Page 18 of The Sentinels

I shot Gabe the bird. I was sure that I looked every bit of my forty-seven years at the moment.

"You lose them?" Tanner asked his VP.

Gabe released a deep breath. "Nope. Ran right into a whole posse of the fuckers."

"Had to be at least twenty of them." Heath spit, just missing my boot. "Looked as if they were expecting trouble."

Sully nodded. "I'm sure once they saw Ace riding alone they notified the rest of their brothers to be ready in case they needed backup."

"Recognize any of them?"

Gabe was the one who responded to Tanner's question. He nodded. "Yeah, saw a few familiar faces. Their VP, Boomer, was there. So was their road captain, Hook, but I didn't see their prez, Maniac."

"Shit, that must mean their whole club has arrived," I snarled. We'd already done Intel on the MC and knew that their numbers were in the fifties.

"Fuck, brothers, we may need a little help in ridding our town of these assholes." Tanner glanced around the group. "Guess I'll put in a call to our Tennessee brothers later."

"We don't need help," I smirked, slowly getting onto my bike. "If everyone takes on five like I just did."

Several brothers snorted before Mark said, "I don't think my woman will want me coming home all messed up like you, brother."

A car pulled around us, reminding us that we were blocking the road.

"Come on, let's head back to the bar so Ace can get those cuts looked at."

Tanner took the lead, Gabe and me, as his officer’s, right behind him. As we neared After Hours I noticed Emerson's plum-colored PT Cruiser in the parking lot. I bet she was tired, having been out half the night. At least she hadn't been fucking pretty boy all night. I'd followed her home to make sure that she arrived there okay, but also to make sure she went in alone. He was lucky he wasn't lying in a gutter somewhere after the kiss I'd seen him plant on her.

We plowed our way back inside and headed to our usual spot, two tables that were pushed together at the front of the room. Coffee cups, napkins, and donuts littered the top.

"Emerson must be in the back."

"I don't need her. I'll just wash up in the bathroom."

Tanner had been on his way to the back when my comment caused him to pause. He looked back at me. "You sure, brother?"

I nodded. The thought of Emerson's hands on me was appealing, but after the way we'd parted last night, I doubted she'd want to play nurse with me.

"Okay. When you get back we'll get down to business about how we're going to handle the Hellraisers."

Chapter 11

Emerson

I was coming out of the back stock room when I literally ran into Ace as he was heading toward the bathroom. His powerful hands grasped my upper arms to push me back, but not before we had a full frontal collision. The man was solid as a rock, everywhere. I gasped from the impact, and instant, hot awareness slammed through me. I gasped again upon looking up and seeing his condition. My eyes widened as they roamed over his bruised and bloodied face.

"What-What happened to you?" I asked with concern. I knew the Sentinels were tough, dangerous men and capable of taking care of themselves, but it looked as if Ace had taken a good beating.

He released me and held up a big hand, barely looking me in the eye. "I'm good." He made a move to go around me.

"You're not good." I reached for his arm. "Ace, you're hurt."

"Don't make it more than what it is, Emerson." He pulled away and went into the men's room.

I stared after him and the door that he’d closed in my face. Why was he so stubborn? He'd obviously been in a fight. And he obviously didn't want my help. Well, that was just too damned bad. I dashed to where I knew we kept the first aid kit, grabbed it off the shelf, and went back to the restroom. I hesitated only briefly before pushing my way into the bathroom and finding him at the sink.

He was in the process of wiping his face with a paper towel. "Get out," he grumbled.

"No." I took a deep breath and stubbornly stepped closer. "Those cuts need more than water, they need to be cleaned." I forced my way between his hard body and the hard counter. "Now let me see." I brushed his hands away from his face.

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