Chapter 24
One Week Later
It had been a month, almost to the day, since I exited the diner and saw something that would change the trajectory of my whole life.
In spite of the whirlwind nature of it, my home life was better than it ever was.
Riley and I were figuring out what it meant to be a married couple.
And as far as anyone could tell, his crime couldn’t be pinned on him.
Fang was missing. Without a body, there was no evidence of murder.
Even though Riley was questioned more than once, given his history with the Cooper King, there wasn’t enough to arrest him; and he was smart enough, or maybe cocky enough, to live his life not as one under suspicion always looking over his shoulder, but as the free man he believed himself to be.
Yet, even though the cops didn’t have the evidence they needed to keep a close eye on the club without earning a harassment complaint, the Kings were stirring up enough trouble for all of us to be on alert.
It was getting worse as the days since Fang’s disappearance increased.
Now, Carmine wasn’t the only King I had to worry about during one of my shifts.
In fact, I hadn’t seen him since our last run in a couple weeks ago.
But his brothers were showing up as if taking shifts of their own.
Viv was still holding steady, refusing to turn away paying customers, regardless of the kuttes they wore.
So long as they weren’t driving away other guests, they were welcome.
We all knew it wasn’t about the money. She ran a solid business, and there would always be butts in seats with the menu she curated.
It was about building community. It was about common ground, respect, and standing up for peace.
But as the days wore on, they were on the verge of testing everyone’s patience.
Tonight, three of them were occupying a booth in Max’s section.
They’d been there for hours. Maxine was taking it in stride, but I didn’t like it.
While Viv didn’t say the words, I knew she was practicing caution as well.
It was almost closing time on a Tuesday night.
Usually, she let Will handle locking up during the week.
The fact that she was still around meant she was in mama bear mode.
The diner nearly empty, Max and I were working side-by-side, restocking napkins and swapping condiment bottles. It was usually a job meant for the last server standing, but like Viv, I didn’t feel right leaving yet.
“Yo, Max—come ‘ere, princess,” called one of the Kings.
I frowned at my friend, silently expressing how much I disliked the familiarity of his tone. She just rolled her eyes and sighed, “I’ll be right back.”
I watched her go then moved a table closer, wanting to be nearby in case she needed backup.
“You do know the kitchen’s closed, right? You paid your tab, what else can I do for you?”
“I can think of a few things,” drawled one, his tone sopping in innuendo.
“Why don’t you give us a little show? Walk toward the door and back again real slow,” suggested another.
I straightened then, brazenly eyeing down the men at the table, ready to jump into the conversation.
While each of them possessed a certain level of intimidation, simply on account of the patches on their backs, only one of them looked legitimately threatening.
That’s not to imply I wanted to go to blows with any of them, but I could toss some words.
I didn’t get the chance before Max tried to shift the vibe beginning to cloud the room. With a wide smile, she laughed softly and replied, “Oh, I think y’all misunderstood. I’m not on the menu.”
“Not yet. But I’m bettin’ that can be arranged.”
As the scary one spoke, he slowly dragged his gaze up and down Maxine’s body in a way that made even me uncomfortable. I wished we weren’t on neutral ground but in the parameters of Stallion territory, putting us on their patrol route. It was my man and Fury out on their hogs that night.
“Hey—you okay?” I asked, walking over to stand with Max.
“Mmhmm,” she hummed, folding her arms across her chest. “They were just sayin’ their goodbyes.”
The men hesitated long enough for me to notice none of them held a rank worthy of a patch on the front of their kuttes. Though, the menacing one called Joker seemed to be the ringleader. When he moved to get up, the others followed.
“Night, princess. Don’t worry, we’ll be back.”
The others headed for the door right away, but Joker towered over Max a moment longer, as if sending a warning I couldn’t quite understand. He lifted a hand to touch her cheek, but stopped when Viv called out, “Touch her. I dare you.”
I watched as his eyes sought the woman behind the voice, seeing it when he found her where she’d been working quietly at the bar. Joker smirked sardonically then dropped his hand back to his side and finally made his way toward the exit.
“You okay, baby?” called Viv as soon as the door shut behind them.
“I’m fine. Really.”
Viv nodded then began to gather her paperwork from off the bar as she commanded, “Finish up. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
I waited until her mother disappeared through the kitchen’s swinging door before asking, “What’s their deal? Why do they seem so familiar with you?”
Max merely shrugged, avoiding my gaze as she moved to the next nearest table. “They’re just trying to get under my skin.”
“They called you princess. Is this about you being the president’s daughter? I think—”
“It’s no more a secret who I am than it is one of them is your brother. Things the way they are right now, they’re just trying to start shit.” She paused long enough to look me in the eye. “Trust me, it’s not a big deal. We can’t let them get to us.”
I nodded, a part of me understanding she was right.
But there was another part of me, a bigger part of me, that thought it was weird.
While on some level it could make sense to target Nighthawk’s daughter, he wasn’t the one the Kings suspected.
He wasn’t the one they kidnapped and beat to a pulp.
Not that I was signing up for it, but it made more sense for them to come after me.
I’m the one who threw myself between Riley and Carmine.
If they wanted to get him to talk, I practically drew the target on my back.
I didn’t share my thoughts with Max as we finished restocking the last few tables, but I made a mental note to ask Riley about his thoughts on the matter later.
In no mood to wait out the tail end of Riley’s patrol shift at the clubhouse, after Viv, Max and I parted ways from the diner, I went home. As soon as I killed the engine of my Mustang, I shot him a text, letting him know where I was.
Riley promised he’d make space for my ride in the garage before the first snow.
It was hardly a grand romantic gesture, but it still made me smile thinking of it as I strolled inside.
Men didn’t make room for women they didn’t plan on keeping around.
His promise was another reminder I was no longer a loose end on which he was keeping tabs. I was his wife.
For now, it was enough to make me happy.
I changed into a pair of sleep shorts and one of his old, faded, Harley Davidson tees, dished myself a bowl of gelato, and watched two episodes of Beat Bobby Flay, before I heard the familiar rumble of my man’s hog.
I paused the beginning of the next episode and got up off the couch, taking my empty bowl to the kitchen sink where I rinsed it and set it aside.
As soon as Riley opened the back door, Reaper proceeded him inside, coming straight for me. I never really thought of myself as a dog person, but having earned Reaper’s love and affection, I knew I never wanted to be without it again.
“Hi, pretty girl,” I greeted, reaching down to scratch around her ears.
“Hübsches m?dchen,” said Riley as he followed after his pup.
“Hmm?” I hummed, looking up at him, my hands still busy loving on Reaper.
“Pretty girl—hübsches m?dchen.”
“Hübsches m?dchen,” I repeated, not nearly as well as him.
The corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk as he spoke the German words to me again, slower this time.
“Hübsches m?dchen,” I tried once more, laughing a little at how awful I knew I sounded.
“We’ll work on it,” he said, the amusement in his tone matching the laughter I read in his eyes. He then reached for the back of my neck, applying enough pressure for me to understand what he wanted. I straightened, leaning against his chest as I tilted my head back, offering him my mouth.
He took it—generously—leaving me weak in the knees.
When he was finished, he pulled away only enough to give his lips space to move, his breath still mingling with mine as he asked, “How was work?”
“Good. Well—mostly good. We had a table of Kings all night. And by all night I mean all night. They sat there for at least five hours.”
He grunted, and I tried not to let it show how pleased I was I could understand what he was thinking from that one noise.
“They give you grief?”
“Actually…” I sobered a little, pulling away so I could really look at him.
“It wasn’t me they were messing with. It was Max.
One of them—Joker was the name on his kutte—he kept calling her princess.
And the way he looked at her…” I shook my head then huffed out a sigh.
“Maybe it was nothing. Max shrugged it off, but I don’t know. It felt weird.”
He cursed under his breath and let me go, taking a step back as he extracted his phone from his pocket. With a frown, I watched as he initiated a call. It didn’t ring for long before whoever was on the other end of the line answered.
“Heard you had company tonight.”
Max.
He called Max.
I couldn’t hear her reply, but I could tell by the look on Pistol’s face he wasn’t buying it.
“We’re not takin’ that risk. Way things are heatin’ up? It’s time to come out with it.”