CHAPTER TEN
Gage pushed through the back door of Easy Money. Tuesday afternoon, small crowd, classic rock humming in the background. Owen’s place had the right mix of atmosphere and great food.
Gage had put out a call through the group chat. Everyone but Shane was coming.
Owen stood at the bar filling shot glasses and gave Gage a chin lift.
Jen leaned over the bar with a wink and a grin as she wiped down the polished wood. “Hey, handsome. Been a while. How’s it going?”
“Good. Busy.” He loosened his collar with a tug. He wasn’t sure why the hell he suddenly felt hot.
“Even busy boys need a break. Why don’t you pick me up after my shift? I haven’t seen you and Pancake in ages.”
He ignored Owen’s speculative look. Jen was nice and their easy, uncomplicated relationship meant easy, uncomplicated sex. No promises. No pressure.
So why did it feel like stepping off a ledge to say, “Can’t. I, uh… I’m seeing someone. Sort of.” Could he be any more of an idiot? Whatever was building between him and Melanie had him off balance.
Jen’s smile didn’t falter. “Aw, that’s sweet. Another good one off the market.”
Funny. He’d never thought of himself as on the market.
Melanie had upended that without even trying.
The way she looked at him. The way she fought to protect her kid.
The way she’d stood over a restrained intruder with a damn book.
Yeah. Something had shifted. He was willing to sacrifice easy and uncomplicated without a backward look.
Jen moved down the bar to greet a trio of middle-aged guys in matching beer league shirts.
Gage took a quiet breath and scanned for Keeley.
No sign. Thank god. If she got wind of why he’d called the men together, she’d bust their asses, then she’d tell Delaney and Cam and they’d bust their asses too.
Owen finished lining up a shot tray and handed it off to a server. He turned to Gage. “What’ll you have?”
“The Cider Mill Hard you’ve got on tap. And since I called the meeting, I’ll take a platter of hot wings with another of onion rings.”
“You got it, brother.” Owen passed the food order to the kitchen and pulled Gage a glass of amber cider. He said something to Jen and, after filling a glass with soda water, came around the bar. “Jen’ll bring out the order. Let’s grab a seat on the restaurant side where it’s quiet.”
Easy Money had become a gathering point for the men Delaney called her dudes. It still surprised him to find himself part of that group. Delaney, Cam, Emery—they’d banded together to strong arm him—always with a smile—into becoming a member of what was essentially extended family.
They slid into a booth. Owen leaned back, resting his head on the cushion, eyes closed.
“Late nights behind the bar wearing you out, old man?”
Owen cracked one eye open and smirked. “Old man, my ass. It’s not the bar that’s occupying my nights.”
“You work late, then spend the rest of the night doing the deed with your little ray of sunshine?”
Owen grinned. “What can I say? She’s insatiable.”
“Asshole.” The expletive lacked heat.
“You’re jealous.”
Sawyer dropped into the booth next to Gage. “Why is Owen an asshole this time?”
“I’m not an asshole. Our boy’s jealous I’m getting laid regular. He needs a woman.”
“I thought we’re here because of his woman.” Owen moved over so Walker could sit.
Gage was grateful Jen arrived with the hot wings when she did. It spared him the guaranteed round of shit the guys would’ve thrown his way. She passed out plates, set down a stack of napkins, and turned her grin on Walker and Sawyer.
“What are the McGrath brothers drinking today?”
“Cider Mill Hard,” Walker said. No surprise there since he’d developed the label and produced it at the farm. Sawyer echoed the order.
Jen shot Gage a wink before heading back to the bar.
Sawyer dunked an onion ring in creamy dip and ate it whole. After swallowing, he pointed at Owen. “Enjoy the alone time while you can. Once that baby is born, you’ll have to get creative about getting time with your woman.”
“See,” Gage muttered. “I’m not the only one not getting laid.”
“Didn’t say I wasn’t getting laid,” Sawyer said, lips twitching. “We just have to get…strategic. Our kid has crazy internal radar. Wakes up wailing at the wrong moment. Every single time. He must not want any siblings. I swear he’s doing it on purpose.”
His phone buzzed and he glanced down, then grinned as he showed them a photo. “I wouldn’t change a damn thing. Cam and JT? They’re everything.”
Gage stared at the picture longer than he meant to. Cam, glowing. The baby all chubby cheeks and bright eyes. The ache that hit him was quiet, but real. A year ago, that kind of life would’ve been the last thing he wanted. Now… He wasn’t so sure.
“Speaking of kids,” Walker said, licking sauce off his thumb, “I’ve got an hour max before I need to be back. Clara’s with Harper while she naps, but I need to be there when she wakes up.” He nodded to Gage. “What’s going on?”
Gage scanned the faces around the table. These men weren’t just backup—they were steady. They showed up. Every damn time. Exactly what he needed.
“Melanie Brennan,” he said. “My new neighbor. She and her daughter moved in about a week or so ago.”
“I told Walker what happened with her yesterday,” Sawyer added. “You need to bring Owen up to speed.”
Gage did that, walking through the break-in, the texts, the suspects. He paused as Jen returned, sliding glasses of cider in front of Walker and Sawyer. They waited in silence until she left again. “Now Sawyer can fill us in on what they’ve dug up on those two assholes.”
“We confirmed their IDs,” Sawyer said. “The guy Gage tied up inside is Darrel Franklin. The other one, the Tundra driver, is Keith Boner.”
Owen snorted into his glass. “Bet middle school was a bitch.”
Sawyer shrugged. “Would explain the attitude. Anyway, they’ve got records, petty stuff going back to their teens. DUI, shoplifting, simple assault. They shared a jail cell in Sacramento County and have paired up since then.”
“Motivation?” Walker sipped his drink.
“They’re claiming they were looking to score easy-to-fence goods,” Sawyer said.
“I’m not buying it,” Gage’s voice was low, rough. “Boner surveilled Melanie’s house. If they were after loot, they’d wait until she was gone. But they came when she was home.
And that text I intercepted? Their job was to scare her.”
“I’m with you,” Sawyer agreed. “We don’t have a warrant for their phones yet but they’re burners. If they’re working for someone, my bet is the phones won’t contain anything that could link them to whoever payrolled them.”
“Or,” Walker added, “this could be a stalker situation. One of them’s obsessed and pulls in the other to help.”
“Maybe. Mel could’ve been followed from Stockton,” Gage said.
“But you don’t think so.”
Gage shook his head. “It’s possible, but unlikely.
She spotted Boner watching her from his truck.
If she’d had issues in Stockton, she would’ve said something.
I checked with Stockton PD. She’s never filed a stalking complaint.
Her only contact with them was nearly four years ago when she was in a fender bender with an uninsured motorist. No restraining orders, no complaints, no red flags. ”
“So no history to suggest she was followed from Stockton,” Walker said.
“Which leaves us with the more likely theory,” Owen said, leaning in. “She comes back to town and someone wants her gone.”
Gage met Owen’s gaze and nodded. “That’s what I’m thinking. Her being here makes someone nervous.”
Walker straightened. “You think the guy watching her is connected to her assailant.” It wasn’t a question.
Gage nodded. “Yeah. Melanie wants the case reopened. She’s on a mission, and I don’t blame her. She made a spreadsheet listing every person she remembers from that party you yokels call a bootlegger. She’s planning to talk to each one of them, hoping to shake something loose.”
“Solid start,” Sawyer muttered, “but fuck.”
“Fuck is right,” Owen agreed, voice grim.
“It’s no secret she moved back. If the guy who attacked her has been keeping tabs, he knows she’s asking questions.
I respect her for going after the truth, but she’s painting a target on her back.
You’re the law school grad.” He pointed at Gage.
“What’s the law say? If she IDs him, can the fucker still be charged? ”
“She was seventeen,” Gage replied. “The law on the books at that time gives minor victims until age forty. She’s got time. She could also file a civil suit.”
“So if he’s still around and she’s asking questions, he’s got incentive to make her stop,” Owen said.
Gage nodded once. That’s the part that killed him. He admired her strength. He respected her refusal to back down. But now there were break-ins, threats of arson. And Addy was in the crosshairs too. Justice mattered, but not at the expense of their safety.
He raked a hand through his hair, then looked around the table. “She shouldn’t do this alone. That’s why I need your help.”
“You’ve got it,” Sawyer said without hesitation. “What’s she learned so far?”
“She’s just getting started, so not a lot yet. Melanie remembers seeing Rhonda Lockwood from the bank hanging out with Chase Bradford and a guy named Greg Delano. Says Rhonda and Greg were all over each other that night. But when she asked Rhonda, she denied being with them.”
Walker frowned. “I was there but don’t remember anything about Rhonda. Delaney might.”
“The question is why lie? The reason could have nothing to do with the attack on Melanie, so who knows.” Gage moved his plate to the side.
“The same day at the bank, Bradford cornered her and asked her out. She agreed to meet, said it felt like a chance to dig into what he knew about that night. He thought it was a date. She didn’t. ”