Page 34 of Shadow

And just like that, my silent preening observation vanished.

“I am not a bitch, asshole. I came here for help.”

“Told ya we ain’t got it.”

“Then who would? Maybe his sister, Kali. Can I speak with her?”

“Why you want to speak with my wife?” the one called Prez asked. Turning to face him, I replied, “My name is…”

“Holy shit!” the Prez cursed. “You’re the woman that was attacked.”

Cringing, I nodded. “Yes. I was at the bar that night to meet your brother Jinx. I didn’t know he was a member of your club. He never wore his cut when we met.”

“Fuck,” the Prez groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. “Monk, go get Keys.”

“He ain’t gonna help. Just get rid of the bitch. She’s part of the reason my brother is dead.”

“Our brother,” the Prez growled, getting in the big man’s face. “Go. Get. Keys.”

The big asshole stomped off.

“Sorry about Monk. He’s generally a nice guy. Look, Ms.…”

“Joan. Joan Trinity.”

“Look, Joan, we’ve just recently learned that Jinx was working as an investigator on the side. We didn’t know he was there to meet with you about a case.”

“I understand,” I replied, my hopes dashed. Fuck, I knew this was a longshot, but it was my last resort. I didn’t know what to do next without that information. It wasn’t like I could go to the local police and tell them there was a damn good possibility my father was going to come to Lawton, Oklahoma, to kill me. They’d laugh my ass out of the precinct.

“Hey, Prez, who’s the Betty?” Another biker walked over, smiling as he rubbed his hands with a grease rag. Two more men with them were wearing the standard coveralls any mechanic would wear, only these guys had the top half hanging loose around their waist, as the white t-shirts they wore showed off their bulging muscles and multitude of tattoos.

What the hell? It was like looking at Chippendales dancers at the Bellagio. The only thing missing was the music. Was it a fucking requirement to be a brother that the applicant must be panting, melting hot?

“Widow, meet Joan Trinity. She’s the woman Jinx was helping.”

“No fucking way,” Widow asked, shocked. “That would mean…”

“Yes,” I added straightforwardly. “I was the one attacked.”

“Damn,” one of the other brothers said.

“Uh Prez,” Widow muttered. “We did as you asked. We took apart the bike.”

“And?”

Widow looked at me before turning back to the President of the club and nodded. “We found it.”

Chapter Eight

Shadow

I pulled into the Diamondback compound an hour after I received a call from Kansas, telling me he needed me at the clubhouse. Why, he wouldn’t say. Only that I was to drop everything and get my ass there pronto.

Parking my bike, I ignored the small twinge of pain in my abdomen and removed my helmet. Looking around the compound, nothing looked out of place. Even the gate guard let me in without so much as a second glance.

Heading for the clubhouse, I entered to find a few of the brothers milling around, chewing the fat, while two were near the pool table arguing over who was going to break the next set. Not seeing Kansas, I headed for the bar when someone called out my name.

“Shadow. Church!”

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