Chapter 6
Jigsaw
T he ride over to Sturgis took longer than I would have liked, but there were so many riders on the road that we creeped along.
Our parking area was being manned by three prospects, and as we pulled into town, the deafening roar of engines was music to my ears.
Raven signaled we were turning, and I watched everyone in front of me to make sure we didn’t get separated.
One-by-one, the Sinners walked our bikes into the spot we’d paid high dollar for.
Roughstock gave me a chin lift as he helped Cheyenne off the back of his bike. I walked up to him as a few of the ol’ ladies joined Cheyenne. Looking around, I didn’t see Laura with Phantom, so I asked Roughstock, “Where’s Laura?”
Cheyenne heard my question and turned to answer. “She’s back at the ranch with Charlie and the pups. She wanted to come, but her feet were swollen from yesterday, so Charlie offered to sit with her.”
I gave a knowing nod as she turned back to speak with the other ladies. Roughstock stepped closer to me and lowered his voice as he spoke. “I heard about Willow. Is this something we need to worry about?”
“Nah, man. I’m sure she was just looking for a hook-up. I don’t expect to even see her again.”
He clapped me on the back and warned, “You never know when fate is going to step in.”
His gaze was locked on something over my shoulder, and on instinct, I turned to see what had his attention. It could have been anything from a bad-ass bike to a fight in the middle of the road. At the Rally, anything goes.
What I wasn’t expecting to see was the Phantom Renegades pulling down Main Street and past the Sinners Revenge.
I certainly wasn’t expecting to see Willow with her ass popped in the air as she drove her Kawaski Ninja H2 at Ghost’s side.
And what really caught me off guard was when Ghost turned and looked right at me.
He was wearing the ‘President’ patch on his cut, and his smile was almost feral as we watched each other.
They pulled down the road and turned onto a side street as I looked back at Roughstock. “Do you want to revise your statement?”
“Fuck,” I remarked and ran my hands through my hair.
“We’ve got your back, brother. But it didn’t look like he was edging for a confrontation, so maybe if we avoid them, they’ll avoid us.”
Raven walked up and looked down the road to where the Phantom Renegades had turned before he said, “Well, this is either really good or really bad.”
“How’s that?” I asked.
“The way I see it, either she avoids you and we’re in the clear, or she comes over and we have to throw down.”
“I don’t think Ghost wants to fight,” I reasoned. “The way I did things with the Phantom Renegades meant no blowback.”
At least, I hoped it did.
Brothers and their ol’ ladies broke off and began to move through the crowd of people standing everywhere.
The Rally wasn’t as big or as wild as it used to be, but there was always something entertaining to look at.
Raven and I walked to one of the beer tents, and I slapped a twenty down for two beers.
The girl pushed the couple bucks left over into the tip jar as I took a healthy swallow of the cold brew.
Music filtered from everywhere as we maneuvered through the crowd. We passed Jagger and Jackie speaking with Needles and his ol’ lady from the Death Hounds, and I gave them a chin lift as we passed.
Raven reached into his cut and pulled out a joint, lighting the tip. Cops didn’t say too much about weed being consumed in public as long as you weren’t brazen about it. He and I found a wall to push up against as we smoked the joint and enjoyed our beers.
“What are you going to do about her?” he asked, and I cut my eyes to him.
“There’s nothing to do about her. She’s not mine, never was, so there’s nothing to do,” I answered and handed him the roach back before blowing acrid smoke into the air.
He chuckled and responded, “I know there’s more to the story than you hooked up with your president’s daughter, but I’m not going to push for more. Not right now, at least.”
“Ass,” I remarked.
He laughed, and we pushed off the wall as he dropped the tiny remnant of the joint to the ground and stomped it into nothing before we walked away.
Walking down the street, we had to step around countless people looking at all the items available for sale.
Vendors had overtaken the Rally over the last few years, and there were too many people selling the same overpriced crap for my liking.
“Let’s go find Nick’s stage and get a seat,” I suggested, and he nodded as we turned and began to walk toward the area where our friend would be performing.
There was a wet T-shirt contest being held under a tent just off Main Street, and we walked over to see it.
This was the part of Sturgis I enjoyed, and no, it wasn’t the half-naked women parading around.
It’s the free spirit, the open road, the comradery, and the lawless attitude that I found appealing.
We watched for about twenty minutes before continuing down the sidewalk. Raven and I had been joined by Warhol and Phantom, and the four of us were laughing and cutting up when a disturbance up ahead caught our attention.
Fighting wasn’t unusual near the Rally, but it was who was being dragged into the fight that made me move closer.
I couldn’t see the people’s faces, but I could tell two men were giving a woman a hard time.
That kind of shit wasn’t going to happen with a Sinner around, so I immediately started pushing through the crowd of people watching instead of helping.
When I got to the front of the crowd, I saw the tattooed sleeves and blonde hair, and I knew instantly that it was Willow trying to get the two drunk bikers to leave her alone. Looking around, I didn’t see her brother or any of the Phantom Renegades, so I decided I was going to have to step in.
“Is that her?” Raven asked, and I gave him a nod as I walked out of the circle of onlookers to get involved.
“Come on, sweet thang. You know you want someone to keep you warm at night,” one of the men said as I approached behind Willow.
She was still feisty as ever as she returned, “I sleep with a blanket, so I’m warm enough.”
“Don’t be a bitch,” the other one said, and that was all I was going to take.
Giving a quick glance over my shoulder, I saw my brothers stepping into the circle as I walked up to Willow.
Placing my hand onto her shoulder, she spun her head, and when she saw me, her eyes began to glisten.
I knew she was trying to be strong in the face of these two assholes, but she didn’t need to be if I was here.
“The woman said no,” I said to the two men, and one of them scoffed at me.
“No one asked you, asshole. The lady and I are negotiating, and you’re not invited.”
“Do you want to go with them?” I asked her.
She sniffled and said, “No.”
Looking back at them, I replied, “There’s your answer. Leave this woman alone.”
“You have no say over her. She’s not anyone’s property, so she’s fair game,” the other one replied.
I rubbed my thumb across the back of her neck where I still had a hold on her, hoping to instill some calm into her. The two men began to list all the ways she seemingly ‘wronged’ them, and with each new addition, I got more and more pissed.
“Darlin’, will you step back with my friend, Phantom? He’ll keep you safe while I deal with this,” I told Willow, and she looked back before nodding.
When she was behind me and I got a whistle from Phantom telling me she was safe, I stepped closer and grabbed one of the men by the front of his shirt. He wasn’t wearing a patch, so I assumed he was an unaffiliated rider without any backup besides his drunk friend.
“Hey, man,” he bitched, “let me go.”
I lifted him up to his tiptoes by his shirt and got closer to him as his little friend took a step back. He probably realized how outnumbered they were, but the one I had my hands on refused to stop running his fucking mouth.
“That bitch should be happy we showed her any attention to begin with,” he groused. “She’s not all that anyway.”
His words angered something deep inside me. I released my hold on him, pushed him away, and, on instinct, lifted my heavy booted foot. The kick I planted in the middle of his chest sent him flying through the air and onto his back on the sidewalk as everyone yelled or laughed.
Stomping up to him, I placed my boot on his throat and pressed down as I pointed at him. “When a woman says no, she fucking means no. And while her shirt says she’s not property, she is mine, and I’ll kill you if you even look in the general direction she’s standing. Do we understand each other?”
He tried to nod, but I pressed my boot harder, causing his face to turn red.
I felt a hand on my back and spun, thinking I was getting attacked from behind, only to see Ghost standing there with a smile on his face.
The Phantom Renegades were standing off to the side, and Willow was crying as she stood beside Phantom.
It seemed my brothers weren’t letting Ghost or his men near her without my say.
I removed my foot without looking at the piece of shit lying on the ground. “Leave now and don’t come back to South Dakota. This place isn’t for you.”
I heard him scrambling behind me, but I never looked back at him. My eyes moved from an amused Ghost to Willow, and without acknowledging him, I stepped around him and walked up to her. Placing my hand under her chin, I felt the wobble as she wiped tears from her cheek.
“Are you okay?” I asked her. “Did they hurt you?”
“I’m okay,” she returned softly then added, “Thank you for helping me.”
“Any time, darlin’,” I answered, and then I finally gave her brother the respect a president should get by turning to face him.
He still had a weird smile on his face as I walked back to him. The crowd of onlookers had disbursed, leaving the Sinners to face the Phantom Renegades. I didn’t think there would be a fight, but we had to be prepared for anything.
When he reached his closed fist out to me, I looked deep into his eyes before I bumped my fist against his.
“Thanks for watching out for Willow . . .” he looked at my patch and raised an eyebrow as he added, “Jigsaw.”
“My pleasure,” I answered sarcastically. “I’ll see you around.”
Turning to walk away, a hand on my shoulder stopped me, and I gave Raven a look that said to be ready. Spinning around to face Ghost, I waited for him to explain when he raised his hands in mock surrender.
“The Phantom Renegades would like to buy you and the Sinners Revenge a beer as a peace offering. I hate the way things ended for us, and I’d like to put the past where it belongs.” Ghost’s explanation seemed reasonable, but I was always leery of things that seemed too good to be true.
“We’d appreciate that,” Roughstock said as he walked up to the conversation.
Roughstock was aware of my past with the Phantom Renegades, and I knew this was his way of helping keep the peace. All the cops were looking for was an excuse to bust bikers, and we didn’t want any heat falling on the Sinners. Or the Phantom Renegades.
The two presidents shook hands, and Roughstock made the motion to our brothers to join him. We went to walk off with them when Ghost looked at me and said with a smirk, “Don’t forget your ol’ lady.”
I narrowed my eyes at him but turned back and extended my hand to Willow.
She rushed to my side and placed her hand in mine, and something inside me clicked into place.
Until that moment, I hadn’t realized the connection we had was never severed, and as we walked down the sidewalk, Sinners and Phantom Renegades intermixed, I knew everything was about to change for me.
And for the first time in over six years, I was eager to see what was coming next.