Page 66 of Edge

Byte held up his hand to stop me. “I already did. He’s going to send Flint out to ride around and look for their bikes at hotels and campgrounds. They’re a long way from home, so they’ll have to stay somewhere. He’s on his way with a few other brothers in case they show up here.”

“In case who shows up here?” Evie asked in a way that made me think she already knew who we were talking about.

I sighed. I didn’t want to tell her because I didn’t want to upset her, but she needed to know so she wouldn’t be caught off guard if something happened.

“The Mad Dogs,” I told her. “We just got word that they’ve been spotted in town.”

A look of surprise mixed with fear washed over her face before she hid it. “Do you think they’ll come here?”

“We don’t know,” I said honestly. “They could be here looking for Muzzle, or they could be here looking for you.”

“About that,” Byte interjected. “Phoenix wants Ink to take you back to Irene’s for the rest of the day. If they show up asking about you, we’ll tell them you don’t work here.”

“Do you think that will work?”

“It’s worth a try,” I said. “Besides, I don’t want you here if they come here and start trouble.”

She opened her mouth like she was going to disagree, but instead closed it and nodded. “When are we leaving?”

“Now,” Byte said.

“I’ll get my stuff,” she said and headed to the break room. I followed along behind her.

“You okay, baby?”

She exhaled heavily. “Yes, and no. I knew this was a possibility, but I didn’t think it would happen so soon. And I kind of feel like I’m running away to hide while you and your club clean up my mess.”

“This is not your mess. You didn’t ask for any of this, and you didn’t do anything to cause it. Even if you and I weren’t together, the club would still be involved because Irene is Byte’s family.”

“Yeah, but the only reason Irene was hurt is because of me.”

“Wrong again. Irene was hurt because Muzzle was a piece of shit and chose to hurt her. He could’ve waited for you in the parking lot, but he didn’t. He chose to be a monster, and his club will have to face the consequences.”

“I’m not sure I agree with you, but you make a good argument,” she said and kissed me softly.

Wrapping my arms around her, I held her against me for several long moments. “Try not to worry too much. We have plenty of experience dealing with situations like this, and they’ve lost the element of surprise.”

“That’s easier said than done.”

“I know,” I admitted and took a step back. “You should get going.”

“All right but keep me updated.”

“I will,” I promised.

Ink appeared at the door. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” she said and gave me a quick kiss before she followed Ink through the back door.

I returned to the front to find Byte, Ranger, and Dice sitting around the front counter. “Well,” I said and clapped my hands together. “What now?”

Ranger laughed. “Now we hope the dinner crowd doesn’t show up before more help gets here. It’s going to be a rough evening without Evie.”

He was right. It took two of us to handle the same workload as Evie. She made it look easy and effortless when it most definitely wasn’t.

Ink made it back to the diner a few minutes before Phoenix and the other brothers arrived. Everyone pitched in to help, and we made it through the dinner rush without too many hiccups.

Watching Carbon approach tables and take orders was quite comical. Some of the older customers were obviously terrified of him, while some of the middle-aged women stared at him with dreamy looks in their eyes. He didn’t seem to find it as funny as we did, and I understood why after the last incident.