Page 14 of Riggs
Chapter Five
Riggs
It's been three days since our trip to Texas, and since I haven't heard from Jake. I'm assuming our visit took care of the problem they were having with McGregor. Needing some downtime, I'm out here bright and early, on the boat with Pop, plucking crawfish traps from the water. "These are some fat fuckers," I look at them as I pull another trap into the boat.
"That's some good eatin' right there," Pop boasts, proud of his haul. "You forget, I know these waters and all the sweet spots."
I won't argue with the truth. "That's the last of them. Twenty pods, emptied, and put back in the water."
"Good — good. This, along with what I'll pick up from Allen's, will be more than enough to feed our bunch." He sits back in his seat and steers us out of shallow water.
While my grandad purges the crawfish, the men and I set up the tables and chairs outside. Other club members start to arrive not long after the grills are fired up. As I stride across the yard heading toward the shed to grab the massive boiler and propane to start the crawfish, my brother's blue bronco slowly makes its way down the long dirt road leading to the house. After coming to a jerking stop, the engine cuts off. Piper, my niece, opens the driver's door and jumps out.
"Uncle Abel," she closes the door and waves.
"I see your dad is letting you drive." I stop walking as my niece jogs in my direction, then wraps her arms around my waist once she reaches me.
"We would have been here sooner if grandpa here," she gestures with her thumb, pointing over her shoulder, toward Cain whose making his way toward us, "would have let me drive the speed limit."
"It's not your driving I have a problem with, Bean; it's the other dipshits on the road," my brother states.
Piper huffs then rolls her eyes. "Dad, an old couple, who looked like they were in their eighties, driving an old Cadillac, even passed us."
"And?" Cain says utterly unaffected by her frustration.
"The old lady flipped me the bird," Piper's hands go to her hips. "And you did nothing besides laugh." The banter between the two causes me to chuckle.
Cain pulls his daughter into his chest, then kisses her on top of the head. "Don't prosecute me for protecting the most important person in my life."
"It's too much. Just like when you taught me how to ride a bike for the first time," Piper mumbles. Cain bursts with laughter, and I join him at the mention of that memory. "I mean, who wraps their kid in bubble wrap — to ride a bike — with training wheels." Piper looks at her dad, trying her best to act serious.
"Go see if your Gampy needs a hand in the kitchen." I use the name she's called him since she first learned to talk. "He's in there cooking up his special BBQ sauce," I tell my niece. Handing the truck keys to her dad, Piper takes off toward the house. I turn to my brother. "She's growing up too fast."
Cain follows me as I finish making my way to the shed. "Man, I can't keep up. One day she's learning to ride a bike the next she's driving." I hand him the large boiler. "And to make matters worse, she announced yesterday that a boy asked her to the school dance," Cain adds.
God help the young man or any young man who shows interest in Piper. "She's a good kid, brother, with a good head on her shoulders." Grabbing the propane tank and base, I carry them across the yard to the patio, with Cain behind me.
"It's more the fact that I know what's going through the minds of these hormonal shit heads. I don't trust them." Cain's face turns to stone.
I stop what I'm doing and get serious for a moment. "Piper has been raised by a bunch of bikers. You've taught her how to take care of herself. She knows self-defense. She can handle a weapon as well as any of us, and most importantly, she has a dad that will move the heavens to keep her safe." I clasp his shoulder. "You've done well so far. It's time to sit back a little bit and let Piper show you that she has learned from the best and is capable of making good choices."
Cain nods and clears his throat. "Put me to work," he says, changing the subject.
"The crawfish could probably use another rinse. They're in the garage."
"On it," Cain salutes, then turns on his heels.
Strolling over to the back door, I bend, lifting the lid on the cooler, and pluck a chilled beer from the ice bath it's sitting in. Popping the cap off, I toss it in the trash can to my left. I'm taking a long pull from the bottle when my phone rings. Pulling it from my pocket, I look down to see Jake's cell number on the screen.
"Hey, brother. How's it going?"
"Not good, brother. I'm not calling for a casual chat. I need a few extra men up here. We have ourselves a situation." Jake's voice sounds concerned. "A young woman under our protection is wanted by another MC — Savage Outlaw. You heard of them?" Jake asks.
"Can't say that I have, brother. How high is the threat level?"
Jake lets out a long exhale. "High. One of the fuckers attacked Sofia at work the other day. He was lookin' for the new girl who moved into New Hope House the other week. Her name is Luna Novak. Yesterday a few of their men tried to gun down two of my men along with the three women in the SUV — one of those women being Luna."
Damn. These bikers are out for blood, which means this woman got herself mixed up in something serious. "Why do they want her so bad?"
