Chapter Eighteen #2
“Neither do we.” She motioned to her team. “It’s bad enough that we’ll have the boys laughing at us. Plus, we’d rather learn to ride out here where we can’t hurt anything if we wobble a little.”
Darby nodded. “Sounds like a sensible plan to me.”
Iona inclined her head. “Thank you. We thought so, too.”
To Elias’ amusement, Darby acted as though Iona had put him under a spell. Although he’d have to take the detective down a peg or two if he made a move on her, Elias didn’t blame him for being starstruck. He certainly was.
Darby straightened, tore his gaze from Iona’s, and cleared his throat. “Let’s go through this again.”
An hour later, the detectives finished their interviews and admonished the operatives to remain in the area until further notice. The two men returned to the farmhouse as the medical examiner’s van pulled up.
Elias and the others watched the ME and his assistant go inside the house. “What now?” Elias asked Seth.
“No choice. We’ll have to return to the cabin.”
“That isn’t a good idea, Seth.”
“I agree. I don’t like it.” Noah scowled. “And neither will the boss.”
“We can’t talk about this here,” Iona said. “Too many people coming and going. Besides, we need a place to ride.”
Elias stared. “Why?”
“Cover story. Small-town gossips will pass the word that Artemis rode the bikes or didn’t. I guarantee we’ll get a visit from the detectives if we don’t follow through.”
Violet moaned. “Oh, you’re kidding, right?”
“No, she’s not.” Noah wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tugged her against his side. “Actually, it’s a great idea for you and the others to learn to ride a bike.”
“I can’t even ride a regular bike, Noah. Riding a motorcycle is just asking for trouble.”
“You’ll be fine. I promise. I’ll help you.”
“The only thing that would help is a route with pillows lining both sides of the path so I don’t bruise or break something when I fall.”
In the distance, Elias heard a distinct rumble coming closer with every second that passed. Oh, man. “Seth.”
“Yeah. I hear them. Load up and let’s head back. I don’t want to go into explanations with Blackthorn while we’re under observation by the police.”
A moment later, Seth and Teagan took the lead, with the other couples on motorcycles falling in behind them. Noah tailed the last bike.
They’d ridden about a mile when they came upon a group of motorcycle riders blocking the dirt road. Seth and the others slowed to a stop a few feet from the larger group.
“Looks like someone called Dutch.” Noah put the truck in park but kept the engine running, his gaze glued to the unfolding scene outside.
“Probably. Dutch has his fingers in every business in town,” Elias said. He quartered the area, on the lookout for more riders joining the party, especially ones from the Reckoners.
Noah glanced over his shoulder. “How do you know that?”
“Easy.” He grinned. “I asked Zane. Riley was already asleep when I thought of looking into that angle.”
“Huh. I didn’t think of that, and I should have.”
“No reason you should, Noah. You didn’t grow up in an MC.”
“And investing in local businesses is standard operating procedure for MCs?” He sounded skeptical.
Elias didn’t blame him for that. It did sound crazy. “I don’t know about other MCs, but that’s the way the Reckoners work. Dad always invested in the towns where they set up their headquarters. He said the MC got less flak from the cops if the townspeople liked them.”
Noah glanced over his shoulder at Elias. “Blackthorn is close enough to the Reckoners that they’re following your old man’s advice?”
Yeah, there was that minor problem. “He might be a terrible father, but he’s a dynamic leader. He’s always been able to manipulate people around him. Dutch is an amateur compared to Dad.”
Ahead of them, the Blackthorn Riders burst into laughter and climbed back on their motorcycles. They turned the bikes around and started the engines.
Seth waited until they rode away before coming to the driver’s side of the truck.
“Everything okay?” Noah asked.
“I told them the same story that you and Iona gave the detectives.” He rolled his eyes. “The lot of them thought it was a great joke that we wanted the women to learn to ride a bike. They’re setting up a place for Artemis to try their hand at riding the bikes.”
Violet shuddered. “I don’t want to learn that, Seth.”
“Violet.” Iona said nothing more.
The medic sighed. “Yes, ma’am.”
Noah twisted in his seat and looked at Iona, anger simmering in his eyes.
Iona raised an eyebrow, daring him to challenge her.
Elias readied himself to put his body between Iona and Noah. This wasn’t good. The women of Artemis were fierce fighters. They could take you down before you blinked twice.
“Ice it down,” Seth snapped. “We need to go. Remember, we’re a unified front. Act like it.”
“It’s okay, Noah.” Violet squeezed his forearm. “You don’t mind teaching me, do you?”
He turned to his wife. “Of course not. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Since that’s settled, let’s get moving,” Seth murmured. “We can’t delay long without arousing more of Dutch’s suspicions.”
The group returned to the cabin and, ignoring Dutch and his crew, unloaded gear, and dropped it off inside the building.
When they finished, Dutch scowled. “You moved bags from the truck. You said you were just looking for a place to ride. Looks like you packed up to leave.”
Seth signaled the others to be ready in case this went south. “After what happened to Elias, we never leave our stuff behind in case we have to pull out of an area immediately. The last thing I want is to report to our president that I screwed up and got one of his people killed.”
The MC leader relaxed, nodding as though he’d figured that out on his own and was just confirming the information. “It’s a smart idea, one I might have to use in the future.”
“It’s a policy our president uses every time.”
“I like it. I think we might start the same policy. So, what were you doing out near Old Man Merriweather’s place?”
“Hoping to teach our Old Ladies to ride a motorcycle by riding on his property line. Not much traffic out there, based on what we heard in town. Didn’t want to drive in town because we didn’t want to disturb the businesses or neighbors.”
“Did he turn you down? If you want, I could have a word with him. We know each other pretty well. He’s a good man.”
Elias frowned. That sounded as if Dutch and Merriweather were friends. How could Dutch look the other way when one of his enforcers bragged about tuning up Merriweather?
Seth exchanged a glance with Elias and gave him a slight nod. Oh, man. He’d have to give bad news to the MC leader. Elias hoped he was wrong, and the president wasn’t that close to the farmer.
“We didn’t talk to him,” Elias said.
Dutch frowned. “Was he out in the field?”
“I’m sorry to tell you that Mr. Merriweather is dead.”
The other man froze. “What did you say?”
“Someone shot your friend. He didn’t make it.”
“Do you know who shot him?”
He shook his head. “The door was open, so Iona and I went inside and found him in the kitchen.”
Dutch’s hands fisted. “Did you see anyone in the area?”
“We were the only ones around when we found Mr. Merriweather.” He paused. “Can I get you a glass of water or a soft drink?” His voice was soft. No need to advertise to his MC that Dutch had been hit with shocking news. “News of Mr. Merriweather’s death must have been hard to hear.”
Dutch shook his head. “I liked the old coot, even if he was as stubborn as a mule. He was a quirky guy. Had his own way of doing things and wouldn’t hear of considering another method. He’d give you the shirt off his back if you needed help, though.”
“Sounds like he was a good friend.” Seth squeezed his shoulder. “I’m sorry for your loss, Dutch.”
“Thanks.” The other man’s voice sounded thick. He coughed a little, then said, “The boys set up cones along the dirt road for your Old Ladies.”
Elias frowned. “What about traffic? Avoiding traffic was why we wanted to ride around the perimeter of Merriweather’s farm.”
Dutch’s eyebrows soared. “Perimeter? Were you in the military?”