Declaring war is nothing our MC does without provocation.Someone’s poking the bear, and the claws are coming out.
“What did Doc tell you?”Drifter asks.Sasha, who was rooted to her spot, hears the menacing tone in Drifter’s voice and hurries to him, and he tucks her into his side.
Tessa is still shell-shocked, but with a simple call of her name, she’s by my side.Her whole body is trembling as I nestle her close to me.Etain stands firmly by Hawk, her gaze fixed on her man, who is doing his best to tamp down his temper.
“Hawk,” Etain says firmly but gently.Hawk looks down at his woman, wraps an arm around her, and takes a long, steady breath.
“Doc says the target was originally the Cozy Corner,” Hawk says.
An audible gasp comes from Tessa, who looks at me.“But why?I don’t understand.I barely know anyone in town.”
“Because you’re hooked up with me, babe.Bronson was going to use your shop as a front to traffic his drugs, and I came along and ruined his plan.He’s miffed and is pulling a giant temper tantrum.One that starts with setting you up with the cops on drug trafficking charges and has currently escalated to firebombing.”
I hate to see her fear and despair.Her fist grips the back of my shirt as she sways, obviously shocked and scared.I hold her tighter.
“I just… This isn’t…” She lets out a sob and hiccups.“Why me?”The tears silently begin to fall.
“Fuck, baby.He’s going to pay for those tears.”I engulf her in my arms, wiping away a tear that streams down her cheek.
“Don’t worry, Tessa.We’ve got your back.You belong to the Redemption Riders, and we take care of our own,” Hawk states.
“Sh-shouldn’t we call the police and tell them what we know?”my innocent girl asks.Yeah, that’s what normal people would do.
“The cops who came to your shop are on his payroll.We can’t be sure there aren’t others,” Drifter says.“We need a solid plan.This isn’t the first time Sunderland’s tried to screw us over, but we’re going to make this his last.”
“I don’t get it.Why did he change the target from Tessa’s to our shop?”Shooter asks.“If the plan was to screw with Motown, he would have stuck to Tessa’s.”
“That’s a good question, bro.I wish I knew.He didn’t aim it directly at the shop but threw it in the bin.Sure, it could have been really bad, but we had more than enough time to put it out, even before help got here,” Flex adds.
“There are too many unanswered questions.We need solid proof that Sunderland’s behind this.We need boots on the ground and ears on the streets.No one goes out alone.”Hawk looks at Etain.“You too, babe.You work here, or you’re in a place where one of the men can keep watch.”He looks to me and Drifter.“Same goes for Sasha and Tessa.”
Tessa stands firm.“I have to go to the store.I have everything invested in my shop.I won’t let him chase me away.”
“I can work from anywhere,” Sasha jumps in.“I can stay with Tessa while she works.”
“It’ll help,” Hawk says.He focuses on Declan and Lee.“You’re on Tessa and Sasha.No packages come into the shop without a purchase order, in case Bronson tries this shit again.”
“I don’t have anything else arriving for a while.I’m fully stocked, and if I need anything, I’ll use local vendors so I can go pick it up myself,” Tessa says.
“I’ll pick it up,” I tell her.“You go nowhere without a Rider.Okay, babe?”
She nods.“Okay.”
“Shooter and Drifter, I need intel.Find out what you can about Sunderland and his plan.In the meantime, we’ve got to get these cars fixed and out of here.We’ve made promises to customers, and we’ve got to keep them,” Hawk says.
“We can all work late tonight,” I suggest.“The women are safe inside.It’ll be a long night, but we can get a lot of work finished.Tomorrow, we tackle the rest.It’ll free us up for a few days, and Flex and I can help Drifter and Shooter.”
“Is everybody up for an all-nighter?”Hawk asks.
“We’ll make dinner,” Etain volunteers.“We can help.”
“That’ll be good, Ginger,” Hawk says with a grin.
“I need a minute with Tessa,” I tell the group, then guide my girl further into the room.This is a lot to take in.We walk over to the couch, and I take a seat, pulling her down next to me.“How are you doing?I know this is overwhelming.”
“It’s insane!”Tessa answers, her eyes wide.“I never had a hint that Bronson was into drugs.He was kind and polite.I feel like an idiot for thinking he was a friend.”
“He’s a master con artist, Tess.You aren’t the first to be fooled by his suit and tie and sophisticated demeanor.Bronson’s been pushing to peddle cocaine in the town since we got here.He thought we’d go along with it and take a cut.Our club is clean, and we want to keep it that way.We fell into that mess a couple of years ago, and it cost us.We have a brother in prison because of it.We’re never making the same mistake again.Bronson thinks he’s smarter than us, when we know better.”
