TACK
Indigo, Bear, Pork Chop, Sync, and I walk to the renovated barn turned meeting hall where two dozen motorcycles are parked outside. Aunt Fred stands out front. Her brown-and-gray hair is swept up in a bouncy ponytail. She’s wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans just like Hunter. Her expression warms at the sight of me.
“I heard you haven’t eaten today,” Aunt Fred says and hands me a fat thermos. “This has potato soup inside.”
“We went ahead and mashed those potatoes down real good first,” Elvis adds as he wraps an arm around his wife’s shoulders and presses his lips against her forehead. He flashes me a smile. “We wanted to make sure it was suitable for your tummy.”
“Are you mocking me?”
“No, I’m using my grandpa voice with you,” he replies. “Is it too much? The kids love it.”
“Well, I’m over thirty, so maybe just talk to me like you would another adult.”
“Okay, but you’re missing out, kid,”
I take the spoon from a smiling Aunt Fred and enter the meeting hall. Inside, several rows of folding chairs are arranged. I take a spot between Bear and Indigo in the second row. Golden drops in a chair in front of us and next to Pork Chop.
In front of the chairs is a screen used for movie nights. The faces of the men from the garage attack are at the top. The mugger’s photo is at the side. I assume the men at the bottom are from yesterday’s attack.
While waiting for the meeting to begin, I eat from the thermos. The soup’s texture is like baby food, but the flavor is good.
I spot Zoot and Noble arguing at the other end of the meeting hall. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but they soon start shoving each other. Elvis gets in between his younger brothers and pats them on their heads. They both shove him before Aunt Fred arrives to settle them all down.
I sense the O’Malley brothers are arguing over whether Hunter should remain at the farm. If they send her away, I’ll go with her. I’m unsure if I’m tough enough to keep her safe on my own, but I won’t have any choice in the matter.
I set the thermos on the ground between my feet and sulk over how other people decide my fate.
“Chill,” Bear mumbles and nudges my leg. “You’re showing too much.”
Crossing my arms, I don’t know if I can turn off my irritation. Hunter isn’t ready to leave the farm. She looked exhausted and battered this morning. Her bruises were more pronounced, but she also smiled easier.
I want to wrap Hunter up in the farm’s routine and keep her safe. But I apparently have no fucking say in the matter.
The brothers walk to the screen where Noble shoots a dirty look in Zoot’s direction. Elvis and Aunt Fred take spots near the front.
“All right,” Zoot says and snaps at Golden to shut up. “These are the fucks we’ve identified from the three attacks.”
“Did you create this PowerPoint presentation yourself, boyo?” Caveman asks as he enters the meeting hall, claims the last row of chairs for his members, and stretches out his large build. “Real handy skill there, Zoot.”
“Shut up or I’ll throw you out.”
“Naw, I don’t think you will. I’m a man you might need help from one day. Best let me stay so you can beg for shit later.”
“Zip it,” Aunt Fred admonishes. “Let’s get this meeting over with so Tack and the boys can rest up after yesterday.”
When Caveman and Zoot glance in my direction, I frown back at them. My president cracks his neck and tries to get organized mentally. Caveman just grins at me, loving to stir up trouble.
With Zoot too irritated at Caveman to focus, Noble takes over and explains, “The mugger was a local guy. The two mercenary crews are both from out of town. The men from the garage aren’t from the same area as the ones from yesterday. Whoever hired them might be picking at random from a mercenary phone book.”
“What about a money trail?” Caveman asks. “This fucker is paying them somehow.”
“We’ve got people checking out every single one of these men,” Noble explains, “but we’re not the only ones looking. The garage thing was easier. The local cops stayed out of our way. But everyone and their fucking mom saw the videos of yesterday’s shootout. The feds are in play now.”
Caveman nods. “If Banta City’s crawling with badges, now might be the best time to send the ginger lass on her way.”
Zoot frowns at Noble who shakes his head. Aunt Fred waits for them to say something. Hell, we’re all waiting for Zoot to take charge.
When no one speaks up, Caveman switches gears and asks, “Any idea where they were going to drop off the rich girl if things had worked out for them?”
“We were only able to grab a single burner phone from the scene. The feds might be more helpful with that situation.”
“Looks to me like the answer is clear,” Caveman says. “The world’s a big place. Not as big as Suzanne Knutsen’s bank account, for sure. You’d be smart to have Hunter’s rich mommy send a chopper here to steal her away.”
“We don’t want Tack to leave town,” Noble tells Caveman. “Right now, the city is basically locked down. The feds want to talk to all the players. Everyone is behaving. We all saw how the feds’ involvement changed things after the Kovak family’s convoy was attacked.”
Noble glances at his pissed brother before continuing, “That shit lasted weeks. In theory, the asshole behind all this has got to be scared. He might even be on the run. Whether it’s us or the feds, someone’s bound to link those mercenaries to the rich fucker pulling the strings. This situation might work itself out without us doing anything.”
“Sending Hunter away makes sense,” Caveman says, smirking at how I glare at him. “But sending your boy into the wild to keep her safe is dumb. Best to keep them locked down here.”
“No one asked you,” Zoot growls.
“Yet, I’ve graciously offered my advice anyway,” Caveman says and stretches his arms out as if taking a bow. “I’m a man known for his charity.”
The Hills Chapter members chuckle at their president’s bullshit while everyone else waits to see if Zoot will lose his temper.
“What if you’re wrong?” Zoot asks Caveman, but I sense he’s talking to Noble. “What if this rich asshole thinks he’s safe, and he figures Hunter is hiding out here with her boyfriend? And he hires new mercenaries who sneak onto the farm. What if they’re willing to kill everyone like they were on the street? Do we want our people turned into hamburger like the Knutsen family’s staff?”
Zoot’s temper hits another gear, and he hollers, “Civilians died, too! No one was safe out there, except Hunter!” He pauses his tirade to point at Indigo and me. “She’s the only reason these two are still breathing!”
When Aunt Fred looks ready to speak up, her brother-in-law cuts her off. “If Hunter is in the same location with Siobhan and Carys, do you think your girls will get out of it alive? We are talking about more than Tack and one woman. By allowing Hunter to remain here, we’re putting a target on every man, woman, and child on the farm.”
Indigo squirms in his chair and mutters, “If Tack gets sent away, I’ll go with him to make sure someone has his back.”
Caveman looks at Indigo and shakes his head. “No.”
“Don’t tell him shit,” Zoot snarls at Caveman. “He’s patched in our chapter, not yours. Just fuck off.”
“I said what I said,” Caveman mutters, sitting forward and seeming ready to rush at Zoot. “Indigo needs to stay in Banta City. He isn’t a man built for traveling.”
Noble senses the men are about to come to blows and steps between them. “No one should be leaving. Tack and Hunter are a couple. She’s a friend of the O’Malley family. Her mom has used her influence to keep the state cops off our back.”
“That’s not enough,” Zoot growls at his brother. “Hunter will get our people killed.
“What makes you think the asshole won’t send mercs to the farm anyway? Tack is on video riding off with Hunter. Anyone stalking Hunter knows she’s friends with Siobhan and Carys. It’s obvious she’s probably here. The only way to prove otherwise is to prove she’s somewhere else. How the fuck would we do that even if we sent her away?”
“We leak some shit to our people in the media about Hunter traveling overseas to heal with her mom.”
“We can do that anyway.”
Zoot pushes Noble who fights the urge to escalate the fight. As the brothers face off, my president mutters, “We’re going to lose people.”
“Stop being a pussy,” Caveman says, throwing gasoline on the fire. “Your boy has a woman in trouble. If you can’t handle that shit, have them come stay up in the hills. We’ll keep them safe. Won’t we, boys?”
As soon as the Hills Chapter members murmur their approval, Zoot dives for Caveman. The two large men end up on the floor. Noble doesn’t waste time trying to break up the wrestling match. He snaps at me and points to the door.
I obey since he’s on my side with Hunter. If Zoot snapped, I would flip him off. My temper isn’t usually an issue, but few people matter to me as much as Hunter does. I can’t see the big picture. I only see my woman.
“No one’s going anywhere,” Noble tells me as the wrestling match knocks over chairs and sends club guys darting out of the way. “Are you okay?”
“No.”
“Well, the good thing about the feds sniffing around is everyone’s acting like fucking choir boys right now.”
“Tell him about staying off the roads!” Zoot yells from his battle with Caveman.
Noble rolls his eyes. “Your president orders you to remain off the roads for the time being. You don’t ride until Zoot says otherwise.”
“Why exactly?”
“The media is talking about you as Hunter’s boyfriend. If this guy wants someone to blame for keeping Hunter from him, he’ll put a target on you. Zoot is worried a sniper shot will end you. So, stay home for now.”
“Okay. If the feds are investigating, should we tell them about our suspect list?”
“Yes, but it needs to come from Hunter. They’ll be out here today. Our lawyers will be back. We told Suzanne to send her own, meaning she’ll probably have the entire law firm out here. Anyway, the feds are coming at this like an abduction for ransom crime. They’re putting time and money behind bringing someone to bear for what happened. Every rich person in America expects this shit to be handled and the responsible person to be ruined. So maybe we can let Uncle Sam handle our problem while Hunter and you hold up here.”
Exhaling deeply, I feel exhausted. “I don’t want to leave.”
“You aren’t going anywhere.”
“Zoot, though.”
“He’s just freaked out after seeing the videos. There’s one where you go down from the stomach shot. The video flashes away from you and it seems like you’re a goner. It fucked him up. He can’t think straight, but we’ve got this thing handled. Just take care of Hunter and rest up. There’s always new bullshit on the horizon.”
“Do you ever wish you weren’t in charge?”
My question startles Noble. He stares at me blankly and then frowns. “No, I’d rather have an ulcer than get my ass spanked by a tyrant.”
I glance at where Caveman and Zoot have finished pounding on each other. My president glares at the other man, never willing to let anything go. Caveman chuckles with his sister, always happy to ruin someone’s day.
I leave behind the men in charge and go looking for Hunter. I’m trying to imagine us together after all this chaos. Can we build a life with a home and kids like normal people?
As I enter Carys’s house to find Hunter cuddled with a sleepy Hector, I feel her mind focused on babies. She offers me a smile filled with promises.
I don’t know if I’m ready for everything she wants. However, I’m certain wherever this woman goes, I plan to follow.