Page 30 of The Sentinels

"What about the cops?" Jigger asked. "What can we expect from them?"

"They put together a task force assigned to the Hellraisers, run by Deputy Callahan. We've been working closely with him for years. His men have been informed that we'll be helping."

"They won't be a problem," I added after Tanner.

Joker, who was the only officer present from his chapter, and therefore in charge of his brothers, nodded with satisfaction. "So, what's the fucking plan?"

Before Tanner could answer the question his phone went off. Silence followed as he brought it to his ear and quietly listened to what was being said at the other end. When his expression turned dark and his mouth drew tight, I knew that it was bad news. Less than a minute passed before the call was disconnected and he jumped to his feet.

"The Hellraisers are stirring up shit at my fucking bar!"

****

Emerson

I cast a quick glance down at Bonnie to where she was hiding behind the bar. She was petrified, and I couldn't blame her. She was one of the lucky ones who'd seen the trouble heading through the door and had ducked before they'd seen her. I, on the other hand, had been walking out from the bathroom when the Hellraisers had stomped through the bar from the front door. I'd halted in a mixture of shock and surprise, momentarily frozen at the sight of the four bikers who were storming through the place as if they owned it, and loudly making their presence known.

The good thing was that we were about to close up and the place was empty but for a few of the staff. The dancers had long gone, but Bonnie and I, as well as two servers, were still there. Sissy and Gloria had been cleaning the tables and stacking the chairs when the bikers had stormed in. They'd stopped what they were doing and had stood frozen like frightened deer; because it had been clear that these men meant trouble.

Eventually self-preservation kicked in, and I moved behind the bar as if it could protect me. "Sorry, but we're closed," I felt compelled to say, forcing a smile.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here, brothers," a particularly grungy-looking biker said with a big smile. "Three pretty ladies all to ourselves." He and his brothers snickered.

"Means two of us are gonna have to share," one man said. "I don't mind a threesome.”

"Well, I ain't sharing," another man grumbled in a croaky voice. His eyes hadn't left me since I'd walked into the room. "And that one's mine." He nodded toward me.

Over my dead body,I thought to myself, reaching for the bat that we kept on hand for emergencies. "Look, why don't I give you a free drink on the house and then you boys can just move on?" I wanted to say ‘please,’ but the word stuck in my throat. My fingers wrapped around the handle of the bat. "Do you know who owns this bar?" The cocky smirks spreading across their faces told me that they already knew, but I said it anyways, hoping that if they didn’t know, the name would send them running. "The Sentinels."

One of the biker's stepped forward. "Yeah, we know who the fucking Sentinels are." His tone said that he didn't care, and he wasn’t scared. Before I knew what he was going to do he picked up a discarded bottle on the nearest table and threw it violently.

I automatically ducked when I saw the bottle heading my way, but he'd been aiming for the liquor shelves behind me. The crash was deafening, and suddenly I was ducking for another reason as glass and liquor sprayed down around me. I let out a cry, but it was nothing compared to the screams that I heard from Sissy and Gloria. I made eye-contact with Bonnie. "Call Tanner!" I whispered, frightened. I heard several tables being overturned and chairs being broken. The sound of glass shattering indicated the damage the men were intent on doing.

"I already did!" she whispered back, eyes round with fear. "They're on their way."

Finally quiet ensued, but my relief was short-lived when I rose to my feet to see that three of the bikers were moving toward the cowering servers. "Leave them alone!" I screamed. The men didn't even hesitate. The women began running toward the back, but they were accosted before they made it.

Their screams were shrill and sent a spike of cold fear down my spine. We were completely alone and without protection, and there was no telling when Tanner and the others would get there. I swung my eyes to the man who'd made it clear that I was the one that he wanted. He began to move as if to come around the bar, but I quickly stepped out in front so that he wouldn't see Bonnie.

His wide smile indicated his pleased surprise that I’d come forward without a fight. "Eager for me, sweetheart?" His bloodshot eyes raked up and down my body in an insulting manner.

"Eager to give you this, asshole!" I hissed angrily, bringing the bat up. "Now you men get out of here!" The man facing me threw back his head and roared with laughter. But he wasn't laughing after I swung the bat, only missing his head when he jerked back at the last second.

His eyes turned into squinty beacons of pissed-off anger, his whiskered face hardening with the promise of retribution. "Fucking bitch!" He jumped at me with blinding speed, but I managed to dash behind one of the few tables that was still standing. "You'll be sorry for that." He easily gripped the edge of the table and flipped it over.

I kept the bat between me and him. "Stay away from me!"

He laughed, but it held little humor. "The Sentinels are going to learn that the Hellraisers are here to stay, and Daytona is going to be our town. And that includes their women."

The man was crazy! I swung frantically, determined to maim him and put a stop to this, but he was too fast jumping out of the way again. I lost my concentration when Gloria screamed. I glanced her way to see her being pinned down on top of the pool table while one man moved between her legs, undoing his belt at the same time.

"No!" I screamed. "She's pregnant!" She wasn't, but I was willing to say and do anything to prolong his attack. He hesitated for only a second, looking in our direction and waiting as if for permission to continue. "Please don't hurt her!" I pleaded.

The man in front of me snorted. "Pregnant women have been fucked before." That was all his friend needed to hear before he shrugged and continued his assault.

"No!" I screamed, swinging my bat like a crazy woman as I tried to make my way over to them without being stopped. I was vaguely aware that Sissy and the other man were gone, but I didn't know where they'd disappeared to. "Get off her!" I swung the bat at the back of the biker’s head, but it never connected.

I found myself grasped from behind, an arm curling around my upper body and a hand grabbing me by the hair and yanking my head back. The bat fell from my hands as I reached back to try and relieve the pressure of his painful hold.

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