Claiming Menace (Ruthless Sinners MC 5)

“Don’t thank me yet,” he scoffed. “I’ve got no idea how this thing is gonna turn out.”

“He’ll fix this. He has to.”

As I left Viper’s office, I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I had no idea what Billy had in mind for Parker, but I knew he would be able to help her in ways no one else could. I walked out to the club’s parking lot and pulled out my burner. Since I wasn’t sure how long Parker and I would be gone, I put in a call to the prison, informing my contact to have Jagger add Aubrey Cash to his visitor list for the following morning.

With that done, I started up my bike and headed over to Stilettos to check in on Parker. I’d gotten Country and Locke to swing by her apartment and pick her up on their way to work—it was the only way I knew for certain she wouldn’t try and run off while I talked to Viper.

I’d seen the look of uncertainty in her eyes when I talked about the brothers and how they could help us with her situation. Even though she played along, I knew she wasn’t buying it and was considering sticking to her plan of leaving, and I understood why. It was hard for her to trust, and rightly so. Everyone who’d promised to protect her and keep her safe had failed, so it was no surprise that she was hesitant to trust me or anyone else for that matter. I just hoped I’d be able to convince her to give Billy a chance.

When I got to the club, it was late and things were already rolling. Customers were streaming in through the front door, and the bar was hopping with each of the waitresses filling their table’s orders. I spotted Parker walking away from the bar with a tray full of drinks, but I didn’t go straight over. Instead, I walked over to one of the back tables where Hawk was sitting with Delilah and her best friend, Krissy.

“Hey, brother.” Hawk slapped my shoulder as soon as I sat down. “Where you been?”

“Over at the clubhouse talking to Viper and Axel.”

“That talk have anything to do with Aubrey?”

“Yeah.” I couldn’t get into it all with Delilah and Krissy sitting there, so I simply said, “I’m gonna need you and Country to fill in for me for a few days. Maybe longer.”

“You going somewhere?”

“I am.” Again, I couldn’t tell him what was up, so I nodded my head in Delilah’s direction, giving Hawk the signal. “Marlowe should be able to handle the nightly receipts and basic inventory, but I’ll need you to check in with her now and then to make sure she’s got everything covered.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem.” His brows furrowed with concern. “Viper know about you leaving?”

“He does.” I leaned over to him and said, “He can fill you in on all the details later.”

Marlowe came over from the bar with a round of drinks. She handed the girls theirs first, and although neither of us had ordered one, she placed a couple of beers down in front of Hawk and me. Marlowe smiled as she said, “You both look like you could use a drink.”

“Definitely, thanks.” I grabbed one of the beers and took a long pull, then turned to her and said, “I was just telling Hawk that I’ll be needing you to cover for me for the next few days. You gonna be okay with that?”

“Absolutely. Is everything okay?”

“It will be. Just let Hawk know if you need a hand with anything.”

“Sure thing.” Marlowe turned her attention back to the girls. “I’ll come hang out with you guys as soon as I get my break.”

“Great,” Delilah replied. “We’ll be here.”

When Marlowe walked back to the bar, I stood up and said, “I better get to the office. I have a few things to take care of before we head out.”

“We?” Hawk asked. “That means Aubrey’s going with you?”

“Yeah. Like I said, talk to Viper. He’ll fill you in.”

“Got it.” When I turned to leave, Hawk called out to me, “Yo, Menace?”

“Yeah?”

“Be careful, brother.”

I gave him a nod, then headed to my office. As soon as I got to my desk, I started prepping for our trip to Billy’s, making sure I had everything covered so Marlowe could take over while I was gone. There was a lot to get done, so it was almost last call by the time I’d finished. Once I had everything wrapped up, I headed out to the bar and found Parker helping Marlowe with the final wipe-downs of all the counters and tables. “Hey, you almost ready to go?”

“Go where?”

“To your place to grab your things.”

“And why would I do that?” she sassed.

I couldn’t really blame Parker for being aggravated with me. I hadn’t talked to her since I left her apartment earlier that morning, which probably wasn’t the best idea considering how the night before had played out. Not only had we had sex, she’d shared her past and her fears of the future with me. That and the fact I’d gotten Country to go by and pick her up for work was enough to piss off any woman. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time nor the patience to smooth things over, so I said, “Can we just pretend that you aren’t ticked at me right now and that you’ll go grab your stuff so we can leave?”