Page 1 of Carver

1

Carver

Ilifted my beer to my lips, listening to the table of women to my right as laughter burst from their lips, somehow being louder than the music. Some women could be funny when they were drinking and letting loose, but this table of women were just downright fucking annoying, especially after the exhausting day I’d had.

I’d spent the past few days doing recon, trying to figure out who had targeted Blink’s old lady, Lindsey, and who’d tried taking out Blink when he and Brian were doing an exchange a few weeks ago. But so far, it’d been a lot of early mornings and late nights with nothing to show for it.

We were still empty-handed, and I was agitated, tired, and just over this bullshit.

And if those girls to my right laughed like fucking hyenas one more time, I was going to lose my shit.Nothingcould be that goddamn funny.

All I wanted to do was finish this beer, get my food whenever the kitchen got done making it, and head back to the clubhouse. It was late, and I was tired. While I was used to the lack of sleep from the military, driving forhourswas exhausting and a hell of a lot different than standing watch overnight.

“Hey,” a woman’s soft voice spoke up a few barstools down from me. She was leaning on the bar, her tits practically spilling out of her low-cut tank top. She was a gorgeous woman with long, dark, curly hair, lips painted a blood-red, and pretty blue eyes. She had curves in all the right places, and had I been in a better mood and been better company, I’d have flirted a little until I got her to agree to meet me at a motel or in the bathrooms just down the hall.

I mean, fuck—the woman was just my type. And the sight of her alone wasalmostenough to give me the energy I needed to get a quick fuck in.

“What can I get ya?” the bartender asked, popping her gum. Macie, the bartender, was a local—had apparently been born and raised here and never left. She was a fiery redhead that didn’t put up with anyone’s shit. And her interest in men was zero.

Believe me—I’d tried.

“A beer. The cheapest you’ve got. And I wanted to ask you a question.” I perked up a little, definitely more interested in their conversation now. No one popped up in this town randomly asking questions. This was a tight-knit community, and I doubted the gorgeous brunette was popping in here to ask directions—not this far into town.

“What’s ya question, honey?” Macie asked as she grabbed a beer and popped the lid off before setting it on the bar in front of the woman.

“You seen a woman around here named Lindsey?” My grip around my bottle tightened, and I clenched my jaw. “I think she’s been hanging out with a local biker club?”

Macie frowned at her, every bit of friendliness disappearing from her face. Macie was loyal to the club and loyal to me and my brothers. She wasn’t a member by any means, but numerous times, we’d come when people got too rowdy and took care of the problem for her so she didn’t have to get the law involved. Macie and Lindsey had become good friends since Lindsey and Blink had been together, and I knew she’d never betray our queen like that.

This pretty little thing was fucking trouble.

“Don’t know her,” Macie lied to the woman. “But if she’s got anything to do with the Savage Crows, I’d steer clear, honey. Not a group you want to mess with.” Her eyes flickered to me for the briefest moment—too fast for the other woman to catch. “If you’re here to inquire, you better get the hell out of town. Those men don’t like being questioned, and they don’t like people snooping around either.”

The woman sighed and pushed back from the bar, setting a bill on the countertop without touching her beer. I watched as she walked away—unashamedly watching her ass as she did—and then stood from my own stool, slapping a twenty on the bar to cover my beer and the food I wouldn’t be getting tonight. Hopefully, Lindsey had leftovers in the fridge at the clubhouse.

“Keep the change,” I told Macie. “And take that meal home with you.”

She nodded once, grabbing the twenty off the bar as I followed the curly-haired woman out of the bar. I could feel Macie’s eyes on my back as I followed the brunette, but I knew she wouldn’t say a word. She was aware of the trouble we were facing, and she knew what had happened to Lindsey.

Macie could be counted on to turn a blind eye.

Keeping my distance and avoiding the parts of the lot with looser gravel, I tracked the woman like a predator. She was in my territory, and if there was a chance she knew something, especially if she came looking for Lindsey—who we’d been keeping at the clubhouse and out of the public eye—I was taking my chances with her.

The woman turned the corner around the building to where the light didn’t shine, and I made my decision, closing the distance between us until there was barely inches separating us. And she was completely unaware.

“You,” I said quietly. She halted, her back tensing. I heard the catch of her breath, and fuck, the fear in that simple sound was like music to my ears. Slowly, she turned to face me, and she swallowed thickly at the sight of me, her eyes catching on my patch. I stepped closer, cocking my head to the side the slightest bit. “What do you want with my sister?” I calmly asked, taking another step forward.

God, the way she trembled in terror.

“N-nothing,” she stammered, taking a step back from me.

A sinister smirk tilted my lips. “Oh, come on, sweetheart. Don’t lie to me. You were just asking about her.”

She shook her head too quickly to be believed—even if I hadn’t overheard her myself. “It was nothing. Just… she’s just an old friend. That’s all.” But her voice trembled, revealing her lie.

I straightened my neck, humming as I took another step closer. She quickly took one back, her eyes widening and turning glassy with horror. She reached for her back pocket, and I smirked.

In a blink, I had my hand around her throat, her back against the wall of the bar, and her wrists pinned above her head. The knife she’d grabbed from her back pocket dropped from her hand as a terrified squeak slipped past her lips. Her blue eyes were wide with fear.Terror. And lust slid through my veins, my cock hardening as the sweet scent of her fear infiltrated my nostrils.

---