“Yes. Thanks, Vince,” Chase said, standing rather than sitting, as Cash nodded.
Southside Suzy’s kept numerous beers on tap, and Vince set two glasses of the one they always drank in front of them. He refused their money and raved about his latest delivery of beef. They told him that Coop said hello, and Vince wanted to know how everyone at the ranch was doing. They answered, inquiring the same. Chase was about to mention Suzy and Richard when female arms wrapped around him from behind. He looked down. Not the arms and hands of Jade. Frowning, Chase grasped the female elbow and pulled her around to his side. She giggled all the way. Dammit. He wasn’t in the mood for this.
“Hi, Chase,” Allison Hilliard said. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“Hi, Cash. Hey, Chase,” Kendra Desmond said as she squeezed in at the bar between Allison and Cash.
“Hi,” Cash replied.
Chase nodded hello. What were the odds? His impatience and irritation grew as the two women took turns telling how they had arrived about the same time and recognized each other from the Memorial Day picnic at his ranch. Since when were these two friends? Or was it more likely a case of keep your friends close and your enemies closer? If this wasn’t disruptive enough, Ragsdale, who Bob had fired after his third strike—which was blatantly cheating at poker in the bunkhouse—took hold of Kendra’s arm and yanked her away from the bar.
“You’re with me, Kendra,” Ragsdale slurred, obviously intoxicated.
“Not since the Cooper cowboys rode in,” Kendra said. “Let go of me.”
Allison moved closer to Chase. As if terribly frightened, she placed her left hand on his chest and wrapped her right arm around his waist. Kendra jerked her arm free of Ragsdale, making him stumble. Vince snapped his fingers, and immediately, two burly bouncers took hold of Ragsdale and escorted the squirming, hollering drunk to the curb. Kendra thanked Vince and ordered a beer. Rather than loosening her hold, Allison clutched Chase even tighter.
“Allison, I’m here on business,” Chase said, peeling her off of him.
She stuck her lip out in a pout and said, “Why can’t I be your business?”
“Because that blonde is his business,” Kendra said.
“I don’t see her anywhere.” Allison made a show of looking right and left.
“Allison,” Kendra shook her head, “you won’t get anywhere with Chase. I gave it my best shot. Forget about him.”
“Is that right, Chase?” Allison whined up at him. “Is it over for good?”
“It was over for good two years ago,” Chase replied.
“Told you so.” Kendra shrugged and turned her attention back to Cash. “What about you and me, Cash?”
Slightly less bluntly than Chase, Cash said, “If only you were a redhead.”
“I can be in a snap,” Kendra flirted.
Chase couldn’t waste another second. Taking a couple of steps away from Allison and Kendra, he asked, “Vince, are Suzy and Richard here?”
“They were earlier,” Vince said, drying a glass. “Need me to give Suzy a call?” Before Chase could reply, Vince looked beyond him and said, “I won’t have to. Here they come.”
Chase turned at the bar and followed Vince’s gaze. What Suzy didn’t know about Colorado Springs, she could find out. If she hit a roadblock, Richard cleared the way. Other than Jade, Chase couldn’t have been happier to see someone.
“Chase Cooper, how you doin’, my man?” the big dog on the totem pole of the Sons of Steel asked. Wearing his1%ercolors as always, he approached Chase and Cash with a grin. In fact, Big Dog was Richard’s biker name. He had a full head of black hair, dark eyes, and a black beard. Most of the bikers wore beards to protect their faces when riding. Tall and slim, Richard was the epitome of lean and mean. He and Chase clasped hands, and he gave Chase a hard tug up against his chest and then released him. “Cash-man, good to see you,” Richard repeated the same greeting with Cash.
“Hey, Pop,” Suzy said to her dad, who smiled. Suzy wore her auburn hair short and spiked. Freckles across her nose gave her a friendly look, although she could be anything but if provoked. She’d spent years on the back of Richard’s Harley, and not much scared her. Suzy hugged Chase and then Cash. “I know this is a busy time of year on the Triple C. What’s important enough to pull you two off your ranches into town?”
“I need information,” Chase said and subtly glanced at Allison and Kendra, who were still lingering an arm’s length away.
“Let’s go to the office,” Suzy said.
With a wave for Chase and Cash to follow, she took off down a private hallway. Richard paused momentarily to speak to Vince and two men wearing black leather vests with Sons of Steel colors. Chase and Cash knew the men as Blade and Tommy-Gun, the two most trusted bikers of Richard’s club.
* * *
At the endof the hall, Suzy unlocked a door and ushered them into the office. Richard followed and shut the door. Suzy sat behind the desk, which still had Vince’s name plaque on it. Cash perched on the arm of a couch. Richard scooted atop one side of the desk while Chase stood.
“Chase, who or what do you need to know about?” Suzy asked.
