by Marla Monroe
Rage banged his knuckles on the table twice. “Dismissed. Anything comes up, notify me or Terror immediately. Hawk, I need you coordinating everything. Keep me in the loop.”
He nodded at his brother, and Terror followed him out of the room. Each time he’d held a meeting, Rage had wondered if anyone would oppose his decisions. Everyone had a say-so when things were being discussed, but in the end, Rage’s word was law. Unless enough of the others didn’t agree and wanted to vote him out or fight him out, they abided by his decisions.
“What’s going on, Rage? You’re on edge and closed down tight,” Terror said once they’d stepped outside the clubhouse.
“Nothing. Hate stepping into a steaming pile of shit like this without any intel.”
“We knew it was going to be a mess when Mother sent us down here. You eat that crap up. You thrive on a challenge, so that’s not it. Talk to me, man.”
Rage looked out over the land surrounding the club. A tall fence circled the main building with a huge old warehouse refurbished into a garage and bike shop just outside the perimeter. Another fence surrounded the warehouse grounds. You had to go through two gates to get inside their inner circle. It was a sweet setup that offered a strong measure of security.
“I don’t know, T. Something is eating at me, and I can’t figure out what it is. This thing with that waitress bothers me, as well. I don’t know what to make of her,” he finally admitted.
Terror grinned at him. “She’s gotten under your skin. You like her.”
Rage scowled at him. “No—well, yeah, I do like her, but that’s all. I just can’t figure out what she’s doing serving drinks on a bum leg. There has to be something easier on her than being on her feet. If she had a choice, why would she have chosen to work at a bar?”
“You care about her. Nothing wrong with that. She’s a nice lady, and cute, too.”
Rage didn’t like where Terror was going with his deductions on how he felt about the woman. Terror was making more out of it than was there. Mia wasn’t on his radar like that. He’d felt compelled to help her when she’d been hurt. That’s all.
“Don’t read into anything when you’re the one panting over her. Get your damn dick in line and forget about her. We don’t have time to waste on fucking around,” he snapped.
His brother just smirked and shook his head at him before walking off. Rage heard his parting comment whether he meant for him to or not.
“My dick’s just fine where it is. I think it’s yours that’s got you all fucked up, bro. You need to rub one off or find some sweet butt to get it wet for you.”
Rage squeezed his hands into tight fists and gritted his teeth to the point it was a miracle he didn’t crack one. He hated it when his brother was right. The damn bastard was too damn perceptive. He’d long ago made peace with the fact that they had a link of sorts. Some referred to it as a twin link, but Rage more often than not called it a curse.
Chapter Seven
By the time Wednesday rolled around, Mia felt almost as good as new. Her knee still ached when she was on it for very long, but it hadn’t given out on her so far, and Wednesday nights were usually slow anyway. Most folks ate early, before church, which meant she missed most of the crowd. The few that ate afterward didn’t bother her too much. Another reason Wednesdays were light was because the social drinkers didn’t drink on a church night.
Hypocrites.
“How are you feeling, Mia? Think you can handle it tonight?” Duke asked as she donned her server’s apron and grabbed a tray to bus the remaining tables.
“Doing fine. I’ll manage. Should be a light night,” she said with a smile.
“If you need to rest up some, just let me know, and I’ll watch your tables. Crystal will help cover for a few minutes so you can take your weight off that leg.”
“Thanks. If I need to, I’ll tag her. You can’t watch tables and pull beer at the same time, Duke. Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.” She winked at him and strolled out to the floor.
April had managed to get most of the dirties cleared up before her shift was over, but there were still enough that Mia had to make several trips back and forth to the kitchen. She was glad June was on that night. She had a calming presence about her. Mia had always considered her a little like a mother to her. Since she hadn’t known her own mom who’d died when she’d been born, the analogy felt right to her. June listened and paid attention when Mia needed to vent or get something off her chest. She really appreciated the older woman and hoped she didn’t retire from the kitchen anytime soon.
When she walked through the door into the kitchen with her tray full, June met her and relieved her of the heavy tray with a clucking sound.
“Goodness, child. You shouldn’t be putting any more weight on that leg than you have to. Don’t carry so much at once.” She carried the dishes over to the counter by the industrial dishwasher.
“I’m fine, June. Who told you?” she asked, opening the machine to load it.
“Duke did. He was really upset that you’d gotten hurt. He chewed the bouncer a new one from what I heard.”
Mia sighed. “It happened too fast for him to have done anything about it. By the time he waded through the crowd, it would have been over with anyway.”
“Duke said those bikers got there fast enough. Stopped the bastard from stomping on you again,” June pointed out.
“Well, they were closer. Doesn’t matter anyway. It’s all in the past, and I’m fine.” She added the last plate and glass to the rack and grabbed her tray. “I’ll be back in a few. One more trip ought to do it.”
“Take it easy tonight. You know the rest of the week’s going to be hell,” she warned as Mia slipped through the door.
If I’m lucky, everyone will have someplace else to go this weekend. As much as I need the money, I could do with an easy one for a change.
The chances of that happening, though, were slim to none. It was the first of the month, so everyone would be out enjoying themselves. The tips were always best at the beginning of a month and around the fifteenth. The end of the month was usually the slowest, but then last week hadn’t turned out normal.
“Hey there, Mia. I was looking for you. How are you doing?” Teddy swaggered over still in his uniform.
“I’m fine, Teddy. Thanks for asking. You still on duty?” she asked, keeping her tray between them.
“No. Just got off. Thought I’d get a cold one before I head home. I’ll come back at closing to make sure you make it home safe,” he said.
“That’s nice of you, Teddy, but I don’t need you to do that. Besides, with it being Wednesday night, I might take off early. I’d hate for you to drive up here for no reason.” She started to walk off, but he grabbed her upper arm in a tight grasp.
“You need to stay away from those bikers, Mia. They’re dangerous and nothing but trouble. You know they killed that guy that hurt you the other night. You don’t want to get mixed up with the likes of them.” He spoke softly enough that only she could hear him, but the venom in his voice spoke volumes.
“Thanks for the warning, but there’s no need for it. I don’t have any plans on getting mixed up with anyone. I like being on my own.” She pulled out of his grasp and stomped over to the last table to be cleared, thankful Teddy was going to sit at the bar. Duke would handle him.
By nine that night, Mia was exhausted but still standing. The late night crowd had proven to be a lot busier than she’d thought it would be for a Wednesday night. No one seemed overly excited about anything in particular. Most of the gossip centered on the murder and some land mongrel snooping around town. Evidently he hadn’t checked out The Wagon Master yet or he’d come by while she was off the first part of the week. She had no inclination to meet the man but was curious with all the talk about him. Everyone was worried he was planning to put some strip mall or something in their town. She highly doubted that was the case. She was fairly sure the small community couldn’t support one.
“Mia. How are you holding up?” Crystal asked as they both waited for Duke to fix their drinks at the bar.
“Making it. I’ll be glad for ten, though. What about you?”
“Same here. Do you need a quick rest? I don’t mind watching your tables for you.”
“Thanks, but I can make it another hour. How’s your little boy? I heard you talking to June last week about planning a birthday party for him.” Mia knew how much Crystal loved her little man.
Sure enough, the other waitress broke into a huge grin at the mention of him. “Sammy is growing into a fine boy. He’s going to look just like his dad. I just wish he was around to see him.”
Crystal’s husband had been killed in Kuwait several years earlier. She’d had to raise her son all on her own. Everyone in the community had helped, but there was no substituting a husband and father. Mia felt for the other woman and had babysat for her on occasion to give her some girl time.
“So when’s the party?” she asked.
“Saturday at one. Beth’s going to cover for me for a few hours. I’ll be in by eight, I think. I can’t wait for him to see the bike,” Crystal said.
“Stock up on bandages. You know he’s going to skin his knees and elbows at first.” Mia smiled as the other woman laughed and hurried away with a full tray.
“Here you go. Not much longer,” Duke said with a smile as he set two more mugs of beer on her tray.
“You could do your last call five minutes earlier tonight, Duke, and I wouldn’t complain,” she said with a wink before walking off to serve beer.
She could hear him chuckle as she stopped at the first table to deliver the round of mugs. The two men sitting there immediately quieted whatever they’d been talking about to pay her and waited until she’d strode off before they started whispering again. She sighed. The deals, rackets, and schemes that were hatched over a mug or shot glass would horrify the majority of the citizens of Settler’s Point. Some of them were on the shady side at best. Mia tried to ignore whatever she heard. It wouldn’t do her any good to get tangled up in the social webs that bred those types of transactions.
She already knew far more personal crap about some of the people there than she wanted to. Some of it depressed her since she thought more of those people. Some of it didn’t surprise her one bit. Knowing that someone’s husband was slipping around with the woman’s best friend or someone’s wife had a weakness for younger men was too much of a burden, so she kept a constant dialogue in her head of what she needed to do once she was off work again. It helped cover up whatever was said around her she had no business hearing.
Unfortunately, as she was locking up at closing time after the two whispering men from earlier, Mia overheard something that truly did disturb her.
“Don’t forget to be at the office by seven in the morning. He’ll be there and want to discuss how to roust those bikers off the property so he can buy it up.”
She’d missed what the other man had said, but what she’d heard had been enough to tighten her gut. What did they want with the land the bikers were living on? Did they own it or rent it? Would they try and talk them out of the land, or were they planning something more sinister? The two cryptic sentences circled in her head as she finished cleaning up her side of the room.
“Looks good, ladies. Are you ready to clock out?” Duke asked.
“Yep. What about you, Mia?” Crystal asked.
“Um, yeah. Bed’s going to feel good tonight,” she said with a weak smile.
“Where are you parked, Crystal?” Duke asked.
“Next to Mia under the light.” She pulled out her keys and shouldered her purse the size of a piece of luggage.
Mia shook her head with a smile and threaded her keys through her fingers with the hard ball in her hand in case someone attacked her. She’d shown Crystal over and over again how to carry her keys for self-defense, but the pretty blonde usually forgot to do it.
“See you ladies tomorrow,” Duke said, waving them off.
They clocked out, and Crystal opened the door to look out. “Coast looks clear to me. Ready?”
“Let’s go.” Mia stepped out right behind the other woman and hurried to her car. Just as she made it to the door, Teddy stepped around the front of the car.
“Hey, Mia. I see you didn’t get off early like you thought you would,” he said, his lips pulled tight over nicotine-colored teeth. “I’ll make sure you get home safe.”
“I told you that I don’t need anyone to see me home. You’re wasting your time.” She unlocked the door and started to slide into the seat, pulling on the door in hopes she could slam it closed before Teddy stopped her.
“It’s dangerous these days. I’ll be following you home from now on,” he said before the door slammed shut.
Mia fumbled trying to get the key into the ignition then backed out of the slot as soon as the engine turned over. She didn’t look up to see if Teddy was still standing there or not. She needed to get to her apartment and inside before he pulled up next to her. She wasn’t really afraid of him. He was mostly bluster, but Mia didn’t want to have to deal with him and his wandering hands.
She’d no sooner turned into her slot at her apartment building than he pulled in next to her. She sighed and took her time getting out of the car, locking it and ignoring him as she started for the stairs. He grabbed her by the waist before she’d stepped up on the second step and pulled her back down.
“Let go of me, Teddy. I’m home and ready to call it a night.” She hesitated at saying anything about going to bed. She hadn’t expected him to grab her like that. Follow her up to her apartment, maybe, but not actually grab her off the stairs.
“We need to talk. I’ll come up with you,” he said.
“No. We have nothing to talk about. Let me go before I scream bloody murder,” she hissed out.
“In this neighborhood? No one will pay any attention. I just want to talk to you for a little bit.”
She tried pulling away from him, but his arms were wrapped around her waist and she could feel his erection against her ass. The bastard was getting off on this. This had gone far enough. Mia dug her nails into his arms as she struggled to get away from him.
“Stop that!” he bit out as she dug harder.
“I said let me go, asshole! I mean it. I’ll scream fire, and people will come out then.” When he didn’t move, remove his arms, or say anything, she kicked back with her heel, connecting with his shin.
“Fuck! You bitch. I told you we need to talk. You belong to me, and I don’t want you around those fucking bikers. Do you understand me?”
She stopped struggling and gathered all her strength to scream “fire” at the top of her lungs. She barely got the word out before he’d wrapped one of his hands around her mouth while holding her with the other one around her waist. Mia fought, but he was stronger than she was and her bad leg was beginning to give out.
In a last-ditch effort to get away, she grabbed one of the fingers covering her mouth with both hands and pulled back as hard as she could. His screech in her ear still didn’t cover up the snap she heard when his finger broke. He all but threw her down as he cradled his hand against his chest.
“You’ll pay for that, you filthy bitch,” he snarled.
Mia hung on to the railing of the steps and wished it had been his right hand he’d had over her mouth. Instead, she’d broken one of the fingers on his left hand. She had no doubt it hurt like a bitch since she’d had several of her fingers broken before. Without looking back, she hurried up the stairs as fast as her bum leg would allow.
Once she’d reached the second floor, the sound of Teddy’s car pulling out of the lot triggered an adrenaline rush that left her shaking and clinging to the top rail as she caught her breath.
“If you need someone to back you up that he was attacking you, I’ll do it, but I’d rather not if I don’t have to,” a voice said through a slim opening of the door to the first second-floor apartment. “He
tries to have you hauled in for breaking that finger, I’ll tell them.”
She peered through the tiny crack and smiled at the older black woman looking out at her. She smiled and nodded to her.
“Thank you. I don’t think he’ll do anything about it, though. He’s a deputy sheriff. He knows no one will believe I did it unprovoked. I appreciate the offer, though.” She started to walk away, but the tired voice stopped her.
“He’s a bad one, too. I’ve seen him standing out in the lot staring up at your door. Be careful of that one.” Then the door closed, and the sound of a chain and another lock clicking let her know her new friend was gone.
Mia shivered at the thought of Teddy watching her apartment like that. What was wrong with him? Why was he so obsessed with her? It had definitely gone beyond a case of annoying attraction to Stalkerville. If he didn’t back down, she would go to the sheriff and report him. She was fairly certain his boss would put a stop to it, but she really didn’t want to have to do that.
Once inside her apartment, Mia double checked all of her locks then the only two windows she had for good measure. Not even a hot shower seemed to relax her enough to fall asleep once she fell in bed. After an hour of restless tossing, sleep finally brought an end to her worry, only to follow her into her dreams.
* * * *
No sooner had Mia stepped into The Wagon Master on Friday night than people started shouting orders at her. She still had fifteen minutes before her shift started. What was going on? The place was jam-packed with standing room only. She struggled to see over the much taller clientele but couldn’t make out who was working the bar. If it wasn’t Duke, they were in for a long, hard night.
“Thank God you’re here.” Crystal’s face was slightly red as she literally squeezed between two people to get to Mia. “I came in an hour early since Beth is covering for me tomorrow night. Boy, was that a mistake! Do you see this place?”