Chapter 2 #2
“Yeah, clearing us out of town. He knew about our agreement with Walker, and he’s never liked it,” Cruiser, the club’s secretary and tech-wiz says.
Walker has been the sheriff here in Stillwater for decades, he grew up with the founding members of Lawless, and we’ve always been on good terms with him, much to Mayor Watson’s displeasure. He wants rid of Walker and he wants rid of us.
Myles scoffs. “Stillwater is as much our home as it is everyone else’s here. Only way they’ll get me out is in a body bag.”
I spot Allie, Myles’ fiancée across the room by the side of the stage along with her colleagues from the station.
“What’s Allie saying about it?”
“There’s speculation at the station about who this Collins guy is, but consensus says Walker is the one people are voting for.”
There’s a loud screech that echoes through the room as Fred Austin, a member of the town council taps the mic to grab our attention and the room falls silent. “Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you all so much for joining us this evening to announce the next sheriff of Stillwater Falls.”
Mayor Watson pats Collins on the shoulder, giving it an encouraging squeeze. Standing on the stage next to Barry Collins are four other hopeful candidates, including Brad Matthews, an officer at the station, and Sheriff Walker, hoping to keep a hold of his badge a little while longer.
Fred clears his throat before continuing. “Over the last couple of weeks, we have seen a great many wanting to serve the good people of this town. Each one a worthy contender and I would like to thank you all on behalf of our town for the dedication and determination you have shown.”
The room fills with applause while Austin pulls out an envelope. “With fifty-three percent of the votes, I can now announce that the new sheriff of Stillwater Falls is Barry Collins! Congratulations Mr. Collins!”
An audible gasp ripples through the room, hushed whispers mixed with a few weak claps of applause that fizzle out into nothing, all except for Mayor Watson who’s positively beaming. Judging by the reception, it’s safe to say the majority of the room didn’t vote for this new guy.
There’s more at play here and I think Mayor Watson’s hands are a little dirtier than he leads people to believe.
“There’s no fucking way this is happening,” Myles says in disbelief with a shake of his head.
“Nobody in this town would vote for an outsider,” Cru says.
My eyes return to the stage where Mayor Watson pulls Collins in for a congratulatory hug. “This is bullshit. Watson rigged the whole thing, he must’ve.”
The new sheriff steps up to the mic and begins his speech, and it’s precisely the time I tune out and head for the door. I’m not sticking around to listen to this bullshit.
I step outside the town hall and light up a cigarette, Myles, Jett and Cru not far behind me, accompanied by Allie.
“You still smoking those, Kill?” she asks when they reach me.
I blow out a puff of smoke. “Still? You make it sound like I plan on stopping, doll.”
Allie’s a cop, and a damn good one at that.
Never in a million years did I ever expect to be in a position where I call her a friend, in fact I hated her when she arrived in town, but here we are months later as friends.
Hell, we’re more like siblings the way we tease each other.
She loves her job and she takes it extremely seriously, which is why she does her best to distance herself from Myles, especially when she’s on duty or in uniform like she is now.
Being associated with a motorcycle club probably isn’t the best look for her, especially now we have a new sheriff in town.
“I don’t understand what happened in there,” she says.
“Watson happened, that’s what,” I answer, letting out another thick cloud of smoke. “And he needs to go.”
“Think we can make the fucker disappear like we did Grimes?” Jett asks.
Allie slams her hands over her ears. “I’m gonna pretend like I didn’t hear that. Plausible deniability, remember?”
Tobias Grimes, the leader of our old rival MC, The Cobras kidnapped Allie a few months back.
Allie was stabbed during the struggle, and we got her out of there before shit went south.
She knows the basics of what went down after she left, but not the details.
Myles thought it best should she ever be questioned.
Long story short, The Cobras were dealt with.
“Don’t do anything stupid. Any of you,” Allie warns.
“Who? Us? Do something stupid?” I feign offense.
Myles wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her in, pressing his lips to her temple and she softens. “Don’t worry, pix. We got this.”
I used to cringe at their PDA, but now I’ve come to appreciate how much Myles loves his girl. He adores her. I’ve never experienced anything remotely close to that and to be honest, I’ve never entertained the thought.
Love, relationships, marriage… That shit’s not for me.
The entrance to the town hall opens and Mayor Watson steps through.
“Incoming,” Jett mutters.
Allie excuses herself before he has chance to spot her with us.
The Mayor has made a beeline straight for us and I groan. He descends the steps at the front of the building, his chin held high the way he always does.
“How good it is to see you, gentlemen,” he greets, his words lacking any sincerity while he pats Myles on the shoulder. “I hope you’re as pleased with today’s result as I am.”
Myles forces a smile. “Ecstatic.”
“Just what this town needed, some fresh blood. Collins is a good man who will no doubt do this town a service, after all the trouble these past months, we need a sheriff who will make a difference, a sheriff free from external influences.”
“I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re referring to,” Myles replies.
Mayor Watson studies Myles for a beat. “Hm. For a man as smart as yourself, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
“Might have to spell it out for us, Mayor, we’re not all as well-educated as a man such as yourself,” I say, taking a deep drag on my cigarette.
His eyes flick across to me and they harden, his jaw clenching. “Well that goes without saying. Killian Hunt, a pleasure as always.”
“The displeasure is all mine.” I blow out a cloud of smoke that engulfs the mayor, but his poker face remains undisturbed.
“Nice to see you on the right side of the bars, let’s hope it stays that way, hm?” He turns and walks away without another word.
I flick my cigarette onto the grass verge beside me, taking a step forward to chase after the prick, but a firm hand wraps around my arm, Myles giving me a warning stare. “Kill, stand down. He’s not worth it.”
“Oh, I’d make it worth my while. I’d enjoy it very fucking much.”
“We know you’ve got beef with Watson, have done for years but I need you to keep your anger under control. We need to figure out how to play this. With Walker out, we need to be careful. Last thing I need is you back in prison.”
I take a deep steadying breath and exhale slowly out through my nose, feeling a little of the tension ease. I nod, giving Myles the green light to take his hand away.
He turns to Cruiser. “Cru, find me whatever you can on Barry Collins. I wanna know everything there is to know about our new sheriff.”
“And Watson?”
“I want skeletons, as many as you can find.”
“On it, Prez.”
“What’re we gonna do?” I ask.
“Watson’s made it clear he wants to play dirty. So we play dirtier.”