“You’re payin’,” Moses said.
“Good idea,” Rocky piped in.
“I can do that,” I agreed.
We climbed on our bikes and rode over to Chuck’s, my stomach rumbling almost as loud as my engine. Chuck’s was renowned for their wings, but they had a pretty extensive menu, and you had the option of eating on the side of the restaurant that was filled with games for both adults and kids or eating on the side where it was quiet.
After parking our bikes, we headed inside and the hostess walked us to our table, almost slamming into a table because she was ogling Orion. We took our seats and had been sitting for about three minutes when we heard yelling from the games’ side of the building.
This wasn’t the normal sounds of people having fun… this was the screech of a woman who sounded in distress, so the four of us went to investigate.
As did the manager.
“Those men stole money from my brother, and I want them dealt with,” the woman demanded.
My heart raced. I recognized the sexy rasp and quickened my steps to get closer.
“Ma’am, they insist they didn’t, and your brother is…well, he’s…”
“He’s what?” she snapped, grabbing the wrist of a tall man who’d tried to walk away. I could tell he wasn’t fully aware of what was happening. “Far too trusting for his own good? Kind? What?”
“He beat up one of the patrons,” the manager accused.
“Wyatt?” I called.
She spun to face me, and her face crumpled. “Hi. Sorry, I don’t have time to talk,” she said, and faced the manager again. “My brother used the restroom and these men took advantage of him while he was in there. He defended himself.”
“Your brother’s a retard and a liar,” one of them snarled, and I saw red.
“What the fuck did you say?” I growled.
Rocky, Moses, and Orion moved in tandem, each grabbing one of the guys and shoving them to the ground to keep them from running.
“Sundance, I’ve got this,” Wyatt said, her brother trying to pull away from her.
“Skee-ball, Riot.”
“Okay, Teddy Bear, give me a second. I have to deal with this.”
“Skee-ball!” he bellowed, and pulled out of her hold so fast, she almost fell.
I caught her, wrapping an arm firmly around her waist. “I got you.”
“Teddy, wait.” She slapped at the tears slipping down her face and righted herself, twisting away from my touch.
“I’ll check on him,” I said, trusting my club had hold of the assholes tormenting her brother. I followed Teddy to the skee-ball area, bought him some tokens and walked back to Wyatt, keeping her brother in my sights.
“Sir, you cannot manhandle our patrons,” the manager informed me.
“Maybe your patrons shouldn’t steal from people who can’t defend themselves,” I said.
“There’s no proof—”
“Never mind,” Wyatt snapped. “We’re leaving.”
“You shouldn’t have to leave,” I countered. “These assholes should.”
“We didn’t do shit!” The obvious leader of the idiot-gang whined, his black eye starting to swell.
“So, if we pat you down, we won’t find money shoved in your pockets?” I challenged.
“Sir, you cannot pat them down unless you’re an officer of the law,” the manager argued.
Too late. Orion, Rocky, and Moses had already begun to dig in the men’s pockets, pulling cash out of the ringleader’s pants as he bellowed in protest.
“It’s my cash,” he hissed.
“Yeah?” Wyatt challenged, leaning down to snag a few off the floor, waving them in front of their faces. “Then why do the bills have ‘Teddy’ written on them?”
“I found those!” the leader snapped.
“You lying bastard!” Wyatt pulled back her arm with the money wadded in it and slammed her fist into his face, eliciting a squeal from the man as blood poured from his nose.
“Ma’am,” the manager admonished.
“You shut it,” Orion growled.
I grabbed Wyatt around her waist, pulling her away from the group with a chuckle. “Okay, slugger, it’s time to back off.”
I gave Orion a chin lift, then carried Wyatt a few feet away.
“I’m not done,” she panted out, trying to pull away.
“Baby, calm down. We’re gonna take care of it.”
“They stole from him,” she whispered.
“I know,” I said, turning her to face me. “We’re gonna deal with them.
“More skee-ball, Riot,” Teddy called, jumping up and down.
“I got him,” I said, and handed him more tokens.
“Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
I guided Wyatt behind my back and glared at the man. “If you say another word to her, I’ll break both your arms.”
“I’m calling the police.”
“Go ahead,” I challenged, turning my back on him.
“I need to get Teddy home,” she said. “I have no idea how I’m going to get him into my car, though.”
I smiled. “I’ll help you. Come on.”
“No,” she said. “Look, I appreciate you stepping in with those men, but I really think I should handle this myself.”
I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow. “You look a little overwhelmed to me, sweetheart. I think you should let me help.”
“Oh my god, how is it possible you look bigger?” she squeaked, staring at my arms.
I got that I was imposing and the last thing I wanted was to scare her, so I smiled, sliding my hands beside me again. “I’m an optical illusion.”
Wyatt’s lips twitched and I could tell she was trying not to smile.
“Let me help you with Teddy. I promise I’ll make sure he’s safe.”
She looked at me unconvinced, but nodded then followed me over to the skee-ball lane Teddy was commandeering.
“More skee-ball!” Teddy begged.
“We really need to get back home, Teddy Bear,” Wyatt said.
“But I want more skee-ball.”
“I know, buddy, but we really need to get back. Remember when I told you that we had a long drive both ways, and we need to get back to Dr. Hilliard.”
“Doctor Hilliard’s my friend.”
“Yeah, he is, buddy, and he’ll want you to come back.”
“No.” He shook his head shaking his hands. “Skee-ball.”
“How about we play one more game of skee-ball, and then I’ll show you my bike?” I countered.
“Yeah! Bike!” Teddy yelled, and I grinned.
“Or, we could go look at my bike now.”
“Wait,” Wyatt said. “You need to go potty first.”
Teddy’s face dropped and he shook his head. “Bad men.”
“The bad men are gone, Teddy Bear.”
“No!” he snapped.
“I’ll take him,” I offered.
“We don’t know you,” Wyatt said.
“Are you gonna take him?”
She sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Well, no.”
“I’ll take care of him, sweetheart, I promise,” I said, and turned to Teddy. “You want me to go with you?”
He nodded. “My name’s Teddy.”
“Hey, Teddy, my name’s Sundance.”
Leaving Wyatt standing by the skee-ball machines, I walked Teddy to the bathroom.
Wyatt
I HAVE NO idea what just happened, but my brother, who trusted no one and everyone at the same time, just walked into the men’s bathroom with the sexiest man alive.
Oh my god, what the hell was he doing here?
A few minutes later, as I was still trying to wrap my mind around what the hell was going on, they walked back to me and Teddy looked happy and excited, chanting ‘bike’ over and over.
“Okay, buddy, let’s go see the bike,” Sundance said, and smiled at me. “Ready?”
“Actually, I should probabl
y run to the ladies’.”
“You go do that and we’ll wait.”
“Bike!” Teddy said, clapping his hands and jumping up and down.
“We’ll go in just a second,” Sundance assured him.
“Bike.”
“I can wait,” I said.
“I can take him outside, and you can meet us,” Sundance said. “We’re parked next to the mailboxes.”
“I’m by there as well.”
“You trust me to watch his back?” Sundance asked.
I bit my lip. I actually did trust him. Maybe more than I should. I gave him a reluctant nod. “I’ll meet you out there.”
“Okay,” Sundance said, and took my brother with him.
I had never peed so fast in my life, rushing out of the restaurant and to where my car was parked, quickly realizing I’d never paid for our food.
“Where are you goin’?” Sundance asked as I turned around and started back toward the restaurant.
“I forgot to pay.”
“Jesus, woman, you’re not paying those assholes.”
“Assholes!” Teddy mimicked.
“Well, that’s gonna be a problem, because my credit card is still in there,” I said, ignoring my brother’s outburst.
“Get your brother in the car,” Sundance demanded. “I’ll get your card.”
Sundance stalked back into the building while Orion helped me wrangle my brother into the car. It was a feat, to say the least, as Teddy wanted to stay and ride on the bikes.
“I’ll take you for a ride another night, okay?” Orion promised.
“Don’t tell him that,” I admonished.
“Why not?”
“Because it’s never going to happen,” I whispered. “He’ll kill himself… and you.”
“I’m pretty sure I can keep him from killing himself,” Orion countered, “and me.”
“Yeah? Can you stop him from throwing his arms up and leaning backwards off the bike?”
“Hmm.”
“Exactly,” I said. “You should have seen him as a kid on a pony. Thankfully, he didn’t have far to fall.”
“Who fell?” Sundance asked, walking back to us and holding out my credit card.
“No one,” I said, taking my card from him. “Thank you.”
“You good?”
“Yep. Just gotta get my brother home. Thanks for your help.” He was staring at me like I was the most important person on earth, and I needed to get the hell out of there.
“We’ll follow you.”
“Oh my god, no,” I breathed out. “I mean, it’s not necessary. I’ve made this drive a hundred times.”
“I’m sure you have, but we’re goin’ the same way, so I’d like to make sure you get back safe.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Are you this overprotective with everyone you meet or am I just special?”
He chuckled. “I think I’m gonna plead the fifth on that one.”
“Right. Fine. You can follow us back, but I’m reiterating it’s not necessary.”
“Noted.”
I climbed into my car and pulled out of the parking lot, four large and loud Harleys behind me. My very own biker entourage.
* * *
Sundance
After making sure Wyatt and Teddy got to his facility safely, I drove back to the cabin and walked inside in desperate need of bourbon. Jesus, Wyatt was a fuckin’ knockout and the fact she was takin’ care of her brother made her even more beautiful.
I had shit comin’ down with my club, and the last thing I needed was to be fuckin’ around with high-class pussy. But I knew I was gonna fuck around with her, because she was the first woman who’d caught my eye in ten years.
Don’t get me wrong, I hadn’t been celibate for ten years, but quick and easy fucks were the only thing I’d looked for since my wife died. There’d been plenty of club pussy to choose from, so there’d been no need to look for anything more.
But the second I’d met Wyatt, she’d brought me to my knees. Or at the very least, made me want to get there and bury my face between her legs.
When I ran into her at the coffee shop, I’d forced myself to ignore what she did to me, but seeing her again today made that impossible.
First, though, I needed alcohol and information.
“Hey, Sundance,” Rocky said as I walked over to the bar.
“Hey. You got news?”
“Yeah, Moses is in the war room.”
I grabbed the bottle of Jack and three glasses and followed Rocky to the back.
“Hey, Pops,” Orion said, passing me.
“War room,” I said, and Orion turned on his heel and followed me.
Orion closed the door behind us, and I set the bottle and glasses on the table in front of me as I took my seat. Since I only had three glasses, I poured them each a double and kept the bottle for myself. “What’ve we got?”
Rocky sat to my left, Moses to my right, and Orion beside Moses. Wrath was on a run with Snowcone, otherwise, they’d be here as well.
“With Orca out of commission,” Rocky said, “Zilla’s making moves.”
Orion had killed Orca after he’d tried to kill Raquel. I gave him the order to keep Zilla alive, however, because he was the weakest between the two and I wanted to know what the fuck he was up to. Ori wasn’t happy with the edict, but had a little fun with Zilla before leaving him unable to use his hands for at least six months, the burns Orion had inflicted with a lighter would require multiple grafts to heal.
I’d hoped that would be the end of Zilla and his bullshit, but I’d been wrong.
“What I don’t understand is why we don’t just let him make the moves,” Orion said. “Let Jaws deal with him.”
“Because we can deal with Jaws. He’s reasonable,” I said.
“Jaws is reasonable?” my boy spat out and I chuckled.
“Reasonable in the sense that when he makes a deal, he sticks to it and we have a relatively peaceful treaty right now. Zilla’s fuckin’ crazy, and he might be too much crazy for us to deal with without getting blood on our hands.”
“We’ve already got blood on our hands.”
“More blood,” I clarified. “And I don’t wanna be holdin’ the bag if he goes after Jaws.”
“You think he’ll kill his mentor,” Orion deduced.
“I think it’s highly possible,” I said. “Provided he can get enough of the club on his side.”
“Jaws is respected, so there’s a chance he won’t,” Rocky said.
“Let’s hope so,” I replied. “In the meantime, watch Zilla. And fuckin’ watch Sonja. I don’t trust that cunt. She’s leadin’ Zilla around by the dick and if she has any influence over any of this shit goin’ down, god help us.”
“God help fuckin’ Colorado,” Orion said.
“That too.”
“You in communication with Jaws?” Moses asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “We got a call planned for tonight. Also, got Hatch on standby in Portland. If he needs to fly out, he said he’s ready.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Orion said.
“Yeah.” I nodded to Moses. “What’s the intel? I’ll decide what I share with Jaws.”
For the next two hours, we ran down strategies and filtered through information Moses had uncovered, with the help of Rabbit who was a computer coder and hacker out of Savannah. He rode with the Dogs of Fire Savannah Chapter and was good friends with Raquel. He’d been able to dig deeper than any of us could when it came to getting information, so we were using him as a resource.
By the time I fell into bed that night, I had a bourbon buzz and was wired. My conversation with Jaws had gone exactly according to plan, so for the moment, we had peace, but I had no idea how long that peace would last.
* * *
Wyatt
About a week later, I found myself back at Flick’s, a possible subliminal need to see Sundance again, particularly because I’d driven out of my way to get
coffee here. It had been the week from hell, but I was going to see my brother tomorrow, so everything would be right with the world again.
Well, it would be after coffee.
“Good morning, sexy,” Mercedes greeted as I walked in.
I’d gotten to know the barista a little better since we shared our joint appreciation for Sundance’s ass.
“Hey, Mercedes. How are you?”
“If I were any better, I’d have to charge you to talk to me.”
I grinned. “And I’d pay any price you set, honey.”
“The usual?”
“Yes, please,” I said, and he took my money and began to pour my iced coffee.
“You just missed the hottie.”
My heart died a little.
I played dumb. “The hottie?”
Mercedes raised a pierced eyebrow. “Bitch, please. I know you know exactly who I’m talking about.”
I sighed. “Okay, fine. I was kind of hoping I’d see him.”
“Mmm-hmm, I know you were.”
“Does it mean I’m stalking him if it’s a public place and I don’t actually know if he’ll be here?”
Mercedes laughed and handed me my coffee. “I think that can slide.”
I dropped a couple of bucks in the tip jar and grinned. “Thanks, honey. I’ll probably see you next week.”
“Can’t wait,” he said, and I made my way to my car.
“You followin’ me?”
I jumped at the sound of Sundance’s deep voice and spun to face him, almost dropping my coffee. “Hi, ah, no, I’m not following you.”
He grinned. “Just bustin’ your chops, sweetheart.”
I blushed. “Oh, right. Sorry. I’m not used to being teased.”
“How come?”
“That would probably take a while to explain and I’m already late to my appointment.”
I wasn’t. I was actually a half-hour early, but he was staring at me like he could see into my soul again, so I decided to shut the conversation down.
“I’m gonna take you to dinner tonight so you can tell me all your secrets,” he announced.
Primal Need (Primal Howlers MC Book 2) Page 3
