by Marla Monroe
Mia walked over and slowly set all the locks before leaning wearily against the door. All of her strength had walked through that door. She didn’t understand how she could have become so attached to them, so enamored with them, in only a few days. They were everything she had been sure she would never want in a man. The fact that there were two of them seemed to make it even more of a mystery to her.
She turned off the lights except the lamp on the floor by her bed before stripping from her clothes and stepping into the shower. With the lights off, she didn’t have to close her eyes to imagine them there with her. She could almost feel their hands caressing her, tell the difference in Rage’s slightly rougher touch from Terror’s gentle glide. In the shower, she didn’t have to pretend she wasn’t crying. And in the shower, she could pretend they were always with her.
Chapter Eleven
Saturday night proved to be even busier than the previous two nights had been. There had been no sign of the three men who’d talked so casually about getting rid of The Howling Death MC, nor had she seen even one of the club members in the restaurant or bar. Despite having worked there for nearly two years without needing anyone there to watch over her, she had started to enjoy having some of the guys in the area, knowing the MC cared about the waitresses and would have stood up for them.
“Has anyone figured out why it’s been so busy lately?” Crystal asked her when they both happened to be at the bar at the same time.
“I heard someone say they were having some sort of trade show or something over in Stillwater this week, but I’m not sure,” Mia told her.
“I guess some of them are staying here at night then since Stillwater doesn’t have very many hotels there. We’ve only got three, and one of them isn’t all that safe,” Crystal said.
Hoss was back tonight and handed over her drinks and beer, watching her carefully. Mia didn’t acknowledge his interest, just nodded her thanks and returned to the overwhelming crowd. It bothered her that he seemed to have developed a curiosity of sorts about her. He hadn’t said anything to her yet, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before he did.
About ten-thirty she felt the weight of someone’s stare on the back of her neck. Without being obvious, she looked up and around, as if scanning for empties or hands asking for refills. She caught Teddy standing to one side of the door staring at her. She made sure she didn’t look directly at him and headed toward a table at the back where one of the men had raised is hand with a common gesture she was well familiar with.
“Hey, darling. Can we have a round of shots with beer chasers?” he asked.
“Sure thing.” She turned back to the bar and almost ran right into one of the men who’d been there the other night talking about setting fire to the club.
“Excuse me,” she offered as he frowned at her.
Mia kept her smile in place and eased around the big man. He hadn’t seemed to register that she’d served them the last time they’d been there. Even though he couldn’t know that she’d overheard them talking that night, she had to fight back the fear threatening to engulf her. Instead, she needed to figure out a way to listen to them again without drawing attention to herself.
Just before reaching the bar to get the shots and beer the guys in the back had ordered, Teddy stepped in front of her and caught her wrist in a vice grip.
“We need to talk,” he said, trying to drag her toward the back where the bathrooms were located.
“Stop it. I’ve got drink orders to fill. You can wait for me to finish them or you can leave,” she said with more bravado than she actually felt. In truth, Teddy’s aggressiveness had begun to bother her.
“Hurry up then. Don’t take any more on the way back either,” he all but snarled.
When she made it back to the bar and gave Hoss her order, he frowned at her. “Is he bothering you?”
She shrugged. “No more than usual. He can’t seem to take ‘no’ or ‘I’m not interested’ from me.”
“I’ll be glad to show him out or get one of the bouncers to do it,” the man said.
Mia looked up at him, studying his face. He sounded as if he cared, as if he truly didn’t want her having trouble with the idiot. That went against what Terror and Rage had told her about the man. He was in with the Vipers, who everyone knew were bad news.
“Thanks, but I can handle him. He’s just an asshole. Since he’s a deputy, I have to be a little more polite about it than usual is all.” She smiled at the man before carrying the shots to the back where the four men at the table were discussing some football player’s chances at getting picked in the first round of the draft.
“Here you go, guys, shots with beer chasers.” She settled up with them and was pleased at the tip they’d given her.
On her way over to where Teddy stood impatiently waiting for her, she passed by the table with the three men from before. She slowed her steps but didn’t look in their direction as she stopped long enough to let a young couple squeeze between tables to get to the dance floor.
“It’s going down tonight. They’ve planted the drugs and guns in a couple of grease barrels in the garage. Should be enough to get them all sent to prison, according to my source,” the short fat one was saying.
“When will the call go out to turn them in?” the taller of the three men asked.
“I still think we should have burned the place to the ground. With all the gas and oil in that place it would have taken it all to the ground. No telling how much ammunition they have stashed somewhere over there,” the third man said.
“It will just add more charges if they find their stash of weapons,” the taller man said.
“Well, we can’t burn the place down. My wife took her fucking car to them today. I don’t want to lose a car in this mess,” the fat one said.
“What the fuck are you doing using them in the first place?” the fat guy asked. “Carl will shit a brick if he finds that out.”
“I don’t use them. My wife does. She says they’re nice to her and always take care of the problem. I haven’t been able to stop her from using them,” the fat man said.
Then Mia had an opening in the crowd and slipped through, too scared to hang around that close again. She had to talk to Rage or Terror. They had to get those barrels out of the garage before they called the sheriff’s office. Teddy stood in her way, though. He stood directly in front of the pay phone, and her phone was in her purse hanging by the time clock in the back.
“What the fuck took you so long?” Teddy demanded as he latched on to her wrist again.
“It’s crowded. I can’t run over people just because some bee got in your britches. What is going on?” she asked as he pulled her down the hall away from the noise and other people.
“What in the hell are you doing screwing the fucking biker trash? I told you to stay away from them. They’re going down, and you’ll end up in the middle of it, Mia.” Teddy was almost spitting he was so mad. She’d never seen him quite this worked up before.
“Why do you think I’m doing anything with them? I haven’t seen them in days, Teddy.” That was the truth. She hadn’t seen a single member of the club since Thursday night.
“I know they’ve been at your apartment, Mia. Don’t lie to me. They’ve been seen leaving your apartment at all hours of the night.” He was all but yelling in her ear now. She was just glad that no one else noticed with all the noise.
“Look. They’ve come by twice, two times, Teddy, and only to make sure I was okay and to tell me to be careful, that they were worried about another biker group trying to move in. That’s it.” She prayed her explanation sounded convincing and her voice didn’t shake too much.
Teddy frowned. “What other group?”
“I don’t know. They aren’t exactly chatty about their business, Teddy. They were just concerned is all.”
“I don’t see them being all that concerned about any of the other waitresses,” he reminded her.
“I’m sure they exp
ected that I would warn them, and I have. Now let go of me, Teddy. I have to get back to work. I need my job and my tips.” She attempted to jerk out of his grip, but he wasn’t letting go.
“I’ve been patient with you, Mia. I’m tired of being patient. You belong to me, and if you keep hanging around with those lowlifes, you’ll end up in a mess just like them. They’re going down, and if you don’t stay away from them, they’ll take you with them.”
“What do you mean they’re going down? That’s the second time you’ve said that. Why do you think that?” She got a sick feeling in her stomach that Teddy was connected to the three men at the table somehow. Cold chills raced up her spine.
“Nothing. Just stay away from them until they’re gone. If you get caught up in the middle of it, I can’t help you. You’re on your own.” He turned his head and looked down the hall toward the main room.
Mia thought he was about to let her go and relaxed slightly. Instead of releasing her arm, he pushed her back against the wall and got in her face again. His hands squeezed her arms just below her shoulder so that she was scared he’d break them.
“Let me go. You’re hurting me, Teddy.”
He kissed her, pressing his thin, cold lips against hers until she thought she’d throw up. When he stepped back, releasing her arms at the same time, Mia nearly fell, her legs weak with fear.
“Stay away from them, Mia, or I’ll make sure you will.” Teddy walked down the hall and disappeared in the crowd.
She stood there for several minutes trying to catch her breath without throwing up. She wasn’t a strong woman anymore, though she wasn’t a pushover. Having to deal with being threatened and the fear of everything suddenly going on around her was taking its toll on her psyche. Mia didn’t know who to trust and how to protect herself with so many players in the mix. She was beginning to doubt her own decisions now.
Once she’d managed to regain control again, she hurried over to the pay phone and dug around in her apron until she came up with a quarter. Then she dialed from memory the number Terror and Rage had given her. She kept her eyes glued to the entrance to the hall, afraid of who might wander down the hall with her there on the phone. Most anyone wouldn’t think twice about seeing her there, but there were a few in the bar who might read into it and grab her. Teddy was one, but then so was Hoss and any of the three men she’d been eavesdropping on.
“Hello.” Terror’s voice settled something in her stomach that had been causing it to churn. She could tell by his tone that he didn’t know anyone who might call from an unlisted number like the pay phone.
“Terror? Can you talk?” she all but whispered.
“Mia? Is that you? What’s wrong?” he demanded.
“I—I’m fine, but you need to go to the garage and find some oil barrels out there and get rid of them. They planted some drugs and guns in them. Hurry, Terror. They plan to have you arrested tonight or tomorrow morning.” She was about to hang up, but Terror’s voice stopped her.
“How did you find out?” he asked in what sounded like a very controlled voice.
“I was delivering drinks to a table next to them and overheard them talking about it. One of them still wants to burn the place down, but they’d already set the other into motion. Please, Terror. Get rid of it. I—I’ve got to go now.” She hung up with Terror’s voice still coming through the phone.
She drew in several deep breaths to regain some semblance of control over herself then walked slowly down the hall into the main room and on to the bar.
“Where’ve you been?” Hoss asked, eyeing her speculatively.
“Teddy dragged me down the hall by the bathrooms to remind me I was his and he didn’t like me hanging around anyone else or flirting. I can’t seem to get it through his stubborn, thick head that I’m not interested.” She hoped he accepted that. It was as close to the truth as she could get.
“Do you need me to have a talk with him?” Hoss asked.
She blinked up at him. “Um, thanks, but no. I can handle him. I just get tired of it.”
“Someone like him doesn’t give up, Mia. He’ll hurt you one day if you don’t put a stop to his obsession with you.” Hoss looked completely serious, despite the leather vest and sleeve of tats going up both arms.
“Thanks, Hoss. I’ll be careful. If he bothers me again, I’ll talk to the sheriff about it. He knows Teddy’s been making a nuisance of himself around me.” She looked around and noticed several tables with empties and customers looking around. “I’d better get back out there and tend to my business before I lose any more tips.”
He just nodded and moved down the bar a bit to help a customer. She felt him watching her off and on the rest of the night. She prayed she wasn’t showing any nervousness or worry on her face that someone might pick up on. Thinking about drugs and guns being planted and Teddy’s threat, along with Hoss being a Viper and the dead man outside of town, had her nerves frayed almost beyond holding on. What had she fallen into when all she’d been doing was trying to make a modest living and keep to herself?
With it being Saturday night with a crowd as large as they had still going strong at midnight, Mia doubted she would make it home before at least three, if not four, in the morning. Her knee had started aching around midnight. No doubt it had just as much to do with being nervous and stiff as it did her old injuries. Instead of giving in to it and taking a break, she pushed through the pain, determined to make it until close before she crashed.
Somewhere along the line, the three men she’d been trying to listen to had left, but someone she’d never seen before had arrived and taken a seat at the bar on Hoss’s end. He looked like a biker all the way down to the cut with a huge snake twining in and out of a skull on the back and the word “Vipers” across the top.
Something else was going on in addition to the supposed bust at The Howling Death clubhouse and someone who’d attacked her being murdered. Mia couldn’t deal with anything else. Her nerves were shot, and her knee ached like a son of a bitch. She wasn’t about to try and call Terror or Rage again to tell them about the biker sitting not ten feet from where she stood. Instead, she turned around and limped her way back to her tables to take more orders.
By the time she’d returned to the bar, the biker had gone. Hoss didn’t appear any different, so she kept her mouth shut except to order the drinks she needed. Back and forth she rushed between the still full tables and the bar, happy with the influx of tips but wishing they’d all leave already. She had no doubt that come Sunday morning, there were going to be a lot of people requesting late checkouts at the hotels in town.
“You’ve been limping for the last hour or so, Mia. Take a break and get off that knee for a few. Things are winding down enough that a few minutes won’t hurt.” Crystal’s concerned expression was almost more than she could take without breaking down and crying.
“Maybe I will. I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted. It’s a good thing I’m off till Thursday night. I’m not sure I’ll even get out of bed before Monday the way I feel.” Mia smiled at the other waitress.
Crystal grinned. “You would if you had my rug rat that likes to get up at the butt crack of dawn.”
Mia chuckled and shook her head as she turned to walk to the kitchen to get off her feet. As much as she would have liked to have had children one day, working like she did with the kind of life she had now wasn’t the way to raise a child. Since that choice had been taken from her years ago, she didn’t dwell on it.
Since they’d stopped serving food at midnight, the kitchen was deserted. She grabbed a bottled water from the fridge and collapsed on a chair with both legs stretched out in front of her. It felt good to be off her feet and even better to relax for five minutes and allow her mind to drift without worrying about what was going on around her. Mia let the muted noise from the other room play like background static as she thought about abso-freaking-lutely nothing for a change. It was the only excuse she had for not realizing someone was in the r
oom with her until it was too late.
Chapter Twelve
“Told you this was a waste of time,” Sheriff Kitchens said as he leaned against one of the open bays of the club’s garage.
Deputy Teddy Gowen frowned, staring around the building. “The caller said they’d be right inside the first bay of the garage. Said he saw them putting the drugs inside with his own eyes.”
“Has it ever occurred to you, Teddy, that you can’t believe every crackpot that calls in an anonymous tip?” Hawk said as he watched the other two deputies search the garage.
Rage just shook his head and waited for the sheriff to call the search off. He was sure the sheriff was as disgusted as the rest of them at being pulled out at midnight to search through a garage. Still, he was going to let them search until they were satisfied there was nothing to find. If he pulled them out too fast, they’d swear they hadn’t had enough time to do a thorough enough search.
“Where did you put it? Who told you we were coming?” Teddy asked from ten feet away.
When Rage didn’t answer him, the deputy stomped closer until he was able to get right up in Rage’s face and shout at him.
“Where did you hide the shit? Maybe we should search that trash pile you live in back there. I bet you moved it there thinking we wouldn’t have a warrant for it, didn’t you?” he yelled.
“Well, do you?” Rage asked with a broad smile.
“No, but we will within the next few hours. Don’t even think you can move it anywhere else. We’ll be watching you. You try and drive it out of here we’ll stop you and search the truck. You’re trapped. There’s nowhere to go but to jail,” he said with a broad smile.
Rage just shook his head, never letting the smile leave his face. If there wasn’t a lot more going on at the moment, he’d almost enjoy himself watching the little bastard squirm in his own juice. As it was, they didn’t have time for this shit, so he kept his mouth shut so as not to egg the weasel on.