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The bikes start up once more, and thankfully the loud sound gradually moves away. I look at Vanessa and she looks at me. Trace sighs and Shall laughs.

“Well, that’s it for tonight, but they’ll be back tomorrow, I’m sure.” Vanessa states while placing the baking tray down and rubbing the palms of her hands down her face. “Trace, go home and come in early. Shall go upstairs and get the guest room ready for Miri. Miri, come on let's get your stuff out of your car and get settled for the night. We need a plan put in place for tomorrow too.”

An hour later I’m sitting in the apartment living room above the diner with Vanessa while Shall is watching TV in his bedroom. “What do you think will happen if your sister, Geri, sees you here?”

“I’m not sure. If she is with them, I think she’ll panic. Knowing she’s doing something that...actually scratch that thought. If she is with them willingly, then she’s not who I thought she was. Being with a biker in a decent motorcycle club is different from being with these bikers. They are not good from what I’ve seen. They are stealing from whoever they can rather than put down roots and earn their living. Maybe I’m doing the wrong thing trying to reach out to Geri?” I don’t know any more if I should turn around and go home or find the answer to what the freaking heck Geri is doing?

“Miri, one thing we cannot do is make other people, whether they be family or friends, do the right thing. All we can do is to be there if needed. Sometimes we just have to walk away for our own safety. This may be one of those times. Tomorrow help in the diner serving, but if we hear the bikers, you go into the kitchen or come up here and lock yourself inside. If they snoop around and find your car, I’ll just tell them you sold it to me and moved on. They cannot prove differently, and I’ll call Deputy Cornell and fill him in on what’s going on. He’ll keep passing by.”

“Why would he do that for someone he doesn’t know? I know cops are supposed to protect, but to keep passing by when bikers are around is dangerous for himself,” I can’t help but think I don’t want someone to be hurt because of me, or Geri.

“Hey, don’t you worry about Deputy Cornell, he’s been trying to get into my pants for a long time. He’s a sweetheart actually, but he does all this martial arts stuff, and he did one tour in the service. Nobody's fool isn’t Cornell, and he’ll not give a shit about the bikers.”

Now, the sparkle in Vanessa’s eyes tells me there is more going on with her and the Deputy than she’s letting on, but it’s not my business, so I’m saying nothing.

It’s not long before I’m in the guest room, sitting in bed thinking what the hell am I doing?

Chapter 9

JOKER

Sitting in church first thing before work is more than unusual, but seeing Ghost sitting in his seat has me wondering what the fuck he has found that has us all here so early.

Tracker walks in and takes his seat quickly, along with Cap who folds his arms and leans back in his seat, looking grim, which isn’t a good sign.

“I won’t keep you very long because you’ve all work to get to. But as you can see, Ghost is back from his recon mission. First, is everyone ready if, or when, these assholes reach us?” Tracker, now in Pres mode, asks.

We all reassure Pres that we are ready and waiting for any shit that may come our way. Rides speaks, gaining everyone’s attention. “The roof is ready, and all snipers know where they need to be. Rooms around the clubhouse are allocated for brothers to shoot from. The compound is locked down tighter than a duck’s ass. Anyone getting in can meet Aspen’s new acid pit alive, and we’ll just close the fuckin’ cover on them.”

Pres nods, and Cap grunts in agreement. All brothers in church are nodding along with Pres. We all know that the law does nothing about rogue bike gangs. They are too afraid to get roped into something and lose everything they have, including their families. We’ve seen enough to know that some of the 1% bikers take family as payment for imagined crimes against them. It’s never pretty.

Ghost speaks out for the first time, and by the way his jaw is clenching, nothing good is going to be said. “I watched for three days. They have taken young women off the street, just grab them and haul them to whatever shithole they are staying at. I mean warehouses, derelict places you wouldn’t want your dog to stay. They are forcing these young women, and I mean late teens and early twenties to be club bunnies, against their will. Those women who are there of their own free will are skanks, whores, vermin, and traitors to their own sex. They are heading this way. They are testing every MC they pass. Thankfully, each MC is warning the next that they are coming, even when they are not allied.”

“Fuck, this isn’t good to hear. We’ve removed scum like this from the earth before, and I’m happy to do it again,” I snarl before I have a moment to think. Brothers agree quickly, and looking at Pres he’s giving me a look that says he’s proud to hear what I’m saying. Again, I speak without thinking. “Do you think Cilla can get us some inside information from Bono and the brothers?”

Finger is smirking, “I’ve asked her already. She said, and I quote, ‘I’m not a messaging service.’ But brothers, she’ll find out what she can.”

Pres chuckles, and we know he’ll sweet-talk Cilla into helping. He has gotten thick with Cilla and Rory, much to Finger and Truck’s annoyance, but let's be honest you can’t tell your President to fuck off for being nice to your woman. He calls them Seer and Numbers, it’s his name for them, and they wear those names on their property patch. I’ll not worry when I eventually find my woman. Pres would never step over the line, and we all know it.

“So, are we going to sit here and wait for them to come to us?” Whistle asks, looking around at brothers before calmly looking at Pres.

“Ghost is heading back out, and he’s taking Rides with him. As soon as they are near our territory border, I’ll call lockdown and we'll be ready. Cap, you speak to the law and get them primed for what may be coming. Hot Rod, you speak to business owners right across town, let them know they may want to close shop for a few days if these assholes reach here,” Pres reels off quickly what he wants us to do. “The recovery business has to continue running as normal. We can’t leave people stranded, especially with these monsters running loose. The dumpster business can stop if they reach here. Lock the business down, Judge. The gas station I’m going to leave to you Truck, decide with Rum if you want to risk it or not. But if you do, we’ll all be on standby ready if you need us. Demon’s Ink we leave up to Scribe. If he wants to close, then he closes. Jethro can come here if he doesn’t want to take the risk. Our prospects are not toys that we play with, not like some MCs. We make sure they are here doing what is necessary alongside the brothers. Any questions?”

When the room gives him the shake of the head, or a ‘Nope,’ ‘No,’ or ‘We’re ready, Pres.’ We get the slap on the table and are dismissed.

An hour later I walk into the office, and Bull is checking the three stations for something. “What’s up, Bull?” I ask.

Bull looks at me with a large frown on his face. “I’m checking all three stations are fully working, camera and tracker-wise. For all the vehicles and the property.”

“Keys checked all that last week,” I respond while wondering where all this is coming from.

Bull sighs, “I know, but with what is coming our way I want to do a full check every morning and evening. Then, if anything happens, we know approximately what timeline to look at. Malik is doing that in the garage and after speaking with him I think he’s got the right idea.”

“Okay. Which ones have you done?”

“Winger has his station checked over, and it’s fine. This one I’m nearly done with. You check yours over until Darius gets here. If we have a call, I want you on the road.”

“No problem.” I don’t waste time. I start the checks, and although I think this is all a little paranoid at this point, I’m keeping quiet.