Page 57 of Chaos Bound
Naiya gave him what she hoped was a winning smile, or at least a smile that would convince him to let her into the bar. “I’m looking for someone.”
“Don’t think the kind of someone a girl like you would be looking for would be in a biker bar.” He took a step in front of her, blocking her way. Yeah, he was intimidating, but so were all the Black Jacks she’d encountered. And look what she’d done to Viper, who was the most intimidating biker of them all. Although her penknife had barely scratched him, she’d dared to stab the man many called untouchable.
“I’m here for a drink.” She looked up, met his gaze head on, her hands dropping to her hips. “So unless this is a private bar, I suggest you let me in, or does the owner not want paying customers?”
A grin spread across his face. “Why don’t you ask him?” He gestured to the bar. “His name is Banks. He’s the dude in camouflage who looks like he just came back from a Black Ops mission. Tell him Gunner’s buying your drinks tonight. He can put them on my tab.”
Gunner.Holt said he was the club’s sergeant-at-arms, responsible for internal discipline at the club. And she could see why. His arms were like steel pipes and, despite his smile, he was clearly not a man to be crossed.
“Thanks.” She stepped to the side, and looked back over her shoulder with a genuine smile. “You’re lucky I’m not a big drinker.”
“You’re not a big anything.” Gunner gave her a wink. “But I like my girls small, cute, and curvy.”
She made her way through the tables and sat at the counter. The bar had a good vibe going, busy but not buzzy, with the Moonshine Bandits’, “For the Outlawz” playing through the speakers, and the murmur of conversation punctuated by the soft click of pool balls, the thud of darts, and the occasional bang of a fist on a table.
Banks looked up from the bar and folded his arms. “You legal?”
“I’m twenty-two.”
“Everyone’s twenty-two.” He held out his hand. “You got some ID?”
“My purse was… uh… stolen.”
He snorted a laugh. “When I hear ‘uh… stolen,’ that tells me right there you’re lying. And if you’re lying about that, you’re lying about your age. And if you’re lying about your age, you shouldn’t be here. Already had an underage girl in the bar the other night. Don’t want another one. Got enough trouble with these bikers. Not keen on being shut down for serving minors.”
“I’m not here to drink. I’m looking for someone.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Then do your looking outside. You ladies know better than to bring your business into my bar.”
Naiya stared at him aghast. “I’m not a hooker.”
“Suppose not looking all pink and pretty. But you don’t look like you’re twenty-two either. And if your purse was stolen, you wouldn’t be sitting at my bar.”
“I’m surprised they didn’t name you Cerberus,” she muttered.
“The three-headed dog who guards the gates of Hades?” Banks laughed. “I’ll take that as a compliment. Maybe one day if I ever join an MC, I’ll tell them I want that as a road name. I gotta be fucking on guard for these boys twenty-four seven, even if they don’t realize it.” He poured her a glass of water and slid it across the bar. “No alcohol unless you produce some ID or a good story about how you lost your purse.”
God. All she wanted to do was find Tank. “You wouldn’t believe the truth if I told you.”
Banks threw back his head and laughed. “Sweetheart, after the shit I’ve seen since the Sinners started coming to my bar, I’m pretty much open to anything.”
“Fine.” She licked her lips. “I’m from Missoula. Originally from Devil’s Hills. I went home to bury my mother, and Viper grabbed me and threw me in his dungeon under the Black Jacks’ clubhouse.” She paused, tilted her head to the side. “You know who Viper is?”
Banks’ eyes narrowed. “Mighta heard of him. Go on.”
“I escaped, but without my purse or my phone. I can’t go home because he’s after me to pay off my mother’s debts with my body as currency. I might also have stabbed him with a penknife but not hard enough to do anything more than piss him off. Anyway, I met someone who helped me. Now I want to help him, and the only way I can do that is by talking to a Sinner named Tank. I’m not here to cause trouble or stir things up. I heard the Sinners come to this bar, and I figured someone might know where he is. I’m not armed. I don’t even know how to shoot a gun. I just really, really want to talk to Tank.”
Silence.
Naiya bit her lip. “Will you help me?”
“You a Black Jack bitch?”
She recoiled, and her nose wrinkled. “No.”
“That’s one hell of a story.” Banks poured a shot of vodka in a glass and added some soda and lime. “And you’re leaving a lot out.” He pushed it across the counter, and Naiya took a grateful sip of the drink, sweet and tart with just the faintest kick of vodka. Perfect.
“Yes, I am, but only to protect someone, and because Tank should hear the rest of it first.” She heaved a sigh. “I’m telling you the truth, and if you don’t help me I’ll stand outside the door and ask everyone who comes out where he is.”
