“I could’ve done without that image,” Randon said, bracketing Pageant around the waist and keeping her close. They’d been in this sort of situation before. The last thing Randon needed was a separation point. If they weren’t adjoined at the hip, the extortionist would look for his chance and take any slight opening they gave him.
“I should’ve made you stay at home where you belong.”
Blaine’s mouth fell open in obvious surprise.
“Don’t even,” Randon said, shaking his finger at Blaine and turning to address the MC. “This is it guys. Remember to ride in a loose formation but keep your brothers in front of you in view and don’t lose those behind you.”
A few of them pounded fists. Others slapped him on the back in passing. Blaine tried to return the gestures but the big guys more or less ignored him. Randon couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Blaine then. Before the extortionist, he’d been an admired sheriff. He’d taken care of his county and his town. He’d been respected.
Now, he couldn’t do much of anything without the help of the Bold and Free riders.
Pageant looked at Blaine with compassion. “Sheriff, I mean Blaine…I hate to admit this, but I don’t know that much about Suzette. What would you consider her greatest strengths?”
When Blaine didn’t immediately respond, Randon said, “We need to know what her greatest attributes are.”
“Why?”
They’d been over this a hundred and one times. “The extortionists tend to go after something of value to them. What does she have that he’d want?”
“You mean outside of a great rack?” Blaine blushed.
Randon’s expression likely mirrored Pageant’s. How the hell would he know what her tits looked like?
Thankful Blaez and Marcus were tracking at the moment, Randon didn’t ask. Instead, he watched as Blaine nervously ran his hand through his short hair. “I don’t know her well enough to tell you what her talents are, Randon. Bart and I were friends back in the day, back before he was attacked.”
“But you knew she had great tits,” Pageant pointed out.
Blaine sniffed. His face was beet red then. He stuttered and stammered all over the place before he said, “Hell, half the men in Pleasant would tell you the same thing. When she was eighteen or nineteen, some kid with a hard dick and an absent mind took pictures of her and posted them all over town. Poor girl almost didn’t get over it. She was as shy and backward as…”
“Wait a minute.” Randon felt his throat constrict. His head spun. His blood raced through his veins. His need to shift was upon him as the fury took hold.
“Randon, hang on,” Pageant said, undoubtedly aware of what was happening.
Randon took deep breaths, aware of his lungs filling with the warm night air and desperate to tame his inner animal. “Fellas! Hold up!”
“What is it?” Blaine sounded frantic. He gripped Randon’s shoulder. “Talk to us, Randon. What’s up? What are you thinking?”
“The extortionist isn’t a he. It’s a female.” Randon clung to Pageant then, desperate to keep her right beside him as he hurried to the lineup of men boarding their bikes. “Wait right here a second.” He tugged his phone free of his pocket. “We’ve approached this all wrong. We’re up against a female.”
“How do you know?” Marcus appeared from out of nowhere. Bare-chested, he’d obviously just returned to his human form. He stuffed his arms in his shirt. Marked concern furrowed his brow. “Well?”
“Did you pick up anything?” Randon asked, ignoring his first question.
“Blaez is on to something.” Marcus approached Sting and Root, two bikers from the Missouri charter. “Can you two meet Blaez behind the Seafood Grill and Tackle?”
“On our way, bud,” Sting said, swinging his leg over his bike.
Marcus turned his attention to Randon. “Why do you think this extortionist is a woman? That doesn’t make sense.”
Marcus was a little stubborn in his mindset. Once he thought something was one way, he rarely saw it another.
Randon hurriedly found Kurt’s number in his phone and held the small device to his ear. “Pick up, damn it. Pick up!” He shook his head when Kurt didn’t answer. How had he missed this! He shot Pageant a sideways glance. And why in mercy shame had he allowed Pageant to come there with him?
“This extortionist is a woman and she’s taking physical attributes she thinks a woman will want.”
“But that goes against what you’ve said about them taking women’s bodies in the past so they could come back and find self-pleasure more enjoyable.”
Sting looked at Randon as if he planned to add meaningful information to the conversation. Instead, he shrugged and said, “There’s one in every crowd.” Then, he twirled his finger in the air and barked at Root. “Let’s go, bud!”