Crash (Black Ice MC Novella Book 2) (6 page)

It was a few hours later before Mercer and Doc came back to the club.
 
When they saw the damage to the outside, they came bursting in with guns drawn, but put them away when they saw everything was OK.
 
Red and Cruz were sitting on boxes at the kitchen table, playing poker.
 
Danni was sitting on the counter, reading.

“What the hell happened?” said Doc.

“Rattlers,” said Red.
 
“We think.
 
No one got a look.”

“But after today, it’s a pretty easy guess,” added Cruz.
 
“Where you guys been?”

“Out making money,” said Mercer.
 
He walked over to the safe, one of the few things that hadn’t been damaged and was still around since the old days with Hank, and threw the money inside, spinning the wheel after closing the door again.

“How’d you come across that?”

“Working,” said Mercer.
 
“You should try it instead of sitting around playing cards.”
 

Cruz shrugged, “We cleaned up the glass.
 
Called the window replacement guy, but he said the earliest he could get here was tomorrow morning.”

“And that’s good enough, is it?
 
One phone call and you’re done for the day?” said Mercer, the anger rising in his voice.

“Easy, kid,” said Doc.

“No, fuck that,” said Mercer.
 
“This is the Black Ice.
 
This isn’t some preschool MC out in California.
 
We work around here.”

Cruz got up, spilling his playing cards to the floor.
 

“Doing what?
 
The mess was cleaned up.
 
The window guy will be here tomorrow.
 
The iron gate guy will be here the day after.
 
What else were we supposed to do?
 
You and Doc were off on a secret mission, gone all goddamn day.
 
You’re the leaders of this outfit.
 
If we could have fixed the windows and the gate today,
and paid for it
, we would’ve.”

“If you can’t do anything around here, then get out there and find us jobs.
 
You say there’s not enough money coming in—then find a way to get more.”

Cruz grabbed his jacket and walked to the door.
 
Before he left, he said, “I’m leaving.
 
I might be back tomorrow.
 
We had a bad day.
 
We got shot at by a bunch of assholes and you got the shit kicked out of you by a cop this morning.
 
So if I do come back, I’m going to chalk this conversation up to one bad fucking day.”

Cruz slammed the door behind him.
 
The four of them looked at each other.
 
It was Red that spoke first.

“You want me to go after him?
 
Bring him back?”

Mercer let out a deep breath.
 
“No.
 
If he wants to leave, let him.”

Danni took Mercer by the hand. “Come on.
 
Let’s get out of here.
 
I have something to show you that will put you in a better mood.”

Mercer didn’t move until Doc said, “Go on, get out of here.
 
Nothing we can do here tonight anyway.
 
I’ll stay and keep watch over the place.”

Red agreed to stay as well, so Mercer left with Danni.
 
Again, they rode separately, but she told him not to go back to the hotel, but instead to follow her.
 
She took him back to the apartment, glad to see that his mood lightened considerably after seeing it.
 

“You really like it?”

“I do.”
 
Mercer looked around.
 
“This is really great.
 
Good job.”

“That’s not all the good news I have.
 
I got a job today.
 
I start tomorrow.”

Mercer sat in a chair.
 
He rubbed his side and lifted his shirt.
 
His ribs were bruised.
 

“I’m happy for you, but I wish you didn’t have to do that.
 
I had plans to make a lot of money fast.
 
I didn’t want you to have to get a job.”

Danni grabbed a beer for each of them.
 
“If you were making a thousand dollars a day, I’d still get a job.
 
I don’t like sitting around all day.
 
I need to be active.
 
It’s tending bar around the corner, and I’m looking forward to it.
 
Maybe I can work my magic like I did at Stax.”

“Then congratulations,” said Mercer.
 

They took a shower together and christened their new apartment under the warm spray of water.
 
Mercer held her tight and she wrapped her arms around his wet body.
 
When the warm water began running out, they toweled off and were asleep before they could even say goodnight.

Danni’s new job started at ten the next morning.
 
As soon as she walked through the door of the bar, her mood lifted.
 
She was in a strange town, full of people she didn’t know, but she was intimately familiar with bars.
 
After an hour of training, she was already spotting ways to improve the flow and get more customers through the door.
 
When she poured her first beer, it was almost as if she was back home.

She didn’t work long on her first day.
 
The manager said he didn’t want to overwhelm her too soon and had her finish up at three that afternoon.
 
Danni wanted to stick around and work—the faster she learned everything, the better—but she couldn’t argue with a dead room.
 
There was barely enough for the manager to do, so he sent her home.

She wanted to keep working, to feel that usefulness, but even though she left early, she carried her newfound good mood with her.
 
It was another cool day, but the sun was shining down on her as she drove downtown.
 
She couldn’t spend much, but once there were a few personal touches up in the apartment, it would feel more like home.

That feeling of needing to be home was strange to Danni.
 
She had lived in Calumet all her life and it was always home.
 
She reckoned that if she ever left, she would be at peace, no matter where she went, but that wasn’t what happened.
 
She was lonely and a little homesick, but little things like the new job and the new apartment were adding up to make her feel more welcome.

In her old place, there was always a scented candle burning, so she browsed through a candle shop, trying to find a scent that would make her feel more relaxed.
 
As she was sniffing a candle called Autumn Breeze, she heard the sound of motorcycles.
 
She instantly knew these bikes weren’t Mercer or anyone else in Black Ice.
 
The noise was too loud and there was a high pitched whine when they drove down the street.
 
Mercer always kept his turned in such a way that it produced a low rumble.

Danni looked out the window and saw the group ride by.
 
They were on big bikes with ape hanger style handlebars.
 
Each of them wore a leather cut with a rattlesnake on the back.
 
Apparently none of them were worried about the new law barring MC cuts from being worn in city limits.
 
They parked across the street on the town square, right in front of the courthouse, and dismounted.
 

Danni paid for her candle and left the shop.
 
She didn’t think she had anything to worry about.
 
Even though she was wearing a leather jacket, there was nothing about her that indicated her as the girlfriend of a Black Ice member.
 
Still, she kept to the other side of the street and didn’t make direct eye contact with any of them.
 
She was halfway down the block when she heard one of them call to her.

“What’s up, Old Lady?”

She kept walking.
 
She wasn’t afraid of them, exactly, but after the attacks yesterday, she didn’t want to do anything to make them mad.
 
She thought if she ignored them, pretended like they were talking to someone else, she could get to her car and take off before any trouble started.

But a hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around until was staring into the face of a Rattler.
 
He was only about five foot six, with long greasy hair and a bandito mustache.
 
His name patch said “Fixer,” and below that, “Sergeant-at-Arms.”
 
There were two other Rattlers standing behind him.

“What’s the matter, Old Lady?
 
Too good for the Rattlers?
 
Better get with the winning team, honey.
 
Black Ice is done.”

Danni was surprised.
 
How did they know she was with Mercer?
 
She had never even seen a Rattler before.

The Rattler must have seen the look of surprise on her face.

“That’s right, Old Lady.
 
We know who you are.
 
We got eyes everywhere.”

“If you know who I am, then you know not to fuck with me,” Danni snapped defiantly.

Fixer’s eyes went wide in shock, then he threw his head back and laughed.

“I can see why Mercer likes you.
 
You got a lot of fire, just like all the others.”

Danni wasn’t falling for whatever trap this guy was setting up.
 
She knew Mercer had been with other women before she came long, just like she had been with men.
 
Whatever reaction he was hoping for, she wasn’t going to give it to him.

“What is it you want?” she said.

“Just to deliver a message.
 
Tell him if he wants to stay in town as a private citizen, that’s fine with us, but his MC days are done.
 
Black Ice isn’t welcome here.
 
Their day is over and the Rattlers are here now.
 
That’s how it’s going to stay.”

“Tell him yourself,” she said, fiercely.
 
“I’m not your messenger.”

Fixer grabbed her arm and said, in a violent whisper, “You will do whatever the fuck I say or I will personally make sure you live out your worst nightmare.
 
You hear me?”

Danni was ready for this.
 
She’d been ready since taking off with Mercer.
 
She knew being around this kind of life would lead to trouble eventually, so before leaving Calumet, she make sure she packed a gift from an old boyfriend.
 
He was a cop and taught her how to use a collapsible metal baton.
 
She reached into her bag and pulled out the baton he’d bought her.
 
With flick of her wrist, it extended to its full size and locked into place.
 
With a swift and fluid motion, she cracked the baton against Fixer’s arm.
 
He yelled out and let her go.
 
Danni swung the baton again and cracked him on the side of his head.
 
Fixer dropped to the ground.

The other two Rattlers came after her.
 
Danni could take one by surprise, but there was no way she could handle two of them, especially when they were on the offensive.
 
She took off down the street and they followed.
 
Her best hope was that someone would see them and jump in to help, or maybe call the cops.
 

She knew she couldn’t run forever, she wasn’t in that kind of shape.
 
She quickly formed a plan.
 
She would dash around the corner and turn around with the baton.
 
If she could get one of them in the head, she might be able to scare away the last guy.
 

She ran around the corner and ran smack into someone.
 
It was like hitting a brick wall.
 
She bounced off the man’s chest and hit the ground.
 
When she looked up, she saw it was Cruz.

“Hey, what’s going on?” he asked.

“Rattlers after me,” she managed to say between gulping air.

Cruz pulled a pistol just as the Rattlers came around the corner.
 
They stopped in their tracks when they came around the corner, staring down a barrel.
 
They reached for their own guns, but thought better of it immediately.

“Good thinking,” said Cruz.
 
“Turn around get the hell out of here.”

“Fuck you,” sneered one of the Rattlers.

Cruz stuck the gun against the man’s cheek.
 

“You want to say that again?”