“It’s safe.” She nodded to the cup, waiting for me to sit down across from her before she pulled out her phone. Hitting a button, she placed it at her ear. “Morning, Sheriff. How are you?” She waited a minute before she chuckled. “You saw it, huh? It’s my new girl, and she didn’t know to park in the back. That’s my fault, but now the car won’t start.” There was a pause before she continued. “Don’t worry, I’ll call them, and we’ll get it taken care of. If you’re in the area, stop by, and I’ll buy you lunch.”
No sooner had the phone call ended than she hit another button. “Aces, I need a favor,” she said, not bothering with the pleasantries. “I don’t care, nor did I want to know there are two women tied to your bed.” She rolled her eyes at me. “Car won’t start, and my new girl parked it in the visitor’s lot.” She tapped her manicured nails on the table before picking up her coffee and taking a sip. “Do I need to call Scorp?” she asked, her smile turning up at the edges. “I thought so. We’ll see you soon.” She hit end and placed the phone on the table, facedown.
“You’re lucky it was me who caught you out there. It’s the twenty-first century, and yet this town has never moved forward. Every day is like a new game of cowboys and outlaws.” She set her coffee cup on the table and extended her hand out to me. “I’m Angelica.”
“Roxy,” I said, shaking her hand. I took another sip of my coffee. “Why are you helping me?” No one had ever lent me a hand without wanting something in return. I couldn’t even imagine what her request could be.
“I’ve always thought the best of people, but I stopped offering to help the last time I got burned pretty badly. You remind me of myself when I came to Tombstone, but that girl is long gone now.” Angelica tilted her head to the side and shrugged her shoulders. “I’ll get your new-hire paperwork in a few, but let me give you a quick rundown of the place. We open with the strip at nine, but once the regular businesses close at five, we serve dinner until nine.”
“You didn’t ask whether I have experience.”
“You do. If I had to guess, you started at sixteen, and you’ve gone from one restaurant to another.” She chuckled. “Plus, you had a pair of non-slip shoes lying on the floorboard in the back seat.”
I chuckled, trying to hide my resentment as I took the last sip of my coffee. I wasn’t running from anyone, nor was I in danger, but I didn’t like being clocked so easily.
“This is a working saloon, and before you go, we’ll fit you for a uniform. It’s not bad, but most guests will be tourists who want an authentic experience. They’llgawk and make stupid jokes. Just stay away from grabby hands, and you’ll be alright. If I see it, I put a stop to it, but men are sneaky.”
I nodded my head, completely understanding. I’d spent more than my fair share working places I shouldn’t have. Roadside diners, biker bars, and truly awful places—they all deserved to be burned down and forgotten. Dodging grabby hands wouldn’t be a problem for me, but it should never have been an issue to begin with. I thought of the biker who’d stopped yesterday, proving my point.
“The regulars will remember your name. We have the best food on the street, and they don’t have any other choice. They float in and out during the day, but most stick to themselves at the bar. We also make sure delivery orders are right, but there’s nothing exciting about those. I’ll give you the crash course after we’ve taken care of your car. You’ll start tomorrow.”
“What if I fuck up?” It was a distinct possibility, knowing my history. I had a bad habit of making slight mistakes that ended up turning into a huge clusterfuck. Once, I had been serving an enormous table in a cramped restaurant with hardly any space to maneuver with a tray. I had figured it wasn’t a big deal, stacking the plates along my arms, and if it took two trips, so be it. I hadn’t expected to walk through the dining room with my arms stretched out like a mummy.
As I had passed a table, the patron had accidentally bumped me, sending me tumbling to the floor. I had saved the food, but I had failed to notice I was standing on the tablecloth. When I had tried to move, my shoes yanked the cloth, pulling everything with it. Plates, glasses and silverware had come crashing down. Shattering glass had echoed across the room as the drinks poured over the edge, soaking my socks in a cold, sticky mess.
“You won’t.” A look passed between us, almost as if we had lived the same past. I asked no more questions, for fear she’d rescind the job when she realized I hadn’t been joking. “Let’s go get your stuff before the boys show up to take the car to the garage.”
We walked back out onto the street before she stopped me.
“Welcome to Tombstone, Roxy.”
Chapter four
It's Not Free, Fucker.
Cactus
“You’re late,” Scorpion said as I walked through the front door of the clubhouse, into the main room.
“It was a long night, and things didn’t go as planned.” I yawned, loosening the ache in my back from the ride. The last thing I wanted to do was deal with his shit. I had vouched for him when he prospected, even helped him keep his life together when he was about to be a father, not expecting a thank you. However, it had been hard not to hold a grudge when I’d gotten the call to settle back in Tombstone. He’d failed, and I had been the one to pick up the pieces. There were days I wanted to be back on the road, but I couldn’t leave my family until Scorpion was trustworthy enough to protect them.
Every time I wanted to beat Scorpion to a pulp, I had to take a deep breath and remind myself I had chosen this life. I had taken the oath, burning it straight into my soul, but I walked a fine line when I had to deal with him. Respect came with the patch, even if I silently questioned every decision he made. He was my president, but I would never openly challenge him, despite our sullied past.
One of our best clients had called, swearing he was missing a piece of their shipment. If it had been anyone else, the club would have told him to go fuck himself, but we liked our bread buttered. Most of the brothers had come frombroken homes where money was scarce. We didn’t give a fuck what we had to do as long as the money was rolling in. I’d volunteered to take the ride out to buttfuck nowhere to handle it, but I hadn’t expected a chick in the middle of nowhere with a flat tire.
“Seriously, did everything go all right?” he asked, leaning against the corner of the couch. I wondered when we would have to buy a new couch because his ass had imprinted on his seat.
“It was just a misunderstanding.” I would tell him the whole story later, but that small piece was enough to calm his ass down for right now. He was a prick on a good day, but until he got properly laid, he’d be unbearable. Prick—the word made me think of the girl on the side of the road again. She’d been the reason I was late, but if she had damaged my bike when she peeled off like that, I would have had another emergency to deal with.
“Talk later than.” He rubbed his eyes.
“If that was any good, you wouldn’t be busting my balls,” I said, pointing to the back of the blonde head between his legs. This was a typical morning in the clubhouse, and I was a little surprised there weren’t more brothers getting laid in the main room. None of us cared who saw what, but her hair was so big, it completely covered his lap. “Dude, there’s no sound. What the fuck is she even doing under there?”
“Who the fuck knows? There are two in Aces’s bed, but he literally tied them up and locked the door when he got called out for a tow. Fucking freak.” Scorpion shook his head, and I didn’t bother to say anything, knowing he was right. If Aces had locked the door, he wasn’t sharing them without an invitation.
“Sucks to fucking be you.” I yawned again, plopping my ass in the chair next to him. I hadn’t slept all night, preferring to make up for the time I’d lost changing the tire.She owes me, I thought, laying my head against the cushion and closing my eyes.If I ever see her again, I’ll get her to make it up to me—on her knees with a lot of tongue.Groaning, I forgot where I was until Scorpion smacked his hand against my knee.
“If you want her to finish whatever that was, take her. My hand is better.” He grabbed the back of her head, pulling her hair until she released him.
