5 Bikers for Valentines

“The members haven’t been into the bar much. I didn’t know if you knew who their rivals were. I’m working all this coming week, so I want to make sure I’m ahead of the drama in case it gets brought into the bar.”

“I don’t really know much about their club. But Rhodie? Our distributor? He might know what’s going down,” she said.

“I didn’t know we had a Rhodie, the distributor,” I said.

“We do. He’s nice enough. Walks with a limp. Full head of white hair. Wears a ratty old brown leather jacket.”

“Oh, shit. I know who you’re talking about. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He’s the one that brings us those free samples of mixers to try in the bar. That’s how I found that shit that tastes so much like soda for the LITs.”

“Yep. That guy. If you’re really curious, you could ask him.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said.

“And seriously. If you want to come over, just come. I’ll leave the door unlocked for you.”

“Thanks, Lindy. I’ll finish this coffee, get a shower, then see how I feel.”

“So, see you in an hour?” she asked.

I giggled into the phone as I chugged my coffee.

“Yep. See you in an hour.”

CHAPTER 10

After a two-day sleepover with Lindy, I was really beginning to worry about the brothers. Something had happened. I knew enough about biker culture to know when shit had hit the fan. It seemed silly to worry, but I couldn’t help it. Though I hadn’t known them long, and certainly didn’t have any claim to any one of them, the Grove boys had gotten under my skin. Bad.

Sleeping for my Tuesday shift was hard, but I managed. I occupied my mind with the phone call Lindy had placed to our realtor. Apparently, the man who owned the piece of property was out of town, hence why we hadn’t heard an acceptance or rejection of our offer, and our realtor had no fucking clue when the guy would be back.

So, the waiting game resumed.

I was tasked with setting up for our Tuesday night crowd before Lindy joined me to open the bar. There was a rush of the regular patrons before the clubs started trickling in, and I kept my eyes open. Part of me was searching for the brothers, and the other part of me was searching for my mother. I was almost certain she would turn up tonight.

Which meant it was night one of our “no fucking free drinks” lesson.

Midnight came and went, and none of them had shown up. Not my mother, not the brothers, and, according to Lindy, not Crow. I was curious as to who this guy was, especially now that I knew he was talking up my best friend. I wanted to size him up, make sure he was good enough for her and wasn’t about to run her through the wringer. Lindy had a shitty track record with guys, and I could attribute that to the fact that she prioritized the bad-boy persona over anything else. She liked a man who didn’t follow the rules. Something about a straight-up rebel was thrilling to her. Unfortunately, she usually just became another pawn in their games.

It always ended in heartbreak for her, but she just couldn’t seem to stay away from those types of guys. I’m sure there was a whole lot of psychology behind that, shit that had to do with the fact that she grew up in a dysfunctional household like I did, but neither she nor I were inclined to figure it out. We just took it upon ourselves to look out for one another as much as the other would let us.

As my eyes scanned the crowd, they fell on a familiar pair of baby blues. Goosebumps stood on the edge of my skin as I tried to suppress a grin. Adam was looking straight at me with a shadow of a smirk, then all at once the rest of the brothers emerged from the crowd.

All five of them had come tonight, and I watched as they approached the bar.

“Long time no see,” I said coolly as Lindy eyed me curiously. “Can I get you boys something?”

“Well, you do know what we like,” Adam said suggestively

My ears burned red hot, and Lindy’s eyebrows shot up damn near into her hairline. “Beers all around?” I asked, clearing my throat.

“Whatever’s on special,” Jacob said.

I dipped down behind the bar and started digging around in the beer bin. I looked over at Lindy, and her eyes were wide with shock. Her tongue was rolling over her lips like she was looking at a succulent piece of shrimp, and I shook my head. If she didn’t think before that anything was going on between myself and the Grove boys, she sure as hell did now.

And I knew I was in for a round of questions after our work shift tonight.

“Fancy seeing you guys here again.”

I froze, and then slowly rose up from the ground, silently praying I had heard the wrong voice. I watched as Lindy’s shocked face morphed into one of annoyance, and my stomach hit the floor.