Retribution: A Motorcycle Club Romance

by Valentine, Sienna

  I guess he’s not with them…

  ~ SIX ~

  As he put the stein back down on the bar, Will saw the faint stains of blood left over from where bone had pierced skin when he broke that motherfucker’s arm. He looked at his hand, fascinated to see that it was still. No matter how righteous the violence, he typically got the adrenaline shakes, even if they didn’t bother him. But not now. He didn’t feel his heart rate jump at all the entire fight.

  Not sure that’s a good thing, he thought.

  Will came out of his battle haze and remembered he wasn’t alone in the room. The young guy who’d introduced himself as Charlie raved around behind the bar like a robot whose circuits had been splashed with water. In his stress, Will could hear a clipped accent from the city on Charlie’s voice as he rambled. “What the fuck was that?! You have got to be fucking kidding me. What the hell am I supposed to be, some gladiator? I’m running a bar!”

  And then there was the girl, Eva. Well, girl wasn’t quite the right word—the soft curves of her thin body gave her away as a grown woman, but she had a delicate air, like a doll. She was attractive in a way that Will hadn’t seen in a long while, surrounded as he was by women with edge and coldness. She stood in the doorway that separated the bar from the employee areas, frozen in fright, staring at him with her mouth hanging half-open. At her feet lay the book she had been reading, pages crushed and haphazard.

  Will stepped toward her wordlessly, watching her big brown eyes get wider as he approached. He bent in front of her and picked up the book, straightening the pages between the cover before he offered it to her.

  Eva stared up at him like she couldn’t process what he wanted. Her soft brown hair fell in waves that framed her pale, heart-shaped face. He couldn’t help but stare at her full, pouty lips as they quivered, trying to find words. An unmistakable bolt of lust raced down his spine and hardened his dick just a little.

  He held the book closer to her and she finally looked down and took it in nervous, shaking hands, holding it to her chest like a shield. When her gaze lifted back to him again, she wore a confused, but soft, expression.

  “You all right?” he asked.

  Will saw redness flush across Eva’s cheeks, saw her pupils dilate when he spoke. It excited him. “Y-Yeah, I’m fine,” she finally responded, voice cracking.

  Will nodded at her, and held her gaze a few minutes more. He could feel the growing heat in his veins and turned away before he could get too distracted by it.

  “What the holy fuck is going on?” said Charlie, hands on his hips. He had come out from behind the bar and stood now in the middle of the room. “Who the shit are you, and what just happened?”

  Will came toward him and was impressed to see that Charlie didn’t back away. “Mr. Murdock, that was racketeering.”

  “What the fuck is this, some Scorsese movie? I’ve seen more criminal behavior in the week we’ve been in this shit town than I have my whole life in the city!” said Charlie, arms still waving excitedly as he spoke.

  “You said you were taking over for Owen—looks like there’s some stuff he failed to mention before you showed,” said Will as he stretched the fingers in his right hand. Already they throbbed with ache and pain, knuckle wounds once again torn open and bleeding down his arm.

  “Fuck you,” said Charlie. “He’s our uncle, he didn’t set us up to get killed by gangsters. Our aunt is dying, he moved with her to hospice care. We’re just trying to help out.”

  “Well, I can tell you, it’s bad form to just come into a new joint and start wrecking the place,” said Will, gesturing to the spilled beer from the farmer’s table. “Violence attracts attention. Money is a better lubricant.”

  “Your point being?”

  “This isn’t their first time here. Maybe your uncle made some enemies before he left—”

  From behind came Eva’s voice. “No, this isn’t their first time here. I’ve met them before.”

  When Will turned around, he saw her walking up to them, her flowery sundress swishing around her thin legs. She held a bar towel out to him, giving a knowing nod to his bloody knuckles. Will could see the fear from before was all but gone, her eyes lit up by adrenaline. He took the towel from her and wiped the blood off his arm and hand.

  “When did you meet them before?” he asked.

  Eva licked her lips and put her hands on her delicate waist. Will felt a distracting twitch in his nether regions. “They came into the bar earlier. They asked for the owner, and I was the only one here, so I told them it was me. They didn’t like that answer, so they…” She paused and looked down, gathering some composure before she continued. “The one whose arm you snapped got a little touchy and left some vague threats. He said the real owner better be here when they return.”

  Will felt anger rise in his blood at her words. He raised an eyebrow and turned back to Charlie. “You sure they didn’t know your uncle?”

  “No,” said Eva. “They didn’t. It was clear they didn’t know who they were looking for, only that it wasn’t a woman. They couldn’t have met Owen.”

  “What makes you say that?” said Will. He was impressed with how this girl seemed to know what she was talking about, despite being clearly in over her head. His tone may have given that away, because she immediately blushed and looked self-conscious at his question.

  “By the questions they asked. People betray their prejudices that way, if you know what to look for.”

  Before he could stop himself, Will felt a smile tugging at his mouth. Eva returned it for just a moment before she cleared her throat and walked away, back behind the bar, busying herself with something.

  “Look, who the fuck are you, anyway? How the hell did you do that to those guys?” said Charlie, pointing at the door.

  Will paused. Fuck, who am I? he thought. Before he let them make their cowardly escape, he twisted the literal broken arm of the one in the bun until he told Will what he wanted to know. Those fuckers came from the Ramirez cartel. Right now, all those men knew about Will was confined to the injuries he’d dealt them. But if they found out he was a Black Dog, they could use it as leverage to amend the truce to their favor, or even start a turf war.

  But if they really were cartel men, they were breaking the truce, too. Howlett and LeBeau were strictly off-limits to them, at least when it came to anything more than temporary transport and storage of goods. Hassling a bar owner to no doubt start laundering money or running drugs from his business was not a gray area—it was a clear violation. He could call Henry right now and potentially have the MC behind this problem.

  What makes you think Henry will suddenly change his tune on diplomacy? He has a treaty now to back up the idea—illusion, clearly—of peace. He’s not going to listen. You might as well bury both these kids out back right now.

  “Hey, asshole, I’m talking to you.”

  Will shook out of his thoughts and looked at Charlie. “I’m Will Bowers. I live around here.”

  “And how the fuck did you learn to fight like that? Military?”

  “Right,” said Will with a lying nod. “Lucky break for you guys.”

  “Lucky, yeah, that’s the word in my mind for sure,” said Charlie with bitter fire.

  “It is lucky, because I’m going to keep you both alive and with a bar that isn’t reduced to a steaming pile of rubble.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Those men will be back, or if not them, others like them. They might take a bit of time to try and figure out what just happened, but once they feel prepared, they’ll hit again. And next time, they won’t be so easy to push out the door.”

  Charlie shook his head and released a deep breath. “Christ. We have to go to the cops.”

  “Cops clean up crimes, they don’t prevent them,” said Will. Plus, our cops will probably just call Henry, putting us right back on the path to Armageddon. “We have to stop them ourselves.”

  “We?”

  Will ga
ve Charlie a withering look. He turned toward Eva behind the bar, halfway through a pint of beer and trying to gather herself. He raised a hand at her. “I’m sorry, which one of you is the secret kung-fu master that’s going to fight them off next time?”

  “So, what then, you’re just gonna stay here and wait for them to come back? Let me guess what that’s gonna cost me,” said Charlie. He lifted an angry finger at Will. “You’re probably a part of it, aren’t you? These guys hassle me, and then you come in and offer security, take all my money, and probably let them burn the place down anyway, is that it?”

  Charlie couldn’t know what his words meant, but that didn’t stop Will from stalking over to him like an angry predator. Charlie took a half-step back in surprise. Even though the muscles in his chest and arms from years of obvious hard labor could probably have dealt Will quite a bit of trouble in a fight, Charlie didn’t seem aware of his own strength, not in that way. He didn’t even raise his fists up.

  “I’m not with them,” said Will quietly. “And I don’t want a dime of your fucking money. I’m not offering you long-term anything. I’m just going to shut down this rabid dog problem you’re having.”

  Charlie searched his face, likely trying to tell whether Will was being honest or not, but this kid didn’t have the skills for it. It didn’t matter, anyway; he wasn’t lying. “Why should we believe you?”

  “Because I’ve seen it before,” said Will. His ears filled with the sudden faraway roar of fire. He swallowed. “And I don’t want to see it again.”

  Charlie paused, and turned back to look at his sister, as if he wanted her input. Eva looked at them both from behind a glass of beer as she drank, but didn’t say anything. Her eyes were wide like a scared animal.

  Charlie said, “Fine. Help us.”

  ~ SEVEN ~

  Well, you wanted adventure, girly… now you’ve got it.

  As Eva watched the conversation between her brother and Will unfold, she felt less and less like she was still inside her dull, melancholy life, and it both excited and frightened her. She hadn’t seen Charlie so rattled in a very long time; he hadn’t even noticed that he had spilled an entire shot of whiskey down the front of his crisp white t-shirt yet.

  And she had never seen anyone like Will.

  “Close the bar up for the day,” said Will. “We need to make some plans. Undistracted.”

  “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this,” said Charlie, shaking his head. “I’ll make up some note for the door.” He lumbered off toward the small alcove in back that served as Owen’s makeshift office.

  Will watched him go, then turned and looked straight at Eva. She held his gaze a moment, simply because she couldn’t help it. Then she turned away and finished the half-pint she had poured herself in three deep swallows.

  Will walked up to the bar. “Mind pouring me one?” He lowered himself back into the seat he’d been in before.

  Eva nodded and tried not to look at him. Maybe it was her frightened brain trying to find a distraction, but once she started looking at Will’s gorgeous face, she never wanted to tear her eyes away. She lifted a clean glass and pulled the draught handle, watching the beer intently until she placed it in front of the intense man sitting across from her.

  He wrapped huge, scruff, scar-covered hands around the cold glass. His knuckles still trickled blood. I cannot believe this is the type of man who’s revving my engine… Eva thought as her gaze wandered up his muscled forearms and shoulders until it landed on his face. Will stared down into his beer glass, unaware she watched.

  Not knowing what else to do with herself, Eva poured another beer in her own glass. She took two big drinks. “Thanks… for, uh, for helping with those men,” she said.

  The way Will looked up at her so suddenly, Eva was sure she had interrupted some thought. “Didn’t have a choice, really. Some dogs need to be put down.”

  The coldness in his voice gave Eva an honest shiver. “Does that mean you’re going to kill them when they come back?”

  Will fell silent a moment, and Eva’s heart nearly stopped. Christ. What have we gotten ourselves into?

  “Only if it comes to that,” said Will. But something in his eyes had a different answer when he looked up at her.

  Eva swallowed hard, her throat tight. She licked her lips and saw Will’s gaze focus on her mouth as he watched. He stared at her lips and almost unconsciously ran a tongue over his own. How can I be so turned on and so terrified at the same time?

  A distracting silence fell between them. Eva heard the office phone ring in the back room, and then stop ringing. She cleared her throat. “So, have you… I guess you do this a lot?” asked Eva gently.

  “Do what? Save strangers from thugs? Yeah, I’m a regular Batman,” he said with a bitter laugh. He took a drink.

  “Well, it doesn’t seem like the first fight you’ve been in, is all.”

  “And it won’t be the last,” he said. His eyes went heavy when he said it, staring down at the bar.

  Sure is a warm and fuzzy guy. “Are you from around here?”

  Will looked up at her, right into her eyes with his own deep brown ones, which served to send a jolt of heat right from her neck all the way down to her thighs. “Eva, was it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Eva,” he said, holding her gaze, speaking deliberately. “I’m not the kind of fucking guy you chat up with small talk and try to wiggle inside by being friendly, okay?” His expression became some mockery of a smile, like sarcasm incarnate. “Ten minutes ago I was snapping a man’s arm a few feet from where you read a book without a care in the world. Do you try to pet dogs that have just gotten out of a fighting pit, too?”

  Eva’s face flushed with embarrassed anger. She felt emotion rising up from deep in her chest, that same vengeful feeling she used to get when boys from outside the neighborhood would try to mess with her walking home from school. Her Pa used to tell her it was their Irish fire—and Eva felt it burning now. “Christ, aren’t you a real tough guy? Breaking a man’s arm isn’t enough, you’ve gotta be a bastard to a woman who hasn’t done a thing to you, too?”

  Will gave her an eye roll and drank his beer. “A tough guy’s what you need, lady, not a cuddly teddy bear. So why don’t you just fuck off and let me do what you need me here to do in peace?”

  Eva bit her lip as if it would hold back the tide of furious words building in her throat. Has there ever been a single man in all the world that has ever been a grown-up? she thought as she drained the rest of her glass in a huff. She slammed it empty back down on the counter hard enough that Will’s gaze flickered up to her.

  “Some dogs need to be put down, all right,” she muttered, as she swiped her book from where she’d left it on the counter and walked away from Will. She nearly bumped into Charlie coming in from the back with a roll of tape and his makeshift handwritten sign.

  Charlie made a surprised sound, and then frowned. “Where are you going?”

  “I’m fucking off,” said Eva in a dark tone, trying to move around him. She could feel Will’s eyes on her back, and it made heat rise in her body—this time more of the angry type.

  “What?” said Charlie, confused.

  “I’m going to the house,” said Eva impatiently. “Just leave me alone.” She pushed past him.

  “Keep your phone on you. I want to be able to check in!” Charlie called as she weaved out the back door and into the meadow.

  Eva didn’t reply as she stalked through the forest meadow, completely ignoring the view in a way she hadn’t before. She stormed up the porch stairs, made a beeline for the kitchen and a bottle of iced tea, and then holed up in her borrowed master bedroom. After lying on the cool sheets for a few minutes, watching the curtains dance in the breeze, Eva felt her anger mostly dying. Every minute, Will’s hurtful words pulsed less and less loudly in her mind.

  What the hell is that guy’s problem? I didn’t do a single thing to deserve being talked to like that. Why would he risk h
imself to help us in a lethal situation and then turn around and treat me like shit afterwards?

  Eva was so tired of men. She felt like they were an alien species she couldn’t comprehend. Sure, she had grown up a little shy and socially isolated, but she was a smart woman, totally capable of overcoming those things to find friends, boyfriends, and eventually, a husband. The friends, she kept and kept well. But the men never seemed to follow the same rules. Laura always told her it was because men were intimidated by her, and the thought always made Eva howl with laughter. But Laura held the line, insisting it was Eva’s brains and fire that caused her trouble. Weak men are afraid of strong women, she would say.

  But she never felt like Rick had been afraid of her. No, quite the opposite—in her mind, Rick loomed like a monster who had never been afraid of anything. She was the one who had been afraid. The man who proposed to her was strong, sweet, and supportive. The man he became when he was finally her husband was none of those things. Rick kept her tired and frightened, alienated her from her friends and family, and even made it hard for her to hold down a job with his incessant and jealous fits when she had to work late. When she lost that job, the net only drew in tighter, and Rick had kept her from finding employment, insisting she remain in the apartment as a housewife. Under his full control, Rick tormented Eva psychologically and emotionally until she couldn’t sleep or eat, until she felt like time had lost meaning and she had already died.