Chapter 2
Chum stood in Denny’s, bewildered. He watched men with black leather cuts and crosses in their patches arguing with their old ladies over what eggs they wanted or French toast and pancakes. Pathetic. What kind of biker club went out for breakfast and let their women order for them?
The eldest, a man with short white hair, laughed as the woman beside him wagged her finger and reminded him about his salt intake.
What made him think he could find what he was looking for here? It was hard for him to believe that the club had no place to gather, and none of their old ladies prepared meals for their monthly meetings.
Someone would have to teach them how to hold church. These old timers had lost it in more ways than one.
But he didn’t come here to show them the error of their ways.
Chum scanned the faces. There. A few seats down sat Haden Patterson.
After the fire last November, he took over Charlie Brooks’ motorcycle shop while his buddy, Daniels, the undercover cop, led them to believe he wanted to join the Sharks using the road name Beast.
But hiding Beast’s motorcycle while the cop fooled them all?
Haden was lucky. All the Sharks did was burn down Brooks’ shop. Chum never met Haden personally, but Pike complained about the Brooks and their interference with his business plenty enough times for Chum to recognize him.
Beside Haden sat his old lady, Holly, a dark-haired woman with an agenda out across the table and a sweet smile that made his stomach ache.
Opposite them, a face he recognized gazed at the baby she held.
Her hair was darker, her face less round, but looking into her eyes would make his heart bleed with familiarity.
But the woman he saw was dead, and the child in her arms should have been his.
He knew several of these people, but none of them knew him. He looked nothing like his brother Pike, and until Beast betrayed him, he had no reason to interact with the holy rollers on their mission to help others. Do-gooders—until they got involved in people’s lives and took them away.
They messed with the wrong guy this time.
Never again would Chum allow another brother to steal from him. Thou shall not steal. He did not miss the irony. Chum grew up living by the bro code, the law of all bikers—so much different from the ones held by the people sitting around this table arguing about eggs and pancakes.
Haden was the first to notice Chum’s presence. He got up from his seat and approached Chum. “You look lost, bro. Can I help you?”
“Maybe.”
“You looking for breakfast, or the Thunder Valley Motorcycle Club?” Haden stood a few inches taller, but he wasn’t as broad and he shielded his woman from Chum. He respected a man who guarded his woman. Too bad the man associated with the very Beast he hunted.
“Both?” Chum peered again at the baby in the woman’s arms. He’d heard Audra’s sister had named the baby Isaac.
The dark-haired little boy chewed on his fist. What would he have done to have that little boy grow up and call him Daddy?
Audra’s loss burned in his gut. She should have been his.
He spotted her first, took her to the club, and introduced her to Pike.
They were traitors—all of them. First Pike, then Beast, but never his beloved Audra.
His gut twisted thinking of all the months Beast hid Audra from Pike after he tried to kill her and dispose of their kid in the trash. It made him sick. Beast could have protected her and saved the baby, but he let Audra die.
Haden slightly turned to follow Chum’s gaze. Quickly, he averted his gaze and glanced over all the other members. “I heard this place is non-judgmental and has no membership requirements.”
“The only requirement is to abide by the bylaws and acknowledge Christ as our savior.”
An older man joined them. Taller than Chum, with a thick waist and deep lines etched into the older man’s face, he stuck out his hand to Chum. “I’m Larry.”
The hardy grip did nothing to intimidate him.
Smiling faces greeted him—all except for Haden.
He kept his mouth in a pressed line. Chum avoided paying him any more attention than the others.
He would fit in. He would get the information he needed.
It didn’t matter if Hayden or any of the rest of them liked him.
The opportunity to see Audra’s son, his son, elated him.
They seated him near the old white-haired man, intentionally far from the woman and baby. He gritted his teeth, listening, smiling, and ordering runny eggs to top his pancakes.
The waitress who brought his order reached over to fill his coffee. He got a good eyeful of her service and winked when she moved on to the next table. Larry frowned. The man was whipped by his old lady.
When Chum dug into his cakes, a guy named Max stood to lead them all in prayer.
Chum chewed through half the words and swallowed in time to mutter amen.
By then, he had caught the attention of every old lady’s gaze.
He lifted his brows and shrugged. Whatever they held against him lifted, and conversations flowed while they ate.
“How did you find us?” a woman named Tina asked him.
“Let the man eat,” said the man beside her. “Can’t you see he’s starved?”
“I just asked,” Tina huffed.
“Beast.” Those words made half the table go quiet.
“You know Sebastian?” the woman with the sugary smile asked.
“Is that a problem?” Chum stabbed his fork down into the remaining pieces of his pancakes.
“No.” Larry shook his head, glancing down at the table. “We didn’t know Beast had many friends.”
The woman lost her smile and glanced away.
“We used to ride together,” Chum said, gauging their reaction.
A few seats down, Haden’s eyes narrowed. “You’re a Shark.”
Chum grinned and quickly deflected his reaction. “No, man. No Shark. Not anymore. Didn’t you hear? They are all gone.”
“But you were a Shark?” the woman beside him asked. The one with the baby held the little one closer. Her name was Emma, the lawyer and the baby momma’s sister. He remembered the way Audra used to talk about her sister. She’d married the trash man who found the baby.
“Nope.” Chum put his fork down. “I tried. Just like Beast, it wasn’t for me.”
“Why aren’t you in prison like the rest of them?” a man in his late forties asked. His cut said Vince, and his long hair pulled back to reveal the scuff on his jaw below his hollow cheeks.
Larry bumped into the man. “We don’t judge here.” He looked directly at Vince. The man scowled, tossing down his napkin and leaning back.
“It’s alright,” Chum addressed Vince. “I hear you, man. Most of the Sharks are dead or in prison, but I was a prospect, and I kept my nose clean.”
Larry cleared his throat. “I think we best get started. There is no pressure to join. You’re welcome here. Our membership is a test.”
“The paper kind,” Tina said with an uncertain smile. Although she had every reason not to trust him, she accepted him at their little breakfast meeting.
“If it was good enough for Beast, it’s good for me,” Chum said.
He listened through their meeting. He attended church plenty of times, listening to club business.
The Devil Demise would hoot and holler when he told them about his experience with the Thunder Valley MC.
Maybe he would join. It couldn’t hurt to get to know them.
They might open up and give him the information he needed faster than a fellow member.
After the meeting, Chum took his time. His Harley sat by a blue Honda with sparkling chrome.
Haden held the helmet while Holly situated her bag with what Chum figured were a few notepads and a calendar book.
He had never seen a woman who needed to document everything in numerous books.
She took the helmet from Haden, and he helped her buckle the strap.
He tweaked her nose and kissed her, and Chum stared for a minute too long.
“You think you’ll come back?” the woman asked, glancing over at him.
“You want me to come back?” he asked, curious by her inquiry.
Haden stepped in front of her. “Watch it, man—Hols helps plan the annual rally. My girl here will put you to work.”
Holly was the daughter of the former president of the Thunder Valley Riders, Charlie Brooks, who had offered to help his sweet Audra in times of trouble.
“I’m not afraid of grunt work. Beast and I had our share. You haven’t seen him lately, have you?” Maybe that was pushing. Patience wore thin after months of coming up with no signs of the traitor cop.
Haden wrapped his arm around his woman. “If you know him like you say you do, then you know he’s gone.”
“I figured, being a cop and all, he would come back.” Chum had promised the Devil Demise he could deliver. They collected the bounty on the first cop without delay.
“Beast is gone.”
“He’s not dead,” Chum said.
“Maybe he is. Maybe he isn’t.” Haden shrugged.
Holly glanced at him, clearly desiring to talk, but Haden silenced her with a headshake. Her lips pressed together in a thin line, and the frustration mirrored in Chum’s gut. There went his chance at a decent answer.
“You mentioned Beast told you about us. When?”
“When we were both with the Sharks,” Chum said.
“It’s been months. What took you so long?” Holly asked.
“I don’t believe you.” Haden motioned for his woman to move toward the motorcycle.
His sweet Audra helped Holly escape when the Sharks kidnapped her. Chum tried to warn her not to trust these people. He should have known Beast would get involved and try to steal his woman.
If what they said about God and free will was true, no one could have stopped the events from unfolding. It was fortunate that Chum had different religious views about “church” than these individuals.
“And he wouldn’t befriend a guy like me,” Chum said.
“No. That’s…” She looked at Haden and frowned. “I didn’t mean…”
Chum held up his hand. “It’s okay. I get it. The thing is, I don’t know why he talked to me either. We were cool. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be here.”
“Looks like he kept you out of jail.” Haden swung his leg over his bike. “Hols, babe. We gotta go.”
She gave Chum one last look. “It was nice meeting you. Chum, right?”
“Yep.”
“Road name?”
“Shark name.”
“We don’t go by road names here. Since there are no Sharks, use your given name. We’re neutral. Don’t let this grump keep you from joining us again.”
“Next month?” he asked.
“We go for ice cream over at Little Sprinkles on Friday nights.” Holly laid her hand on Haden’s shoulder.
“I know the place.”
“Good. Maybe we’ll see you there.” Holly took hold of Haden’s shoulder to swing up on the motorcycle.
“Chris.” He grinned. “My name is Chris.”