“I guess. Some women will tolerate anything as long as they don’t have to be alone. I bet he’s one of those bikers who treats women like shit.” I shook my head. It was no secret to Juice that my dad had been one of those guys. When my mom got pregnant with me, he wasn’t interested in settling down, so he left her.
“Not all bikers are like that.” Juice’s brows knit together.
“And how would you know?” I crossed my arms over my chest, eager to get back to the kitchen. When he didn’t respond right away, I realized my mistake. “Oh my gosh. You’re one of them, aren’t you?”
Juice put his hands out, palms forward. “I’m one of the good guys, Sammy.”
“There’s no such thing.” I retreated to the kitchen and begged Jeremiah to deliver Juice’s food to his table. I didn’t want to see him again. Not tonight. Not ever. Knowing what he did about my past, how could he join an MC? Obviously, time had changed him. And it was clearer than ever that I couldn’t tell him about our son.
Jeremiah came back to the kitchen. “Are you going to serve the couple at table four, or do you want me to do it, sweetheart?”
“I’m sorry. Just give me a minute.” I splashed some water on my cheeks and sucked in a few deep breaths.
By the time Jeremiah plated the order, I’d pulled myself together enough to leave the kitchen. Juice wasn’t at his table. A sense of relief coursed through me. He was gone, and my secret was safe. I couldn’t wait to get home and set eyes on my son.
But first, I needed to get the last two customers out of the cafe. I set the plates down on the table. “Here you go. Can I get you anything else right away?”
The woman immediately reached for a fry. The guy grabbed her hand and shook it until the fry flew onto the floor. “You’ll eat when I say you can eat.”
“Stop it. You’re hurting me.”
I didn’t want to get involved, but I couldn’t stand by and do nothing while he treated her like that. As calmly as I could, I walked back to the office and picked up the baseball bat I kept behind the door. Then I grabbed my phone and dialed the sheriff’s department. The operator told me she’d send someone as soon as she could, but it might be awhile since they were stretched a little thin because of the storm. That was another problem with this shitty town—there was no one available to help when times got rough.
Glass shattered out front, and my grip on the bat tightened. I poked my head through the doorway leading out of the kitchen. The guy pushed the woman down to her knees on the floor and told her to pick up every shard of glass.
“Sammy, what are you doing?” Jeremiah reached for me as I left the safety of the kitchen. His fingers grazed my arm, but it was too late.
I lifted the bat and rested it on my shoulder like I was stepping up to the plate instead of about to take a swing at a man twice my size. “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
He looked at me and laughed. Then his expressionchanged. His eyes went wide, and he scrambled out of the booth. Juice passed me and grabbed the guy by his collar.
“First, I want you to apologize to LouAnn for the way you’ve been treating her.” Juice tightened his fist in the guy’s long greasy hair.
“I’m s-s-s-sorry.”
Juice glanced over at me. “Next, I want you to tell my friend you’re sorry for making a mess.”
The guy’s eyes narrowed. “Sorry I made a mess.”
“That’s better. Now get your miserable ass out of here and don’t come back.” Juice dragged him toward the front door and tossed him out into the rain.
The guy stood and pointed at Juice, then at me. “You’re the ones who are going to be sorry.”
LouAnn grabbed his jacket and rushed out after him.
“What the hell was that?” I turned on Juice. “Now I’m going to have an asshole biker after me.”
“You think he was going to just sit there while you bashed in his brain with a baseball bat?” Juice pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m going to follow him and figure out who he’s with. I’ll fix this, Sammy, I promise.”
“Just go.” My hands shook, so I grabbed the bat even tighter. “And please, don’t come back.”
His eyes took on a wounded look before he turned and headed into the rain. I caught a glimpse of the Mustang Mountain Riders logo stretched across the back of his leather jacket.
One of the good guys, my ass.
CHAPTER 3
JUICE
