CHAPTER1
PRIEST
“You ready for this?”I turned to Thunder to double check. We were headed into Stella’s, a dive bar on the far edge of town. This place was known as a favorite meeting spot for clubs involved in some questionable activities and we were hoping to get a line on some of the Savage Bones. They’d been keeping a low profile since last month, probably since they heard what Bear had done to that bastard Howler.
“I’ll follow your lead on this one, brother.” Thunder might be the VP of the Mustang Mountain Riders, but he was the kind of guy who could keep his cool—the kind of guy I would have appreciated having on my team back when I ran missions into some of the most dangerous places in the world.
Nodding, I pulled the front door open. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the dimly lit interior. A group of bikers surrounded the pool table. I didn’t recognize any of them, but Stella’s was considered neutral territory. It wasn’t unusual to find guys wearing a variety of different cuts in here on any given night. As long as things didn’t get out of control, everyone was welcome. That’s what made it the perfect location for the drug deal that was supposed to be going down.
We’d gotten some intel that Savage Bones was bringing in a big shipment from a club out in LA. I didn’t know where the information came from, but according to Thunder, it was a reliable source. None of us needed much of an excuse to take down any members of the Savage Bones, which was why I’d volunteered to spend my Friday night in this hell hole instead of sitting at home by myself and wishing for something I’d never have.
“Eleven o’clock. Is that the dickwad we chased out of town last month?” Thunder kept his voice low. Neither one of us wanted to draw any attention.
I glanced toward the back left corner of the bar. Two couples sat at the table. I ignored the women while I studied the two guys. The one facing us looked familiar, but I was too far away to make a positive ID. “I’m not sure. Let’s take a table nearby.”
Thunder nodded at an empty table a few feet away from the foursome in the corner. “You want to grab a table while I go get us some beers?”
“Sure.” I pulled out a barstool and took a seat. The two guys looked way too at ease for there to be a big drug deal happening. Still, I wasn’t about to let down my guard. Experience had taught me to expect the unexpected, especially when dealing with unpredictable assholes like the Savage Bones had proven to be.
I didn’t want to look like I was on edge, so I took out my phone and typed out a quick text to check in on Rae. Even though she’d made it perfectly clear she didn’t need me keeping tabs on her all the time, old habits were hard to break. Especially when keeping an eye on his daughter was the last promise I’d made to my best friend right before he died.
My phone pinged with her response. According to her text, she was watching a movie with her roommate and doing a spa night at home. Good. I didn’t like worrying about her, though now I had images of her lounging on her couch in nothing but one of those short nightshirts she seemed to favor. Having a hard-on for my best friend’s daughter—the one he asked me to look after for the rest of her life—had sentenced me to hell on earth.
Fuck. I needed a drink. The ten-year anniversary of his death was coming up later this month, and I needed to repair my relationship with Rae if I wanted to make good on the promise I’d made. I glanced toward the bar so I could estimate how long it would be until Thunder got back with those beers.
Movement by the door caught my eye. A familiar face emerged from the darkness. I recognized a supplier I thought we’d put behind bars last year. He slithered into the bar like the snake he was and headed straight to a table on the other side of the room.
Thunder slid onto the stool across from me and slammed our drinks down a little harder than necessary. Beer sloshed over the edge of the mugs and splattered onto the table. “Sorry about that. You see the trash that just walked through the door?”
“Yeah. If the Savage Bones are in bed with a guy like that, this deal might be bigger than we thought.” I reached for my beer, eager to wet my lips. The brunette who’d had her back to us the entire time since we’d entered the bar turned toward the guy next to her.
My beer lodged in my throat. I was seeing things. Had to be. Because when she turned her head like that and I caught sight of her profile, I could have sworn it was Rae sitting next to that lowlife motherfucker in the Savage Bones cut.
“What’s wrong?” Thunder got to his feet, ready to spring into action.
I grappled for my phone and re-read Rae’s text. She was at home. My heart settled. The girl in the back booth couldn’t be Rae. I glanced toward her, trying to convince myself it was just an uncanny resemblance. Then I heard her laugh. My eyes might play tricks on me, but there was no mistaking the sound of Rae’s laughter.
A hole opened up in my gut and sucked all the air from my lungs. I didn’t even know I’d moved until I was standing in front of the table in the far back corner, staring down at the only female who’d ever owned a piece of my heart.
She gasped and her eyes went wide. “What are you doing here?”
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?” I put my palms down on the table and willed my voice to come out low and steady, even though my pulse jack hammered through my ears. “I thought you were at home watching a movie.”
“Hey, who the fuck are you?” The guy sitting next to Rae made a move to stand.
She put her hand on his arm. “It’s okay. I know him.”
The guy slapped her hand away and turned on her. “Tell your dad it’s past his bedtime and get him out of here. We’ve got something going down, and he’s about to fuck it up.”
Yeah, I was old enough to be her damn dad. Yet the feelings I had for Rae had never been fatherly. I grabbed the guy by the front of his shirt and lifted his ass off the seat. “Get your fucking hands off her.”
She slapped at my hands. “Priest, stop.”
“Grab your things, Sunshine. I’m taking you home.” I could feel Thunder behind me. Neither one of us wanted to get into a fight tonight, but he’d have my back, no matter how this went down.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” She backed into the corner of the booth.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way, sweetheart, but you’re leaving with me tonight.” Even though she’d been living on her own for the past four years, she knew better than to test me.
