Page 8 of My Enemy Biker

"We did. This is me preparing for Tuesday." She gestures at the camera mounted to the tree. "If you use this road before we finalize terms, I'll have a record of it."

My jaw tightens before I can control it. "The club hasn't used this road since you put up the fence."

"Good. Then the cameras won't be a problem."

We're staring at each other and the air feels different than it did in her kitchen. She's annoyed I showed up unannounced. I'm annoyed she doesn't trust my word. Neither of us is backing down.

"Why are you here?" she asks.

Fair question. "Wanted to see the property. Assess what maintenance would actually involve."

"At eight o'clock at night?"

"I work when I work."

"Without asking permission first..."

"It's not permission if we haven't finalized the easement." I gesture at where I'm standing. "And I'm on the edge of your property, not using your road."

Technically true. She knows it. I can see her frustration that I'm right.

"So what do you actually want?" she asks.

To know if what I felt yesterday was real. To know if you felt it too. To understand why I can't stop thinking about you when I should be focused on actual work.

Can't say any of that.

"To know if you're serious about negotiating or if this is a stalling tactic."

"I'm serious."

"Then why the cameras?"

"Because I've seen how this goes." She takes a step toward me and I catch the flash of real anger under her control. "Organizations say one thing, do another, call it a misunderstanding later. I want documentation."

"We're not the Devils."

She goes very still. "I didn't mention the Devils."

"You didn't have to." I take a step closer. We're maybe six feet apart now. "You're from Detroit, you research everything, and you're treating this negotiation like enemy territory. So either you think we're going to screw you over or you're looking for an excuse to walk away from this whole thing."

Her anger goes cold. I can see it in her eyes, the way her spine straightens. "I'm looking for accountability. Something you might not be familiar with given how many police reports I found with your name and zero charges."

That lands. "You've been digging."

"I told you I would. I need information before I make decisions. That includes knowing who I'm negotiating with."

"And what did you find?"

"That you were present at a scene where someone ended up beaten badly enough to be hospitalized. That your club has a pattern of being just outside what can be proven. That you operate exactly like every other MC I've seen."

Every word is a cut. Clean. Precise.

She's comparing me to men who destroyed her neighborhood and she believes the comparison is accurate.

"We're not every other MC."

"Prove it."