I blink as he chuckles. Our eyes connect, and he winks. It’s not until after he’s out the door and I’m standing alone with Hayride that the truth sinks in. He distracted me.
Hayride glances around the interior of the Butter Bliss. “It’s coming together. Gonna take a seat at the table where I can see out all the windows. Need a coffee, honey. Black.”
I pour him a generous cup and snap a lid on top. Handing it over, I smile as he reaches for it. “Thanks for staying with me. It’s on the house.” Not that I’m open for business, and he needs to pay.
His mouth stretches wide, the smile twitching the corners of his lips. “Watch that offer, honey. Mountain will rip the arms off any fucker stupid enough to take you up on that.”
“Uh, okay?” I don’t know what to say.
“Damn. You really are sweet, aren’t ya? No wonder Mountain is snatching you up. Ain’t no help for it now. You’re his.”
I frown because the caveman mentality of these bikers is really starting to get on my nerves. “I’m not a piece of property.”
He winks at me like I’m a cute, ditzy thing who doesn’t understand the ways of the biker world. Okay, I don’t, but still. It’s annoying.
“Not yet.”
Like it’s inevitable. Like, I don’t have a say in this claim.
Hayride whistles as he takes a seat, kicking out his feet as he sips on his coffee. When he sees my eyes narrow, he chuckles.
The cocky biker, who is far too similar to Rex, the big Mountain with all his dark tattoos, just keeps grinning like the situation is amusing. I don’t get these bikers. They’re strange.
Hayride’s words stick with me long after Rex left.Property of Mountain.I need to talk to the big mountain about this.
Chapter 13 Mountain
“Where is he?” I ask Phantom as we leave the bakery. I didn’t mention that we found the prospect Scythe assigned to help protect my woman, gutted behind the building. It would have upset Cami. I’ll tell her if she asks, but I don’t want to worry her since that bastard is still out there, possibly watching us right now.
“Boomer took care of the scene. It’s contained.”
“Any tourists see Cody?” Even though we called him just a prospect until he patched in, we all knew his name. Cody’s family will be devastated when they hear he’s dead.
“Not that I’ve heard.” Phantom looks as pissed as I feel. “He was just a kid, Mountain. Twenty-one years old.”
Fuck. “I know.”
“We have to find this guy. This town isn’t that big. We would have seen him if he was staying here.”
“Not if he’s walking around without a disguise. No one has seen his face. Not even Cami.”
“Well, shit. You’re right. He could be anyone.”
And that was the frustrating part. He could walk right by us, and we’d never know. He probably already did.
But I’m counting on his obsessed need for Cami to drive him to desperation and make a mistake. She’s protected now, much harder to get to than where she lived in L.A. He has to work harder to see her and get close. That’s gotta piss him off.
“He’s escalating.”
Phantom is right. The stalker has killed someone now. He’s spilled the blood of a prospect, and by extension, the club. Retaliation is coming. The Kings don’t back down and certainly don’t allow anyone to fuck with us.
This is our town. Justice is coming.
Phantom tilts his head to the side. “What’s that smell?”
I don’t know what he’s talking about. I nearly tell him that until I smell it too. Smoke. There’s a fire somewhere close.
“The arsonist,” he blurts before running in the direction of the fire.
