by Marla Monroe
Gunner sat next to Hawk at the table as the rest of the group shuffled in. Church, as they called their type of management meeting started at nine sharp this morning. Everyone parked their weapons out front where one of the other club members guarded them. No weapons in the meeting. Tempers tended to flare up, and emotions ran high in some of them. It was safer for everyone that no one had access to guns or knives until it was over.
“Come to order, assholes.” Terror banged the gavel on the wood table. “Loco, old business?”
They dealt with the normal issues like minutes, treasurer’s report, the report on getting their new businesses going. Despite having the store set up and ready for inventory, no one knew what to order or how to stock the place. They had plenty of stiffs who could work the counter and Bush could handle the books, but they needed someone who knew enough about cars, trucks, bikes, and farm equipment to order the right parts they needed to keep in stock without making the store stock heavy.
There was a fair amount of arguing among the group, but nothing was solved. Gunner thought of something. He remembered Jackie saying she’d fix her own damn truck if she could just get the parts. Maybe she’d know enough to help them out while she was there.
“Got an idea,” he called out as Bush and Loco argued over who would make the first order.
“Shut the fuck up, everyone!” Rage nodded toward him. “What’s the idea?”
“Jackie said something about doing the work on her truck herself once she got the parts. If she knows enough to fix a busted radiator, she probably knows enough to help set up an initial parts order for the store.”
“We don’t know if she’s trustworthy yet. Why would we trust her with our store?” Terror asked.
“We all look through what she’s ordered, and if it looks off, we don’t use it. Personally, I think it’s our best bet. Won’t hurt to ask her some questions and see what she knows before we ask her to set up an order.”
“Plus, we can keep a closer eye on her outside of the bar that way,” Hawk added.
Terror and Rage exchanged looks. Rage spoke up. “We’ll talk to her and see what she feels like. Does everyone agree to let her make the order if we’re satisfied with her?”
There were two noes and five yeses.
“Now what have we learned about the One-Niners?” Terror asked.
“There are four in town. Not sure where they are staying since they aren’t at the motel and we haven’t found a campsite anywhere,” Loco said. “Jinx and Cowboy are trying to keep track of them, but they aren’t sticking together. They’re splitting up, walking the town, riding the highway. My take is that we need to pick the weakest looking link and sweat him.”
“It may come down to that, but I’d like to see if they make any move that will let us know what they are planning. Once we tip our hand and take one of their guys, they’re going to ramp up whatever plan they have waiting. I’d like to take them by surprise instead of the other way around.” Terror leaned back in the chair.
Gunner agreed with Terror. Once they became aware that they were being followed and watched, their plan of surprising them would be gone.
“Snickers, you and Bush take one of the other guys and get Scooby and Bear to fill in as they can. We need more information. Where are they staying, and do they have friends in town?”
“There are several empty houses scattered around. They’ve probably set up camp in one of them. We can search through them,” Hawk suggested.
“Do that, but be very careful. Don’t tip our hand. If they know we’re onto them, they’ll either attack or change tactics, and we’ll be back at square one with no one to watch.” Terror picked up the gavel. “Any more news?”
No one said anything. He banged the gavel on the table and dismissed them.
“Gunner, bring Jackie over as soon as she gets up. We’ll talk to her about the store and see what we think.” Rage stood and stretched.
“Will do. How’s Mia doing?”
“She’s fine. She’s enjoying fixing up the house.”
“Any pink frilly curtains yet?” he asked.
Rage laughed. “Fuck, no. She knows we won’t tolerate pink anything.”
“Admit it. If she put pink sheets on the bed, you wouldn’t refuse to jump her in it.” Hawk laughed. “You guys are so hung up on her you’d let her paint your toenails pink.”
“Fuck you, man. Go get Jackie.” Rage walked around the huge table and stepped out of the room to pick up his weapons. Hawk and Gunner followed him out and tucked their knives and guns back into their pants and boots.
“Think she’s up now?” Hawk grabbed his knives and shoved them back in their sheaths.
“If it’s up to me, I’m happy to find out.”
“Let’s go see.”
* * * *
Jackie hoped that the leaders of the MC that Hawk and Gunner belonged to weren’t mad at her for some reason. The guys hadn’t exactly said anything about why they wanted to see her. Only that they wanted to see her.
“How much do you know about cars and trucks?” Rage asked.
Jackie narrowed her eyes. “What?”
“Gunner and Hawk said you can work on vehicles. I want to know how much.”
She looked over at the two men who’d woken her up at almost eleven to drag her over to their clubhouse. What were they up to?
“I know enough to fix my truck if I need to. Why?”
“Would you know enough to help us order parts to open up our parts store?”
“You’re opening a parts store here?”
“Yes. Everything is ready, but we need inventory, and all we know are bike parts. We’re not as familiar with car and trucks. Plus, there’s a big need for tractor and farm equipment parts here, as well.” Rage sat back in the chair.
“I used to work in a parts store as well as a garage. I can help with setting up an order. Not as comfortable with farm stuff, but we can always call a farmer and ask what they normally need.” She was surprised that they would trust her with something like that.
“Good. We’ll set you up at the store to work on the order. No more working as the cook. They still need you to wait tables from nine until close, though,” Rage told her.
“Okay. Why didn’t you just ask the guy at the garage?”
“Believe it or not, he said he couldn’t help us. Said he wasn’t up on all the fancy gadgets. Plus, he’s wanting to retire.” Rage stood, indicating the meeting was over. “Gunner and Hawk will make sure you have whatever you need. We’ve got several parts magazines and company information for you to use to set all of it up.”
“When do I start?” she asked.
“Now. The faster you get the inventory ordered, the sooner we can open.”
Jackie looked over at Hawk. “Let’s go then.”
She followed Hawk out of the office and across the common area of the clubhouse. There were several women cleaning up the place, but none of them even looked her way. She assumed they were the club girls she knew most every MC kept around for fun and games. She wouldn’t allow herself to ever become one of them.
But isn’t that exactly what I’ve become? A club woman?
She slammed that door. She wasn’t a club whore. She was just under the protection of Hawk and Gunner. That was all. They weren’t sleeping together, and she’d fight her hormones every step of the way if it meant remaining independent.
“Climb on, babe.” Gunner started the motorcycle and waited for her to strap on the helmet and climb on back of the bike.
Hawk mounted his bike and gunned the engine once he was ready. They took off out of the clubhouse parking lot. She could tell the two men were talking to each other using the mics in the helmets, but hers didn’t have a mic for communication. It didn’t really bother her. She doubted they would be talking about anything that interested her.
They raced through town to a little building not far from the garage where her truck sat forlornly next to a dumpster. Maybe she would be able to
work on her truck sooner with the new job. Surely it would pay more than the cook’s position at the bar.
The building had a large plate glass window in front and one glass door. The light red brick looked to have been recently sandblasted. There were plenty of parking places to handle customers and a loading dock to one side at the back. The guys parked next to the front door and cut their engines.
Jackie slid off and waited for the guys to do the same. Hawk reached into his pocket and pulled out a key.
“Wait until I disarm the alarm before you come in,” he told her.
She followed Gunner inside once the alarm had been taken care of. There were shelves already in place and ready for merchandise. She hoped she could help them, or she wasn’t sure what they’d do to her if she failed to order in the right mix of parts.
I don’t plan to be here when they open. As soon as I get the parts for my truck and get it going again, I’m out of here.
That was her plan. She wouldn’t stick around to let the two guys talk her into sleeping with them. Sleeping with them would complicate things more than she wanted to deal with.
“Come on back to the office. You can set up in here for now. We’ve got books for you to use along with a list of the things that the old man says he has to order all the time. We have a list of bike parts we want on hand that you can order while you’re ordering everything else.” Hawk showed her the list printed out in neat handwriting.
“We’re planning to take over Sully’s garage to handle his business so he can retire, and bring in new business by adding the custom bike side. We may even branch over into custom car designs. Mostly paint jobs and body modifications.” Gunner propped one hip on the desk. “There’s a good market for the bikes, so if we tap into anything that looks like cars will be just as profitable, we’ll hire in for that line of business.”
“So, for right now, I’m ordering the list of bike parts here.” She indicated the list on the desk. “The list of parts that the guy at the garage normally orders, and anything I think a parts store should keep on hand.”
“That’s it.” Hawk leaned back against the doorjamb. “Can you handle it?”
“Yeah. I think I can handle it. I need to know a few things. How many people live here and in the surrounding areas that might come in for anything? Also, on the custom bike and the parts list for the shop, do you get long distance orders for the bikes? I’ll need to take all of that into consideration to figure the units you need on hand.”
Hawk and Gunner exchanged looks.
“Good point.” Hawk nodded. “We’ll get that information. Can you start on it without the information?”
“Yes. I can do that. Let me ask you a question, though. Say you use a specific spark plug for the majority of the bikes you work on, how many would you think you would use in a week’s time?”
“Okay, I see what you’re getting at. I can provide you with the list of orders we’ve made over the past six months. How about that?” Gunner asked.
“Perfect. That will help me figure out how heavy you want to carry certain items. Some will only be one or two each, and some you may want a case of them. I’m awake and ready, so let me get started,” Jackie said.
“That’s the plan. Look around and let us know if there’s anything you need right away.” Hawk opened drawers in the desk indicating pens, pencils, paperclips, and such.
Gunner tore out a piece of paper from a scrap pad and printed something on it before handing it over to her.
“Those are our cell phone numbers in case you need us before we come back to pick you up. We’ll run by the diner and bring you a hamburger. That sound okay to you?” Hawk asked.
“Fine with me. No mustard on the burger.” She smiled, then sat behind the desk and started flipping through the catalogs to get an idea of how they were organized.
She gave the two men an absent wave when they said they were locking the door behind them. She could see that this was going to be a big undertaking. She decided to start with what they wanted for the motorcycle side of the business with the idea that she could add to the numbers once she had access to their purchase orders later.
The bike books weren’t the easiest of things to look at. She had to flip through pages more than she thought she would when the name they called something wasn’t listed in the index. By the time they returned with her burger, Jackie had the beginnings of a headache behind her eyes. Why did they make catalog print so tiny?
She didn’t talk to Hawk or Gunner when they stopped by, just thanked them for the hamburger and Diet Coke as she continued flipping through pages. They disappeared, and the building grew quiet once more except for the normal creaks and groans of an older building.
I sure hope I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew. I’m not going to want to do anything by the time they come get me to work tonight.
At least she was off her feet so that her blisters had a chance to heal. She wasn’t even sure what time they planned to pick her back up. Was it six or nine? Jackie just shrugged and continued making a list from each catalog. It didn’t help that thoughts of the two men continued to race around in her head. When Gunner had perched on the edge of the desk, so that his hip was inches from her face, Jackie had nearly reached out to touch it.
Sheesh, she was worse than a schoolgirl finding herself sitting next to her secret crush. She had to stop thinking about them in that way. She wasn’t going to sleep with them. Oh, hell. Now her mind started trying to picture them naked. She groaned and beat her head against the desk, which did nothing good for her headache.
I’m going to cave and let them take me to bed. I just know it.
Chapter Twelve
“Got Jackie set up at the store. She has our phone numbers if she needs one of us.” Gunner plopped down in the chair across from where Terror sat behind a desk. Rage had twisted a chair around backward and was sitting on it with both arms folded across the back.
“Is the phone set up so that if she makes a call out, we can listen?” Rage asked.
“Yep. When she picks up, Loco will get a signal and can pick up and listen in without her knowing it.” Gunner didn’t like that they were treating her like a possible traitor.
She belonged to them. She wasn’t a One-Niner. Gunner was sure of it.
I know she’s not a part of any plot to get rid of us. I can feel her attraction to us. It’s just a matter of time before she’s in our bed.
“Think she’ll be able to set up our order and get the store stocked within the next month?” Terror asked.
“Yeah. I think so. She needs our purchase orders for the last six months on the bikes to make sure she orders the right number of units. She asked some good questions.” Hawk continued standing next to Gunner with his arms crossed.
The phone rang, interrupting their conversation. Terror picked up then jumped up out of his chair, knocking it so that it rolled back and hit the wall behind him.
“What the fuck? Where are you? Are you okay?” Terror’s voice had deepened into a low rumble.
“What is it?” Rage had come to stand next to his brother.
“It’s Mia. Someone just tried to kidnap her. She sprayed them with mace and was able to get away from them. She’s at the diner.” Terror shoved the phone at Hawk. “Stay on the phone with her until we get there.”
Gunner watched as the two men raced out of the office, heading for their bikes. He didn’t blame them for the looks of pure rage they had. He’d feel the same way if anything happened to Jackie.
That stopped him. Wait. What? Jackie’s not forever. She’s for right now. She had plans of leaving just as soon as she had her truck fixed and roadworthy. Did he really mean that?
Hell. I’m so fucked up. I already have her as my old lady, and there’s more than just me to figure into this. Hawk’s pretty damn attached to her, as well.
Could they make it work if they could convince her to stay? Could he and Hawk share a woman like Terror and Rage did? He wasn’t sure
. He wasn’t even sure that he cared that deeply for her, but it felt right. She felt right for them.
“They’re on their way, Mia. Just stay right where you are. Anyone you don’t know walks through that door, hit them with the mace.” Hawk continued to talk to Mia over the phone.
A few minutes later, the sounds of Terror and Rage could be heard over the phone. Hawk hung up after talking to Rage for a few seconds.
“Can you believe the bastards tried to take their woman? That’s not going to go over well with Rage and Terror. Call Loco and the others to fill them in. We need to meet and figure out what our next step is. I’m sure Rage will stay with Mia while Terror heads up the meeting.”
Gunner pulled out his cell and started making phone calls. There was a very good chance they were about to go to war.
* * * *
“It’s great to meet you, Mia. I’m Jackie, but everyone up here just calls me Jack.” She liked the dark-haired woman Gunner had introduced her to when they’d arrived at the bar.
They’d told her that someone had tried to take her off the street earlier that afternoon. She couldn’t imagine how the woman was able to sit still and look so unaffected by it. Of course, she was safe now, between her two men, Terror and Rage the MC’s presidents. Still, Jackie was pretty sure she would have still been shaking.
“I’m glad you’re okay. That had to be scary as hell.” Jackie shouldered the tray with the group’s empties.
“It was, but when I sprayed the guys with the mace, they rolled around on the ground screaming like little babies. It’s just too bad they were already gone by the time the guys got to the diner.”
“Well I doubt you’ll be able to do anything without a shadow until they get these guys.”
“I know.” She smiled but sighed. “They were already overprotective before this happened. Now I’ll feel like I’m under house arrest or something.”
Jackie chuckled with the other woman then returned to the bar to place her order for the next round of drinks.
The rest of the night flew past. They were busy and the crowd a bit rowdy after the attempt to kidnap Mia. There were more club members there than she’d ever seen before. She recognized a few different insignias of other clubs, as well. She guessed they must be partners or have an agreement with The Howling Death MC in order to drink there.
