Page 8 of Mace

I could hear several of my club brothers chucking and Storm said mildly, “I hope you told her most snakes in the forest are nonvenomous.”

“Yeah, she knows that now. Here’s the thing. Her old man was there along with a crew of his own. I swear they looked to me like a Mexican cartel setting up shop in that old falling down cabin about fifteen miles from ours. One of the men threatened her, and long story short, I helped her get away from them.”

Suddenly, everyone started talking at once. Then Breaker’s voice rose above the others. “What were they doing out there?”

“Most of my attention was focused on getting the woman to safety, but it looked like they might be running drugs or guns. There were vans there and lot of men. Most were packing weapons. I might or might not have had to shoot one of them to get her out of there.”

Grit’s voice chimed in, “If you killed one of their men, they’re gonna be out for blood, Mace. Good job on saving the woman but you can’t stay at the cabin until this situation is sorted out.”

“That’s what I thought you were gonna say. I had thought of heading out to the bunker. At least it’s defendable if they find us.”

“Better yet, bring her to the clubhouse. They wouldn’t dare to come for her if she’s here.” That was Breaker talking and he wasn’t wrong about that.

“I don’t think she’s gonna want to do that. I barely got her to trust me by letting her talk to my freaking mom and gran. It was next level embarrassing, you know what those two can be like.”

Storm chuckled. “As long as she’s somewhere safe, it should be her choice.”

I hesitated for a moment before bringing up my own issue. “I have one more complication. You know I’ve been hunting down an old burial site for my people. I really don’t want these fuckers tromping around here without eyes on them in case they stumble onto the site. I can’t have them desecrating graves or carting off trinkets.”

There was a long drawn-out silence on the other end of the line. It took me a second to realize that I’d been muted. Finally Storm came back on the line. “We agree about the burial site being of extreme importance. We’re going to send out a team of ten brothers. They can help you guard the woman and gather information on those potential cartel members. You said the newcomers were camped at the old cabin. I’ll send up the brothers in a couple of pickup trucks with supplies. We’ll get them to take the back roads. They’ll be less likely to be seen that way.”

“Do you think we should head to the bunker now, while it’s dark? Or wait for sunup?”

Storm thought it over for a second. “If you think you can make it there safely, then go now. Once the sun comes up, they’ll be hunting you en masse because you shot their guy.”

“That’s what I thought as well. I’m going to get off here and get moving before it gets too late.”

Storm spoke up again. “Me, Breaker, Grit, and Celt will be amongst those coming out early in the morning. I want to talk to this woman myself and see what she knows.”

“She comes from abuse, significant abuse. She might freak out if a bunch of bikers start questioning her.”

Breaker interjected reassuringly, “Don’t worry, we’ll handle her with kid gloves. We’re not looking to traumatize her any further.”

“Alright,” I said reluctantly. “I’m just worried about her mental health.”

“You’re a good prospect, Mace. It’s high time we voted on you joining the brotherhood as well.” Storm’s reassurance made me feel better about the situation.

“Maybe after we get these fuckers out of our backyard?” I suggested.

After I got off the phone with my club brothers, I made a beeline for Alicia.

As I approached the guest room, I could hear her talking on a phone. “I didn’t want to get out of there, Ihadto get out of there. I came within an inch of being raped. What about that don’t you understand?” I hadn’t realized she had a cell phone with her and for a moment I wondered why. But then I figured if she was stuck in that cabin with a bunch of criminals then she wouldn’t want to leave her belongings lying around.

There was a short silence. I lifted my hand and knocked on her door because eavesdropping on her conversation was a shitty thing to do and I typically thought of myself as a better human being than that.

I heard her say, “Sorry, I’ve gotta go.”

I stepped back and a few seconds later the door flew open and there stood Alicia. “What’s up, Mace. Do you need me to do something?”

“Yeah, I spoke to my club president and the other officers. They want us to head to the bunker just to be safe. They’re sending reinforcements and supplies out first thing in the morning.”

“Reinforcements? I thought you said we’d be safe there.”

“There’s more going on here than just you and your father’s men. I was out in that forest today for a reason. I have things that are culturally important to me and my people that need to be protected. My club brothers are coming to help me with that, as much as to lend a hand with your father setting up camp in our backyard.”

She looked really nervous, kept shifting her stance from one leg to the other and glancing away. “Okay, I’m sorry to assume that everything was all about me. I hope you find whatever cultural things you’re referring to. If I can do anything at all to help in that regard and make myself useful, I’d be happy to help.”

“I’d like for you to go fill one of the rucksacks in the bottom of the hall closet with clothing. Can you do that for me? Take anything you need in terms of hygiene supplies from the bathroom closet. The old ladies in our club keep it stocked with supplies for whoever needs them, the bunker has some stuff but it’s more for emergencies.”

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