Page 5 of Deadly North

“You’ve run afoul of the VP of the Knoxville chapter of the Royal Bastards,” Rocky intones. “And a member of the Minneapolis chapter. You really wanna go there? Right here, right now?”

“Fuck off,” Blaze replies, but his eyes are wide, the whites of them showing.

“You’re gonna walk away, right now,” Mack continues calmly. “While you still can.” He removes his gun from Blaze’s temple and takes a step back, but keeps it trained on him.

Blaze’s nostrils flare. He hawks noisily and spits on the ground.

But then, he jerks his head at the other Scorpion. “Come on. Fuck this. Let’s go.”

I watch, holding my breath, as the two of them walk away. When they’re gone, I exhale, closing my eyes in relief.

“You okay, Red?” Rocky asks me.

“I’m fine.” I lift a hand to my face and realize I’m trembling.

“You’re not fine,” Mack says flatly. “You’re shaking like a leaf.”

“I’m.Fine,” I repeat through gritted teeth.

“You’re welcome, by the way,” he adds.

Ugh. Fuck. Him.I know I should thank Mack. I know I should be grateful. If it wasn’t for him and Rocky showing up when they did, I don’t know what would have happened. But given that we just had a conversation where Mack basically called me a slut, I can’t make myself do it. He probably blames me for what those Scorpions were about to do to me. And if he says anything to that effect right now, I think I might just crumple up and die.

So instead, I turn to Rocky. “Thanks,” I say. “You kinda saved my bacon there.”

He shrugs. “Don’t mention it, darlin’. You sure you’re okay? You need us to stick around, make sure they don’t come back?”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself.”

Mack scoffs. “Right.”

I turn and glare at him. “If I wanted to hear from an asshole, I’d fart,” I snap at him weakly, but my heart’s not in it.

Mack raises his hands in surrender. “Jesus, Gizmo, calm down. I didn’t mean it that way.”

But I am not about to listen to another word from Fucking Lachlan Maxwell today. Pulling my keys from my pocket without another word, I unlock my bus, climb inside, and lock the door behind me. Then I wait, sure that he’s about to start pounding on the door.

But thankfully, Mack must have had enough of me, too, because he doesn’t.

I listen for their retreating footsteps, taking deep breaths to keep myself from crying. After about five minutes of silence, I decide they’re probably gone.

And that’s when I break down.

God, I hate that I’ve let this whole dumb situation get the best of me. It’s not even so much about the Bloody Scorpions and what that asshole Blaze tried to do. It’s the image of Mack’s stupid, smug face not-so-silently judging me.

I can’t seem to get away from him in my mind. Just knowing he’s out there somewhere, thinking about what just happened is more than I can take right now. My stomach is churning. I’m no longer in any mood to be at this rally. More than anything, I just want to be alone right now, and far away from Mack Maxwell. I want to be done with bikers for the rest of the day.

And so I make my decision. Quickly as I can, before any Royal Bastards or Bloody Scorpions or anyone else can come back, I pack up my bus, grab my keys, and climb into the driver’s seat.

I’ll eat the lost income from leaving the rally early. I’m out of here.

4

MACK

“Mack. You’re being summoned. Prez wants to see you.”

I look up from tinkering with my bike to see Reed standing over me.

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