5. I Protect My Own

FIVE

I Protect My Own

HAWK

A s soon as Titan saw the police cruiser pull up to Etain’s driveway, he called to let me know that something was up. Titan could have handled the situation, but when I hear that Etain is involved, I tear out the door and I’m on my bike in minutes.

I ride to her street and catch Titan’s gaze. He was guarding Etain’s place tonight and was just about to leave to make our club meeting when the police car arrived. He follows me up to the house now and is by my side when I see that Syd is the officer at the door.

“Hey, Syd, how’s it going?” I ask. Officer Syd is a good man and takes his job seriously. When we first got to town, he was a straight shooter and came to see me. After I assured him that the Redemption Riders were making this place their home and our intention was to establish a legitimate business, he calmed down. It didn’t happen overnight, but the local cops and the Redemption Riders have been able to work amicably together, and we’ve all been better for it.

“Hawk,” he says, acknowledging my presence. He glances at Etain and back. “What are you doing here?”

“Etain is my new office manager.”

“Since when does an employer come to the home of their employee?” Robert asks. Up to now, I haven’t paid any attention to Robert, but I take a good hard look at him now. He’s an arrogant asshole, but when I stare into his eyes, I see uncertainty and fear.

Lawyer or not, Etain was the brains of his enterprise. “None of your business,” I respond. I look over Syd’s shoulder at Etain. “Are you all right?”

She crosses her arms, sending a stabbing glare at Robert. “I was perfectly fine five minutes ago.” She then directs her anger at Robert. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You bring a policeman to my door for no reason other than that you didn’t get your own way. Earlier today, I told you not to contact me anymore. And what do you do?” She takes a breath and continues, “You’ve called me thirty times, until I couldn’t stand it and turned my phone off, making me miss a call from my parents. What do you want, Robert? And don’t say for me to come home, because that’s not going to happen. You can keep the clients, the apartment, and your new plaything. Just leave me the hell alone.” Her chest is heaving, her eyes turn vibrant green, and I can’t help but smile at her ability to speak her mind.

“You can’t walk away from everything we’ve built,” Robert starts.

“Wrong! I just did.”

“You’re being ridiculous.” He steps closer to her, but I intercede and push past him and Officer Syd to put myself between Etain and Robert.

“Stop right there. I believe Etain has made it perfectly clear that she doesn’t want to speak to you. I think ignoring your calls was enough of a hint, but you seem to be averse to catching on.” I catch Office Syd’s eye. “This has gone on long enough. He needs to leave. He brought you here under false pretenses, and this is bordering on stalking.”

“Stalking! Are you out of your mind?” Robert exclaims. “I’m a lawyer, for God’s sake.”

“It’s time to go, sir. You can see that Miss Huggart is safe and is unwilling to speak with you,” Officer Syd says with a sigh.

“She needs to listen,” Robert shouts, pointing a finger toward Etain.

“She doesn’t need to do shit. I suggest you put your finger away before?—”

“Hawk, zip it,” Office Syd says, shaking his head. I rein it back in. Threatening Robert in front of a cop is a no-no, but Robert being a lawyer would be a problem too.

“Etain, are you done?” I ask, looking down at her reddened cheeks, another clue to her anger.

“More than done.” She manages a smile for Officer Syd. “Thank you for checking on me. I wish we could have met under nicer circumstances. Good night, Officer,” she says sweetly.

Robert’s about to protest, but Officer Syd gives him an expression that has him closing his mouth, turning around, and stomping back to the police car.

“Wait for me,” I tell Titan. It’s the first time Etain notices him.

She blinks. “Have you been here all this time?”

Titan laughs. “Yup. I enjoyed the drama,” he teases. He gives us a two-finger salute and walks down to the edge of the lawn, where he climbs on his bike and waits. I push Etain lightly with my hand on her belly into the house and shut the door.

“Can you believe that guy? He called the cops because I wouldn’t answer his calls. He’s loony!” Etain is pacing around the room, her hands waving dramatically as she speaks. “How is it that he cheats on me, and I have to deal with his idiocy?” She suddenly stops and stares at me. “Wait! What are you doing here?” Then, without waiting for a reply, she says, “Don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind, and I’m fired.” She ends with her hands on her hips, almost daring me to announce her impending doom.

“I heard there was trouble and came to help,” I state calmly.

“You came to help me?” Her eyes brim with tears. All this time, she’s been tough, hiding her soft underbelly, but she’s vulnerable. My girl is a mixture of steel and feathers. Tough to crack, but once you get in, she’s soft and cuddly. She turns away to keep from showing me her tears, but I see her wipe her hand across her cheek.

“Hey, babe,” I say to her gently, turning her to face me. “You don’t have to worry. I got your back. Your job is safe.”

Her eyes meet mine. She takes in a deep breath. “How did you know Robert was here?”

“Titan’s been watching your place. When you told me your ex wasn’t done with you yet, I decided to keep tabs. You were right. He showed. Titan called me, and I came.”

“You’re having me watched?” she asks with a shocked expression.

“More like protecting you from your ex.”

“I don’t know whether to thank you or yell at you.” She furrows her brow, clearly thinking of her options.

“If I get a say, I’d go with thanking me.” I grin, and that gets me a sliver of a smile. “Hey, you’re part of RR Mechanics, and we look after our own.” She bites her lower lip, and I can see she has something on her mind. “Spit it out, Ginger.”

“Sasha told me you’re part of a biker club.”

“I’m the president of Redemption Riders. We employ club members, but we also have others onboard who are just plain employees. The two are separate for the most part. Club business doesn’t touch you.”

“You don’t do anything, um, like, uh, illegal?”

“We run legitimate businesses. I’m not going to lie to you, the club has enemies, but so do many corporations. Difference is that in the corporate world, they call it takeovers, but it’s just as ugly and vicious. With our MC, there are rival clubs that want our territory, or they ask for favors we want no part of. I’ve drawn a line in the sand and made it known not to fuck with us.”

“And if they do?” she whispers.

“No one takes what our club has worked for, and we protect what’s rightfully ours. If it makes you feel better, Redemption Riders are part of an alliance with other clubs that have the same moral code. Anyone who comes for us is fighting an army. It wouldn’t be a smart move.” I reach out and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “You don’t know me well enough yet, but I swear to you, you’re as safe as you can be with me and the club. You good with that?”

Her green eyes sparkle brightly, and she nods her head once. “I believe you,” she replies quietly. I want to kiss her so badly, but I know that if I do, I’m going to hate to leave her, and when we have our first kiss, I want to be able to take my time and savor her mouth.

Etain wants me to kiss her. Her body sways closer, her lips part slightly, and her eyes beckon to me. I steady her and take a step back.

“I’ve gotta go. I’m already late for a meeting. I’ll see you tomorrow. Eight o’clock sharp.” I get the hell out before I cave in to my urges and carry her into her bedroom.

T itan and I are the last to arrive at the compound. We’ve already started the addition, and it comes as both a blessing and a curse. The site is a mess, but since it’s only temporary, we’re getting by. The much-needed addition will give everyone their personal space, and as bikers who love our freedom, that’s a must. Redemptions Riders is a close group of men. We started with six original members, and we’re growing fast. We currently have thirty members in the club. Some are still serving our country, but when they’re home, they come straight to the club. Others are on loan to other clubs to help them out in one capacity or another; the rest are here tonight.

As soon as Titan and I enter the room, the heavy wooden door slides shut, and Flex flips the lock. If a brother shows up late, he pays a fine, and I have to have a word with him privately. It’s not something I enjoy doing, but to keep us all accountable, I will.

I scan the room and see that everyone’s present, so I bring the meeting to order.

“There are two items up for discussion,” I announce. “The Jackals are encroaching on our turf. They haven’t made a move except to flex their muscle and point out that we still have one more run to do for them. They’ve got a plan, and we’ve got to get ahead of it. They’ve been hanging out at the Sweet Shack just outside town.”

Drifter pipes up. “I got people on the inside. I’ll make a few calls and see what I can find out.”

I nod. Drifter knows how to get information from the streets. He seems to have connections everywhere. “Good. That may not be enough, though. This run is end of next week, and the Jackals have too much time to plan a way to get the cops on our ass. Phantom’s already paying the price of our fuckup. We’re not having a repeat performance.”

At the sound of Phantom’s name, their faces grow hard. Each of us bears the burden of what went down that day, and we all swore we would make it up to him. More importantly, we decided it would never happen again. We’re smarter and more lethal than we were when this all went down a couple of years ago.

We spend the next hour dividing tasks. Drifter has his role, but Flex and Shooter have been working on finding out who is the main supplier of the Jackals’ product. Flex comes from the grittiest part of Texas, and he knows how to hunt for information. Shooter is suave and an excellent negotiator. He exudes this “nice guy” persona, but he’s dangerous as fuck. If they can get an in with whoever is supplying the Jackals, we can change the course of the delivery.

Raven’s been scouting the delivery site and has been away for a week, watching and tracking the members of Jackals MC. Raven’s back from a stint in Syria. He’s due to go back in three weeks for his last tour. When he came home and was told of our predicament, he swung into action faster than I could relay the situation. His strength is tactical planning. He’ll find every hiding spot, every hidden road, and make it work for us. He’s invaluable, and I just wish he wasn’t going back to Syria when this is all said and done. Raven checks in nightly, and I keep him in the loop as to what’s happening.

With a firm plan in hand, I move on to the next topic.

“This isn’t going to be a surprise for some of you, but I’ll make it official. I hired a new office manager for the garage. Etain is off-limits to all of you. She’s also got an ex who doesn’t like the word ‘no’ and is being a pain in the ass. The idiot got Officer Syd involved because she wouldn’t return his calls,” I say. “The reason I’m telling you is because you need to keep your eyes peeled. He’s a shifty lawyer, and I got a feeling he doesn’t play nice when his toys are taken away.”

Drifter lifts his brows and smirks. “And…”

I look him directly in the eye and say, “Etain is mine.” Then I scan the room to see Shooter grinning as he looks down at his boots. Flex isn’t even hiding his amusement. Decker is the only one who seems surprised.

“The babe from this morning?” Decker asks.

“Her name is Etain Huggart,” I retort with a scowl, not liking that he called Etain a babe. She is a freaking knockout babe, but I’m the only one who gets to call her that. Decker mockingly holds up his hands to ward me off.

“Relax, brother. I go for blondes,” he says with a laugh.

“Does she know anything about cars or bikes?” Flex asks.

“Not a damn thing, but that’s not what she’s here for. She’s going to take care of the books. The rest stays the same. Only change is that we’ll be able to find the fucking paperwork to back up the invoices. She’ll make sure our suppliers are paid on time and keep us profitable,” I reply.

“We still ordering our own parts?” Shooter asks.

“If it’s a rush, then yeah, but make sure you write it down and get it to me. Same with pickups. I want the slips to match when we get invoiced. If we can do bulk orders, then it goes on the clipboard, and I’ll place an order once a day,” I tell them. “I know we’re making money, but I have a feeling we should have more in the bank. We grew fast, and the accounts are getting out of hand. Etain is the solution to the problem.”

“Fine by me,” Drifter replies with a shrug. The others agree.

“What if her douche ex shows again?” Decker asks.

“Keep her in her office and call me. After his piddly ass move with the cops tonight, I don’t want to see him anywhere near her.”

“We done?” Drifter asks, looking like he has somewhere else he’d rather be.

“Got someplace to go?” Shooter teases. Drifter is known to get a lot of pussy, and he doesn’t hide the fact that he enjoys women. All the guys have a slew of biker bunnies at their beck and call. They come to the club parties and have a great fucking night. The guys get what they need, and the women understand that this is how we live. You’re not part of the club unless you’re an old lady, and so far, none of the guys have taken a steady woman they’re willing to commit to.

It’s a far cry from Satan’s Pride, with all their main members hooked to their women. I’ve met them all a couple of times. Ava is Guard’s wife, and she’s gorgeous. But she’s a strong woman, and that’s necessary to play the part of the president’s old lady. The other women look up to Ava, and she makes sure the other old ladies have a leader. They even call themselves the Lady Pride. It’s cute, but I wouldn’t dare laugh about it in their presence. The Lady Pride take their role seriously. Especially Vi! She belongs to Orion, and sometimes I wonder who would be scarier to cross. Vi speaks her mind and is fiercely protective of her man, her kids, Satan’s Pride, and her Pride sisters. I think Etain and Vi would get along really well, but I’m not sure it’s such a good idea to have them mingling. I could just imagine the trouble they would get into.

“We’re done,” I announce. I’m fucking wiped. It’s been a long day, and I still need to connect with Raven.

A short time later…

“Yo, brother, what’s happening?” Raven answers the phone on the first ring. I give him the lowdown on what we’re planning with the Jackals. In return, he sends me a pile of photos he’s taken of the drop site where the exchange is supposed to go down. He’s also sent pictures of some of the Jackal members. I’ll send those along to Guard. They have two amazing tech geniuses, and we haven’t yet got a member who’s got that as a special talent.

Guard has offered his help, and I’m taking him up on it.

“This time, it’s going down our way,” I tell Raven.

“Preach, brother. I’m done with the Jackals’ shit.”

“This time, we protect our own at all costs,” I conclude.