Chapter 8
Calling in the Troops
Motown
Declaring war is nothing our MC does without provocation. Someone’s poking the bear, and the claws are coming out.
“What did Doc tell you?” Drifter asks. Sasha, who was rooted to her spot, hears the menacing tone in Drifter’s voice and hurries to him, and he tucks her into his side.
Tessa is still shell-shocked, but with a simple call of her name, she’s by my side. Her whole body is trembling as I nestle her close to me. Etain stands firmly by Hawk, her gaze fixed on her man, who is doing his best to tamp down his temper.
“Hawk,” Etain says firmly but gently. Hawk looks down at his woman, wraps an arm around her, and takes a long, steady breath.
“Doc says the target was originally the Cozy Corner,” Hawk says.
An audible gasp comes from Tessa, who looks at me. “But why? I don’t understand. I barely know anyone in town.”
“Because you’re hooked up with me, babe.
Bronson was going to use your shop as a front to traffic his drugs, and I came along and ruined his plan.
He’s miffed and is pulling a giant temper tantrum.
One that starts with setting you up with the cops on drug trafficking charges and has currently escalated to firebombing. ”
I hate to see her fear and despair. Her fist grips the back of my shirt as she sways, obviously shocked and scared. I hold her tighter.
“I just… This isn’t…” She lets out a sob and hiccups. “Why me?” The tears silently begin to fall.
“Fuck, baby. He’s going to pay for those tears.” I engulf her in my arms, wiping away a tear that streams down her cheek.
“Don’t worry, Tessa. We’ve got your back. You belong to the Redemption Riders, and we take care of our own,” Hawk states.
“Sh-shouldn’t we call the police and tell them what we know?” my innocent girl asks. Yeah, that’s what normal people would do.
“The cops who came to your shop are on his payroll. We can’t be sure there aren’t others,” Drifter says. “We need a solid plan. This isn’t the first time Sunderland’s tried to screw us over, but we’re going to make this his last.”
“I don’t get it. Why did he change the target from Tessa’s to our shop?” Shooter asks. “If the plan was to screw with Motown, he would have stuck to Tessa’s.”
“That’s a good question, bro. I wish I knew. He didn’t aim it directly at the shop but threw it in the bin. Sure, it could have been really bad, but we had more than enough time to put it out, even before help got here,” Flex adds.
“There are too many unanswered questions. We need solid proof that Sunderland’s behind this.
We need boots on the ground and ears on the streets.
No one goes out alone.” Hawk looks at Etain.
“You too, babe. You work here, or you’re in a place where one of the men can keep watch.
” He looks to me and Drifter. “Same goes for Sasha and Tessa.”
Tessa stands firm. “I have to go to the store. I have everything invested in my shop. I won’t let him chase me away.”
“I can work from anywhere,” Sasha jumps in. “I can stay with Tessa while she works.”
“It’ll help,” Hawk says. He focuses on Declan and Lee. “You’re on Tessa and Sasha. No packages come into the shop without a purchase order, in case Bronson tries this shit again.”
“I don’t have anything else arriving for a while. I’m fully stocked, and if I need anything, I’ll use local vendors so I can go pick it up myself,” Tessa says.
“I’ll pick it up,” I tell her. “You go nowhere without a Rider. Okay, babe?”
She nods. “Okay.”
“Shooter and Drifter, I need intel. Find out what you can about Sunderland and his plan. In the meantime, we’ve got to get these cars fixed and out of here. We’ve made promises to customers, and we’ve got to keep them,” Hawk says.
“We can all work late tonight,” I suggest. “The women are safe inside. It’ll be a long night, but we can get a lot of work finished. Tomorrow, we tackle the rest. It’ll free us up for a few days, and Flex and I can help Drifter and Shooter.”
“Is everybody up for an all-nighter?” Hawk asks.
“We’ll make dinner,” Etain volunteers. “We can help.”
“That’ll be good, Ginger,” Hawk says with a grin.
“I need a minute with Tessa,” I tell the group, then guide my girl further into the room. This is a lot to take in. We walk over to the couch, and I take a seat, pulling her down next to me. “How are you doing? I know this is overwhelming.”
“It’s insane!” Tessa answers, her eyes wide. “I never had a hint that Bronson was into drugs. He was kind and polite. I feel like an idiot for thinking he was a friend.”
“He’s a master con artist, Tess. You aren’t the first to be fooled by his suit and tie and sophisticated demeanor.
Bronson’s been pushing to peddle cocaine in the town since we got here.
He thought we’d go along with it and take a cut.
Our club is clean, and we want to keep it that way.
We fell into that mess a couple of years ago, and it cost us.
We have a brother in prison because of it.
We’re never making the same mistake again.
Bronson thinks he’s smarter than us, when we know better. ”
“What happens now?” she asks.
“One day at a time. Hawk’s working on a plan. Our club is small, and our resources are limited, but we have firepower when we need it. You’ve got to trust us.”
She puts her hand on my cheek, looking straight into my eyes. “I trust you, Matthew,” she says. She uses my given name in her soft, sweet voice. I rest my forehead against hers.
“Jesus, Tessa. I want to take you up to my room and show you how much those words mean to me, but I have the guys waiting and work to be done.” I sigh, not wanting to move away from her.
Tessa moves first. “Then you should get to it. I’d better call Ruth, though. She’s going to be worried if we don’t show up.”
“I’ll call her and fill her in,” I offer.
“She likes me. She’ll want to hear it from me,” she says.
“Okay, babe.”
I leave her to make her call and get my ass back out to the bay area to help my brothers.
Tessa
“You’ve got to be shitting me!” Ruth exclaims when I tell her about the chaotic day I’ve had. “That fucker! I knew he was bad news. That crocodile smile didn’t fool me,” she says with a huff.
Then I make the mistake of telling her about the fire, and that sets Ruth off on another tangent.
Her rant includes a slew of expletives, some of which I’ve never heard before.
I can’t get a word in edgewise, and before I can stop her, Ruth tells me that she’s on her way over to the club and to let the boys know.
Etain and Sasha join me as I am speaking with Ruth. I’m sure they hear the entire conversation, because Ruth isn’t quiet by any means.
“You’d better give Hawk fair warning.” Etain giggles. “When Ruth gets riled, she’s a force of nature. But don’t worry, Hawk always has a way of settling her down.”
“Does she get like this often?” I ask.
“Ruth grew up in the MC life. Ruth is protective of the ones she cares about. Hawk and the boys have a special place in her heart. To answer your question, she gets riled when someone messes with her family, and the Redemption Riders are like family to her. It’s mutual.
Hawk and the others would do anything for her,” Etain explains.
I hate to interrupt the guys when they’re working, but I heed Etain’s advice and walk over.
The sound of tools clanging, engines revving, and machines making their noises drowns out my voice.
I catch Shooter’s eye, and he points to the car closest to me.
At first glance, I can’t see Motown, but as I get closer, I recognize his legs and feet sticking out from under the car.
“Motown, honey,” I call to him. Still nothing. I get down on my haunches and place my hand on his thigh. “Honey,” I try again, and this time, he shoots out from under the car.
“What’s wrong, Tessa?” His brow is furrowed as he sits up.
I gather it’s best to give it to him straight. “Ruth is coming over. I told her the whole story, and she is a little…miffed.”
Motown hangs his head for a second, then rises to his feet. He scours the floor between the cars and portable tool shelves and spots Hawk. He takes me by the hand and pulls me gently along with him over to where Hawk is working. He sees us from the corner of his eye and turns to look at us.
“Ruth’s on her way over,” Motown says, and Hawk looks to the heavens.
He expels a heavy sigh before saying, “Right.” He points to Motown. “Keep working. I’ll handle Ruth when she shows up.” Hawk turns to me. “Let me know when she gets here. She’s going to be riled up, but I don’t want her in the garage. We need to keep working.”
I nod and start to go back to the girls, but Motown wraps an arm around my waist and seals his mouth over mine in a brief, hard kiss before he lets me go.
He nuzzles his face into my neck, then murmurs in my ear, “It’s impossible to have you this close without touching you.
Do this man a favor and hide yourself away for a while so I don’t get in trouble with the guys,” he jokes.
I can’t help but smile and reach up on my tiptoes to give him a quick peck on his jaw before I leave him to his work.
I follow the sound of women singing through the main room and down the hall and find myself in a massive kitchen.
I mean huge. It’s the kind of kitchen you would see in a restaurant, with multiple stoves, a massive refrigerator, which is more like two side by side, and a pantry that stretches across one side of the room.
“Look at this place!” I exclaim. Etain grins and continues chopping vegetables.
Sasha, at the stove simmering ground beef in a large cast iron skillet, glances over her shoulder. “We decided on chili for tonight. It’ll keep if they can’t all come in for food at the same time and it’s an easy meal.”
By the size of the pot sitting out, it looks like they’re making enough for twenty people. “I guess you can freeze the leftovers,” I mumble.