by Lilly Atlas
Over Toni’s dead body.
She realized she may have been having some inflated separation anxiety when it came to the restaurant. It shouldn’t matter what the new owners planned to do. Once Toni left, she wouldn’t be coming back. There wouldn’t be anything left for her in Townsend. But with each passing day, she admittedly grew a little more attached to the diner, her staff, the mountains, and the townspeople.
But not to a sexy biker. No, she refused to allow herself to grow attached to him.
With a heavy sigh, she closed the notebook she’d written the answers to her questions in. “I’ll be honest with you, Jazmine.” She propped her elbows on the desk and rested her chin on her folded hands. “I want you to manage the diner. I think you’d be absolutely perfect for the position. But I need someone to start earlier, and I’m not sure how permanent the position even is, since I’m selling it.”
Jazmine wrung her hands in her lap and nodded. “The second part is fine. I’m kind of going into nomad mode and just plan to stay as long as I’m needed. But unfortunately, my start date is not flexible, so while I’m sad to lose the opportunity, I completely understand if you have to pass me by.”
Maybe Shell would be willing to run things for a few weeks. Just until Jazmine could get there. Shell didn’t want the job for the long term—Toni had actually offered it to her before interviewing anyone—but maybe she’d be willing for a short time.
“I’d like to think about it for a bit, see if I can figure a few things out. Would that work for you?”
Jazmine’s face lit up. She was a few years older than Toni, closing in on thirty, and had dark brown hair in the cutest pixie cut. “That would definitely work for me.” She rose and extended her hand. “Thank you so much for your time, Toni. I look forward to hearing from you.”
Toni shook her hand and started to stand.
“Don’t get up. I can show myself out.”
“Sounds good. Have a safe trip back to Arizona.”
After the door to her office closed behind Jazmine, Toni slouched in her chair and sighed. The diner would be closing in the next hour, and it would be safe for her to leave the office she’d admittedly been hiding in for the past three days.
Hiding like the chicken shit she was.
Hiding because Zach had eaten at the diner each of those days.
And Toni was avoiding him with a capital A. Still a mess of mixed emotions, embarrassment, desire, anger, shame, she’d done everything in her power to escape a run in with Zach. Peeking out her windows before she left the house to make sure he wasn’t outside. Skipping her nightly sunset. Cowering in her office from the moment he entered the diner until she was sure the coast was clear.
What the hell was wrong with her?
She wasn’t a coward.
She was a grown woman. A business owner and home owner. A responsible and respected member of the community. Why the hell was she hiding? Because she regretted one kiss? Because it brought her back to a time she’d rather never think about again?
Pathetic.
Her past was just that, her past. It was a part of her and, somehow, she had to be able to think about it without freaking out again.
Disgusted with her spinelessness, Toni stomped to the door of her office. After a fortifying breath and a quick mental pep talk, she emerged and headed behind the counter.
Much of the crowd had cleared, leaving behind three booths full of muscled bikers. Shell stood behind the counter restocking juice glasses while sneaking longing looks at Copper. Toni joined her and picked up a rag, wiping down the spot in front of her.
A few minutes passed in silence before Shell turned to her. “And here we are pretending to work while stealing glances at men we shouldn’t want or can’t have. Not very feminist of us.”
“Tell me about it.” Toni harrumphed. “At least you haven’t been hiding in your office like a child for days.”
“I noticed your face hasn’t been around much.”
“Yeah. To be honest, I’m surprised he’s left me alone this long. I figured he’d have found me and chewed me out by now. I think I really pissed him off.”
Shell’s gaze shifted from Copper to Zach and back again. “I don’t think he’s mad. Maybe at himself. He’s asked me how you were doing a few times. Seemed genuinely concerned. Not angry.”
Mad at himself.
Probably not as mad as she was at herself. Despite her reaction at the party, she wasn’t really upset with him at all. All of the anger was directed at herself. For being too weak to stick to her guns. For allowing herself to fall under the spell of another sexy man.
“Don’t look now, but I think we’ve been spotted.” Shell jerked her chin in the direction of Zach’s table. “I’ll give you two a minute.” She squeezed Toni’s hand. “Talk to him. He’s not a bad guy.”
“Hey,” Zach said, coming to a stop on the other side of the counter.
“Hi.” Suddenly, she felt beyond foolish for the way she’d been dodging him. “I’m sorry.”
He frowned. “Thought I was the one who fucked up here.”
“No.” Toni shook her head. “Well maybe a little. But it’s more my own stuff.”
He looked good in low slung jeans, a muscle shirt, and his club leathers. Arm porn was a real thing and Zach had it going on in spades. Also, chest porn and ab porn. Even hair porn.
“I’ve got something for you. Maybe once you see it we can go back to the way things were. Where I shamelessly flirt with you and try to entice you into my bed and you shut me down on all fronts.”
Toni chuckled. What a waste of three days. Had she not been such a coward, they could have moved past the screw-up and continued their friendship. A friendship she’d really missed. “Guess that depends what it is.”
“Here.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and unlocked the screen. “Scroll forward.” After he handed over the phone he rested his forearms on the counter and watched her.
On the screen was a gorgeous sunset. Streaks of color surrounding a giant orange orb sinking behind a row of trees.
Trees she recognized.
Trees that were in the direct line of sight of her porch.
She scrolled to the next picture only to find another beautiful sunset. Then another. “What is this?” she asked, her voice hoarse.
“You missed three sunsets because of me.” He shrugged and gave her a smile that was almost bashful. “I know how much you like them, so I made sure to come home and capture them each evening.”
Her throat thickened and tears sprang to her eyes. Why? Why did the one man she had to resist happen to be the sweetest outlaw to ever live? “Thank you,” she croaked.
“It was nothing.” He winked. “I do it for all the ladies.”
With a chuckle she handed him back his phone. It wasn’t nothing. It was a whole lot to her.
“I’m hoping you’ll be out there to see it in person tonight.”
“I think I will.”
“Good.” He rapped his scarred knuckles on the countertop. “Maybe I’ll see you there.” He leaned forward and dropped his voice to a whisper. “And while I still fully plan to show you everything you were missing with the suit, I promise I will not touch you again until you beg me to.”
Oh God. That meant he’d be working on making her beg.
Devious man.
“Zach.” The horror in Jigsaw’s tone had Zach’s brow furrowing before he turned toward the booth where his club brothers were finishing their meals.
“What’s wrong?”
Jigsaw didn’t answer. Just motioned for Zach to join them. Worry was clear across his features. Zach turned back to her and nodded before speed walking to the booth. After thirty seconds of murmured conversation, Zach’s face morphed into one of devastation while Copper’s hardened to stone cold fury.
Three booths worth of bikers flew out the door and mounted their bikes. The roar of ten bikes firing up simultaneously was deafening. Worry coursed through her and she wante
d to smack herself. She was already in too deep if she was worrying about the man. What the hell was she thinking, befriending an outlaw?
Shell rushed out of the kitchen. “What’s going on?” she asked, wide-eyed.
Toni shook her head. “I don’t know. But I don’t think it’s good.”
With a muttered curse, Shell gripped her hand and squeezed tight. Something was very wrong. She could feel it in her gut. Toni clutched Shell’s hand like a lifeline as the two women watched a trail of bikes tear out of the parking lot, each fretting over a man they shouldn’t want or couldn’t have.
Chapter Fourteen
Zach, Copper, and Rocket burst through the double doors leading to the bustling Emergency Department of the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Copper had sent the rest of the members back to the clubhouse to lock it down until the threat was identified and neutralized. Ol’ ladies, club girls, everyone would be holed up at the clubhouse until further notice.
Each second of the forty-five-minute ride to the hospital felt like slow torture. Like Zach was being dragged along the blacktop behind Copper’s bike instead of riding hot on his prez’s heels.
UTMC wasn’t the closest hospital. No, that would be Blount Memorial Hospital, so the fact that Little Jack had been airlifted to UTMC could only mean one thing; he was in a bad fuckin’ way. LJ was a beast of man who worked out in Zach’s gym daily. Hell, the prospect even coached two boxers who were quickly making names for themselves.
Whatever had taken him down was big and bad. And it would be the beginning of the shitstorm from hell for whoever attacked him.
“Looking for Jack Ulrich, darlin’,” Copper said to the gaping receptionist. “He was brought in by chopper over an hour ago.” He flashed her a dazzling grin that didn’t meet his stormy eyes.
“Um, sure. Let me just, ah…” The middle-aged receptionist’s fingers trembled as she fumbled them over her keyboard, having to backspace at least three times before entering the name correctly.
Somehow, Copper managed to remain calm and cool, still flashing her that I’m-not-as-dangerous-as-I-look smile. Which was true. He wasn’t as dangerous as he looked.
He was ten times more dangerous.
As the seconds ticked by, Zach blew out a breath and stared at the ceiling. Anything to distract himself from the urge to vault over the desk and shake the woman until she moved faster. One of the many reasons Copper was the solid leader he was, while Zach never stood a chance at the position. Copper could be having his toenails yanked out and no one would know it by his facial expression.
“Room eight, it’s down the hall on the le—”
The three of them stormed down the hall boots pounding on the white tile floor. “Here,” Zach said, skidding to a stop outside a room with an eight placard sticking out from the door frame. He shouldered the door open and came to a dead stop.
“Fuck me hard,” Rocket swore under his breath.
Zach couldn’t have said it better himself. The supine man dwarfing the small hospital bed barely resembled the prospect Zach had seen almost every day for the past nine months. His right arm was propped on pillows and wrapped in what appeared to be miles of ace bandages. On the same side, his leg was splinted and elevated.
Then there was his face. The face Shell had once described as a baby face was varying shades of purple with one eye swollen so bad it looked like a near black bubble. Across his hairline, a jagged wound that had been stitched was visible against the light brown hair.
And those were the injuries they could see on first glance. Zach had no doubt under his hospital gown his torso would be a mess of painful bruising and probably broken ribs.
Copper walked to the head of the bed and gripped LJ’s uninjured hand. “Hey, brother, can you hear me?”
Zach moved to his other side, near his head. He needed to hear everything that was said. The motherfuckers who did this had no idea the hell they were about to have rain down on them.
“I’m sorry, Prez,” LJ whispered through lips so swollen they didn’t move when he spoke.
Both Zach and Copper leaned closer. “You did good, prospect. Viper told us they didn’t get the money.”
LJ had been on a run for Zach, collecting an almost eighty grand repayment owed by one of the very few clients who always paid on time. When Viper called Copper to let him know what happened, he’d mentioned all the money was still at the scene. Something must have spooked whoever went after LJ enough to make them flee without the cash.
“Not after—” LJ shook his head. “Water,” he rasped out.
“Here, man.” Zach snatched a paper cup off the bedside table and held the straw to LJ’s abused lips while Copper raised the head of his bed. It took a few tries for him to capture the straw, but after he finally caught it, he swallowed greedily.
“Thanks,” LJ said, his voice a smidge stronger. “They weren’t after the money.” He closed his puffy eye and shook his head. “Mav.” His voice choked up and Zach wouldn’t have believed it was possible, but LJ sounded near tears.
Copper frowned. “What about Mav?”
“I’m sorry. I fought like hell, but there were four of them. And they had crowbars. I didn’t stand a chance.” He sounded tortured, riddled with guilt and a tear leaked out the corner of one distended eye.
“What about Mav?” Copper asked, steel in his tone this time.
“They took him.”
Ice slid through Zach’s veins as the horror of that statement registered. “Mav was with you?” He was supposed to be on a job, installing a system of security cameras for an eccentric millionaire who owned a house high in the mountains where cell reception was hard to come by. It was the only reason Zach hadn’t tried to contact him.
“What the fuck do you mean they took him?” Copper growled.
“He got done early. Saw me riding and tagged along. Dragons—oh fuck.” He inhaled a sharp breath and cringed. “Sorry. Five fuckin’ cracked ribs.” After a cough and another grimace, he continued. “Three of them grabbed Mav. Tossed him in a van. Other four teamed up on me.”
“You sure it was the Gray Dragons?”
He nodded and his “yes” was full of agony. “Stupid fucking red tattoo on their hands.”
“You had anything for pain?” Copper asked.
“Nah,” LJ said. “Wanted to talk to you first.”
“You did good, LJ.” Copper pushed the nurse button on the side of LJ’s bed. “We’ll have them bring you something.” When Copper raised his head, his gaze bore into Zach’s.
Zach imagined the murderous fury in Copper’s eyes matched his own. “Go,” Copper said. “Take Rocket. I want you at the clubhouse at eight tonight.”
Zach nodded and placed a hand on LJ’s shoulder before making for the door. Rocket was ending a phone call he’d made as soon as LJ mentioned the Dragons. “Let’s go,” Zach said.
The two men marched down the hall on a deadly mission. “What do we know about where they might take him?”
“Nothing,” Rocket said in his typical limited chatter.
“Shit. You’ve had eyes on their headquarters, haven’t you?”
Rocket nodded.
“What have you been seeing?” In times like this, talking to Rocket could frustrate a man to violence.
“Nothin’. Ain’t been around much.” Rocket shook his head.
Shit. Mav had mentioned the same thing yesterday. That something wonky was going on with the Dragons. They’d all but abandoned their headquarters. No one coming or going for days.
What the hell was going on?
The club messed up. Hell, Zach messed up. It was his job to protect his club from outside threats. They’d gotten complacent, left the Gray Dragons alone without any fear of the Handlers. In his defense, there had never been any indication, until recently, that the Dragons might be looking to up their game.
Christ, he’d sent LJ to make the pickup in his place so he could go flirt with Toni at the diner. Fuck! Where the hell were h
is priorities? Pussy was pussy and while fun, should never be a priority over his brothers. Look what happened when he took his eye off the game. One of his brothers was beaten unconscious and another kidnapped.
He needed to stay away from Toni. She was fucking with his head and his concentration.
The club’s mistake had been not flexing their muscles when Shark took over the gang a year ago. Rumors had been circulating about the man for ages. Sick shit he did to his girls. Even sicker shit he did to guys looking to leave the gang. Still, they hadn’t seen him for the predator he was turning out to be.
Big fucking mistake.
Because apparently, he was a shark in more than just name.
And now Mav was his prisoner.
“Shit!” Zach yelled when he reached the bikes. “Fuck!” He slammed his fists down on the trunk of a car parked next to him. Pain shot up his forearms and he welcomed the sharp jolt. Again and again, he pounded them into the denting metal. The shrill piercing of a car alarm blared through the quiet parking lot.
“Zach!” Rocket’s voice didn’t pull him from his rage. “Knock it the fuck off, brother.” A muscled arm banded across his chest and yanked him away from his punching bag. “You ain’t gonna be able to do shit for Mav if you’re locked up for the night.”
Hearing the long string of words from his typically silent friend was enough to snap Zach out of it and made him see past the rage clouding his vision. Rocket kept an arm around him and dragged Zach back ten feet.
Zach held out his hands. “I’m cool,” he said. “I’m cool.” He’d fake it, anyway, because inside he was anything but.
With a jerky nod, Rocket released him. “How do you want to play this?”
Zach propped his hands on his head and stared at the hospital building. “I can’t just sit around and wait until Shark contacts us with whatever the fuck he wants in exchange for Mav.”
“You sure he wants something?”
It was a chilling question. “I hope so.” If Shark didn’t want anything, if he took Mav simply because he wanted to, then Mav was in the worst kind of shit. Shark would torture him then kill him. Just to fuck with the Handlers. Just because he could.