Page 6 of Sold to the Bikers

They don't respond, but throw cash on the counter and shuffle past us awkwardly to haul their buddy up from the floor. His face is in bad shape, but the bleeding seems to have slowed. Enough for him to ride outta here, at least. They glare as they mount their bikes, but ride away without causing any more trouble. Good fucking riddance.

"Hey, Gabriel? You okay?" Badass puts his hands on the counter to lean over it and look behind. "Those fuckers hurt you?"

The kid that stands up is about nineteen, kinda gangly, with dark hair and thick eyebrows. King, our club vice president, likes us to keep an eye on him when we're on patrol. Don't know what their history is exactly, but he's got a soft spot for the kid. We might not take protection money like the mob, but these are our streets and we watch out for our own. Those Unwanteds fucked up extra special.

"I'm good," says Gabriel in a shaky voice. "Just give me a sec… Fuck."

Animal rights a potato chip stand that got knocked over, then pulls off a couple of bags and tosses them onto the counter. "What did they want?"

"Said this turf would be theirs soon, and they didn’t need to pay because it was in my best interest to get on their good side." He comes around the counter to clean up some of the other shit they knocked over. “I told them you guys wouldn’t let them get away with it, but that just pissed them off good.”

I laugh at that. "I appreciate the loyalty, but don’t get yourself killed, man. They come back again, give'em what they want, and then you call us as soon as they're gone. We'll teach them what's fucking what. That's not your job."

The look Gabriel sends my way is deeply insulted. "I'm not a fucking pussy. I know I'm not a member, but I’m not giving them shit. King’s good to my family, and the Eagles keep this place safe… ish."

Badass grips his shoulder so hard he winces. "We know you’re not, but you’re more use to us alive to pass on what you see. Besides, you've got a little sister to take care of, and that's the most important fucking job in the world. Fucking trust me."

Gabriel doesn't know Badass and Animal's story, so he doesn't know what runs through Badass’s mind every time he sees the scars on his little brother’s face, but I do. Badass isn't kidding when he calls it the most important job in the world. To him, it's the fucking truth.

But the seriousness in his voice carries clearly. Gabriel nods. "Yeah, okay. I will. For you guys."

"How's Sophia doing?" Animal tries to lighten the tone. "She's what? A sophomore?"

"Yeah. She's fucking smart, too. Straight A's. Like she's not even trying." Gabriel smiles proudly. "I fucking dropped out, but I'm gonna make sure she becomes something, you know."

Badass pats him on the shoulder. "Nice. You're doing the right fucking thing, and that includes staying safe. They're a small piece of shit club, but they can put a bullet in you all the same. Let us take the fucking lumps. We know how to deal with those fuckers, and we've got the whole damn club backing us. Got it?"

Gabriel nods. “I’ll keep my head down, and gas is on the house.” He holds up the bills the Unwashed left. “This should more than cover it.”

"Fuck that shit," growls Badass and hands him more cash. "You earned it. Keep the change."

A half hour later, we're in Eagle-eye's office. It doesn't matter how many fucking times I'm in front of him, that one chalk-white eye is always going to make me shiver. It's like it can see right fucking through you.

Grizzled and gray, and well up in his fifties, he's the undisputed president of the Screaming Eagles MC. Built like a bull and meaner than a badger, he’ll keep that position for a long time yet. Even if someone wanted to challenge, they wouldn't fucking dare. Anyone who fucks with him, fucks with all of us.

King, his second in command, leans against the wall, his big arms crossed over his chest. "I don't fucking like the sound of this."

I nod. “That’s why we came straight here. Something’s up.”

"The Unwanted have been fucking around at the edges of our territory for a while now," Eagle-eye's gravelly voice crunches. "This just confirms my suspicions. They're pushing closer and growing faster than they've got any fucking right to.”

King frowns. “I’ve heard rumors they've started holding auctions at their clubhouse."

"Auctions?" Animal raises a scar-split eyebrow curiously. "The fuck? Like art or some shit?"

Eagle-eye's white eye rolls as well as his good one, but it's creepy to watch it fucking move like that. "Not unless you can snort art. Product. Guns. Fenced shit. For years they’ve been selling out of their chop shop, but then something changed. Someone's backing them, and I want to fucking know who. The Unwanted are a bunch of useless fuckers, and there hasn’t been a change in leadership, so my money is on someone using them to get at us."

"So what's the plan?" asks Badass with enough viciousness in his voice that Jupiter, Eagle-eye's boxer, raises his head from the dog bed in the corner where he's been sleeping. When nobody calls him and no treats emerge, he lowers his muzzle back to his paws and shuts his eyes again.

Eagle-eye looks over at King, and they nod at each other. "You want a plan? Fine. You three just volunteered for fucking duty. How’d you like a promotion?"

"Sweet, I’ve always wanted to be middle management," Animal jokes.

Eagle-eye pushes away from his desk and gets up to start pacing. "Fucking wonderful. Here's what I want you fuckers to do."

4

NATALIE