Page 78 of Chaos Bound
“I don’t carry a gun.” Maurice took a step back. “I’m actually anti-gun.”
“He’s anti-gun,” Shaggy said, amused. “That might be a problem, son, ’cause Viper is pro-gun. In a very big way.”
“Don’t give him a hard time.” Holt tucked away his weapon. “Maybe he’s got some fight training, or maybe he knows marital arts.” He held up his fists, turned to the side. “C’mon. Gimme your best shot. Show me what you’re gonna do to Viper when he comes at you.”
Maurice held up his hands, palms forward. “No fighting. I’m a pacifist.”
“Jesus Christ. He’s a pacifist.” Shaggy laughed. “He’s gonna make love to Viper, not war.”
Ally stepped in front of Maurice, and glared at Holt. “Stop this right now. It’s like watching a cat toy with a mouse. You just want an excuse to hit him because of what he did to Naiya.”
Shaggy’s brow furrowed. “What did he do to Naiya?”
Holt rocked his head from side to side and his neck made a satisfying crack. “Well, let’s see. He led her on. Told her they were gonna get married, have a life together. All the time he was fucking someone else. He was so busy with his little honey that he couldn’t be bothered to go with her when she went to her momma’s funeral or help her when she escaped from Viper. Instead he sent her friend to tell her about the affair and break it off.”
“Son of a fucking bitch.” Without warning, Shaggy plowed his fist into Maurice’s stomach, sending him sprawling on the sidewalk.
“That was my hit,” Holt protested. “She’s my girl.”
Shaggy shook his hand, spat on the sidewalk beside a whimpering Maurice. “Sorry about that. Got carried away. I’m anti-cheating on nice girls who belong to my brothers.”
Holt felt a prickle at the back of his neck. Christ. Had all the Sinners changed as much as Shaggy in the short time he’d been away? The dude had gone from barely tolerating Holt’s presence to becoming his new BFF.
“You want me to hold him so you can have a go?” Shaggy moved toward Maurice, and Holt shook his head.
“We’re wasting time. We gotta get her some place safe before that fucking ATF agent finds her.”
“The ATF?” Maurice scrambled backward, cupping his jaw as he stood. “What have you dragged her into?” He turned to Ally and scowled. “Why didn’t you tell me she was in serious trouble? I don’t want to get involved with the ATF. I have a reputation to protect. I’m up for tenure in a few years. I don’t want my name smeared all over the news, or associated with bikers or drugs.” His face twisted in disgust. “That’s it, isn’t it? She’s back with the bikers. Two years she held out on me but really she’s just like her mother.”
Holt lunged forward, grabbed Maurice by the collar and slammed him up against the brick wall. “You ever talk shit about Naiya again, I’m gonna break your skinny arms and legs and wrap them around your neck.” He flicked Maurice’s glasses off and Shaggy ground them into the sidewalk with his heel.
“Leave a piece of him for me.”
“No way.” Holt drove his knee into Maurice’s stomach. “This dipshit is all mine.”
***
Think. Think.Naiya twisted her ring around her finger wishing she’d never bought those damn Bolton Beaver shirts. But how could she have known where that night would lead? Certainly not to her and Holt going on the run all over Montana racking up the crimes and attracting the attention of the ATF.
Michael smirked as he lifted the glass, the same kind of smirk that had been on Viper’s lips when he pretended to be solicitous seven years ago at the party when she said she wasn’t feeling well after the drink he gave her. Michael was toying with her, just as Viper had toyed with her. Except this time she wasn’t fifteen, alone, and innocent. She’d been through hell and back. And there was no damn way anyone was taking anything from her again. She wasn’t a victim, and she hadn’t done anything wrong.
Well… maybe she’d done a few things wrong, but nothing bad enough to warrant the kind of attention Michael was throwing her way.
And he had no evidence to tie her to Leo’s death, or they would be having this conversation in an entirely different location.
She finished her water, and nodded at Banks for a refill. “So, Michael. What brings you to a one-percenter biker bar in the middle of a one-percenter biker town? Isn’t this a dangerous place for an ATF agent to be?”
His head jerked toward her, and his eyes hardened. Well, too damn bad. She wasn’t playing his game anymore. No more pretend. The very fact she was in the bar proclaimed her biker connections. After this was over she was heading out of the state for her interviews, and she would be done with bikers forever, so why not use her connections to her advantage while she could?
“My personal safety is never an issue when I’m looking for a cold-blooded killer.” He puffed out his chest. “I’ll do what it takes to keep the public safe and ensure justice is done.”
“How noble,” she said dryly. “And you think you’re going to find him in this bar?”
Michael pulled a piece of paper from inside his jacket and laid it on the counter. “I think I’ll find Holt Savage wherever you are.”
Naiya stared at the mug shot of a young Holt and read through the text that set out his juvenile record in Laredo for assault, battery, theft, and violation of parole. His fingerprints appeared at the bottom of the page along with a note detailing his current known associates: the Sinner’s Tribe MC.
“You printed him from the glass in Trenton,” she said without thinking.
