Chapter One #2
“In that case I’m gonna let you handle it.
” Her gaze caught at the rearing horse on her bicep.
RIP, as she called him, was stomping at a handful of snakes, with wild eyes and bared teeth.
Kinda how I feel right now. “On second thought.” She jerked her chin down the hallway.
“The med kit is in the kitchen just up there. You can bring it back out front. I need to make sure those jackasses don’t get any ideas.
I don’t know what I was thinking. My register isn’t locked or anything. ”
“Is that what they wanted? The cash from the till?” he asked like he hadn’t seen her about to be raped by the biggest one.
She shook her head as she let him walk past her, forcing those memories to the back of her mind. “Oh, he was planning on taking the cash all right, but he planned on taking other things first.”
Raggedy Dan was following her back up front, only this time it sounded like he was on the phone.
The ringing in her ears didn’t let her hear a word he said.
In the few seconds it took to return to the front, no one had moved.
Not even Mr. Gandy, who’d been wincing and jerking his way through the rib tattoo piece he’d sworn he could sit for.
She glanced at it with a sigh. Not even half of the line work was done, and there was still all the color to block in. Fucking pussy.
“Mr. Gandy, let me get you cleaned up, and you can go. Call me for a rescheduling appointment, and we’ll knock that tattoo out in no time.
” She put action to words and blasted sanitizer on a wad of paper towels to wipe his tattoo clean of blood and ink smears, then collected a couple of sterile gauze pads to tape to his ribs. “There you go, good as new.”
When he moved to reach for his wallet, she shook her head.
“We’ll settle up when you come again. You parked out back, right?
” He nodded, pale as a ghost. “Go straight out the door at the end of the hallway, then.” He shrugged on his shirt, buttoning things crossways as he walked away.
“Call for that appointment, don’t forget.
” Riley got a half-wave for her trouble.
He won’t be returning. She’d seen that level of fear before. He thought riding the edge of outlaw with a tattoo was going to be gangster, but the little fella can’t really handle gangster.
“Good god, that man’s a waste.” She turned and found Just Dan kneeling over the top of the guy who’d been promising her the ride of her life. She asked, “Is that asshole alive?”
“For now. His health is directly connected to how he answers my questions, though.” Dan didn’t look around. “I’m doing my best to make sure he stays hale and fit, but he’s not helping his own cause.”
She stepped between the man’s legs and put the toe of one boot right in the man’s taint, pressing down on what had to be his balls, given the way he tried to clutch at himself.
“Hey, jackass, you might want to answer the nice man’s questions.
Because if he leaves it up to me, you’ll depart here a eunuch. ”
“It’s just us. We’re the last.” The man shouted the words, his volume and timbre rising with every syllable.
“Riley Monroe, your techniques are a study in effectiveness.” Dan laughed, the sound painful to hear.
She mentally paired evidence of the damaged voice with the visible scarring, meaning he had to have been in a hell of a fire. And survived. That’s something right there.
He continued, “I’ve got folks coming. We’ll get all this out of your way in a bit.” He paused and pointed to the shattered display case. “Don’t suppose you’ve got another one of those around, do you?”
“Nope.” She pressed down on the man’s balls again, only backing off when he dry heaved a couple of times. “I’m going to be hard-pressed to find another I can afford.”
“Okay.” He took a couple of pictures, then apparently sent them as text messages, because he got something back quickly, phone buzzing in his hand.
“You’re in luck. You met someone today who has a spare display case and wants to unload it for cheap.
As in free.” He jabbed at the phone with his thumb.
“Might even get it delivered today yet. Depends on you.”
“You don’t have to do that. It isn’t your fault this jackass decided to try his luck out in my shop.” She swallowed hard. “But it would be mighty welcome. Let me know the cost, though. I don’t need handouts.”
“How’s your tattooin’ hand?”
The change in subject made her shake her head, rattling earrings as she tried to catch up. “My hands are fine. He had the wrong grip to do any actual damage.” She stood still, running her schedule through her head until the answer finally dawned on her. “You’re my two o’clock, aren’t you?”
“Guilty as charged.” He moved to squat near the third man in the tidy row of deadbeats he’d lined out on her floor. He rummaged through his pockets, pulled out a wallet, and took photos of the ID inside. “Were you able to do a sketch from what I sent you?”
“I have it designed, yes, sir. And I’m open to putting it on your shoulder, but I want you to consider making it a shield across half your chest too. The concept is too good to have it be a two-hour tattoo.”
A noise came from outside, and she realized she’d been hearing the rumble of engines for the last minute, only registering the sound when it suddenly stopped.
Several men’s voices carried in from outside, words overlapping in a terrifying cacophony of sound.
Riley took a step back, her breaths coming quick.
***
Dan
“It’s okay, these are my people. We’re good, Riley.” She was spooked, and it should have come as no surprise, given what she’d endured today.
Tinder walked through the front door, scoping out the situation within seconds. He crouched, putting one knee to the floor, making himself intentionally small. “Hey, Dan, got your messages.”
“Thanks for comin’, Prez. Hey, Riley, this is the president of my club.
I wanted him to collect these three assholes sooner rather than later.
Is it okay if we bring in a couple more guys?
The truck with your new display isn’t here yet, but they’re on the way.
” She looked at him, whites of her eyes flashing before she dropped her chin to her chest. She pulled in a measured, intentional breath, and her shoulders relaxed.
“That’s good, Riley. Slow and steady wins the race. ”
Without lifting her head, she asked, “What club are you part of? I didn’t see the back of your vest.”
“Rogue Maniacs MC. We’ve got beef with these assholes and killed their club, shutting it down and patching over only the few who were worthy.”
She tilted her head slightly, and he could see her eyes were closed. “I heard about you guys. Good things.” Her eyes popped open, and she had a tiny smile on her face. “I know Dawg from yoga.”
“Well, you’re in luck because he’s just outside,” Tinder said softly, then called, “Mad Dawg, come on in here, nice and slow.”
The door opened again, and a big man stood in the light. He caught a glimpse of Riley, and a wide grin hit his face.
“Meg, I didn’t know this was your place. They said it was Riley.” He walked in, letting the door close behind him as he took in the tableau inside the shop. “Come on over here, girl.”
He’d hardly finished speaking before Riley was running in his direction, the footsteps of her combat boots echoing through the shop.
She ran right into Mad Dawg’s arms, and he curled around her, whispering into her ear.
The man under his hand jerked and Dan swung before thinking, hitting him directly on the hinge of his jaw.
It knocked the man back out, and a second later he felt a hand on his shoulder, Tinder holding him back.
He whipped his head around to find his president shaking his head.
“He’s locked in with Ella, you know that.”
“Yeap, I do. But it...I don’t...there’s somethin’.”
“I’ve got a new assignment for you, Dan.” Tinder rose to his feet with a grin, and Dan did the same, without the change in facial expression.
Riley’s shoulders were shaking. She was crying.
He knew instinctively that she’d hate it as soon as she got past the adrenaline drop she had to be feeling.
He reached behind the counter holding the register and brought out the bottle again.
Taking the cap off, he took a quick swig before saying, “Riley, need another hit of whiskey?”
She nodded and pulled away from Mad Dawg to turn around and look at Dan. “That’d be welcome, Raggedy Dan.” She took the bottle from his hand and lifted it to her lips with a twisted smile. “Thanks.”
Her eyes were circled with tear-smeared mascara, her cheeks were a bright red, and Dan didn’t think he’d ever seen a prettier woman.
“And that, in a nutshell, is your new job, Enforcer.”
Dan shook his head, still watching Riley as she composed herself and chatted with Mad Dawg.
By the time the pickup came with the new display case, the two bikes out front had been loaded into a van and hauled away, and the three men had been shoved into a different kind of van and taken away. That left just the car, and that would also be hauled off the lot by a wrecker before end of day.