CRASH: An Evil Dead MC Story (The Outlaw Series) (2 page)

Gorman
wisely slid into the chair. Once he did, Crash headed to the back.

Cole
leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “You know who I am?”

Gorman
shook his head.

“I’m
your new best friend, Artie. Or I can be your worst nightmare. It’s up to you.
But here’s the deal. There’s already a strip club in this town. Didn’t need
another one. So, Artie, this is how things are gonna go for you. You want to
keep doing business here, you’re gonna kick a grand to the club, first of every
month.” Cole grinned. “Think of it as health insurance. You pay your premium
every month, you stay nice and healthy. You don’t, you’re gonna have some
broken bones. And that’s just the first visit. You decide right now, you don’t
want to play, no hard feelings. I’ll let you close up shop, and take your tacky
club somewhere else. But that’s a one-time offer, good for today only. We
clear, Artie?”

Artie
turned red. He glanced around the table, and then he gave Cole a curt nod.

“And
just to show you I’m a reasonable man, I’ll give you forty-eight hours to come
up with this month’s premium. How about that?”

Artie
nodded and stood up.

“I
say you could leave?” Cole asked in a deadly voice.

Artie
sat back down.

Crash
returned to the table. Cole’s gaze slid to him, and then returned to Artie.
“I’ll be back in two days. Either you have your premium, or I better find this
place boarded up when I come back.”

Artie
stared at him.

“This
would be the part where you nod your head.”

Artie
nodded.

“Good.
Now you can go.”

Crash
sat down. The waitress brought their drinks and retreated with a nice tip.

“What’d
the girl say?” Cole asked, sipping on his drink.

Crash
picked up his glass. “He’s pretty touchy-feely. Groping’s pretty much a daily
occurrence. Insists the girls give him private lap dances. They don’t play
nice, they’re out of a job.”

“You
set her straight?”

“Yeah.
She seems to think his whole staff will jump ship. We can probably shut him
down with loss of talent, alone. Still like to give ol’ Artie Asshole a
personal beat-down, though.”

“Yeah,”
Cole nodded in agreement, smiling at the nickname Crash had given the guy. “Me,
too.” His cell rang. Pulling it out, he looked at the display. Angel. Smiling,
he put it to his ear. “Hey, darlin’. What’s up?”

“Hi,
honey. I’m on a test drive with a customer.”

Cole
frowned. “You supposed to be making personal phone calls during a test drive?”

“No,
but she’s a friend of yours.”

“Yeah?
What friends do I have that can afford a Porsche?”

“It’s
Shannon.”

“Oh,
yeah? Well, tell her I said, hello.”

“You
can tell her yourself. She wants to talk to you.”

Cole’s
radar immediately went up. “She does?”

“Yes,
and Cole, listen to her, okay?”

Now
he
really
was
starting to get a bad feeling. “Put her on,” he said, his voice
low and commanding. A moment later, Shannon’s voice came on the line.

“Cole?”
She sounded shaky.

“Shannon,
what’s going on?”

“I
need your help.”

“With
what?”

“Umm…”

“Spit
it out, Shannon.”

“My
ex-boyfriend is stalking me.”

Concern
for Angel knifed through him. “He following you?”

“I
don’t know. Maybe.” Cole could imagine her checking her rearview mirrors.

“And
you led him to my wife’s place of work? What the fuck, babe?”

“I
didn’t think he’d get suspicious of me going to a Porsche dealership. I’ve been
thinking of trading in my Mercedes. But I think he’s tracking my phone calls. I
didn’t want a call to you to show up on my phone. This was the only way I could
think of to contact you.”

“And
what am I supposed to do for you? If this guy is bothering you, you should go to
the police, Shannon.”

“I
can’t. He said he’d hurt me if I do.”

“Again,
Shannon, not sure what you want me to do for you.” The last thing he wanted was
to take on her problems, especially if it meant putting his family on this
guy’s radar.

“Please,
Cole. Could you just meet me? Let me explain?”

Cole
huffed out a breath. He could hear Shannon breaking down in sobs. A moment
later, Angel was back on the line.

“Cole,
please. At least meet with her. She’s a wreck, baby.”

He
swore under his breath. “All right, fine. I’ll meet with her. But I’m not
promising anything more.”

“Thank
you, baby.”

“Angel,
listen to me carefully. You tell her to meet me at Marty’s, 4pm tomorrow. She’ll
remember the place. Tell her if she’s worried he’s tracking her, he’s probably
tracking the GPS on her car. Her phone, too. She’s got to dump both of them.”

“They
can do that?”

“Yeah,
babe. As the saying goes, ‘there’s an App for that’.”

“All
right, I’ll tell her.”

“If
she really wants to get away from this guy, she’s gonna have to disappear for a
while. Tell her to get as much cash as she can out of the bank without raising
suspicions. For her, I’m betting that’s a lot.”

“Okay.
Anything else?”

“Yeah,
Mama. Get your sweet ass back to the dealership, and stay there. She needs to
leave. And no more test drives today. Got me?”

“Okay,
honey. Love you.”

“Love
you, too, Mama. Gotta go.”

“Bye.”

Cole
disconnected the phone and pitched it on the table.

Crash
raised his eyebrows. “Problems?”

“I
knew that goddamn money would have strings attached!”

*****

Cole
walked into his and Angel’s bedroom and sat on the bed to pull his boots off.
He was beat. It had been a long day.

Angel
walked out of the master bathroom, rubbing lotion on her hands. His eyes roved
over her. She had already changed into her nightgown. A sexy little floral
baby-doll with a cute little bow under her tits. It was one of his favorites.

“I
didn’t hear your bike.”

He
stood, pulling his cut off and tossing it on the chair in the corner. Then he
slipped the shoulder-holster off, wrapped the straps and stepped over to the
walk-in closet. “I coasted down the drive. It’s late, and I didn’t want to wake
the kids.” He opened the safe on the top shelf and locked the weapon inside,
safely out of the reach of his kids. He walked back out of the closet. Angel
was now seated at her dressing table, brushing out her long honey-blonde hair.

He
walked over to her, sliding his hand along the bare skin of her shoulder.

“Cole,
you have to help her,” she said out-of-the-blue, meeting his eyes in the mirror.

He
blew out a breath. Here it comes, he thought. “Wondered how long it’d take you
to bring it up. Two-point-five seconds. That’s a new record, babe. And not even
a kiss, first.” He stood behind her, his crotch against her back. She tilted
her head up to look at him. He dipped his head to look down at her beautiful
green eyes and trailed the tips of his fingers gently up the front of her
throat.

She
grabbed his hand and gave a tug, pulling him down for a kiss. “Missed you,
honey,” she whispered as his head lifted.

“Missed
you, too, Mama.”

“Can
we talk about this now?”

“Nope,”
he replied, straightening back up and running his fingers through her hair.

She
set the brush down and twisted in her seat, looking up at him. Totally ignoring
his response, she started in. “Cole, she gave us all that money. It changed our
lives. How can you turn your back on her?”

“Angel,
I didn’t ask for that money. I didn’t want it. And I sure as hell never should
have taken it.”

“Cole,
you can’t mean that.”

“Can’t
I? That money had strings, baby. And now what? She pulls those strings and I
jump? Fuck, no.” He stepped away, pulling his tee over his head and tossing it
to the floor.

“But,
Cole, she was so scared. You didn’t see her.”

“I
remember her being a tough little cookie. Gave me more trouble than the other
five combined that day.”

“That
was just an act. A defense mechanism. She was a scared little girl on the
inside. She just didn’t want you to see it. Same as I didn’t.”

Cole
remembered that day.

He
and Crash, along with several other MC brothers, had made a play to take down a
guy with a particularly vile source of income, human trafficking. They’d set up
a meet with the guy, planning to kill him. When he’d shown up at the meet,
unbeknownst to the guys, he’d had a cargo van full of inventory.

Cole
still remembered how much it had shocked the shit out of both him and Crash,
when Ling had thrown back the rear doors, and they’d found themselves
face-to-face with six young girls, bound and gagged. Shannon had been one of
them.

She
had been full of sass and attitude that day, not wanting to cooperate. He’d
been afraid she’d go to the police with the tale, and lead them straight to his
MC, even though they’d had nothing to do with Ling’s operation. He’d put the
fear of God into her that day, convincing her it was in her best interest to
forget all about it, go home, and keep her mouth shut.

They’d
saved those girls that day and got them back home safely. It had been a risk
getting involved in that mess, but he’d done it. And the reason he’d done it
was payback for what Ling had done to Angel. She’d been one of Ling’s victims
the week before. He still remembered the first time he’d laid eyes on her.
She’d been in handcuffs, beaten and scared, and in the hands of an MC member of
another club. Cole had gotten her out of there that night, and in saving her,
he’d made her a promise that he’d take care of the men that had hurt her.

Years
later, he’d come across Shannon and had a drink with her. She’d let him know
how grateful she’d been and that she knew he’d saved her life that day, years
ago. Come to find out, Shannon came from a wealthy family, and she’d insisted
on rewarding him for what he’d done for her that day.

She’d
finally convinced him to take the monetary reward she offered. Money that had
helped his family. Money that had made a lot of things possible in his life.
Money that he now regretted taking.

Cole
watched as his wife rose from her dressing table and walked over to him. Her
hands reached for his belt and unbuckled it. Then she sank to her knees,
opening his jeans. His hand slid into her silky hair, fisting and tugging
gently, until she looked up at him. “Don’t.”

Her
hands stilled.

He
reached down and pulled her to her feet. “Don’t you get down on your knees for
this, for her.”

“Cole-”

“I
mean it, Angel. You do not use that shit as currency.”

“I’m
not. I-”

“Aren’t
you? You want me to help her. I’ll do what I can, but it’ll be my decision. I
told her I’d meet with her tomorrow. I’ll see what she has to say. But, I’m
telling you straight up, Angel, that shit does not touch you and the kids.
Whatever mess she’s in, she is not gonna lead it straight to our doorstep.”

“All
right, Cole.”

He
reached up and cupped her cheek. “I know you got a soft spot for this. It isn’t
lost on me that you got shared history. What happened to her and what happened
to you, but baby, you gotta trust me on this.”

“All
right, honey.”

“I
love you. You know that, don’t you?”

She
nodded. “I love you, too.”

“I’ll
do what I can, baby.”

“I
know you will.”

He
pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.

She
whispered into his chest, “Now, can I finished what I started, honey?”

His
chest shook with the rumble of his laughter.

CHAPTER TWO

Cole,
Crash, and Red Dog rolled up to Marty’s bar for the meet with Shannon. They
parked their bikes in the lot to the side of the building. Marty’s was a
storefront neighborhood joint. Its plate-glass window and entrance faced the
street. Resting their bikes on their kickstands, they dismounted.

Crash
pushed his shades up on his head and glanced around the parking lot and street.
“Don’t see a Mercedes.”

“Nope,
and that’s a good thing. She better not fucking drive that car here. I’m hoping
she’s smarter than that.”

Crash
snorted. “Right.”

They
walked in and glanced around, letting their eyes adjust to the dim light. Marty
was behind the bar that ran along the right wall, wrapping in a curve at the
front. A line of booths ran along the left wall. A pool table was in the very
back.

“Cole.
Crash. Dog. How’re you boys doing?” Marty asked, wiping down the bar.

“Good,
Marty. And you?” Cole asked.

“Can’t
complain.” He tossed three coasters on the bar top in front of them. “So, what
can I get you?”

“Bourbon,”
Cole replied.

“Same,”
Crash added, leaning his forearms on the bar.

“Yeah,”
Dog agreed.

Marty
reached behind him and grabbed a bottle off a glass shelf that sat in front of
the giant ornately carved oak mirror, which looked like it came out of the turn
of the century. He set cut-glass short tumblers down on the coasters and tipped
up the bottle, filling each glass with the amber liquor.

“Not
real busy,” Cole observed.

Marty
shook his head. “Nope. This time of day, all I get in are the painters and
drywall installers. Apparently, they knock off early.” He nodded toward the
four guys in the back at the pool table. “They’ve been here since two.”

Cole
nodded. “Mind if I close the place for about half an hour? Meeting someone here
in about fifteen minutes.” He slapped a fifty dollar bill on the bar top. “Make
it worth your while.”

Marty’s
eyes fell to the bill. “Yeah, sure. You want me to run ‘em off?” He nodded
toward the men at the pool table in back.

“Yeah,
thanks. I’ll get the front door.”

Crash
watched as Cole walked over to the front door and flipped the open sign to the
closed side. He paused, one hand on the doorframe, watching the street. Hearing
the backdoor open, he twisted, looking over his shoulder. Crash followed the
line of his gaze. The four drywall guys were walking out. Marty locked the
door, turned and nodded. Cole returned his attention to the street, dipping his
head to look through the glass.

Crash
wondered why Cole was even bothering with this girl, but then he figured Angel
had something to do with that. Crash had to admit, this girl had brains. She
was smart enough to use Angel to get Cole to do her bidding. And by the tension
around Cole’s mouth, Crash figured Cole knew her angle, and he wasn’t too happy
about it. Crash walked over, handing him his glass. “Here you go, brother.”

He
watched as Cole took it and downed a sip, his eyes scanning the street. Red Dog
joined them at the plate-glass window. They watched the workers’ crew-cab
pickup pull out of the lot to the right.

“Last
time I met Shannon here, she was early. I figure she’ll be here any minute.
When she gets here, I want you to keep an eye on the street,” he instructed,
turning to Dog. “She’s worried this guy is following her.”

Dog
nodded. “Right.”

Crash
scoped out the street. “It’ll be easy to spot him from here. There’s no parking
on the street. He’d either have to pull in here, or that chicken place over
there.” He nodded to the fast food place across the street and half a block
down.

“Yeah.”
Cole’s eyes went to the chicken place. It was almost deserted. Only two cars
were in the lot. A moment later, Cole was straightening, his body coming alert
as his eyes tracked a cab pulling into the lot. “Here she is.”

Crash’s
eyes moved to the cab and watched as a tall slim blonde stepped out. He’d met
her briefly, years ago, but he barely remembered what she looked like. He’d
remembered she was a knockout blonde, but he hadn’t really been able to place
her features when Cole had told him about this meet. He thought she’d been
about twenty then, which put her around twenty-six now.

Cole
opened the door for her as she approached the entrance lugging a wheeled
overnight bag with her.

Crash
was stunned by her beauty as he took in the whole package.

She
had on a short-sleeved sweater dress in a soft cashmere that hugged her slender
curves and fell about four inches short of her knee. It was the color of
buckskin and set off the beautiful blonde color of her hair that fell to the
tip of her breast. The V-neck dipped just low enough to show a bit of cleavage
while still being classy. His eyes skated down the length of her long shapely
legs set off perfectly by the nude colored four inch stiletto pumps she wore.
An obviously expensive slouchy handbag of soft, supple golden leather was slung
over her shoulder. As his eyes ran over her, Crash had a hard time deciding
which was her best feature, her legs, her tits or her ass.

And
then she pulled off her designer sunglasses, and Crash was lost in her crystal
blue eyes. And there was no doubt in his mind. Those eyes were by far her best
feature. They were large, tilted at a seductive angle and set off by perfectly
arched brows. He had to admit, if he was her ex-boyfriend, he’d have a hard
time letting this gorgeous woman go, too.

“Holy
fuck,” Crash heard Red Dog whisper from behind him. He gave Dog a swift elbow
to the solar plexus and heard an “Umph” just as Shannon’s gaze swung to him. If
he’d thought her eyes were beautiful before, it was nothing to how stunning
they were when they looked straight into his. Of course, the effect was kind of
ruined when she rolled her eyes as if dismissing the men with Cole and returned
her attention to him.

Cole
closed the door and threw the bolt. “Shannon.”

“Cole,
thank you for seeing me.”

He
nodded, then ducked his head and glanced out the window. “So, if this ex of
yours was following you, what kind of car would he be in?”

Her
eyes moved from Cole, to the window and back. “I was careful. I left my car at
one side of the mall and called a cab to pick me up on the other side. I don’t
think he followed me.”

Crash
watched Cole’s head drop, and his eyes bore into her. It was a look that had
put the fear of God into more than one man. “Shannon, what car?” he repeated.

Her
chin came up, and her head tilted to the side in an arrogant pose, as if she
wasn’t going to let him intimidate her. But Crash also saw her swallow before
she replied, and he’d bet Cole had picked up on the telltale sign as well.

“Probably
a black SUV.”

Cole’s
gaze swung to Dog, who nodded and moved to the window to take up watch. Then he
lifted his chin at Crash, signaling for him to follow Cole. He turned back to
Shannon. “You dump your phone, too?” he asked, leading her to a booth.

She
nodded, wheeling her bag behind her and sliding into the booth. “I left it in
my car.”

“Good.”
Cole slid onto the seat opposite Shannon.

Crash
pulled up a barstool and leaned his ass back against it, his arms folded. From
this position, he towered over Shannon, and a smile pulled at his mouth as she
slid a glance up at him. It was easy to see, she didn’t like having to look up
at him.

Cole
nodded toward the bag on the floor. “Babe, tell me you didn’t pack a bag before
you left the house. That’d be a major red flag.”

“Give
me some credit, please.”

Cole
raised his eyebrows, waiting for an explanation.

She
huffed out a breath. “I picked up the bag and some necessities at the mall. If
I’m going to hide out, I’ll need a few things.”

Crash
looked over at Cole and asked with a grin, “Is this what they mean by
‘high-maintenance’?”

Cole
grinned back. “Yeah, I think she’d be the definition.”

If
looks could kill, Crash thought as Shannon swung an icy glare his way.

“Which
mall?” Cole asked, drawing her attention back to him.

“Santana
Row.”

Crash
let out a whistle. “High class.”

“I
wasn’t speaking to you, was I?” Shannon sneered at him.

“Look,
bitch-” Crash came off his barstool, his arms unfolding as he stepped toward
her.

Cole
stopped him with a raised hand and a look. Then his eyes returned to her.
“Watch it, Shannon. You’re the one asking for a favor here. I can walk out that
door.”

“Can
we talk, just the two of us?” she asked, giving Crash a glare.

“No,”
Cole replied.

“Bet
that’s not a word you’re used to, is it, Princess?” Crash taunted with a smirk.

Her
chin came up, and Crash could practically see her eyes ice over with a glacial
freeze. He grinned, enjoying putting her in her place. “It’s a word you’re
gonna be hearing a fuck of a lot in the near future. So, get used to it,
sweetheart.”

“Let’s
cut to the chase. Tell me what we’re dealing with here, Shannon. And I’ll
decide if I can help you or not. When did you breakup with this guy?”

After
another glare at Crash, she returned her eyes to Cole, and her demeanor
changed. Back to the little miss innocent, Crash observed. Jesus, did she think
she could play him? Cole would see through that in a New York minute.

“I’ve
tried to break it off with him and…well, he just won’t take no for an answer.
And, now…now he seems to know every move I make. He knows where I’ve been, who
I’ve seen, who I’ve talked on the phone with. And, well, frankly, he’s starting
to scare me, Cole.”

Crash
watched her bite her lip, and he knew she was holding something back. He knew
Cole would see it, too. He was damn good at reading people.

Cole
remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

“He’s
leaving for Europe for the summer in a few weeks. If I can just avoid him until
then, Cole, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

“This
kid’s got some rich parents, too, I take it?”

“Yes,
something like that.”

“And
the police? Your father? They can’t help you?”

“He’s
crazy, Cole. He threatened to hurt me or my family if I go to the police.”

“Threatened
you? Outright?”

“Well,
not in so many words, they were more like veiled threats, but I know that’s
what he wanted me to think.”

Crash
watched her body language, listened to the tone of her voice. On this, now, she
was telling the truth. At least the fear he sensed in her was real. Very real.
She’d actually started to tremble. Oh, it wasn’t that noticeable, but he’d
picked up on it. He knew Cole probably had as well.

“And
what could the police really do for me, anyway? File a report? Even a
restraining order-”

Crash
cut her off, interjecting, “A restraining order wouldn’t do shit. If he wants
at her, police aren’t going to stop him.” His words were for Cole, but he held
Shannon’s eyes as he said them.

Cole’s
eyes cut to Crash, and then returned to Shannon. “What about hiring a personal
bodyguard? Your father’s loaded.”

“My
father likes him. He wants us together. He thinks it’s a perfect match. I can’t
figure out why. He somehow wormed his way into my father’s graces.” She shook
her head. “Anyway, my father thinks I’m overreacting.”

“Are
you?” Cole snapped.

She
shook her head. “No, Cole. I swear. Please help me. I don’t know who else to
turn to.”

Crash
studied her. The fear was there again, but it was mixed with a hint of desperation
now. And she’d have to be desperate and out of options, if she thought an MC
was her only option, but Crash had a feeling that may be the
only
honest thing she’d said.

Cole
looked up at Crash as if he could read his mind. Then he looked back at Shannon.
“Give us a minute, darlin’,” he said, and not waiting for a reply, he slid from
the booth. With a jerk of his chin, he motioned for Crash to follow him.

They
went out the front door, and Cole lit up a cigarette. Blowing out the smoke, he
turned to Crash. “I’m not getting the whole truth. She’s hiding something. I
can feel it.”

“She’s
a woman. Chicks are experts at keeping shit from men. I think it’s in their
DNA. Must be something attached to that second X chromosome. The
lie-to-your-man G-nome.”

Cole
rolled his eyes. “Can you be serious?”

“I’m
always serious. I’m serious as a heart attack. What are you talking about?”

“Right.”

“Look,
yeah, she’s hiding something. They all are. And you won’t have a clue what it
is until it bites you in the ass. Get used to it.”