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Cars pulled into the grass parking lot, lining up in a row. Riley sat in her 1969 Chevy Nova, watching as everyone else piled out of the vehicles and made their way inside. She watched as Whip walked past with Glitch in tow and let out a deep sigh. Whip had put her on the spot earlier by puting a rifle in her hands. Riley had taken lives in the past, all under the guise of the military. She had also trained as a combat medic after two years of looking at the enemy through a rifle’s scope. It had been a battle to start over. The only thing that had helped her was no one liked the idea of a female sniper. She didn’t know what was worse, being detached from everyone or being in the middle of everything, watching countless soldiers die while trying to save them.
A knock on the window made Riley jump. Rolling down the window, she stared at Whip. “You need something?” she asked.
“I wanted to make sure you’re okay.” Whip brushed her long hair back from her face. “I should apologize for putting that gun in your hands, but you know how I get when someone’s threatening what’s mine.”
“I know.” Riley looked out through the front window of the car. “Don’t let it happen again.”
Whip shrugged. “I’ll try not to.”
“Whip, I’m drawing the line. I’m not that person anymore. Don’t think I won’t walk away from this place and all of you.” Riley wasn’t playing with the situation.
“I hear what you’re saying,” Whip told her before walking off. Resting her head against the seat, Riley stared out the window. The sounds of crickets broke the evening’s silence. All fucking day, they had played hot potato with Glitch, passing him from car to car, person to person, making sure no one followed them from the warehouse.
They’d managed for years to fly under the radar. Now, it seemed somebody, or somebodies, were trying to drag them into a turf war with the local MC who ran the territory. Whoever the assholes were, they had no idea who they were messing with. The Muthers didn’t always play by the rules. You didn’t mess with The Muthers and come out unscathed.
The dilemma Riley was having was she didn’t know if she had the energy to care. If she was honest with herself, she’d been looking for a reason to sell her share of Muther’s to the other ladies. All she wanted was to race on the weekends. Everything else—pulling kitchen duty, waiting on tables, pulling taps—all of it drove her nuts. She wanted to work on her properties and race cars. Period. But you didn’t own a part of Muther’s and not work every part of the place.
Glancing at the building, she knew she needed to go inside and hear everyone’s thoughts on what happened at the warehouse. She just didn’t want to. The first thing they would want to do would be shutting down the warehouse where Glitch had his gaming cave. The warehouse was where they worked on their cars.
They bought cars that could be turned into racers, tore them down, and rebuilt them. The Gypsy Kings probably took one look at the place and thought it was a chop shop. She guessed on some level that’s what it was, except the cars weren’t stolen. With all her thoughts running around in her head, she muttered a string of curse words as she shoved open the car door.
Walking across the parking lot, she kept on alert. Always on alert. They had disgruntled customers over bad bets. Guys thinking they had a chance with the ladies would sometimes hang out in the lot, waiting for them to come out. And there were the people trying to deal dope. They always found themselves tossed out on their asses. Muther’s was a zero-tolerance establishment, and that encompassed a lot of things.
She heard the arguing before she even pulled the door open. Closing her eyes, Riley almost turned around until Scout spotted her. “Look who decided to join us.”
Riley gave the brunette the stink eye as she walked into the main room.
“I’m sure I haven’t missed much other than a lot of bitching.”
“We’re trying to decide what to do about the Gypsy Kings.”
She cocked an eye at Temple. “What we’re gonna do about them?” Smirking, Riley walked behind the bar and grabbed a beer from the cooler chest. Popping the top, she looked around the room. “What we aren’t gonna do is go running into a fight without knowing the details.”
“And what would you have us do, Riley? Stick our heads in the sand?” Scout snapped.
“What I would do is let Temple go through the computers from the warehouse with a fine-tooth comb. After that, we’ll know if there’s something to worry about.”
“So, you’re calling the shots now?”
“Scout, you asked, and I answered.” Riley picked up the beer bottle, holding it toward her mouth. “So, get the fuck off my dick already.”
“That’s enough. Riley’s right. Temple should comb through the computers before we decide on anything. In the meantime, we can dig up any dirt on the local MC,” Whip shouted.
Yeah, that’s gonna keep us out of things.Keeping her thoughts to herself, Riley tipped back the bottle, quietly watching the room. Not everyone agreed all the time. Families fought, they argued, and they made peace. The Muthers didn’t always make peace. Like Riley and Scout. They’d known one another since the service. At one time, they were friends, sisters in arms. That was until Scout fucked up, causing another friend to be mortally wounded. When Riley couldn’t save the guy, Scout blamed Riley instead of herself. It was the bone of contention between them.
Riley knew Scout couldn’t hate her any more than she hated herself. Mitch Cage had been Scout’s best friend all through their stint in the Army. Riley always felt there had been more between the two, but Scout never admitted to it, so Riley had always left it alone.
“Did you hear what I said, Riley?” Whip shouted to get her attention.
“I’m sorry, no. What did you say?” She stared at Whip.
“Go home and get some rest. Thanks for having my back today,” Whip told her, wanting Riley to calm down. Scout and Riley had been circling each other for years, and Whip knew it wouldn’t be long before they settled the issue between them. No matter the cost.
“That’s what we do,” Riley said with a tight smile, setting down the beer bottle.
Whip watched Riley move around the bar. She remained quiet as she left. Whip knew by putting that rifle in Riley’s hands earlier, it would stir up a lot of memories for her. That’s why she was dismissing Riley. That, and Scout was in a foul mood, and soon, she would piss Riley off, and it wouldn’t be good.
When the door closed, Whip turned around and grabbed Scout by the throat, slamming her into the wall. “You keep it up, and I’ll throw your skinny ass out of The Muthers. You feel me, Scout?”
