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“Won’t going in there potentially expose them to any fellow club members hanging around?” Ignoring his jibe, I focused on the details of the job. “Or do we not care about that?”
“We don’t fucking care about that. It’s not our problem.” Ruthless nudged me with an elbow before passing me his taco wrapper. “Garbage this, please.”
Because he was polite about it, I accepted his wrapper and stuffed it into the small garbage bag on the floor near my feet. If there hadn’t been this unspoken strain between all of us, it would almost feel like old times. Of course, there were two people missing.
“If this place is a neutral zone, are you going to stir up trouble by going in there to break legs and smash faces?” I glanced from Ruthless back to Maddox.
“Break legs and smash faces,” Ruthless repeated. “I like the sound of that. Good game plan, Baby Girl.”
Maddox shrugged. “The neutral rule is to keep the MCs from killing each other. We’re Syndicate. They won’t touch us. We’re only there to get what’s ours.”
The Hale Syndicate stretched far and wide, reaching every corner of the city. Even split up as it now was, both factions were large enough to maintain the hold they had on River City. Of course the Archers still controlled a substantial portion of the city’s crime biz, but the MCs operated in a world of their own making. Although the Syndicate’s business may crossover with theirs at times, both groups were on different levels. That didn’t guarantee our safety. In this world anything could happen. It did put the odds in our favor though.
We rolled up to a warehouse nestled among several others in a neighborhood filled with manufacturing plants and various automotive shops. The parking lot was littered with motorbikes. Ruthless didn’t pull into the lot, parking down the street instead. It was too easy to get blocked into a parking lot. The street was always safer.
I took another large pull from my iced tea and set it in the cup holder. My adrenaline kicked up a notch, and I reached to double check my knives. Ruthless killed the engine and pulled a handgun from inside his jacket, eyeing the safety before sliding it back out of sight. The potential for danger sent thrilling shockwaves through me, hyping me up. When my door opened and I hopped out, I was a different person.
Maddox got out of the vehicle, sliding a jacket on to hide the blade he’d strapped to his forearm. He also wore a shoulder holster with a semi-automatic tucked inside. Knowing him, he carried other weapons as well, carefully hidden for just the right time.
“Let’s try to avoid violence inside,” Maddox instructed as the three of us walked down the street toward the lively warehouse. “We’ll take them outside to have a little chat. Don’t let anyone get too close to Maven. I mean it, Ruthless.”
The two of them exchanged a look, and Ruthless nodded. “Yeah, yeah. Nobody will lay a hand on her.”
Offended as hell, I shot them each a scathing glower. “I can take care of myself just fine. Spare me the sexist crap, okay?”
My irritation rolled right off Maddox’s back. As we approached the warehouse, he moved closer to me. “I know you can. I’ve seen it. But I’ve always protected you, Vixen. That’s not going to change now.”
I held my tongue against the nasty retort that formed. There were only so many times I could throw the past in his face. Every man that touched me that night was dead now. Maddox had done all he could to make sure none of them would ever hurt me, or anyone else, again.
“Don’t treat me like a liability, Mads,” I said, softer this time. “I can handle myself.”
“Of course you can,” Ruthless snickered from behind me. “That’s why you ran from the Thorns, right back here to us.”
Whirling to face him, I screwed my face into a mask of derision. “I ran from the Thorns. I came back to River City. I never went to you guys.”
With a shrug, I turned back around, dismissing Ruthless entirely. He definitely was more of a dick than he used to be.
Maddox took the lead as we reached the front door. We passed several groups of bikers and the women who loved them standing around smoking and speaking at high volumes. Most of them ignored us completely while others took notice. A few of them shouted a greeting in our direction. Ruthless nodded to those who said hello while Maddox paused to exchange a few words with a man sporting a snake tattoo that slithered up one side of his face.
Maddox fist bumped the man and continued on inside. The burly dude working the door grunted as we entered. Despite the indoor smoking ban in the city, the place was thick with a gray haze. I wrinkled my nose in distaste, taking stock of the entire bar as quickly as possible.
The warehouse wasn’t tiny by any means. The sprawling building was exactly what I expected. Hard concrete floors and steel walls. One side of the space held pool tables and a few vintage arcade games. The other side of the room was occupied by a dance floor with a makeshift stage and ample seating. A lengthy bar lined the back wall where four bartenders rushed to keep up with orders.
“Do you see them anywhere?” Ruthless asked Maddox, raising his voice to shout over the booming rock music.
“Not yet, but Richie said they came in about an hour ago.” Maddox scanned the room, his jaw set in determination.
I had no idea who we were looking for. While they searched the crowd for the guys we were after, I eyed a group of women on the dance floor together laughing and having a good time. My sister owed me a girls’ night out. No men allowed. For now I’d settle for being out of Maddox’s house.
Maddox nudged Ruthless and pointed toward the pool tables. “Over there. Let’s go.”
Sliding a hand into mine, Maddox towed me along with him as he cut through the crowd. Ruthless brought up the rear, sandwiching me between them. That alone was enough to send my mind down a naughty path.Focus, Maven. This is no time for mental sexcapades.
Something as simple as holding Maddox’s hand still set off butterflies in my stomach. Which was odd considering only a matter of hours ago he’d been balls deep inside me. Those little things could so easily go overlooked. I didn’t want to like it as much as I did.
We broke free of the throng, emerging next to the pool tables. They were lined in a row of six or so. We passed the first few, and Maddox’s pace increased. As we neared the next table, a bearded man wearing a black bandana glanced up, his eyes widening. He clutched his pool cue tight and nodded to the man about to take a shot. His lips moved, but we weren’t close enough to hear what he said. The second man looked up, his mouth clearly forming into the word, “Fuck.”
“Hey there, boys,” Maddox greeted them. Releasing my hand, he reached to swipe the eight ball from the table. “I believe we’re overdue for a little meeting. Care to join us outside?”
