Page 17 of Beyond the Cut
“Die, fucker.” Rusty jumped to a crouch and aimed his gun at Shaggy’s head. Cade threw himself forward, knocking Rusty off balance. Rusty fell to the side and his head cracked against the cement parking bumper. Then he went limp.
“Fuck.” Shaggy fell back, clutching his leg. “One more second and I woulda been a dead man. Gratitude, brother.”
“Oh. My. God,” Shelly-Ann shrieked. “You killed him. You killed Rusty. He owed me money. Now what am I going to do?”
His body still pumped with adrenaline, rage seeping through his veins, Cade grabbed Shelly-Ann by the shoulder and shoved her hard against the wall. “You are one damn coldhearted bitch. Man’s dead and all you care about is money. And what the hell are you doing at Peelers when you got two kids at home to look after?”
Shelly-Ann’s face twisted in anger. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I got a babysitter. And I need money. Since you killed Rusty, his debts are your debts. You owe me.”
“Son of a bitch,” Gunner said. “She’s either incredibly stupid or she’d got the biggest fucking balls this side of the Bridger Mountains.”
“You owe me,” Cade growled. “I saved your fucking life. Shaggy here wanted to off you the minute you stepped outside.”
“I know you.” Shelly-Ann leaned up and stared into Cade’s face. “You’re the Sinner who was with Dawn outside the school. Just wait till Jimmy hears you offed Rusty.”
Cade snorted a laugh. “You tell him, princess. Let him know I’m coming for him, although I think he’ll guess.” He tipped his chin in Rusty’s direction, drawing her attention to Gunner, who was spray-painting the Sinner’s Tribe symbol on Rusty’s cut.
Shelly-Ann’s eyes narrowed. “Kinda hard to go after him if you’re in jail. Gimme the money Rusty owes me and maybe I won’t say anything to the police about what I saw.”
“How about you go home to those girls and I won’t tell Shaggy to slit your fucking throat?”
“How about I get someone to slit yours?” Shelly-Ann gave him a sly look and then she screamed. “Help! Shifter! Trey! The Sinners got Rusty!”
Cade clamped a hand over her mouth a moment too late. The door to the club burst open and Brethren bikers flooded the parking lot.
“Let the fun begin.” Zane drew his weapon, and the brothers followed suit.
“Stand down,” Cade ordered, gesturing the brothers back to their bikes. “Zane and I will cover. Everyone out of here now. We’ve done what we came here to do. They know what Rusty did. Even with the possible patch-over, they’ll have been expecting some form of retaliation, although it wasn’t meant to go that far.”
Cade’s heart pounded in his chest, adrenaline crashing through his body in waves. Yeah, he wanted to off that Brethren scum. But tonight wasn’t a good night to die.
***
“You staying for a drink?”
Banks handed Dawn her share of the evening’s tips as she untied her apron.Not a bad night. If she could find more ways to cut costs, she might be able to scrape up another couple hundred dollars for Shelly-Ann. Enough to keep her quiet, at least in the short term.
“I have to get going. I have an early shift tomorrow.” And she wanted to get home and lock her doors tight. Before Jimmy crossed the Conundrum border, she wouldn’t have been concerned, but something spurred him to take the life-or-death risk of coming into town, and she desperately wanted to know what it was. Jimmy only took chances when he knew he would win. She could only hope he wasn’t after the girls.
“Just one drink.” Banks held up a glass. “Then I can finish up and walk you out.”
“Thanks, but I have to run or I’ll miss the last bus.” Usually she caught a ride on the back of Arianne’s motorcycle. Her bestie bartended at Banks Bar four nights a week, and they tried to arrange their shifts so they could work together, but Arianne’s work at the Sinner garage was taking up more and more of her time and she’d cut her shifts this week down to two.
Dawn grabbed her jacket and picked up the trash bags near the stockroom door leading to the parking lot. Although she missed her car, she wouldn’t trade the extra time it had bought her with the girls for anything.
“Don’t like you taking the bus at night,” Banks said.
Dawn put her hand in her purse and pulled out her .22. “I have this to keep me safe. A present from Arianne.”
“Jesus Christ. Put that away before you hurt someone, namely me.” Banks jerked to the side. “Don’t know why Arianne would give you a gun. You aren’t in that life.”
“She gave it to me because that life won’t let me go. And until I get my girls back…”
“You won’t be shooting anyone.” He placed a gentle hand on her wrist, and she lowered the gun. “And I know this first, ’cause I know you got a soft heart; second, ’cause I can see that gun isn’t loaded; and third, ’cause I got faith you’ll find a way to cut Jimmy deep and get back those girls without spilling any blood and landing your pretty ass in jail. You’re a fighter, but not a killer.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” She tucked the gun into her purse and zipped up her jacket.
“Meant as one.” Banks twisted his lips to the side, considering. “How about I call you a cab?”
