Page 14 of Jigsaw
When she was behind me and I got a whistle from Phantom telling me she was safe, I stepped closer and grabbed one of the men by the front of his shirt. He wasn’t wearing a patch, so I assumed he was an unaffiliated rider without any backup besides his drunk friend.
“Hey, man,” he bitched, “let me go.”
I lifted him up to his tiptoes by his shirt and got closer to him as his little friend took a step back. He probably realized how outnumbered they were, but the one I had my hands on refused to stop running his fucking mouth.
“That bitch should be happy we showed her any attention to begin with,” he groused. “She’s not all that anyway.”
His words angered something deep inside me. I released my hold on him, pushed him away, and, on instinct, lifted my heavy booted foot. The kick I planted in the middle of his chest sent him flying through the air and onto his back on the sidewalk as everyone yelled or laughed.
Stomping up to him, I placed my boot on his throat and pressed down as I pointed at him. “When a woman says no, she fucking means no. And while her shirt says she’s not property, she is mine, and I’ll kill you if you even look in the general direction she’s standing. Do we understand each other?”
He tried to nod, but I pressed my boot harder, causing his face to turn red. I felt a hand on my back and spun, thinking I was getting attacked from behind, only to see Ghost standing there with a smile on his face. The Phantom Renegades were standing off to the side, and Willow was crying as she stood beside Phantom. It seemed my brothers weren’t letting Ghost or his men near her without my say.
I removed my foot without looking at the piece of shit lying on the ground. “Leave now and don’t come back to South Dakota. This place isn’t for you.”
I heard him scrambling behind me, but I never looked back at him. My eyes moved from an amused Ghost to Willow, and without acknowledging him, I stepped around him and walked up to her. Placing my hand under her chin, I felt the wobble as she wiped tears from her cheek.
“Are you okay?” I asked her. “Did they hurt you?”
“I’m okay,” she returned softly then added, “Thank you for helping me.”
“Any time, darlin’,” I answered, and then I finally gave her brother the respect a president should get by turning to face him.
He still had a weird smile on his face as I walked back to him. The crowd of onlookers had disbursed, leaving the Sinners to face the Phantom Renegades. I didn’t think there would be a fight, but we had to be prepared for anything.
When he reached his closed fist out to me, I looked deep into his eyes before I bumped my fist against his.
“Thanks for watching out for Willow . . .” he looked at my patch and raised an eyebrow as he added, “Jigsaw.”
“My pleasure,” I answered sarcastically. “I’ll see you around.”
Turning to walk away, a hand on my shoulder stopped me, and I gave Raven a look that said to be ready. Spinning around to face Ghost, I waited for him to explain when he raised his hands in mock surrender.
“The Phantom Renegades would like to buy you and the Sinners Revenge a beer as a peace offering. I hate the way things ended for us, and I’d like to put the past where it belongs.” Ghost’s explanation seemed reasonable, but I was always leery of things that seemed too good to be true.
“We’d appreciate that,” Roughstock said as he walked up to the conversation.
Roughstock was aware of my past with the Phantom Renegades, and I knew this was his way of helping keep the peace. All the cops were looking for was an excuse to bust bikers, and we didn’t want any heat falling on the Sinners. Or the Phantom Renegades.
The two presidents shook hands, and Roughstock made the motion to our brothers to join him. We went to walk off with them when Ghost looked at me and said with a smirk, “Don’t forget your ol’ lady.”
I narrowed my eyes at him but turned back and extended my hand to Willow. She rushed to my side and placed her hand in mine, and something inside me clicked into place. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized the connection we had was never severed, and as we walked down the sidewalk, Sinners and Phantom Renegades intermixed, I knew everything was about to change for me. And for the first time in over six years, I was eager to see what was coming next.
Chapter 7
Willow
Ididn’t expect Dean—or Jigsaw, as he was now called—to make any kind of claim on me, and I never thought Ghost would be okay with any of this. I’d been walking from the portable restrooms at the end of Main Street when those two drunk assholes blocked my path, refusing to let me pass. They kept antagonizing me, and my smart mouth nearly cost me.
But when I felt someone touch my back and saw Dean standing there, ready to defend me, it felt right. I never wanted to be anyone’s property, but with one touch, I was beginning to change my mind.
I was sitting beside Dean as he and his club drank with my brother’s. They were telling stories of their long runs, of rallies from the past, and I swear, I hadn’t seen my brother smile this way since before our father passed away.
“So, you moved back to Rapid and decided to stay?” Bracket, one of the Phantom Renegades brothers, asked Dean.
He took a swallow of his beer and nodded before answering. “My Pappy still lived here, so if felt right to stay.”
He reached under the table and took my hand from my lap, linking our fingers together. Hearing him say he was right to leave hurt a little, but I knew I had been the reason he left to begin with. My father chewed my ass for months, telling me I cost the club a good brother, but Dean seemed happier now than he ever was in Minneapolis.
