Page 22 of Forever Zara

“You guys wanna come in?”

“Nah, we’ll talk right here. I’ll get to the point,” Rider started, sharing a look with Hawk. Hawk was mistrusting by nature. It wasn’t hard to see he didn’t like this guy. “Who’s big idea was it to resurrect theRaging Rebels?”

“And which one of you in there is related to Hades?” Asked Hawk. Chances were they were also related to Hawk, which was gonna put his VP in a pissy mood.

“What? No one. We don’t know that guy, just heard about him.” A bite to his tone now, but he backed down from Rider’s stare. “Look, I know we’re probably stepping on your MC’s toes.”

“Hardly. But an annoyance to see a troubled MC brought back to life, fucking A.”

“We don’t want no trouble. We’re a hobby club.”

“Hobby club.” Repeated Hawk, darker, more murderous in tone. “And I’m the Easter bunny.”

“No, for real, man. My brother was a low-ranking officer in theRebelswhen I was a kid. I grew up helping him fix his bikes. There are only thirteen of us. You can come in and check. We respect theSouls. All we do is hang out and ride.”

Robert was losing his asshole under Rider’s stare. Rider turned his head and looked at Hawk, who shrugged, but he made it known he was carrying a piece when he opened his jacket. Robert whistled. “Seriously, man, we ain’t gonna cause waves or anything. We all got day jobs. My VP is a plumber. I work on construction. We wanted something to do, and I remembered my brother’s old MC, he’s dead now, thought it would, I don’t know, honor him or some shit. Seemed a good idea.”

If he was going to wear a road name like Titan, he needed better ideas.

Rider and Hawk looked around inside. It was nothing to write home about. It reminded him of building a forte when he was six in the backyard.

Pitiful.

This was the new enemy he’d been imagining?

He disapproved of them using theRebelsname, but far as he could see, it was Robert’s only crime.

“We good then?” A nervous Robert asked, following them outside again. Rider arched his brow, facing him. “We don’t have a good history with theRebels, so you better hope you’re telling me the truth today, Robert. I don’t give second chances with my generosity. I’ll take it as a personal insult if one word of what you’ve told me checks out to be a lie, you get me?”

“Sure, sure thing, man.”

“You keep out of Denver. You never step foot in Armado Springs. And I fucking mean ever. If anyone sees your faces in my territory, we’ll be back, and Hawk won’t be as happy as he is now.”

“You have my word. And if ever you need backup with anything, we’re here, you know?”

Highly unlikely. Rider hated ass kissers. However, this meeting hadn’t gone as he first thought. A lot less bloodshed, he was not happy about theRebelsbeing associated with nostalgia. That’s how hero-worshipping started.

He noted Robert stayed in the doorway, watching them stride to their bikes.

“What’s your read on them?” He asked his VP.

“Don’t like it. You notice he wouldn’t say whichRebelshis bro was.”

Yeah, he had.

“We can put a prospect on watch, see if Robert is true in what he said.”

Only time would tell if Rider’s gut was right.

It was rarely wrong.

NINE

“Heavy is the head who enforces the hard decisions.” - Rider

Wedding: T-minus 13 days.

Telling Zara everything that night, Rider didn’t have to brace for his woman’s breakdown. She was stronger than that, taking in everything he shared with calmness. After a beat of silence, she asked all the right questions.

---