Page 13 of Pike’s Redemption

"Pike," he replied. "Everything's good. Just took care of a couple of punks trying to get rowdy. Thought they'd stir up some shit, but they're out on their asses now."

I grunted in acknowledgment, leaning against the bar. "Good. The last thing we need is trouble in our own backyard." The bar could get rough, so I depended on Cross to keep them in check. Locals could dip in and mix it up, but we handled most of our shit in-house. The last thing we wanted was the Morinrock police here. Fuckers.

"Got that right," Cross said, swirling his beer in the bottle. "Heard anything more about the heat on you?"

"Alibi's solid," I said, glancing around to ensure no one was listening too closely. “My new lawyer confirmed it. But there's something else you need to know." A lot of what was going on recently was personal shit, and while we were here for each other, I didn’t want to bog people down with my crap. If someone from another MC tried to pinch us, that would be a different story. We didn’t hide that kind of thing.

Cross raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Someone's been following me," I continued, my voice low. “My new lawyer, Natasha, had someone pull footage of me from the security cams near the Duck.” There was no way I’d pull Ronnie’s name into this shit show. I trusted Cross with my life, but my paranoia kept me from disclosing the whole story. Not to mention, it seemed as if the fact that Ronnie was Natasha’s hacker was a secret. She hadn’t come straight out and said so, but I’d gotten that feeling. Natasha’s sister was delicate, too; I didn’t want her secret to get out to too many people. “She showed me the footage. It's clear as day. I’ve got a tail, and I don't like it. They’ve shown up in a few other spots too.” I rubbed a hand against the back of my neck, trying to ignore the tingling of anxiety that it caused—that thought of someone skulking around the shadows following me.

Cross's expression hardened, and his easygoing demeanor was replaced by the sharp focus that made him my right-hand man. "You think it's connected to the murders or something else? Business?”

“I guess it could be," I said. "Or it could be someone trying to get the upper hand on us."

“So, you have a proper lawyer? A lady lawyer,” Cross said, amusement dancing in his eyes despite the seriousness of the situation. "Who'd have thought?" He tipped his beer toward me. “Not me.”

“We aren’t together,” I retorted, though my voice lacked conviction. "She's helping. That's all." He rolled his eyes so dramatically that I had to laugh. Cross was an interesting guy. He used to be on Wall Street before he’d had some fallout with his ex and caught her cheating. It was hard to picture him being a straight-laced suit to a hard-ass biker, but we had all types that ended up here. The stories varied, and some even surprised me, like Cross’s.

"Sure, sure," he said, his tone lightening slightly. "You know the boys are behind you, right? Whatever happens, we've got your back. What do you want to do about that? Can we up surveillance around the club? Maybe you should make sure you are rolling with someone. Change up your routines?”

I nodded, appreciating the sentiment. “Thanks, Cross. We just have to stay sharp. Those are all good ideas. Let’s go ahead and set an extra guard on our shipments and give everyone a heads-up. I want to be sure we aren’t missing something important. I wondered if it was possible it was an undercover Fed. That’s what I am really worried about.”

“We can set all that up for sure. I’d agree that having a Fed following around you would be a big problem,” he paused momentarily and cleared his throat. “By the way, Liz was asking about you again. She'll be heartbroken if you keep avoiding her."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "I'll handle Liz.” She was one of the regulars here at the Pit. I’d made a mistake fucking her last June, and she still couldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. I’d been downright nice to her each time I’d declined her offers, but apparently, I’d have to be a little more direct. “Right now, I’ve got bigger fish to fry,” I mumbled.

"Speaking of, you want to take a look at the books? Made a few adjustments based on last month's numbers. Could use your eye on them."

"Yeah, let's do that," I said, glad for the distraction. It was kind of him because I was sure he didn’t need me to look at them. "Lead the way."

Cross pushed off the bar and led me towards the back, through the crowded floor, and into the quieter, dimly lit office. He pulled out the ledgers, and we settled into the familiar routine of reviewing the club's finances. It was a welcome reprieve from the chaos outside, a reminder that some things remained constant amidst the uncertainty.

As we worked, my mind drifted back to Natasha and the footage Ronnie had shown me. I couldn't shake the feeling that we were onto something, that the pieces were starting to come together. But until we had concrete answers, I could only keep my head above the water.

?

After a few hours on the books, I was ready for another round of drinks. Just as I stepped around the corner, Liz shuffled awkwardly from the restroom door as if it was just by chance that we arrived there at the same time.

“Hi there, Pike,” she tugged her top down a little, making sure her cleavage was showing. If she did that anymore, her tits were going to be hanging out, not that it’d be uncharacteristic to see a nipple or two at the Pit, but Liz wasn’t doing herself any favors right now. She was a good-looking woman, probably five years older than me, but I didn’t care about that. She was curvy and had nice eyes. The thing about it was I liked her, but not enough to fuck twice. That wasn’t something I usually did.

“Hi, Liz. How are you?”

“I’m good. I’m wondering how you are with everything that’s been happening. Maybe you need someone to talk to?” Ah, interesting — but no. She’d be the last person I’d talk to. She was a hairdresser down on one of the main drags of Morinrock and quite a talker.

“Look, Liz. You’re a nice person, and I appreciate you, but I’m seeing someone else.”

“Oh,” her face fell, and I felt like an ass, but this was going to do the trick. “Okay. Thanks for telling me.” She slipped past me down the hall. Phew, finally, I felt like that’d be the end of Liz.

I was manhandling a keg onto a dolly in the back for our bartender when Cross poked his head around the corner. “Pike?” My head was down as I wrestled the key into place, tilting the dolly with my foot.

“Yeah?” The tone and the pause had me glancing up. Officer Macmillan and another officer stood in the doorway, frowning at me. They weren’t a welcome surprise at all, and my guard instantly went up. “What the fuck do you ghouls want? This better be good.”

Macmillan shuffled in the doorway, obviously uncomfortable. Finally, he said, “Do you have somewhere we could speak?” I thought about being an asshole but then thought better of it. It had never served me well to smart off to the police. In the end, I always ended up in cuffs. Granted, I had an actual lawyer on my side now, but I couldn’t afford to let my ego get in the way.

“Sure, we can talk in my office… after I call my lawyer,” I added pointedly. Just because I was willing to hear what they wanted didn’t mean I was an idiot.

CHAPTER

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