, bringing her hand up to her kiss swollen lips. “Guess you liked ’em.” Her face was flushed and her ponytail a bit mussed. After cutting her gaze to Zach she laughed again. This time long and loud.
The sound was amazing, full of joy, hilarity, and even surprise. Mav may be a scoundrel, but he’d made her laugh for real after what Zach knew was a royally shitty few weeks for her.
Mav joined in her laughter then gave a half assed apology for the loss of control, blaming the fact that all the blood in his body was zooming toward his stomach leaving none for his brain.
A not uncommon problem for Mav except the blood was usually a little lower than his abdominal region. Zach remained quiet, just enjoying Toni’s interaction with his brother. Enjoying it maybe a little too much. Because a woman who got on great with your friends? A woman who could roll with the punches, handle a rough and randy biker without batting an eye, and give as good as she got? Well that was the kind of woman who b
ecame an ol’ lady. Not a short-term fuck buddy.
And there was only one thing Zach was interested in. Who the hell needed an ol’ lady nagging, complaining, and distracting him from what was important?
“Everything okay?” Toni asked after Maverick scooted out of the booth and ambled toward the door. “You got kinda quiet after your friend, uh, kissed me.” Pink stole across her cheeks.
Zach leaned in close enough to smell the citrusy scent of whatever crap she used in her hair. “Baby,” he whispered against her ear, “if you thought that was a kiss, I can’t wait to see how you react when I show you what I bring to the table.”
With that parting shot, he tossed a generous stack of bills on the table, strolled out of the diner and mounted his bike. Unable to help himself, he glanced back at the building before riding off.
Toni stood in the window, fanning herself with a menu.
Mission accomplished.
She wanted him just as much as he wanted her. Now it was just a matter of getting her to admit it.
Chapter Nine
“Do you know what you’re keeping me from?” Zach asked about two point two seconds before his balled fist collided with the ugliest mug he’d ever seen.
With a groan, the banger crumpled to the ground.
Pussy.
He glared up at Zach, blood trickling from his lip, and raised his middle finger.
Christ, this ugly fucker didn’t have two brains cells rattling around in his empty skull.
He had a crooked nose. Not like broke-it-once-in-his-life crooked. But the kind of crooked that indicated someone smashed the hell out of his face a time or two. And his front teeth were missing. Guess pushing smack didn’t rake in enough cash to visit a fucking dentist. Plus, Zach was pretty sure his right eye was glass instead of flesh.
Poor fucker. Bones was his name.
He already looked like he’d been hitched to the back of a truck and dragged for miles. The beating Zach was in the midst of delivering sure wouldn’t do him any favors.
Zach smiled. That’s what happened when you crossed into Handler’s territory.
Still smiling the smile of a man who enjoyed his work, Zach gripped the Gray Dragon’s hair and yanked him to a kneeling position. “I asked you a question, asshole. Do you have any idea what I could be doing right now if I didn’t have to deal with your fugly ass in my town?” As he spoke, he placed his booted heel on the guy’s calf and pressed down.
Hurt like a sonofabitch. Zach knew that from first-hand experience.
Bones mashed his teeth together and screamed through them. “No,” he ground out. That one good eye bulged as though it would pop right out of his head. Wouldn’t that suck for old Bones?
“I’ll tell you,” Zach said easing back on the pressure. “You see, there’s this hot little number I know. And every evening, around this time, she sits out on her porch.” He leaned forward and pushed against the man’s calf again. The hiss of pain was music to his ears. “Now when I say hot, I mean H-O-T. Tits, ass, face, the whole package. And I was planning on getting all up in that tonight. Driving up on my bike—chicks love that shit. Gets ’em going. So, you see, you’re keeping me from getting my dick taken care of.”
“S-sorry,” Bones said. His face was growing redder with each passing second.
The chance of his dick actually getting taken care of by Toni was probably around twenty-five percent. What was more likely to happen was a roll of her pretty eyes. It didn’t make any sense. She was attracted to him. The way her breathing hitched and her gaze lingered on him was all he needed to see to know she wanted him. So why play hard to get? Why not give into a mutually satisfying few weeks? What was the hold up? Zach was determined to discover what lay beyond her walls.
But first…
“Don’t you think I deserve to have my dick tended to, Bones?”
“Y-yes. Oh fuck,” he whispered as Zach tightened his grip until a few of Bones’s short greasy hairs burst free of his scalp.
Now for the fun part. Zach leaned down so he was eye to eye with his new friend. “So why the fuck are you selling heroin in my town and making me miss time with my girl?”
Slight exaggeration. Okay, bold faced lie.
My girl.
Sounded kind of nice.
Too nice.
Nice in a way that Zach was not interested in. Nice in a flowery, matching slippers kind of way.
“I’m j-just following orders,” he said between pants.
“Just a good little gang soldier, huh?” He released both his hold on Bones’s hair and the press of his boot.
Bones’s relief was instantaneous. With a loud gasp, he sagged to the ground on all fours.
“All right,” Zach said, running a hand through his hair as he paced in front of Bones. “You’re the fourth Gray Dragon piece of shit that I’ve chatted with this week. Either you’re all too afraid of Shark to bring our messages back or too stupid. Which is it?”
Jigsaw had called about a half hour ago with the tip. Someone saw Bones dealing behind an abandoned shoe store on the edge of town. Guy was smart enough not to wear his colors, but it didn’t even matter. All Gray Dragons had a bright red dragon tattoo on their left hand. Never made any fucking sense to Zach, but it was a dead giveaway when trying to identify one of the bastards.
So, he’d dropped what he was doing—working on the class schedules for the gym he managed—and hightailed it to the shoe store.
Sure enough, Bones.
“Fuck you.”
Guy was getting a little mouthy in the absence of acute pain. Zach sighed. Why couldn’t it just be easy? Why couldn’t this little shit just open his mouth and rat out his gang?
Not that Zach didn’t respect the loyalty. He, himself, would die before turning on the club. But that wasn’t usually the case with these gang members. They were young, stupid, and selfish. Each and every one would crack with the right motivation.
And fear for their life was typically right on the money.
“Guess we’re going to do this the hard way.” He drew his sidearm from the small of his back at the same time he shoved Bones to his back with a kick. There wasn’t time to grab Louie after Jigsaw’s call, so a gun was the only weapon available to him.
Before Bones knew what had hit him, Zach was kneeling with one knee on Bones’s chest and his pistol jammed against Bones’s kneecap. “You the one who roughed up our girls?”
“Fuck you.”
“Does Shark know what happened to the other three guys I roughed up?”
“Fuck you.”
Zach cocked the gun and returned it to the skin below Bones’s shorts.
“How many loans has he purchased from our clients?”
“Fuck you.” Despite the bold words, a line of sweat broke out across Bones’s forehead.
“So the really hard way, then?” Zach pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. “Hey, Viper, gonna need a cleanup crew, ASAP.” After getting confirmation from Viper that three prospects would be there in under ten minutes, Zach returned the gun to Bones knee.
“Okay, last chance. You the one who roughed up our girls?”
Sweat was running in rivulets down Bones’s red face now. “You’re not going to shoot me in broad daylight. Fuck you.”
Zach pulled the trigger sending lead straight through Bones’s knee. The howl of pain was epic. A high-pitched squeal worthy of a slasher movie. “Shit, man, you scream like a scared high school girl. Do I have your attention now?” He held the gun against Bones’s chest.
“Oh shit. Oh fuck. What the fuck did you do to me? I’m gonna lose my fucking leg?” Bones writhed on the ground and was actually sniveling.
“Bring it down a notch or two there, drama queen. If you shut up and answer my questions, you’ll be at a hospital in under twenty minutes. You won’t lose your damn leg. So…from the top?”
Then the floodgates opened and Bones forgot all about loyalty to Shark and the gang. “Yes. I was the one wh
o had orders to go after the girls when the strip club closed. Shark knows you’re coming after the guys you find here. He doesn’t give a shit.” Pausing to breathe, Bones tried to shift and ended up flopping to his back and groaning.
“Keep going. What’s the end goal here? Money?”
Eyes closed and face ashen, Bones shook his head. “No. Drive you guys out. Create chaos in town by dealing H. Weaken you financially with the loans. Move in and push you out.”
Shit. Shark’s balls were getting too big for his brain if he thought he could drive the Handlers out of Townsend. His numbers were impressive, but if all of them were blubbering little boys like Bones, he didn’t stand a chance. Still, if a war ensued, lives would be lost on both sides. Arrests would be made. It would be a costly fucking mess.
The rumble of a motorcycle alerted him to the cavalry’s arrival. While he waited for the prospects to find him, he leaned closer to Bones. “Tell Shark he’s wasting his time. He could come at us with a hundred of you shit-for-brains little boys and he’d still lose. He can take every fucking penny we have and we’ll still gut him and your entire gang. Stay the fuck out of Townsend.”
With that, a van and two bikes pulled to a stop about twenty feet from Zach. Confident Bones wasn’t going anywhere, Zach moved to meet the prospects.
“Hey,” Screwball said. He was Zach’s favorite, despite his name, which was given to him because he was always screwing around. The guy was the master of practical jokes. Always had the brothers cracking up. Unless they were the ones at the butt of the joke. Then they wanted to kill him.
He kept his antics to parties and down time. At twenty-three, the dark haired, former Marine was eager for the patch and did every fucking thing asked.
“Hey,” Zach bumped his fist against Screw’s. “Take this sack of shit and dump him outside the ER in their county. Sorry about the mess.” He pointed to the blood puddle expanding across the asphalt.
