Page 35 of Coyote

“Look, dumbass. You’re on my property. That means you don’t get to call the shots.”

His head swiveled around to look at the huge sign hanging above my auto repair shop. “Oh, you’re that Coyote.”

“How many fucking men go by that name around these parts?” I checked out the name on his cut and snorted a laugh. “Just like there can’t many one-eyed bikers running around named Cyclops.”

He tried to peer around me to get another glimpse of Bethany. I leaned sideways to block his view. “Time for you to move along or I’ll be forced to do a little more than cockblock you.”

The stupid fucker’s one eye narrowed on me. I could tell he was thinking about trying it on with me. I wasn’t looking forward to brawling at my own grand opening, but when it came to protecting Bethany, I’d step up.

Before he could reply, Nessa came running over with Ruby in her arms. “Mommy, doggy hurt her paw.”

Cyclops froze as Nessa walked past him. This annoying man had forgotten entirely about me in favor of zeroing that one remaining eye in on Nessa. Twisted Metal was a one percent club. Something about this outlaw having his eyes on Bethany’s innocent daughter went all over me.

I reached out, slammed my fist into his shoulder and used my other hand to pivot him around. Pushing him towards the parking lot, I told him, “Get your fucking eye off that little girl, asshole.” I just kept moving him along until we hit the parking lot. He seemed stunned and wasn’t even resisting. I gave him one final shove from the grass onto the pavement and jerked my chin in the direction of the only bike I didn’t recognize. “Hit the road. You’ve worn out your welcome.”

“You’re gonna regret keeping me from what’s mine,” he rasped.

I stared him down without blinking. “Bethany ain’t yours, asshole. And she ain’t likely to climb out of my bed and into yours, so you might as well fuck off before I decide to take offense at you eye fucking her just now.”

“She’s with you?” The incredulous sound of his voice pissed me off.

“Yeah, we go way back. She’s partial to men who don’t traffic women and drugs.”

“Why are Slayers such judgmental assholes?”

“We’re not. Look, I don’t particularly give a fuck how you earn your money. You need to keep that shit in your own territory. If I catch you sniffing around Bethany again, it might trigger a war between our clubs. Is that what you want?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, his lips pressed together into a firm line.

When it became clear he wasn’t going to answer me, I delivered words designed to move him on. “Half my club is here. Do you really want to start a fight over a woman who’s already with someone else? You don’t have snowball’s chance in hell of luring her away from me. It would be a real fucking tragedy if you lost the only eye you’ve got left.”

He jabbed his finger in the air, towards my chest. “You’re a smug bastard and I’ll be looking forward to wiping that fucking smirk off your damn face.”

As if he was afraid I might take him up on the fight he was so clearly spoiling for, he turned and stalked off in the direction of his bike.

This man didn’t have a lot going for himself. It was a well-known fact that none of the Twisted Metal crew worked outside jobs. They earned through the illegal jobs their club did as a group. The majority of them either lived at their clubhouse, or four to six of them would stay in rentals. It’s the main reason none of them—with the exception of their club president—had families. No matter whether Bethany ended up choosing me or not, this was not the man I wanted waiting in the wings, hoping to capture her notice.

I stood at the edge of the parking lot and watched him get onto his bike and ride off. I memorized every detail of his motorcycle and made a mental note of his license plate number. When he was well clear of my property, I headed back to the crowded grand opening.

Chapter Fourteen

Bethany

I tucked my freshly bathed daughter into bed. She’d spent the day playing with the cute little chihuahua, I could tell she had a wonderful time because she talked about her new furry friend all the way home. It was sweet of Coyote to bring Ruby for her to meet. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so happy. He’d told me he was looking for a new home for her, but seeing how much he doted on the little dog, I think she’d already found her forever home.

Nessa and Coyote also looked good together, like father and daughter. It fueled my fantasy that he was the one who fathered her. They were so adorable that I took several pictures and even captured some video of them playing with the dog.

Coming to my feet, I dimmed the light in her room and went to sit on the sofa with a glass of wine. It had been a long day and I needed to process some things. First, I took out my cell phone and flipped through all the pictures I took from the grand opening. Thankfully, it has been a resounding success. I ended up with almost a hundred people who signed up for the mailing list, and we passed out all five hundred brochures I had printed for the occasion.

I stopped at the picture of Coyote and Nessa. I liked the way he interacted with her, careful and sweet. He encouraged her instead of just telling her how to interact with his pet. I found myself smiling as I looked at the picture.

When I flipped to the next picture, my blood ran cold. In the background of a group shot, Cyclops was staring at me. I hadn’t even noticed he was there until he approached me. The moment I saw him, all the memories of the night he cornered me at that bar came flooding back. I had gone out with a friend to celebrate her birthday. We were doing a bar crawl and having a really nice time. We got separated and Cyclops forced me out a side door and into an alley.

I could still remember how his breath smelled of stale alcohol, like he’d been drinking for days without brushing his teeth. He told me I’d been staring at him all night and that he could tell when a woman wanted to ride his cock. I remember being so disgusted, but at the same time terrified of him. When his hand went up my skirt and tore my panties off, I was shocked. I’d spent the last three and a half years trying to block out what came next. I tried to push him off me, but he had me pinned to the wall. Nothing I said got through to him. He was quick and brutal about it and called me a good little whore afterwards.

Remembering it made my stomach churn. I swallowed another large mouthful of wine as I remembered running the second he stepped back to zip his pants. He had yelled. “Where are you going? The fun is just getting started.”

Tears were already streaming down my face. I had passed my friend making out with her boyfriend who had showed up late, so I literally ran to my car, locked all the doors and just started driving. I didn’t know where I was going but I just knew I had to put as much distance between Cyclops and myself as possible. I knew his name because one of the Dark Slayers had introduced him to me with a guarded tone. That tone told me all I needed to know about steering clear of him. I had been successful until he ambushed me.