Page 113 of Fighting the Forbidden

“Bro, you don’t have to do that.” I’d ask Remy to help me bury a body before I’d ask him to deal with my mother’s craziness.

“Yeah, I do,” he insists. “If you’re doing this, you need to give it your full attention. No distractions or worries. I can deal with your mom.”

“If she reaches out, it’s just gonna be to ask for money.”

He shrugs. “Well, I don’t got any, so that’ll be a simple conversation.”

The front door’s bells jingle, announcing customers. Remy shoves away from the table. “Shit, hope they only want extra crispy wings,” he mutters.

“You want me to go take the wings out of the oven while you deal with the customers?”

Remy doesn’t have a chance to answer. The customers round the corner and we recognize the two Lost Kings MC members right away.

“Teller.” Remy dips his chin. “Jigsaw, what brings you into my fine establishment this evening?” He holds out his arms wide.

I stand and move around the edge of the table. “Teller.” I hold out my hand and he shakes it quickly. Teller’s blond hair, sharp jaw, and easy smile give him the appearance of someone who should’ve been cast in those Magic Mike movies Molly and her friends went nuts for. But I’ve witnessed him casually dispose of the body of someone who hurt his sister, so to say I maintain a respectful fear of the Lost Kings MC’s treasurer is an understatement.

“How you been?” he asks.

“All right.” My gaze slides to Jigsaw, and I search my brain for random small talk that won’t piss him off. “You’ve been hanging out in our neck of the woods more than usual lately.”

“What’s it to you?” Jigsaw growls, sounding as deadly as his serial killer road name suggests. His cold, calculating eyes always remind me of the Terminator. The jagged scar through one eyebrow adds to the menacing vibe always surrounding him. He’s fought at The Castle a few times but most of our regulars are too scared to enter the cage with him. That makes him perfect for helping us with security, though.

He lets my hand dangle for a minute before gripping it tight and flashing a smile that’s more terrifying than friendly. His best friend’s girl, Shelby, claims Jigsaw’s a “sweetheart” but I haven’t seen that side of him. The few times we’ve ridden with his club, his MC brothers have relished sharing stories of how Jiggy collects the fingers of their enemies. I never got the impression they were joking.

“Have a seat.” Remy sweeps his hand toward a larger corner booth. “I was about to bring out some wings. Don’t really have much else tonight.”

“That’s fine.” Teller nods. “Thanks.”

While Remy runs to the kitchen, I slip behind the bar, grab a pitcher, and fill it with soda. I return to the table with the pitcher and a stack of cups.

“You always here?” Jigsaw asks as I slide into my seat.

I casually rest my elbows on the table and pretend I don’t feel like I’m sitting across from a cobra and praying it won’t strike.

“I come in after work some nights and try to help out.” I shrug. “He pays me in subs and chicken wings.”

One corner of Jigsaw’s mouth twitches with what might actually be amusement.

Remy returns and sets a plate with a heaping pile of chicken wings on the table. He sets smaller plates in front of each of us and drops a tub of blue cheese dressing in the center of the table.

“Thanks.” Teller grabs a wing and bites into it.

Jigsaw studies the wings carefully before selecting one and dropping it on his plate.

“They’re not poisoned, bro,” Remy says.

Jigsaw flicks his soulless eyes Remy’s way. “When did we become bros, kid?”

I wish Remy had better control of his mouth.

Teller elbows Jigsaw.

“So, what brings you by tonight?” Remy asks.

“Checking up on one of our businesses in Pine Hollow,” Teller answers. “Wasn’t far. Thought we’d stop in and say hi.”

I side-eye Remy. Lost Kings paying us a visit is nothing new. They’ve been slowly recruiting us to form a support club for a while now. Couple of brothers fight at The Castle. They’ve helped us at Zips. They’ve used Remy’s bar to have a few meetings with other assorted criminals. We usually get a heads-up though.

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