Page 68 of Edge

“For now,” he said. “There’s no sense in causing trouble or drawing their attention to us if we don’t need to. It’s possible they’re here looking for Muzzle and will leave when they don’t find him.”

He was right. It was possible, but I had a feeling that’s not what would happen.

My thoughts must have been written on my face. Phoenix clapped me on the shoulder. “But we’re going to be here for a few days in case they don’t.”

“Where is everyone staying?”

He grinned. “Luca’s place. He also offered his assistance if needed. Trust me. The Mad Dogs don’t have a clue what they’re up against.”

The next morning, Evie stayed home with Irene while we opened the diner. I didn’t like leaving her, but I knew it was safer for her at Irene’s house. Dash and Duke were there with our two newest prospects, Falcon and Mason, as well as Annabelle and Macy. With Flint and Diesel watching the Mad Dogs, we’d have plenty of time to get more people there if they started moving toward Irene’s place. But knowing all of that didn’t stop me from worrying. It had been years since we’d had problemswith another club, and the Mad Dogs had a reputation for being ruthless.

Phoenix pushed through the swinging door with his phone pressed to his ear. “They’re on the move,” he said quietly. “Stay vigilant.”

The following fifteen minutes were a special kind of torture I hoped to never experience again. I wanted to follow Phoenix and demand to know more details. I also wanted to call Evie and warn her. Instead, I was forced to smile and make small talk with customers while taking their orders.

After what seemed like an eternity, Phoenix came back to the front. “It looks like they’re leaving town.”

“What?” I asked in disbelief. There was no way they were leaving town.

“Flint said they left the motel and got on the highway, heading south. I told them to follow them for a while to make sure.”

“That doesn’t make sense. Why would they leave so soon?”

Phoenix shrugged. “I don’t know, but I can’t say I’m sad to see them go.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I was glad they were leaving town, but something about it wasn’t sitting right with me. If they came to Cedar Valley to find Muzzle, why would they leave without answers? From what we’d been told, they hadn’t really looked for him. I didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it seemed too good to be true.

Flint called two hours later to tell us they were still headed south and hadn’t made any stops.

“We’ll hang around for another day or two to monitor things, but I don’t think they’re coming back,” Phoenix said.

“Maybe we should talk to the guy who got into it with Walter and Buck,” I suggested.

“I don’t want to risk him telling the Mad Dogs we were asking about them, and I don’t think he’d tell us anything anyway.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

I didn’t like it, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.

19

EVIE

Aweek had passed since the Mad Dogs left town, and it had been almost three weeks since anyone heard from Marcy. I briefly wondered if there was any connection between the two, but I couldn’t figure out how. The police hadn’t returned to the diner, but Byte found an update on her case, which remained open with no new developments.

I groaned when I rolled out of bed. I’d been back at the diner for three days and had worked open to close. The tips were great, but I was beyond exhausted. I knew Edge and the other guys were, too. They’d been working sixteen-hour days longer than I had.

After rushing through my morning routine, I found Edge in the kitchen with two travel mugs of coffee ready to go. “Morning, Sunshine.”

“Morning,” I mumbled and reached for my mug. I needed a few more minutes to myself before I would be ready to socialize. Thankfully, he understood and let me be.

We got into his truck and drove the short distance to Irene’s house. She was standing on her front porch waiting for us.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were eager to get back to work,” Edge said.

“Anything will be better than sitting around the house. I’ve been bored as hell all week,” she said. I helped her into the back seat while Edge got the bag she had sitting by her feet. Her arm was still in a sling, but she was moving around much better than she had been.

When we arrived at the diner, Irene was greeted with cheers and applause from the guys who were already there. “Oh, stop,” she said. “I should be clapping and cheering for you. Y’all stepped in and kept this place running. I can’t thank you enough.”

---