Beautiful Outlaw by Emily Minton

He’s Back

Bowie

I slam my phone down on the bar and run my hand through my hair. We arrived in Nashville two days ago.  What was meant to be a short layover has turned into a two-day waiting game.  The Sixes are having trouble with a rival club, and they need me to hold off the drop for a few more days, so we’re stuck here.  I’m tired as fuck, worried about my woman, and there is not a thing I can do about either fuckin’ thing. “Damn it!”

“What the fuck was all that about?” Rollo asks as he settles onto the bar stool next to mine. 

I look at him, letting him see the anger in my eyes.  “Cash stopped by the house to see Shay.”

“I thought he was still on the road?”

“That’s what I’ve been told, but he’s back now,” I say as I pull in a drag off my cigarette. 

I left Red back home as my eyes and ears.  He has stayed at the clubhouse since the morning we headed out to Alabama, even though my father had told him to ride north on another drop. He knows he’ll get shit for his actions, but he didn’t hesitate to do as I asked.  He calls regularly to give me updates on my father’s whereabouts, but as of about an hour ago, he had said that Cash was still on the road. 

“Red didn’t call and let you know he was back?” he asks, his mind going in the same direction as mine.

“No, he called in about an hour ago.  Cash was still MIA at that time.”

He lets out a low drawn out whistle.  “Fuck, brother. He got back to Rich Hill and came to your house before he went to the clubhouse. That doesn’t sound good.”

It isn’t.  The fact that he was near her scares the shit out of me.  For some reason, it also has me thinking of everything else that could go wrong.  Without asking myself why I’m doing it, I pick up my phone again and shoot a quick message to Lock.  Everything good on your end?

He replies a second later. He’s still holding tight.

I let out a relieved breath and place the phone in my pocket.  At least I don’t have to worry about Marcus’ ass showing up while I’m away. He was back home from his trip before I left Kentucky, and Lock is keeping a close eye on him.  Now, all I have to worry about is Cash. 

Finally, I reply to Rollo.  “No, brother, it’s not good.  I don’t want his ass anywhere near my woman.”

“Do you think Toke called him about the delay? I know he hasn’t said shit, but he hasn’t taken his eyes off us.  He knows something ain’t right.”

I look over to where Toke is nursing a beer at a table near the corner of the bar.  It took some fast thinking to explain our delay.  In the end, I was forced to get our original customers to call in asking to push back the drop off.  That little phone call cost me a thousand dollars, but it was the only thing I could think of to keep Toke from asking question and maybe tipping Cash off. 

“I don’t think so.” In my gut, I know his visit didn’t have shit to do with this run. 

Tin leans forward in his seat to look past Rollo and meet my eyes.  “What did he want?”

I cock a brow at him, letting him know the answer to his question without words.  My brother knows Cash as well as I do, and we both know he wants Shay because she’s mine.  “I told Tag to show her the safe room.  If he comes back, she’ll hide out in there.”

“I don’t like the idea of that punk knowing about our stash,” Rollo remarks, throwing back a shot of whiskey.

I don’t either, but I didn’t have a fuckin’ choice.  Grandpa extended the basement not long after he bought the house in ’72.  It was a few years after he and his buddies started the Outlaws.  At the time, the local boys were all over their asses, wanting to shut the club down.  He wanted a safe place to store the drugs that funded the club, and his basement became that safe spot. 

When he died, he left the house to me.  I didn’t even know it was mine until I came out of the Army.  By that time, the club had moved everything out of the house.  The basement storage had all but been forgotten when I moved in.  When I realized my father was running the Outlaws into the ground, I made some improvements to the basement, turning part of it into a safe room.  The old basement is now rock solid, and nothing less than dynamite can break through those walls. 

A few years ago, I started taking a little off the top from our gun runs- just a crate or two here and there, but enough to give us something to help take Cash out.  We have the fire power if he decides to fight us.  We also have product we can sell, to help us get our shit flush once he’s out of the President’s chair. 

Shaking off the thoughts, I look to Rollo. “I can trust the kid.  He’s not gonna tell shit to Cash.”

Don’t ask me how, but I know my words are true.  Within a day of meeting Shay, I knew the boy would lay his life on the line for her.  He’s never had a mom, and he’s sucking up every bit of the affection she throws his way.  

“The boy wouldn’t do shit that would get Shay hurt,” Tin-Man adds, proving he had noticed Tag’s devotion to my woman too.

He’s about to say more when a woman walks up to the bar.  She’s one of the waitresses here, the one we are using to take Toke out of commission.  The drug she put in his drink won’t kill him, but it will keep him on his ass long enough to for us to get our job done.  She stops beside Tin and says, “It’s done.  Give him five and he’ll be out.”

Tin nods. “Thanks, Randi.”

Her eyes narrow at him.  “Thank me by giving me my damn money.”

Her tone shocks the shit out of me.  I’ve known this bitch for a year or so now.  Not once in that entire time have I heard her raise her voice to a customer.  She’s always been a quiet mouse that seemed out of place in a biker bar.  When it came to Tin, her shyness was even worse.  She couldn’t meet his eyes, and her cheeks would be as red as fire.  A blind man could see she wanted him, and he gave her what she wanted a few months ago.  Guess she’s pissed he didn’t come back for seconds.

“I’ve already cleared my stuff out the trailer, so you can take him there as soon as you’re ready to move him.”

Rollo is taking Toke to her place and is gonna hold his ass there until our shit is done.  It’s gonna be hard enough to remove the gavel from Cash; I don’t need to worry about Toke being around too.  “I’ll make sure we get word to you as soon as Rollo clears out, and you can have your place back,” he replies.

She shakes her head but doesn’t make eye contact.  “Don’t worry about it.  I’ll be on the road by the time you leave.”

I can see his body tighten, and he leans toward her.  “We need to talk.”

She shakes her head, fear crossing her face.  “No, I’ve said all I’ve got to say.  I just want my money so I can get out of this hell hole.”

“I said we need to talk.” Not giving her time to deny him again, he grabs her arm as he stands up.  Pulling her with him, he walks to the back of the bar. 

I watch as she fights him every step of the way, then turn to Rollo.  “Are you ready to move him?”

He nods. “Yeah, Come on. Let’s get this done.”

Getting off the bar stool, I put out my cigarette and head toward Toke.  By the time I get to him, his eyes are starting to droop.  His head wobbles as he looks up to me.  I can see the reality of the situation settle in his eyes.  Instead of fighting it, he says, “Take care of Nina.”

His words send a chill through my body.  Without hesitation, I grab the front of his shirt and pull him to me.  “What the fuck did you just say?”

“Keep her safe. Keep her away from Cash.” My father’s name comes out on a whisper as his eyes close.