Page 18 of Cole

Last night had been my first attempt. A spectacular fail of an attempt at that. But you made contact, I reassured myself. I was just getting started. There was a real story here, I just knew it, and I’d be the one to break it if it was the last thing I did.

I’d get my headline story, and Rosie would get the peace of mind of knowing her son wasn’t going to end up like his father. Now that I’d seen how desperate Finn was to join the MC, I knew that Rosie’s fears were more than founded.

Cole Bailey and his MC were full of secrets, and I was going to find them out, no matter what, like the stubborn bitch I was.

six

COLE

The sound of metal striking the concrete floor echoed like a gunshot. Maddox’s wrench lay next to him on the floor, the cause of the disturbance, but he hadn’t even flinched. He continued working the ratchet in a steady clicking rhythm.

Sweat trickled down my back as I pushed a broken-down bike through the shop. Fall had come early to Hade Harbor, and the unexpected shift of the season brought a welcome and cool breeze through the open shop doors.

“Timing’s off,” Maddox muttered. “I can feel it in the crank.”

“Yeah, I thought so,” I replied. “Probably needs the sensor replaced. And likely a real mechanic.”

“Kiss my ass,” Maddox chuckled. I gave him a hard time, but he could figure out ghost issues that none of our other guys could find.

Gage stood nearby with his back against the wall and a cigarette hanging from his lips. For once, he didn’t have much to say and was just listening to our banter. I watched his eyes shift to the old clock above the door. Our hunt last night for the Vultures had been fruitless. The fuckers had gone to ground after causing a mess at our bar. That was a score that needed to be settled, and I had a long memory for that sort of thing. Just to make sure they knew the Hounds wouldn’t be intimidated, we were moving forward with our biggest deal with Hutch, the Vultures’ preferred supplier.

We were waiting and trying to keep ourselves busy. Tension thickened the air.

In less than twenty minutes, Maddox would be on his way to meet one of our suppliers. Today was just a midsize delivery, some handguns and a few rifles. Easy enough to fly under the radar, but that didn’t mean we could get too relaxed. Anytime we touched inventory, it had to go smoothly. We didn’t have room for error. Once we got this stock, part of the subsequent sale would go toward making our monthly payment on Frank’s debt, and the rest would be divided among the Hounds. I knew every single member’s family situations, from college fees or alimony and child support payments. At the end of the day, it all came down to me. I had to make sure the MC remained liquid, while still paying the debt. If someone wasn’t getting paid at the end of the month, that would be me. The debt and the men came first, always.

I walked through the shop, past the half stripped-down bikes and rusty toolboxes littering the benches. My father’s office… my office was in the back corner of the shop with the door slightly ajar. My desk, cluttered with invoices, sat against one wall, and an old couch that still smelled like my father’s cigar smoke sat against the other. Not much had changed since I had taken over the “family business.”

The Clutch was a biker bar, and home of the Harbor Hounds. The shop around back, Throttle, looked after the clubs’ vehicles and most of the cars in Hade Harbor—well, the ones whose owners weren’t too pussy to bring their rides into the best place in town. This place was home, just as much as the cabin I’d built in the woods. The smell of motor oil and gunfire would permeate my skin as long as I lived. I’d been born with it, and I’d die with it. The confines of this town, the walls of my business, and the bonds of my brothers were the lines in which my entire life would be lived. Another man might rile against that restriction, they might suffocate under that pressure, but not me… well, not anymore. I couldn’t afford to. I didn’t have fucking time to. People relied on me. End of story. I’d accepted my fate.

My burner phone vibrated in the metal drawer of my desk. I unlocked it quickly, not wanting the incessant buzzing to attract attention. It glowed with a blocked caller ID, but I answered anyway.

“Yeah?” I answered.

“Clock’s ticking, Cole.”

“It’s still no, fuckhead. Don’t call me again.”

“If you really mean that, toss the phone, shithead.”

It was the only response before the line went dead.

I tossed the burner back into the drawer and locked it. No one else knew who was on the other end of that line, and I was going to keep it that way. Guilt and paranoia crawled through me as I stared at the drawer. The man on the other end hadn’t been wrong. If I really meant what I said, why did I keep that damn burner? Why hide it from my men? Why entertain it at all?

When I stepped back into the shop, I found Gage’s eyes following me.

“You good?” he asked, his eyes scanning my face.

I nodded and added, “Fine. Let’s just stay focused on today. If last night is any indication, there might be trouble.”

I heard Finn’s boots crunching down the gravel drive before I saw him. I clenched my teeth. He knew he shouldn’t be here. Finn strode through the open shop door, wearing his usual flannel shirt with the sleeves cut off at the shoulders, under a new, overly shiny sleeveless leather vest. His own version of a cut. His jeans had more grease stains than holes, which was saying something. He also wore a self-satisfied smirk and vibrated with barely controlled energy. He reminded me so much of myself at that age. The thought made me want to throttle him. The last thing I wanted was for Finn to end up anything like me.

“I’m going to ride with them today, right?” It was the first thing out of his mouth.

“No,” I answered flatly. I looked at the kid, and I was transported back to that night, in the pouring rain, when I’d broken a seven-year old’s heart. He was still that kid to me, and he always would be. Lately, that simple fact seemed to be pissing Finn off more and more.

The smirk dropped from his face for a mere second before returning. “Oh, come on, Cole. How am I going to prove myself if you never give me a chance. You give other guys a chance!”

Maddox kept quiet, knowing it wasn’t worth interfering, but Gage let out a snort. Finn shot him a glare.