Chapter Eleven #2
He frowned. “Things typically don’t work that way in an MC.
The wives and girlfriends of full-patch members are treated with respect and protected from all threats, both inside and outside the club.
The only club I’ve ever known to act as though Old Ladies are the spoils of war is the Reckoners.
Dad wanted his pick of women, so he invented a new rule for his club. ”
Noah rubbed his jaw. “Your father sounds like a man setting himself up as king.”
“That’s an excellent description because he views himself as the top dog in his world. Either you bow to his wishes or you pay the price.”
“Including you?” Violet looked horrified.
He nodded. No need to deny it. These operatives were his friends, and they’d go to the wall for him just as he would do for them.
“Do you think Blackthorn’s view of the wives and girlfriends has been influenced by the Reckoners?”
“Wouldn’t surprise me. Like calls to like. I think Blackthorn is as corrupt and perverted as the Reckoners. Why else would they seek to associate themselves with my father and his crew?”
Teagan scowled. “How sure are we that the Reckoners won’t make an appearance during this operation?”
Seth’s mouth curved upward. “The FBI assured Maddox that they were 90% confident the Reckoners wouldn’t come here.”
“Got news for you, baby. That doesn’t make me feel better.”
“Same here.” Violet rubbed her arms as though she were freezing. “Just thinking about them making a surprise appearance gives me the creeps.”
“You have training and a boatload of knives.” Iona smiled. “Use them. In fact, use your skills so well that these Neanderthal men don’t have a clue what hit them.”
The women exchanged grins.
In a way, Elias felt sorry for any biker who took on a member of Artemis. The ladies would mop the floor with them. He smiled. And then Echo would take over.
Rayne stared at Elias. “What are you smiling about?”
“Thinking that if a biker tries something with any of you, you’ll mop the floor with them.”
She looked pleased at that. “I think that’s the nicest compliment you’ve ever given us. Thank you, Elias.”
He inclined his head.
Grant rubbed his hands together. “Now for the really important question. Do we have any food? If so, when do we eat?”
As the operatives laughed, Elias wrapped his arm around Iona and drew her against his side. “Did you see a grocery store near here?”
“Are you kidding? I saw nothing around here. We’ll have to go shopping and add that to the bill for the feds.”
“I saw a grocery store in Red Rock.” Rayne walked to the refrigerator and tugged the door open.
Zip.
Figured. These bikers wouldn’t go out of their way for their guests. Elias shook his head. Definitely his father’s influence. He supposed Dutch wanted to set up his own little fiefdom like Elias’ father.
“We need to make a trip to the grocery store.” Iona turned to Seth. “How do we want to handle this? Do all of us go or two couples?”
“Two couples. I don’t want to leave the cabin unoccupied, and I don’t trust our hosts as far as I can throw them.”
“Agreed. Elias and I will go. Rayne, you and Grant come with us. Make a list of what we’ll need for four days.”
“Optimistic, aren’t you?”
“Oh, yeah. That’s me. Optimistic Iona.”
The rest of Artemis burst into laughter.
“Sorry, Iona.” Violet’s eyes twinkled. “I must have misunderstood you.”
She sent the medic a mock scowl. “I believe I heard you volunteer to run extra miles tomorrow morning.”
Noah covered his wife’s mouth with his palm. “You didn’t hear that because I have plans for her that don’t include pounding out extra miles.”
Teagan plugged her ears with her fingers. “TMI. Man, Noah. Give the rest of us a break, will you?”
More laughter was broken up by a knock on the door.
When Seth started for the door, Elias stopped him. “Not your job.” He glanced at Andre. “You go. You’re the Sergeant-at-Arms.”
“Nice.” Andre walked to the door and opened it to see Tall One. He invited the man inside the cabin.
Tall One went to Seth. “Prez is inviting your members to dinner at the clubhouse tonight.”
“Tell Dutch that we’d be honored to eat with him and his Old Lady.”
A nod. “See you at six o’clock sharp. Dutch don’t like it if we’re late.”
“Understood.”
Tall One left.
No one spoke until Tall One had ridden away from the building.
Rayne looked at her tactical watch. “We only have three hours until dinner. Think we can make a return trip to Red Rock, shop for the starving wolves in our midst, and return before then?”
“If you leave right now.” Teagan’s grin was smug.
“Don’t get too comfortable.” Iona pointed at her. “You’re on the next grocery run if we need one.”
Her face fell. “Oh, no. You know I can’t cook.”
“Maybe not, but you know how to eat.” Rayne nudged Grant. “You and the other guys need to unload the gear from the back of the truck. We’ll need room for the food.”
“You heard the lady.” Seth pointed at Elias. “You aren’t invited to help. After your shoulder heals, you won’t be exempt from toting duty.”
“Copy that, sir.”
Within minutes, the truck bed was empty of bags and Elias’ bike, and the two couples were on their way back to Red Rock with Grant at the wheel. Halfway to their destination, he glanced in the mirror and frowned. “We have company.”
“Who and how many?” Elias asked.
“Two bikers, part of Dutch’s crew.”
Iona looked up at him. “Is that normal for a visiting club?”
He shook his head. “Dutch doesn’t trust us. He wants to know where we’re going in his territory.”
“The Blackthorn boys aren’t bothering to hide.”
“They want us to know they’re watching.”
“It’s irritating.”
“It’s supposed to be. The escort is also a reminder we’re guests in another club’s territory, and we should be careful how we conduct ourselves.”
Rayne patted her husband’s shoulder. “Sorry, babe. You’ll have to behave yourself. No picking fights with people or throwing them out of windows.”
Grant chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Minutes later, he parked near the front of the store but kept the engine running until the Blackthorn members shut off their engines. “Stay here, Rayne.”
She gripped his wrist. “What are you up to?”
“Having a little chat with the boys following us around.”
“Not alone.”
He frowned. “You know I can handle more than one opponent, just like you can.”
“He won’t be alone.” Elias grasped the handle. “I’m going with him.”
Rayne and Iona exchanged glances.
“No, you aren’t going with us. MC members don’t take care of club business with their Old Ladies along.”
“You better not hurt anything else, Elias.” Iona folded her arms across her chest. “I won’t be happy if you do.”
“Noted. Let’s go, Grant.”
The operatives headed for the bikers who straightened and climbed off their bikes to face the visitors.
“You have a plan?” Elias asked his friend as they walked.
“To make a statement.”
He rolled his eyes. “Just follow my lead, all right? We don’t want to start a war in another club’s territory.”
Elias and Grant closed the gap between them and the bikers. “Why are you following us?” Elias asked curtly.
“Can’t a guy go out for a ride on a nice day?”
“You don’t look like a pleasure rider, buddy.”
The grizzled rider flushed. “Wait a minute.”
“Tell Dutch we appreciate the gesture, but we don’t need protection.
We’re not planning to run afoul of the law in Red Rock.
” He got in Grizzled’s face. “If your president wants to know where we’re going, all he has to do is ask.
So when you report back to Dutch, tell him we’re shopping for food since no one in your club bothered with that courtesy.
We’ll be leaving here in about 45 minutes to return to the cabin.
No stops along the way since we’ve been invited to dinner with your president. ”
The club members looked at each other, then Grizzled gave a curt nod.
Although it went against everything he’d been taught, Elias turned his back on the two men and walked toward the truck. He didn’t have to be told that Iona and Rayne were watching their backs and would protect them if the bikers made a move.
Grant locked the truck with the key fob, threaded his fingers through Rayne’s, and tugged her into motion. “Let’s get this done. My neck is tingling.”
Elias wrapped his arm around Iona’s waist. “I hope you and Rayne have a list because we need to get back as soon as possible.”
“What do you know?”
“Nothing.”
“But you have a feeling?”
He gave a curt nod.
“Lucky for you, we made a list while you and Grant faced off with the Blackthorn Rider duo.”
They entered the store and made a surgical strike through the produce, dairy, and meat sections. Rayne and Iona consulted the list on their phones, then gave each other a high five. “We’re finished,” Iona said.
Grant scowled. “Wait a minute. You don’t have any proper food in that grocery cart.”
Rayne rolled her eyes. “Just because what we have isn’t processed doesn’t mean it’s not actual food. Your taste buds need an education.”
“My taste buds are in great condition. I can taste potato chips, ice cream, and brownies just fine.”
The women laughed. “Come on.” Iona turned the cart around and headed for the aisle where Grant’s food choices were located.
“Told you he would complain, Iona.” Rayne smiled at her husband.
“You know what’s normally in your grocery cart.”
Grant’s eyes narrowed. “Were you really going to leave the store with only the stuff in the cart?”
“Nope. We can’t buy only for my taste. An army marches on its stomach, after all. If we want happy and satisfied operatives, we have to feed them well.”
“Too bad we don’t have Nate Armstrong. I wouldn’t object to a chef preparing our meals.”
“We’d love that, but Nate has been with Durango for years. I don’t see him taking pity on one of our teams and defecting.”
They checked out ten minutes later and left the store, pushing the loaded cart to the truck and unloading the bags into the back of the pickup.
“I don’t see our escort.” Grant turned back to Elias. “What do you think that means?”
“They could have concluded that we weren’t doing anything interesting and returned to the clubhouse.”
“Or?”
“They’re setting up an ambush on the way back to the cabin.”
“What are the odds?”
“About 50-50.”
“We’d better go. If this is an ambush, I’d rather face it in daylight than in darkness.”
The operatives climbed into the cab of the truck with Grant behind the wheel. He drove away from the parking lot and headed out of Red Rock.
Halfway to the cabin, Elias looked up the incline of a mountain to their right and saw sunlight glinting off metal. Adrenaline poured into his veins. “Gun!”