Vindicator

V in pulled into the parking lot at Savage Hell and groaned. He had forgotten that it was the Harlot’s night to use the bar, but he needed to talk to Savage and God, he needed a beer.

He pulled his bike around back and cut the noisy engine, not that anyone would notice around there. The women all rode bikes, and if they didn’t, their men did. They were used to bikes coming and going, and that worked for him because he wanted to get in and out of the bar undetected. The last thing he wanted to do was see Aggie again. After last night in her kitchen, he decided to lay low and hope that she’d forget the entire conversation. He could make up some excuse that he must have had a concussion, but he doubted that she’d believe him. She wasn’t honest with her answer, but at least she gave him one, and now he knew where he stood with her. But damn, if he didn’t want to call Aggie on her bullshit, pull her into his arms, and kiss her until she gave him the truth. Not that his plan would work on Aggie. She was as stubborn as they came and for some reason, she was denying her feelings for him. Shit, maybe he was just making it all up in his head. Maybe Aggie had no feelings for him. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on his part, but he needed to know.

The night that he showed up in her kitchen, about five guys from a rival club jumped him and beat the shit out of him. He hated having to go to her for help, but when he thought about who he could go to for patching up, Aggie came to mind. The problem was, the same assholes who beat the shit out of him, had followed him back to Aggie’s home. They would think that he lived there, and if they went after Aggie while looking for him, he’d never forgive himself. Talking to Savage was the only way to figure out how to get through this mess and keep Aggie safe.

He walked into the back of the bar and found Savage behind the bar, playing bartender. The Harlots loved it when Savage made the drinks because he had a heavy pour.

“You look like shit, man,” Savage said, looking Vin over.

“Yeah, thanks for that,” Vin breathed.

“You forget it’s the Harlot’s night for church?” Savage asked.

“No,” he grumbled. “Kind of,” he admitted. “I need to talk to you, man,” Vin said. “It’s important.”

“Life or death important or you want a beer important?” Savage joked.

“The first one,” Vin said. He could tell by Savage’s expression that he didn’t like what Vin needed to talk to him about, even before he told him. Savage nodded over at his wife, Dallas, and asked her to work the bar while he talked to , and she smiled and quickly agreed. She kissed Savage and waved at Vin as they walked down the dark hallway to Savage’s office.

“I’m sorry to pull you away from everything, but this is important,” Vin explained.

“So, I’ve gathered from you telling me that the problem is life or death,” Savage grumbled. He pointed at the chair that sat in front of his desk and Vin sat down. Savage sat behind his mahogany desk and waited for him to spill the details.

“Last night, I had a visit from about five guys from the Ghosts,” Vin said.

“Shit,” Savage mumbled, “I thought that we already took care of those assholes. Last I heard, they were all but shut down.”

“Well, they are coming back strong, and they want information,” Vin said.

“Information about what?” Savage asked.

“That is something I haven’t figured out yet. They didn’t ask too many questions. They were more interested in beating the shit out of me.”

“They said that they will come for everyone I care about and won’t stop,” Vin said.

“Fuck, it sounds like someone is coming for you, personally,” Savage said.

“I guess it does, now that I’m saying this out loud.” Vin hadn’t had much time to think about anything that happened last night, well, except the part about Aggie. He was up most of the night worrying about her.

“There’s more,” he said. “I was an idiot and went over to Aggie’s place

to get her to patch me up, and I think that when I left last night, there was a car sitting down the street from her house. I didn’t think too much about it until I got home, and then I couldn’t seem to shut my brain off.”

“So, you’re worried that she’s in danger now too?” Savage asked.

“Yeah, and that damn woman is so stubborn, there’s no talking to her,” Vin insisted.

“Well, did you tell her that she was in danger?” Savage asked. Sometimes, Vin thought that the man was a mind reader or something. Instead of telling her about the Ghosts and the possibility of her being in danger, he asked her a question that he wished he hadn’t. At least if he didn’t ask, he wouldn’t know that she didn’t want him. Or that she was possibly lying to him for some reason. He just couldn’t read the woman and that frustrated him to no end.

“Not exactly,” Vin admitted. He knew that wouldn’t hold Savage. He’d have more questions and if he wanted his club Prez’s help, he’d need to answer them.

“What exactly did you tell her then?” Savage asked.

“I didn’t tell her anything,” Vin said, “I actually asked her something.”

“Ok, what did you ask Aggie?” Savage questioned.

“I asked her if we are just friends,” he admitted.

“Why the hell would you ask her that?” Savage asked. From the smirk on his face, he already had a good idea why Vin would ask Aggie that question, but the son of a bitch wanted him to say it out loud.

“I asked her that because I wanted to know if she has feelings for me,” Vin admitted.

“Because you have feelings for her, right?” Savage asked.

“I do, but the woman is so stubborn, she looked me in the eyes and outright lied to me. So, I left.” It might not have been his finest moment, but he couldn’t help it. His feelings were hurt, whether he wanted to admit it or not, and a quick getaway was his go-to move.

“You just left?” Savage asked.

Vin shrugged as though it wasn’t a big deal, but he knew that it was. “I didn’t know what else I was supposed to do. I mean, I couldn’t have stood in her kitchen and called her a liar,” he insisted.

“No, I don’t think that Aggie would have been okay with you doing that, man,” Savage said. “So, how can I help? Please don’t tell me that you want me to tell Aggie that you got her mixed up with the Ghosts.”

Vin thought that it might be a good idea to hear the truth from someone else, but that wouldn’t be fair to Aggie. “No,” Vin breathed. “I guess it should come from me since I’m the one who led them to her. I think she’ll need a place to lay low until I can figure out what they want from me.”

“You used to be a cop, right?” Savage asked.

“Yeah, a detective,” Vin said, “but I wasn’t involved with drug cases. I worked homicide.”

“If I had to guess, one of your old cases had to do with the Ghosts, and you have information that they want. I think that you and Aggie both need a place to lay low, man,” Savage said.

“I can take care of myself,” he insisted.

“Yeah, your face doesn’t look like you can take care of yourself, Vin. You look like hell,” Savage said.

“Yeah, you’ve already pointed that out, man,” Vin grumbled. “Listen, can you help me get Aggie someplace safe or not?”

“I can, but only if you agree to go with her, Vin,” Savage said. He wasn’t going to back down. When Savage dug in his heels, they all knew to back off. Fighting with him would only be a waste of time, and that was something that Vin didn’t have if he was going to keep Aggie safe.

“Fine,” Vin spat, “let me talk to her and we’ll pack some bags. Can you just text me that safehouse location?”

“Sure,” Savage said. Vin thanked his friend and turned to head out into the bar. He was going to have to find Aggie and face the music because he was sure that right now, every second counted. “Oh, and Vin,” Savage called. He turned back around, and Savage smiled at him. “Be careful.”

“That’s the plan, man,” Vin said. “That’s the plan.”