Chapter Thirteen

Coyote

Today was the big day. My grand opening was scheduled to get underway at ten. My sister and Breaker were already here to help me set up the event. Callie brought my favorite homemade breakfast biscuits, but I was too anxious to eat. Instead, I just kept downing cup after endless cup of strong coffee. I was already jittery as hell, so I didn't think the extra caffeine would matter.

I had taken full advantage of planning the event to spend as much time with Bethany as possible. It had been pretty fucking amazing, but nothing came close to the night we spent together last week. Although we'd not had the opportunity to do it again, my brain had been thinking of nothing else for days. While the sex had been off the charts, the part I craved was having her in my home, and us just hanging out. The moments when we were cuddled up on the sofa together showed me what had been missing from my life.

Around nine-thirty, Bethany showed up. I walked out to meet her, just as she was pulling her child out of the car. I stopped dead in my tracks because this little girl looked so much like my sister at her age that it stole my breath away. I'd been too distracted the day at the office to pay much attention. For a second it had me wondering if she could be mine, but then I remembered Bethany telling me that she'd got pregnant after leaving Griffinsford. Plus, her kid was only two, she'd been gone almost three and a half years so even allowing for nine months of pregnancy if she'd been pregnant when she ran off, the kid would be around three.

Something brushed against my leg, and I remembered that I had brought Ruby with me today, primarily because Bethany had told me how much her daughter would enjoy petting her. Well, I was certainly right about that. Bethany's daughter crept forward slowly with her eyes fixed on the chihuahua.

When the little girl got close, I motioned her forward. "It's okay. You can pet her if you want, she's really friendly and she really likes kids."

She turned to look at Bethany, "Mommy," she said questioningly.

Her mom was quick to reassure her, "Go ahead, Nessa, her name is Ruby.

Nessa reached her hand out and carefully touched the dog's head. When she didn't object, she smoothed her hand down her back like she saw me do. She was rewarded with a happy yip as Ruby danced with happiness. The expression of joy on Nessa's face was sweet. This little girl was precious. I glanced up at Bethany and found her snapping a picture of her daughter petting the dog. I guess this is what being a parent was all about, taking pictures they could save to remember the moment.

A car door slammed and spooked Ruby, she jumped and went running back into the building, probably to hide under my desk where I'd put her bed.

"Did you see me Mommy? I petted it," Nessa gushed.

Bethany glanced down affectionately at her daughter and responded, "I saw that, sweetheart."

"Where did she go?" the little girl asked, gazing over towards the building.

"I think the crowds scared her, she'll be in my office in bed," I said.

Bethany crouched down in front of her daughter, "We might go and visit with Miss Ruby later on, once mommy has finished up out here."

As Bethany continued to chat with her daughter, Breaker called my name. I gave Bethany a quick kiss on her temple and murmured, "Make yourself at home, the office is unlocked so if you wanted to take time out with Nessa you can sit in there. If you needed to leave her to deal with anything, one of the prospects, or my sister, could watch her for you?"

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," she smiled at me as she came to her feet again.

"Oh, before I forget, the caterers called and said they were running a few minutes late. They should be here any minute," I told her.

"I'll be on the lookout and make sure everything goes smoothly."

Jerking my chin in the direction of the area we reserved for the car show, I told her, "I'm sure they're calling me because the antique cars are starting to show up."

"We're fine. You go supervise setting up the car show, and I'll see to the rest."

It occurred to me to tell her what my sister had already covered. "My sister set up some tables inside the first repair bay, and she is in the process of displaying the brochures, tickets for the raffle, and the other stuff you suggested we order. She's taking down information on anyone who wants to join our mailing list."

"I'll leave her to it and concentrate on the catering. Reggie should stop by at some point. This is my opportunity to prove I can organize an event on my own, so he's been pretty hands off."

"Well, things are shaping up nicely. I'm very happy with all your ideas and how things are coming together today."

Breaker called my name again. "Sorry, I gotta go. I'll catch up with you in a bit."

Turning, I headed to the field and sure enough there was a string of beautiful old cars lined up. Breaker and I guided them into place using hand signals. It seemed the more that parked up, the more showed up behind them. These older men were seriously enthusiastic about getting together to show off their vehicles.

***

As the morning progressed and I ran around meeting and greeting everyone, Breaker and my sister were a godsend. Bethany was a true professional. She kept the whole event moving forward. She was the kind of woman that a smart man would dedicate himself to wifing up.

No matter what I was doing throughout the morning, Nessa was never far from my mind. With her long dark hair and brown eyes, she really did look the women in my family when they were kids. Something tightened in my chest, and I decided to go check on her. I found her hiding out under one of the banquet tables, happily playing with Ruby. She'd gotten a piece of string from somewhere and was dangling it in her face. She kept touching it with her nose and trying to grab it with her teeth. Nessa giggled, clearly thrilled with their little game. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but it certainly looked like Ruby was going through her second puppyhood.

I turned my head and searched around for Bethany, Mace was standing watch over her daughter, so I guessed that she must have had to attend to business. I nodded at the prospect, who returned the gesture, and then went back to avidly watching the action under the table. I'm not sure what he thought he'd be getting into prospecting for an MC—shadowing women, and childminding were probably not top of the list. But it could have been worse, you wouldn't believe the shit some MCs have their prospects doing.

I finally caught sight of Bethany walking out of the garage with a thick stack of flyers in her hand. I presumed she intended to pass them out. Before I got moving in her direction, a man jumped out in front of her. She was clearly startled because she took a staggering step backwards and all the color drained from her face. I didn't know exactly who the asshole was but, he was wearing a Twisted Metal MC cut, which was bad fucking news.

I closed the distance between us and stepped into the space between them. "Can I help you?" I stated coldly.

He didn't budge. Instead, he stared up at me with his one good eye. This dude was missing an eye and didn't bother covering it with a patch. The eye socket was puckered and badly scarred as though someone had poked out his eye with a hot poker. He was tall, built like a tank, and sporting a huge black beard, making him look like a fucking pirate or something. What with the bandana wrapped around his head, Dude just needed a parrot to complete the ensemble. He glanced down at the name on my cut and growled, "Move. You're cockblocking me."

"Look, dumbass. You're on my property. That means you don't get to call the shots."

His head swiveled around to look at the huge sign hanging above my auto repair shop. "Oh, you're that Coyote."

"How many fucking men go by that name around these parts?" I checked out the name on his cut and snorted a laugh. "Just like there can't many one-eyed bikers running around named Cyclops."

He tried to peer around me to get another glimpse of Bethany. I leaned sideways to block his view. "Time for you to move along or I'll be forced to do a little more than cockblock you."

The stupid fucker's one eye narrowed on me. I could tell he was thinking about trying it on with me. I wasn't looking forward to brawling at my own grand opening, but when it came to protecting Bethany, I'd step up.

Before he could reply, Nessa came running over with Ruby in her arms. "Mommy, doggy hurt her paw."

Cyclops froze as Nessa walked past him. This annoying man had forgotten entirely about me in favor of zeroing that one remaining eye in on Nessa. Twisted Metal was a one percent club. Something about this outlaw having his eyes on Bethany's innocent daughter went all over me.

I reached out, slammed my fist into his shoulder and used my other hand to pivot him around. Pushing him towards the parking lot, I told him, "Get your fucking eye off that little girl, asshole." I just kept moving him along until we hit the parking lot. He seemed stunned and wasn't even resisting. I gave him one final shove from the grass onto the pavement and jerked my chin in the direction of the only bike I didn't recognize. "Hit the road. You've worn out your welcome."

"You're gonna regret keeping me from what's mine," he rasped.

I stared him down without blinking. "Bethany ain't yours, asshole. And she ain't likely to climb out of my bed and into yours, so you might as well fuck off before I decide to take offense at you eye fucking her just now."

"She's with you?" The incredulous sound of his voice pissed me off.

"Yeah, we go way back. She's partial to men who don't traffic women and drugs."

"Why are Slayers such judgmental assholes?"

"We're not. Look, I don't particularly give a fuck how you earn your money. You need to keep that shit in your own territory. If I catch you sniffing around Bethany again, it might trigger a war between our clubs. Is that what you want?"

He didn't answer. Instead, his lips pressed together into a firm line.

When it became clear he wasn't going to answer me, I delivered words designed to move him on. "Half my club is here. Do you really want to start a fight over a woman who's already with someone else? You don't have snowball's chance in hell of luring her away from me. It would be a real fucking tragedy if you lost the only eye you've got left."

He jabbed his finger in the air, towards my chest. "You're a smug bastard and I'll be looking forward to wiping that fucking smirk off your damn face."

As if he was afraid I might take him up on the fight he was so clearly spoiling for, he turned and stalked off in the direction of his bike.

This man didn't have a lot going for himself. It was a well-known fact that none of the Twisted Metal crew worked outside jobs. They earned through the illegal jobs their club did as a group. The majority of them either lived at their clubhouse, or four to six of them would stay in rentals. It's the main reason none of them—with the exception of their club president—had families. No matter whether Bethany ended up choosing me or not, this was not the man I wanted waiting in the wings, hoping to capture her notice.

I stood at the edge of the parking lot and watched him get onto his bike and ride off. I memorized every detail of his motorcycle and made a mental note of his license plate number. When he was well clear of my property, I headed back to the crowded grand opening.