by Rachel Cade
The desire to have her again was nagging him, like unfinished business.
A knock came to his door.
“Yeah, come in.”
The door opened.
“Sheriff Durand.” The blue-eyed bastard biker stepped into his office very casually. “We’re overdue for a conversation.”
Chapter Three:
Skorpio Unleashed
Night of the Fire
“You want to handle the sheriff?” Tin asked, not long after their meeting disbanded. “You don’t think there’s a little conflict of interest there?”
Noa moved behind the bar to get a drink.
The fire had him wired.
“I can separate the business from the personal.”
“No, you can’t.” Tin’s tone meant it wasn’t up for debate.
Noa licked his lower lip, tasting soot, and almost winced before washing it down with a swig of beer.
“I need you to go to Vegas with Bleed and Chaos. Whisper is already out there. We need to make our presence here known. We don’t need any more shit going down in this town.”
“So no more keeping my nose clean then?”
“When it comes to the Aztecs, no. The sheriff situation is more delicate and you know it. Just leave it to me to figure out for now.”
“Tin, I can deal with Durand.”
“You’re married to his ex, who has his kid.” Tin leaned his head back as he spoke. “Now you can keep a level head most of the time, but when you snap, you fuckin’ snap. We can’t afford that right now.”
Noa felt his anger growing the more Tin spoke.
“You don’t trust me?” His brows lowered as he waited for an answer.
“That day she came here looking for you,” Tin scoffed, “when I finally saw you with her and the baby you never mentioned, I knew.”
Noa leaned against the bar. “Durand needs to go. I don’t care how.”
“Well, you’re not the president, so you don’t get to make that call.”
*
Will watched as the biker stepped into his office. He glanced around with a smug little smile before actually sitting in the chair across from his desk.
“How’s Langley?”
Will tightened his hand around the pen, then leaned back in the chair, determined to keep his cool.
“He’s fighting,” Will said. “He had a lot of smoke inhalation.”
“Is he conscious?”
“I saw a bike outside-” Henry burst into the office. His eyes immediately found Callas.
The biker stretched out his legs to get more comfortable as Will raised a hand. “It’s fine, Deputy, we have a meeting. Can you please shut the door?”
Henry made a face of a mix of disbelief and reluctance, but after a moment, he complied and closed the door.
He regarded the man across from him for a moment.
The way that he’d succeeded in worming his way into town gnawed at him.
And his arrogance gnawed at him too.
Callas represented his lack of control, his failure.
What was going to be the long-term effects of this gang being in town? It would take time, but eventually the respect of the citizens would erode. Truthfully, though, none of this would have happened if Langley hadn’t been so greedy. He fucked up a good thing. And it was up to Will to make it right again.
“My last update on his condition was the smoke inhalation.”
Callas continued to stare around the room. Will kept a lot of his accolades from over the years here: high school trophies, his police academy graduation photo, and one he took downtown with a bunch of the townsfolk his first day as sheriff.
“Did you come here to talk or sight see?” Will asked.
“Both,” he answered.
Will’s smile was only a curve of his lips.
“What happens if the old man meets his maker?” Callas asked suddenly.
Will stared at him.
“You’re a class act, you know.” Will tapped the pen against his desk before pointing it at him.
“Nah, I’m just a realist that speaks what’s on my mind.”
Will had looked over his share of criminals, especially mugshots. This one had probably the coldest set of eyes he’d ever seen, bright and emotionless.
“What made you decide to stake out our town to infest with your bullshit?” Will dropped his shoulders, staring pointedly at him as he asked the question.
“Infest?” Callas licked his bottom lip.
“Yeah. We’re in our own little world out here and we keep to ourselves. What sent you here?”
“Maybe we like that your town is tiny and quaint. It has a retro charm to it.”
Will crossed his legs, causing his chair to creak in the quiet room as he peered at the biker’s vest.
“Nomad,” he said, “the wanderer - that’s you. You scouted Amber Falls for your gang.”
“It’s a lovely place. A desert rose in Nevada. Also, we’re a club.”
“Call yourself whatever you want. Langley can spin it how he wants. You all are a bunch of criminals. Anybody can take one look at you and know that. Death Skulls MC, you guys really expect people to believe you plant daffodils for a living or some shit?”
“You like judging a book by its cover, don’t you? It works for you because it’s simple. But most of the time, the truth is below the surface. A lot of the time, way below.”
A guy hell had spit up was sitting across from him, trying to get psychological.
Will leaned forward. “I can tell you my truth right now. Amber Falls isn’t just some pit stop for me. I was born and raised here. I know the people here. And we pride ourselves on keeping trash that plagues the rest of the world out of our town-”
“Oh, yeah?” Callas asked, raising his brows.
“Yeah.” Will didn’t take kind to being interrupted. “I want to make it clear to you no one is going to stop me from doing my job. I’m the law in Amber Falls. And I promise you I will get rid of your little MC. You’re going to wish you’d stayed on the East Coast when I get done with you.”
*
“You side stepped my question,” Noa said, keeping his face neutral. “I asked what was going to happen if the old man bit it. You would be the sole Big Chief right? Absolute power.”
Durand refused to answer and just continued running his hands along his silver pen.
“So Amber Falls is your end all and be all, huh? You’re the righteous sheriff protecting the innocent small town.” He glanced around the room again. “There’s more to the story though, lone ranger.”
“Really?” Will asked dryly. “What?”
“That you’re full of shit, for one. You’re the villain pretending to be the hero.”
That got a mighty laugh. “Am I now?”
Noa carried a knife in the front of his vest, a lucky blade with a cream and jade handle.
The thought of him using Lyndie was enough for him to reach for it. The two of them had played games with one another long enough. At this point, it was only a matter of time before their reasoning collapsed.
Noa wanted it so bad.
Lyndie was afraid of Durand. It was the main reason she wanted to keep their marriage a secret.
This deadbeat son of a bitch abandoned her with his own kid. Noa knew a thing or two about that scenario.
“So if that’s true, you’re the hero pretending to be the villain?” Durand seemed pretty amused by the statement.
“No, bitch,” Noa leaned forward, keeping his cold eyes on the enemy across from him. “I don’t have to pretend. I just get in your face.”
Durand felt the weight of the stare as he looked back at him. In the quiet of the office, no one said a word.
“Get out,” he said, waving his hand toward the door as his lip curled in disgust.
Noa didn’t move.
There was a part of him that knew if he opened his mouth, he would tell him Lyndie was his wife. That she belonged to him, and that Max did too.
And that same part didn’t care about the promise he made to her. He just wanted this asshole to know they had someone in their life now that would take care of them.
“Did you hear what I said?”
“Don’t you have a kid?” Noa asked, still not moving.
Will’s head tilted. “You want to go there?”
Noa smiled. “You said you’re a father, but all the pictures in here are of you. None of him or his mom.”
Will stood up. “You stay away from both of them, you fucking hear me?”
A hard knock came to the door and Noa heard voices on the other side of it.
“Yeah?” Will growled.
Henry opened the door again.
This time, Noa turned around, and over the Henry’s shoulder, Tin stood a few feet away.
And he didn’t look too fucking happy.
The corner of Noa’s mouth lifted and he stood.
“Well thanks for the convo, Sheriff, and the update on Langley.”
“The next time you come here, it’ll be in cuffs.”
“This ain’t no biker hangout,” Henry said as Noa walked out of Durand’s office.
Noa nodded. “Can’t be since it’s already a pig pen.”
Henry swore Noa saw Tin’s eyes narrow.
*
“You just had to show up here, didn’t you?” Tin said once they were outside.
And he didn’t say anything else until they were back at the clubhouse.
“You following me into town?”
“I was there to get supplies. It’s like two god damn streets.” Tin slammed his keys on the bar. “It wasn’t hard to see a huge black bike in front of the fuckin’ police station.”
He shook his head slow. “This was the exact thing I was talking about. You getting emotional and not being able to think straight!”
“Emotional?” Noa pulled his hair back.
“Don’t play games, kid. Don’t. I get all this shit going on and now stuff is brewing back in Florida.”
Noa’s brows lowered. “What?”
Tin waved him off. “I’m going to deal with it. All I need is for you to go to Vegas. Meet with the Aztecs let them know we know about their little play and that it can’t go down here.”
“For the record, I didn’t let anything slip to Durand. I just went to check on the old man’s status and while I was there, just let him know he was an asshole.”
“If I hadn’t shown up, would you have also let him know about the knife you carry around? Up close and personal?”
Maybe.
Noa tilted his head instead of shrugging.
“Skorpio, I don’t need you slippin’. I know you care about that girl. She seems sweet, but it can’t interfere with business. There’s too much at stake here with what we’re trying to do.”
Noa listened quietly as the front door opened and Bleed stepped in.
Tin held Noa’s eyes. “What I say goes, Nomad. I’m not gonna say it again.”
*
Noa caught up to Chaos as he was loading one of the vans in the warehouse.
“You almost set?” Chaos asked as Noa stopped beside him.
“Yeah.”
“But I need you to do a favor for me.”
“Okay.”
“I need you to stay here and keep an eye on Lyndie and the baby.”
Chaos’s brows lowered. “Tin told me I’m supposed to go with you guys.”
Noa nodded. “I know. But I just… I don’t trust Durand. I’d feel better if I knew someone was looking out for her.”
“He’s her son’s old man, right?”
Noa held back from rolling his eyes. “If you give a fuck about biology.”
“I don’t.” Chaos pushed a box further into the van before making eye contact. “Does he need to disappear?”
Noa’s teeth tightened, and it was a second before he spoke. “You know how much I appreciate how simple you keep things? Yeah, he does need to disappear. But not quite yet.”
“So what about Tin?”
Noa’s sigh was quick. “You’re going to leave with us, then I’m going to need you to hang out in town. If anything comes of it, I’ll take the heat.”
“Aztecs man. You guys are ready?”
“Me and Bleed should be good. It’s just an… awareness meeting.”
“You forgot about Whisper.”
Noa’s mouth folded. “I never forget about Whisper.”
Chaos grabbed a dark blue cap and placed it on his head. “Alright I’ll do it. But when you get back, within the next week, we’re gonna have a beer and you’re telling me about Tijuana.”
Some of the tension left Noa’s shoulders. “We’ll need at least a case.”
“Done and done.”
Noa’s slapped his arm before leaving saying, “Thanks, man.”
**
Mitch was twisting his ring on his left hand when Will approached him.
“What the hell is up wit’ you? You look like you could spit nails.”
Will glanced at the Route 66 diner, several yards away. Parked in its usual spot was Lyndie’s little hatchback.
“You get any updates on Langley?”
Will’s annoyance grew at being asked the same questions.
Ashley wanted him to come to the hospital, but he had too many things to take care of here. And truthfully, he didn’t want to be there.
“The doctors are treating him for smoke inhalation.”
“I heard one of those bikers was at your office today.”
Will licked his dry lips. “We need to get a move on this deal and get everything out of town.”
“No shit. I got that part.”
“After this, Mitch, we have to lay low. And don’t ask me until when, because I don’t have a date. Once I get rid of these hoodlums, we can consider resuming again.”
“You scared of these guys?”
Will usually valued Mitch’s bluntness, but just then, he fucking hated it.
“Scared? Are you really asking me that?”
“You did a piss poor job with this situation, my friend.” Mitch peered at him. “You couldn’t keep one biker out of town, and now here he’s with his whole crew, staking claim. Now I have to stop doing business. How many times did I try to get that warehouse and Langley turned me down? To let these fucks come in?”
“Will you keep your voice down?” Will rested his hands on his hips. “This is exactly why we need to put a halt on things. We start making too many moves, things get sloppy. The very last god damn thing I need is for these people to know anything about our business.” He mashed dirt under his boot. “You wanna judge how I do my job, Mitch?”
“Yeah. I’m gonna judge. This small ass town and this guy shows up for how long and you didn’t know? Langley is damn near your father-in-law and he kept you in the dark about working with them. What is the point of you fucking that pass around if you can’t keep control over what goes on here?”
“You say another thing about Ashley, one more thing.” Will’s eyes narrowed. He wanted to grab Mitch’s collar. But they were out in the open. “You think what I do is easy? Your fat fucking ass got run out of New York and Reno before you ended up here. Don’t try and run some John Gotti shit on me. You need me. All your connects left you out to hang.”
Mitch’s nostrils flared. “All we need is to get established with these guys and we’ll be set. Maybe four shipments a year. Enough for all of us to get a taste. We can’t afford for any of this to get fucked up. Leave the gang alone for now and let’s focus on this. We need to see if Langley pulls through too.”
“Just back to business?”
Mitch shoved a thick hand in his pocket. “I won’t say anotha thing about her, alright? Now back to business.”
*
Lyndie shoved her tips in her pocket as the diner’s front door opened and Mitch entered.
“Lyndie, can I get a couple of coffees, please?”
“Sure, sir.”
She’d been straining
at one of the closed blinds to hear what they were saying, but they were too far away. The diner was empty since the lunch rush left and Jeff had gone to the gas station for cigarettes.
Once Mitch was at the counter, a cooing caused his head to turn back. Max was in one of the empty booths.
“Lyndie.”
“I’m sorry,” she answered quickly, hating the fact that Will was coming through the door. “My sitter had an emergency.”
“How can you pay attention to customers and a baby at the same time?”
“He’s quiet once he’s been fed and it’s been a slow day. All the customers are regulars - they understand.”
“They shouldn’t have to understand.”
Will closed the door quietly as she spoke with Mitch.
Lyndie took a silent breath and turned her back to get their coffees.
“Maybe Ash can babysit for you sometime.”
Oooh.
He was not helping.
Lyndie turned and placed both coffees on the counter. “No.”
Mitch seemed to understand this was something he didn’t need to be part of.
“You can take off early today, alright? Close up before the sun goes down. Let Jeff know.”
Mitch took up the coffee and went back outside, but Will was still there.
And he was sitting in Noa’s seat.
“Any leftovers?” he asked.
“Ashley’s not babysitting my son. She’s not doing anything with him ever.”
Will set his coffee back on the table after taking a sip.
He glanced back at Max. Then he got up and went to him.
He reached down into the car seat, unsnapped the belt, and began to pick up her son.
Lyndie started to round the counter.
“I can’t hold my little boy?”
Lyndie closed the space between them. “He was about to take a nap.”
Her nerves were on edge at the sight of him being held by Will. His father, who didn’t even want him to exist up until recently.
“Give him to me.”
“Relax,” Will said. “Isn’t this what you wanted?” Max’s small hand wandered over Will’s uniform shirt. “For me to be in Max’s life?”