Chapter Twenty-Eight
Grace
Tonight was supposed to be my night off; that was until Mary Ann called and asked if I could cover her shift.
Her mom had fallen and broken her arm, and she needed to be with her.
I’d jumped at the chance, knowing that because I wasn’t on the schedule, King had no idea I would be working. Therefore, Johnny wouldn’t be here.
I moved around the bar making drinks and serving customers. I flirted with men, and even a few women. My tip jar was overflowing. The hours flew by without interruption.
As the night wore on, I looked over at the seat Johnny usually sat on. It was a habit after a year of having him as a shadow. Ever since I’d started working here, there had always been a brother or a prospect of the Silver Shadows here when I worked.
Watching over me.
Reporting on me.
For the past year, it had been Johnny. Johnny was different from the others; he always sat on the same stool and talked to me during my shift.
He didn’t pretend his presence was for any other reason than to keep an eye on me.
He was honest, and I appreciated honesty.
When my shift was over, he would follow me home and wait until I was inside before he rode off.
That was something else I appreciated but would never say out loud. Most nights, I worked until closing. Sometimes until two or three in the morning. Johnny walked me to my car, securing me inside before he walked to his bike.
I found myself constantly looking over at his stool. It was never empty, but it wasn’t him sitting there. Each time I’d glanced in that direction, someone from town was sat there. This time, however, it wasn’t a townie sitting on his stool.
It was a man I didn’t recognize.
He was tall, almost Gunner-size tall. He had dark hair that was neat and styled. His trimmed beard just covered his chin and cheeks, and he wore a white button-down shirt, slacks, and loafers.
His attire was out of place here in Diamond Creek. We had bikers, farmers, and cowboys. Not businessmen.
Well, there was Bryce Caswell, Lily’s boyfriend. But he had grown up here and actually worked in Boulder, where he lived during the week. On the weekends, he came home to spend time with Lily.
It wasn’t the type of relationship I would be happy with, but it was nice to see Lily smile and stop pining over Ben.
The man looked my way and winked.
I slowly made my way over. He was cute, in a refined way. The total opposite of King. And right now, that worked in his favor.
“What can I get you?” I asked, leaning on the bar, letting my cleavage spill over.
“Whiskey neat,” he said, his voice smooth and his eyes on my boobs. I moved away and grabbed the bottle, pouring a couple of fingers’ worth of the alcohol into a glass.
When I set his glass on the napkin, I looked into his eyes. They were deep brown, almost black. My eyes trailed down his body, and I noticed what looked like a scar peeking out from under the collar of his shirt.
His hand reached for the glass, and the cuff of his sleeve slipped back, exposing another scar on his wrist similar to the one on his shoulder. The way he lifted the glass to his lips, his eyes locked on mine as he took a deep sip, mesmerized me.
“My name’s Jude,” he said, settling his glass back on the bar.
“Grace,” I replied without thought. The man held me hostage with his eyes. There was something about him that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. He opened his mouth to say something, and that was when it happened.
Gunshots rang out through the bar. Glass in the windows shattered, and people started screaming.
I stood behind the bar, frozen as I watched the chaos before me.
People fell to the ground. I didn’t know if they’d been shot or were trying to avoid it.
I’d worked here for almost three years, and nothing like this had ever happened.
We had bar fights regularly, and last year we’d had a man drugging women and raping them. Sam, Jack’s old lady, had almost been a victim. Aspen had been.
But drive-bys weren’t something that happened in the sleepy little town of Diamond Creek. It was one of the reasons I’d decided to stay. I liked it here. I liked the people.
Jude hopped over the bar and pulled me to the floor, covering my head with his body. Glass rained down on us as gunfire tore through the bottles of alcohol on the mirrored shelves above us.
A bullet had taken out the jukebox, cutting the music. Moments later, I heard the distinct sound of motorcycle engines. It felt like hours had passed before the room fell silent. Jude pulled the gun from the back of his waistband and ordered, “Stay here.”
As if I could move.
Jude crawled around the bar and looked out over the room.
Whimpers from customers filled the quiet.
I grabbed my phone when I heard the sirens.
Though there was no need to call it in. Diamond Creek took care of its own.
As soon as one of the few neighbors around us heard the gunshots, they would have called the sheriff.
“It’s safe to come out, Grace,” Jude said, and held out his hand. There was nothing when I put my hand in his as he helped me to my feet. No zing, no spark. I closed my eyes and cursed King in my head.
I looked around the room at the damage; it wasn’t as bad as I’d thought. The windows in the front were broken, and tables had been turned over as patrons dove behind them, but aside from the alcohol that would need to be replaced, we shouldn’t be closed for long.
“Who’s hurt?” I shouted, looking for my regulars.
“You are, Grace.”
I turned at Jude’s touch and looked down at my arm. There were scratches from broken glass, but there was a gash across my bicep.
“You were fucking lucky, princess. Looks like the bullet only grazed you.”
“Shit.” The pain was starting to set in as the adrenaline faded. “He’ll never let me out of the fucking house,” I mumbled.
“What?”
I looked up at Jude, shaking my head. “Nothing. I’m fine. Help me assess who’s the worst.”
The front door opened, and the sheriff and his deputies stormed in, guns drawn. Declan’s eyes locked on mine, and he lowered his gun. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. Any chance we could keep him from finding out?”
The sheriff cocked his head to the side with a look that said, ‘What the fuck do you think?’ and I sighed. I could already hear the bikes in the distance.
I closed my eyes tightly and groaned. When I opened them, Jude was gone. I looked around the room but didn’t see him anywhere. As soon as King stomped through the front door, calling my name, the mystery man was forgotten.
“Jesus Christ! Are you okay?” King stood in front of me, his hand holding my arm gently, and there it was. The zings, the sparks.
God, I hated this man.
“Bane, get your ass over here.”
“There are other people who are hurt more than I am.”
“I don’t fucking care,” he growled.
Bane stepped over a broken chair and looked at my arm. He poked around the gash, and I winced.
“You’re hurting her,” King snarled.
“I have to assess it before I can know how to treat it,” Bane replied, unbothered by King’s grumpy ass. He turned to me and asked, “Do you have a first aid kit?”
“Behind the bar,” I answered, my eyes still on King. Why did it have to be him? Why couldn’t it be anyone else?
“King!” Declan shouted.
He didn’t move; he just stood there staring into my eyes. “Go,” I whispered.
“No.”
“Go find out who did this,” I said, trying to push him away.
“I know who fucking did this, and if I talk to my brother right now, he’ll lock me up.”
There was so much in that sentence. So much he didn’t say. So much he never would.
“I’m okay.”
Bane returned with the kit and cleaned my injury. “King, I’ve got her. Go talk to the sheriff.”
Go, I mouthed.
He hesitated for a moment, then finally left my side. I looked around the room as Bane bandaged my arm. There were Silver Shadows everywhere. Men I hadn’t seen in months. I hadn’t been to the clubhouse since Freeway moved here—except for when Amber left. I’d had to say goodbye.
King held me as I cried at the loss of my friend. Then I left. I’d stayed in touch with the girls; I knew what had happened tonight, knew about the war, but I’d stayed away from the men. Except Johnny.
“Grace!”
I turned my head as Johnny skated across the room. “What the fuck were you doing here? You were off tonight!”
“Mary Ann asked me to cover for her.”
“You didn’t fucking call me.” I knew Johnny would be pissed when he found out I was here without him. He took my safety seriously, and I knew it was about more than just being a prospect.
“I’m fine. You being here wouldn’t have prevented this.”
“You don’t know that,” Johnny argued.
“Johnny!”
“Yeah, Prez?” He turned and looked at King.
“As soon as she’s done, get her to the clubhouse.”
“Yes, Prez.” Johnny nodded and turned back to me as Bane finished up.
“She’s done,” Bane said. “Grace, keep it clean and I’ll check on you tomorrow.” He walked away to help the next person who had been hurt.
“I’m not going to the clubhouse.”
“You heard King.”
“Johnny—”
“Grace, give me a break here.” His eyes pleaded with me to just let him do as he was asked. I knew the patch was important to him. We’d talked about what it meant to be a brother. How it was the only way he’d be able to avenge his sister.
“Fine, I’ll go for now. But I’m not staying.”
He held out his hand, so I dug my keys out of my pocket, slamming them into his palm. His hand was on my back between my shoulder blades as he led me toward the door.
“Grace, I need to get a statement.”
“Tomorrow, Dec,” King growled.
“No, I can do this now,” I said, stopping in front of the sheriff. “I was serving drinks, talking to a guy—”
“What guy?” King and Johnny both asked at the same time.
“A customer,” I ground out through gritted teeth. This was why I didn’t tell them I was working. “I was talking to a guy when the gunshots broke the windows. I stood there frozen until the guy jumped over the bar and pushed me to the ground.”
“Where is he?” the sheriff asked.
I turned and looked around the room again, searching the faces, the clothing, even the shoes of everyone in the bar.
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since you came in.”
The sheriff stared at me, then looked at King. His jaw was tight. Without thinking, I reached up and rubbed my fingers over his cheek, feeling the tension leave immediately.
“Why were you here?” King asked.
I let my hand fall back to my side. He’d never let this go.
He’d want to lock me up and never let me out again.
It wasn’t the first time he’d threatened to do it.
Before the man who had assaulted Aspen had disappeared, King tried to make me stop working.
It was one of the many things we fought about.
“You weren’t scheduled to work tonight?” the sheriff asked.
“No, one of the other girls called out. Her mom was hurt.”
“I’ll need her name.”
I turned to the sheriff. “Why? She wasn’t here.”
When he didn’t answer me, I knew exactly what he was thinking.
“Mary Ann.”