Page 16 of Gunner

The door slammed shut behind Witter, followed by the sickening thud of a fist hitting flesh and a grunt of pain.

I winced. Maybe I shouldn’t have instigated this fight? As Blood Hounds, we were known for our brutality and being quick to use our fists. Those bikers would think nothing of beating the shit out of a cop. The police chief, even worse.

What if they went too far?

My gut twisted into an unfamiliar feeling, and I busied myself at the bar to refrain from going outside to check. They were taking way too long to force Witter off my property.

The door opened, but I swallowed my sigh of relief when a leggy platinum-blonde entered. I frowned. I wasn’t concerned about Witter. I didn’t give a shit about the guy. If my men went too far, though, he might press charges against them.

Not if he still wants my help.

“Candace, you’re late!” I snapped.

“Sorry, boss. It won’t happen again.” She popped the gum she was chewing loudly, grinned, and slipped behind the bar. She sauntered up to me and pressed her hands against my pecs,scraping her long coffin nails down my chest. “Want me to make it up to you?”

Normally, I’d take her up on her offer. Hell, I’d fucked her right here behind the bar more than once while the others looked on, but for some reason, her offer pissed me off tonight.

“You can’t always rely on what’s between your legs to get you out of trouble.” I grabbed her hands and dropped them. “Get to work.”

“Geez, it’s not my fault your guys are getting their asses beat.”

She flounced off to the other end of the bar, but I put my hand on her shoulder, halting her. “What’d you say?”

The door opened again. Tango and his two sidekicks came in, clutching different parts of their bodies. Mouse had the beginnings of a fat lip. Zero was walking funny, and it had nothing to do with Mouse’s cock being up his ass.

“You still want me to spell it out for you?” Candace asked.

I gave her a hard shake. “Watch your mouth. You sass me like that again, don’t bother showing up here.”

She paled and reached for me, but I walked out from behind the bar. She might be a lazy flirt who found it easier to use her body than to work, but she had a pretty face and a nice figure that drew men to the bar. The counter was already filling up.

“I hope this means he looks worse,” I asked Tango, who had collapsed into a booth. He was wheezing hard.

“He caught us off guard,” he said, scowling. “Didn’t know he could move like that.”

“Don’t worry, prez.” Mouse rubbed his cheek. “Don’t think you’ll be seeing him no more.”

“What if he charges us?” Zero asked, eyebrows knitted in worry. “He’s the police.”

“He won’t,” I said. “I’ll see to it he doesn’t. You three, stick around and ensure the place is guarded and that Candace does her fucking job.”

“I heard that!” she yelled across the room.

“Good.”

I kept my pace casual as I walked out of the bar. I needed to check up on how tonight’s drug shipment went. That was all. Whether or not Witter had made it out of the parking lot safely had nothing to do with me.

Droplets of blood decorated the concrete. I followed the trail to my bike where a late-model blue Ford truck was parked. Between the vehicles, a figure sat on the ground, a handkerchief pressed to their nose. I removed my phone from my pocket, turned on the flashlight, and aimed it at him.

Witter shielded his eyes from the bright light. They’d gotten him good a few times in the face. By morning, he would be sporting a black eye and a fat lip. He had an arm wrapped around his middle.

“Need a ride to the emergency room?” I asked.

He didn’t even raise his head. “Fuck you.” He coughed, which ended in a groan. “You knew what you were doing when you reminded them who I was.”

I reached inside my pants for my pack of cigarettes and shook one out. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.” I lit the cigarette and took a long drag. Now that felt fucking good. Maybe I couldn’t drink as much as I wanted, but I still had destroying my lungs to fall back on. “You heard me tell them explicitly not to hurt you, considering who you are.”

“Don’t bullshit me. You might not have said it, but that’s what you meant.”

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