Page 2 of Bear (Rebel Saints MC 6)

“Thought so.” I saluted her and walked out to my bike. I had to stop Angie before she came and talked to Delphia. She was on the fragile side, and if Angie went in too hard she’d clam right up.

A fat droplet of rain plopped right in the middle of my forehead as I made it back to my bike. I’d made the right call. I looked back one last time and saw Delphia staring out the window. Our eyes locked.

Yeah. I would be coming back to check on her a little more. Maybe I wouldn’t fill my tank all the way up. That way, I could swing past a couple of times a week.

Every time I saw her at the gas station, there never seemed to be anyone there with her. No boss, no colleagues, just her. Had to be a lonely ass job. I’d even seen her there late at night working, and for her being so young, it felt dangerous to me. Letting my protective thoughts from the past feed my brain, I headed back to my lair to settle in.

Angie greeted me with a kiss on the cheek and a mischievous smile as she placed her pool stick back in its groove. Wheelz was having a slow night, but it looked like the main regulars were in and keeping the bankroll steady.

I grinned before I started teasing her, “Winning or losing this time?”

“Always winning in life Bear, you know that,” she fired back with a flick of her golden hair and a lick of her tongue. She sauntered over to my space with a boldness that most of the guys knew her for. Angie was a fireball that had weaved her web into the Rebel Saints’ lives. She sure added excitement to the club.

She was hella attractive, but not a woman I would go there with.

I nodded at her smart aleck remark; that came with the territory from her. “I wanted to talk to you about something.” I picked up one of the pool cues. I was due for a game with Smoke, who was making his way over with a couple of beers in hand.

“Oh, really? Do tell.” Angie faced me with one hand on the pool table.

“The girl you’re going to interview at the gas station… You made a plan of when you’re heading to talk to her?” My eyes narrowed at Angie. I wanted her to keep her cool ? but since the acclaim from the article she wrote with us and her newfound chase to bring an unresolved case to justice ? her cockiness levels had inflated to new heights.

“Ahhhh, sometime this week, why?” She eyed me suspiciously.

“She’s fragile. Go easy, all right?” I insisted.

“Me? Easy? Bear, you know me by now. I’m not that type.” She winked.

I felt a twinge of anger and protectiveness wash over me. “You won’t get the story you’re looking for, how about that? Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Let me know how it goes with that attitude,” I fired at her in an attempt at a casual tone.

Angie’s eyes rolled over me quickly with mild shock. “You seem a little testy to defend a young girl that you don’t even know,” she mouthed off warily. She did look as if she was listening.

Somewhere in that brain of hers I was hoping she possessed common sense. If she knew the consequences I’d faced when I was younger, she wouldn’t have been so careless with her words.

“I’ll take some of that into account. Let’s see how it goes.” She tapped the felt top on the pool table. “Anyway, I’m out. I’ve beaten all the people I wanted to and now, I have to go paint my fingernails or something.” She cackled.

I whispered under my breath, “Angie, you’re a hot mess.” I eased the blue chalk over the end of my pool cue.

Just then, Smoke sailed up beside me and put a frothy beer down on the pool table edge. He arched an eyebrow at me. “Angie at it again? Are you thinking about Murphy?” he asked tentatively.

“Yeah, I am a little…” I sighed hard and cracked my neck. The past was the past, and I wanted to keep it there, but it was difficult when Delphia resembled my ex so much. “That’s what Angie does. I told her to go easy on the girl from the gas station. You know, the one whose brother got murdered.” I put the blue chalk down and calmed myself with a sip of beer.

“I remember for sure. I don’t wanna press you about it… but are you okay, brother?” he asked kindly.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just looking out is all.” A simple reply. I didn’t want to offer more than that.

“You seem to know a little bit about this girl…” Smoke queried with caution.

Yeah. He knew my past.

I could tell he was tiptoeing over the barely closed wound as he chalked his cue. I’d moved on to setting the balls in the rack, trying to ease my frustration with Angie. “I guess. Like I said, that's where I get my gas. I’m the road captain, and it’s my duty to tell you all where you can get the best fuel, right?” I spun a flat-out lie to divert the feelings bubbling inside of me. “I recommend you guys go there too, instead of going to that overpriced pump on the east side.”

Smoke whistled through his teeth. “You got a point there. Might be something to it.”

We resumed our pool game and caught up on everyday life.

Coyote, Hawk and Bones came over to watch the thrashing I was inflicting on Smoke towards the end.

Later that night, I walked in my door at a decent hour, happy with the direction of most things in my world.

---