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“I just couldn’t move on,” she said with a sigh. “They’re alwayseverywherein town, reminding me of what I had with Garrett. We were supposed to meet and work things out one night, and he never showed up, sending me a text. He said that his brother was sick and had to take his place on a club errand.” Her voice wavered as she shook her head. “I never heard from him again, I just found out about the accident a few days later.”
“Oh my god,” I caught my breath, unable to even write that part of her story down. There was no way I would be including that.
“And honestly, all the bikers used to make me feel safe, but then once Garrett and his dad passed away, who had been the club president, there was a shift that just...” her voice trailed off as she glanced around. “They quit being heroes to the town. There was astabbingat one of the bars here in town, and a civilian got hurt.”
“There was?” I made a note of that on my notepad. “Can you tell me what happened with that?”
“I don’t know the details. I just know that the new president—whoever he is, came down from Oakland. He wasn’t part of the chapter, and I don’t know exactly why he got voted in. Everyone thought that Ronny should be president, but he was so young, and devastated over the loss of his brother and dad.”
I nodded, curious as towhoRonny was. “I guess that makes sense. So the new president has amped up the outlaw?”
She laughed, shaking her head. “I guess that’s one way to put it. I don’t know that I would say it that way. I think that he’s just not ascontained.He’s more reckless, and that’s something that they’ve never been. You never used to have to worry about them showing up wherever you were—but now I leave.”
“I don’t blame you. So you were really involved in the club?”
“I was.” Louise nodded, before glancing down at her watch. “But I need to get back to work. We can talk more,” she added, pulling out a business card from her purse. “I work as a nurse at the Sans Verta Regional Hospital. You can always stop by and see me. I don’t mind talking about it.”
“Perfect.” I took the card from her. “I’ll probably reach out to you within the next few days.”
“Great,” she sat cash down on the table and slid out of the booth. “Will you make sure that Lindy gets this?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Whoever Lindy is.
I watched her as she walked away, my mind running back to the night that I had spent with Viper. I jumped up from the booth, chasing after her. “Just one more question.”
Louise stopped, holding the door of the café partially open, the sound of motorcycles filling the air. “What is it?”
“Who is Viper? I got some information from him, but do you happen to have his real name?”
Her brows raised, a strange look crossing her face. “Ronny.”
Oh, shit.
“Thanks,” I managed to choke out as she gave me a nod, disappearing down the street. I stood there in the doorway for a few long moments, trying to wrap my head around the sad, tragic past of Viper’s. I hadnoidea.
And the photo albums gave me no information.
“Excuse me, miss,” an older lady said from behind me.
“I’m so sorry,” I said quickly, stepping out and holding the door for her. As I did so, my eyes caught sight of two motorcycles, parkedrightnext to my Tahoe. My heart jumped, wondering if Viper might be one of them...
But the moment the two removed their helmets, my stomach knotted up.
Shit.
“Well, well, well,” Nitro called out, his thin lips turning up into an unappealing smile. “Looks like the reporter is still out and about in town. Brave.”
“I was actually just leaving.” I shoved my notepad into my bag, exchanging it for the SUV’s keys. “I just needed to grab lunch.”
“With Louise Williams maybe?” he replied, the guy behind him chuckling. “That’s a ballsy move. She’s the last person who’s gonna want to talk to you about club life. Poor woman lost everything.”
“You mean Garrett Lombardi, right?” I knew that I shouldn’t engage, but the journalist in me just couldn’t help it.
“Ah, yeah, so she was talking to her.” The second guy stepped up onto the sidewalk. “We happened to like the Steel Heretics back then.”
“Before the new president?”
