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“Janey is my responsibility, and the woman I claim,” Dakota muttered.
“And I’m still Prez, Pyro. Janey is correct; she’d be safer at the bar surrounded by bikers. Magic needs to know, but no one else. Janey remains Bunny,” Chance stated. Dakota wanted to argue, but Chance was deciding, and he couldn’t. Whatever Chance said went.
“We tell the allies?” Dakota finally asked.
“No. Magic can bandy it about Bunny had an abusive ex, and she’s hiding from him. He’ll ask the allies to keep an eye out for strangers hanging around,” Chance replied, and I was grateful he’d seen the light. I liked the big gruff president of Hellfire. Chance’s every action and word was to defend his club and people. Sometimes I thought Chance was blinkered, but Chance had a good heart.
“Then I’m staying with Janey,” Dakota declared, defiantly jutting his chin.
“At night, sure. During the day, you’re here. You’ll be putting unwanted attention on her if you hang about consistently. Magic would never allow it under normal circumstances. That would force Tanner to dig. Pyro, you got to keep up a cover, working here and then riding to see Janey. All Tanner will figure out is you’re screwing one of Magic’s girls.”
“Hey!” I exclaimed at the word screwing. Chance turned to me.
“That’s the best-case scenario, Janey. We want Tanner to think Pyro’s fucking you. You don’t want Tanner to suspect you. We don’t know how deep Tanner has dug into your past or Pyro’s. No clue whether he’s worked out there’s a link. Normalcy is what we need. Pyro hanging around you would send warning bells.” I chewed Chance’s words over and nodded. Chance made sense, even if Dakota disagreed.
“I’m not disagreeing; I just didn’t appreciate how you phrased it,” I stated, and Chance acknowledged that.
“Janey, it wasn’t meant with disrespect. And whether or not you like it, Janey has the best plan, Pyro.” Chance turned to Pyro, whose face had set in a mulish expression.
“Chance is right, Pyro; listen,” I agreed, backing Chance up.
“Only because you don’t want your freedom curtailed. I disagree with this shit, but if Chance is ordering it…” Dakota glared at Chance and put the onus firmly on his shoulders. That was low.
“Yeah, bro, I’m calling it. To protect Janey, we gotta act normal. But she won’t be left alone; she’ll be strongly watched and protected. Tanner will be hunting her, and he wouldn’t have stopped. And I’m laying money, now this murder’s come to light, he’ll up the ante.” I stared at Chance, hating his words but knowing they were true. Dakota agreed.
“Look, we got to face Magic yet, and he may well boot me out of the bar. We all know the rules; no drama in the bar,” I said, and Chance nodded.
“Doubt Magic will kick you to the wall, but we need his agreement.”
“We’re going to have to see,” Dakota replied grumpily. “No time like the present. Let’s ride, princess.”
“Don’t call me princess, asshole!” I snapped, and Dakota grinned.
???
“You two, your asses, my room now!” Magic bellowed as we entered the bar. Dakota and I exchanged glances and followed the grumpy man through the back into his office. Several bikers smirked as we passed, and Lance rolled his eyes at the scene. Scythe tipped his drink and made a slashing motion across his throat before turning to one of his brothers.
“Magic…” I said as soon as the door shut. Magic held a hand up and started shouting.
“What’s the fuckin’ rules? No drama, no personal shit in this bar! Carrying out one of my girls in a fireman’s hold is a fuckwad move, Pyro! Better ways to court a girl than kidnapping her!” I blinked as Magic continued bellowing while holding a finger up. Pyro and I took the chairs Magic pointed to and let him run out of steam.
“If I weren’t mad, people would wonder what the fuck’s going on,” Magic said in one interlude. “Gotta keep up appearances!” And as Dakota and I watched, amused, Magic began hollering again. Dakota relaxed back in his chair as Magic sat his ass on the old desk in front of us and kept it up for a few minutes more. Finally, Magic ran out of steam and stopped shouting.
“What protection does Bunny need?” Magic asked Dakota, making me look up, surprised. “Come on, Bunny, cash under the counter, nowhere to stay, temporary tats, and a false ID. The best I’ve seen, great forgery, but not enough to deceive me. Probably would fool a cop. The fact Bunny hid her car in the garage out back and never took it out again also spoke volumes.”
“Fake tattoos?” Dakota asked, studying my ink. He lifted my arm and held it up to the light filtering through the office window. “That’s some good shit.”
“I need to have them redone this week. They should be good for six to seven months, but the guy has me booked in for Sunday,” I explained.
“I’ll go with you,” Dakota stated. Magic rolled his eyes.
“What protection does Janey require?” Magic demanded. Both Pyro and I stiffened at Magic’s use of my real name. Magic regarded us stoically.
“You guessed?” Dakota asked, surprised.
“Pyro, I knew the minute you handed me that poster. This old man ain’t so blind. In this business, you pay attention. Obvious Bunny was fleeing from something, but until now, she’s been quiet and a good worker. So spill the beans and let me know what’s happening.” Magic listened without interrupting as Dakota, and I explained what I’d seen and why I was running. His face was thoughtful when Tanner’s name was mentioned, and his head nodded in several places.
“Tanner, I know, not personally, and he stays away from me, but I’ve heard of him. He’s a loan shark but I hear Tanner’s also into money laundering and runs an illegal casino. Tanner tried crossing Washington once and ended up running and hiding for five years. When he came back, Tanner paid a gratuity to Washington to call him off. If you require information, you need to hit Washington up.” Magic scratched his head.
