Hellion (Southern Rebels MC)

“Moira,” a hoarse voice said, and hands wrapped around my biceps, squeezing painfully. My head jerked up, taking in a beefy man and instinctively I tried to yank out of his hold, but he only tightened his grip.

“Wrong person,” I gritted out, unsuccessfully trying to jerk my arm from his grip again. He wasn’t letting go though, his stare dazed, almost as if he was staring at a ghost. “I don’t know you,” I said forcefully, raising my voice, “Let go.”

He didn’t and I was opening my mouth to let out a piercing scream when Noah appeared behind the man, cold rage flickering in his eyes.

“You heard her, Uncle.”

UNCLE!?! I shrieked internally, even as I twisted my arms and grabbed his forearms, digging my nails in until he yelped, loosening his grip just enough for me to slip out of his hold.

“This is none of your business, boy,” the man – Uncle, my disbelieving mind corrected. “Go back to your table.” He reached to grab me again, and I attempted to avoid him but he had me cornered against the wall. The quiet snick of a safety being taken off sounded exceptionally loud in the small space and the big man froze.

“I’m not saying it again.” Noah’s voice was flat, completely emotionless, and I could see it confused his uncle. “Come here.” He gestured to me and I squeezed past the motionless man, doing my best not to touch him. Noah’s gun was resting against the back of his uncle’s neck and I had the feeling if the man so much as twitched Noah would pull the trigger.

My gaze danced around the now silent diner, catching sight of Creed murmuring into a phone, a pistol in his hand, his stare focused on us. Lydia was behind the counter, a 12 gauge shotgun casually cradled in her arms; there were several darting glances at us but the majority of diners had returned to eating, but no one was talking. Tori was standing next to the booth, a laser like focus on us as the crowbar in her hand swayed gently, reminding me of the pendulum of a clock.

Where’s Cord? I wondered, my gaze swinging back to scan the room. I almost missed him and if I hadn’t intentionally been looking for him, I would have. He stood in the shadow of the door, not even five feet from us and when he realized I’d seen him, he motioned for me to come to him.

“Go,” Noah commanded and my feet moved before my mind had even processed the word. Cord caught my arm, swinging my entire body out the door before I could stop him. Noise hit me the second we were out the door, as if someone had just unmuted the world, and I almost wanted to cover my ears.

“What are you doing?” I gasped, my feet scrambling to keep up with Cord as he hustled us down the sidewalk. “Noah –”

“Will be fine,” he bit out, his gaze constantly moving as he hurried us along. He had a firm grip on me but unlike the uncle, he wasn’t hurting me, and I wasn’t scared. We came to a corner and he paused, the barest glimpse of a grimace crossing his face. “But you need to be far away from the Chief.”

“Wait,” I ordered, digging my heels in and Cord must have been hurting because he didn’t put up much of a fight. “That guy –” I pointed back the way we’d come, “That guy is the Chief of Police, Noah’s uncle, the one who,” I gestured to my eye, my breath coming in pants as I tried to process the last two minutes. “He,” I couldn’t finish, my chest tightening painfully.

“Yeah, grade A asshole,” Cord snapped, still tense. His gaze narrowed and for the first time I felt the pressure of his grip. “He seemed to know you.”

My head was shaking no before he could finish. “He called me Moira.”

“Your mom,” Cord replied, surprising me that he’d remembered. “Fuck.” The low rumble of an engine reached our ears and he muttered, “Finally.” He started to steer me toward the street as a motorcycle came into view. “Crew,” he murmured for my benefit, adding under his breath, “Good, you know him.”

The bike came to a stop next to us, and Cord guided us over, nodding to Crew. “Take her home,” he barked and Crew nodded, reaching for an extra helmet. “Don’t leave her alone.”

Cord released me, about to walk away, and this time I grabbed him. He must not have expected me to touch him, because he jerked, swinging around so fast I stumbled back, Crew catching me.

“Wait,” I managed to croak under the weight of his ferocious stare. “I came with Noah. I should go home with him. I can wait in the car.”