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She looked from one to the other of them both and smiled slightly.
“Now baby girl, who are you and what kind of trouble are you in that you would steal a man’s ride?” Silas asked her softly.
She thought for a moment looking between them again and finally she looked at Silas. “I don’t want to involve you in my problems. Those three men tonight? They are looking for me and they wouldn’t hesitate to cause trouble if they even thought you knew where I was. It’s best I just leave.”
“Best for who?” Silas shook his head. “Certainly not best for you. If they caught you, you wouldn’t stand a chance against the three of them. For us? No way... We wouldn’t be able to call ourselves men if we didn’t help. We Youngs are weird that way, we protect our women and children, we don’t tear them down or leave them to others. Life isn’t always perfect darlin' but we protect what’s ours.”
“But I don’t belong to you,” she whispered softly.
Silas smiled. “We found you and I have a feeling we’re gonna keep you.” He chuckled. “And just so you know, we don’t back down for nothing anymore. Now girl, who are you and what’s your story? Who are those other men and why are they looking for you?”
She swallowed hard and hung her head.
Silas reached out and laid his huge hand over her much smaller hand. He didn’t say a word, just held it there.
She looked up at him and Creed. “My name is Lolannie James, my friends call me Lola. Those guys on the bikes are the Steele brothers from Port Arthur. They run a club over there called Silver Snakes. I waitress there but I hate the place. It’s mostly a strip club but a lot of unsavory people hang out there. The three brothers are Lonnie, Jacob and Trey.”
“And why are they after you?” Creed wanted to know.
Lola swallowed hard. “They deal drugs and guns for the Mexican cartel out of the club. It’s one of those secrets that no one can prove but just is... If you know what I mean?”
Creed and Silas nodded but stayed silent so she could finish her story.
“Anyway, for the last four months their stash has been coming up short so they began looking at the staff. I swear on my mother’s grave if I knew where that was that I had nothing to do with that or anything else that goes on in that place. I showed up for my shift, did what I was told to do and I got the hell out of there every night. I didn’t hang around for any of the extras like some of the girls did to make more money, nor did I want to. I got my tips then collected a check every week and that is all.”
“Then why are they looking for you?” Creed asked.
Lola looked over at him. “Because the real thief told them she saw me taking something out the main office after hours one night. That was the night some of the drugs went missing. She threw me under the bus to hide her own guilt.”
“Why would she do that?” Silas questioned.
“She’s supposed to be Lonnie’s girl and he’s the real jealous type. She’s not the faithful type exactly and she was very close to him catching her with another man, so to throw him off her trail, she gave me up. She told them I was stealing the drugs and selling them to their rivals. I barely escaped and have been running for the last four days.” She looked over at Creed. “I’m sorry I tried to steal your bike but they almost caught me tonight and I just needed to get out of town in a hurry.”
Creed stared at her wondering how someone could have eyes that color and her lips... He shook these thoughts away.
“Who do they deal for?” Jack asked as he walked into the kitchen slowly to not frighten her.
Lola’s eyes widened as she saw him standing there. These men were big, toned and had something against wearing shirts it seemed. Only Creed was covered and that was a thin t-shirt that barely fit his huge chest and arms. “They deal for Hector Gratis,” she whispered.
Jack grimaced. “Well, holy fuck.”
“Hector Gratis?” Creed demanded. He’d heard of the man even in prison, as everyone knew who ruled outside those cement walls. He heard the name in whispers but other than that, he didn’t know a thing about him. You never asked questions inside, it could get you shanked.
“Bad news any way you fucking slice it,” Jack assured him. “He’s a new player in the underground. He’s only been around for about five years now but he knows how to strike the fear of God into the people around him. Big shot from the middle of Mexico who just runs over the top of people.” Shaking his head Jack sat down at the table and looked over at Creed. “He works for the Romane Cartel that rules everything south of Mexico City. Some people say Hector came directly from the bowels of Hell itself, he’s that bad. If the Steele brothers are missing the drugs and someone else is taking them and selling them on the streets you know they’re going to catch them and make an example of them. It’s going to be nasty and very public. A message to everyone that you don’t screw with them. They have to in order to show Hector they mean business. It’s either that or Hector does it to them.”
“Who the hell is this Hector guy?” Silas asked.
Lola shook her head. “I can’t involve you guys in my problems.”
“You aren’t involving us in jack shit, woman.” Creed growled. “If the Mexican cartel gets their foot in the door here, they will flood Texas with their poison and work their way across the nation. We aren’t going to let that happen, nope, not on our watch.”
She looked around the room. “But one small family can’t stop the bloodshed or the drugs from coming here. That’s just plain silly.”
“See that’s the thing here,” Silas explained. “We aren’t just one small family. We’re a much bigger family. We’re an MC that stands for something and we’re standing up for the right to live here and grow here. Creed’s already told you we protect our own, well we do more than just that. We take back what’s ours from the greedy sons of bitches who took it away from us in the first damn place. We take back what belongs to us and we build it up again with our own blood, sweat and tears. We’ve got more brothers out there waiting for us to come to them. They will join us in our cause and not only will we get our MC back but we’ll stop the threat of the Steele brothers and Liam fuckin Stoughton.”
Lola saw the resolution in the older man’s eyes and it was reflected in his grandsons’ eyes as well. “But why would you risk everything to help me? I’m a stranger to you.”
“Baby girl...” Silas chuckled, “All a stranger is, is someone you haven’t met yet. Seven years ago, Creed went to prison on a trumped up charge, six years ago my son, their father went missing, and I was beaten almost to death. My family was run out of the town we lived in most of my life by a bastard of a man who took the club I started away from me and my family. That man has a lot to answer for and I aim to get those answers from him before I end him. Now that Creed is back, it's time we all come together and Bandit faces our wrath. I aim to find what’s left of my son and bury him with the honor and the respect he’s due. Taking back what’s ours is our mission and helping you to keep yourself alive is part of that plan now.”
