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“How’s the butt?”
I stretched my arms over my head and smiled. “Much better than last night. Though that was only a half an hour ride,” I laughed.
“Maybe we can take the long way back to the clubhouse,” Six-Gun suggested.
“I’d like that.” Something was happening between us. I was seeing Six-Gun as someone more than a man who might just want to hurt me.
I looked up at the building we had parked in front of. “What are we doing here?”
It was an auto parts store. While it wasn’t strange that we were here, I kind of wondered why we had driven to this one when we had probably passed three stores just like this one.
“Someone in there I need to talk to.”
I glanced over at Six-Gun. “Does this have to do with Leona?”
I hadn’t known Leona real well, but from the little time I had spent with her, I could see why everyone was so torn up over her death. It was bullshit she had been murdered and now the Bastards wanted answers as to why.
Six-Gun pushed his sunglasses on top of his head and looked around. “Possibly. We’re looking everywhere we can right now.”
“And there might be answers in there?” I asked.
Six-Gun nodded and held out his hand to me. “Hopefully.”
I looked down at his hand. I could easily not put my hand in his. Just walk away. And he would be okay with it. He kept giving me the option and control to decide what was going to happen.
Hell, the man didn’t pressure me at all.
I placed my hand in his, and he held it gently. He held it like if he wasn’t careful, I would break.
Would I break?
Maybe a month ago I might have, but I was starting to feel stronger. I was starting to feel like I could live again.
It wasn’t going to be like it was before, but it could be good.
He threaded his fingers through mine and led me into the store.
There wasn’t anything special about this store. It was like any other auto parts store I had been in before. It was crazy to think that we might be able to get information about Leona from inside these walls.
“Can I help you?” the young kid at the front counter called.
“Mick around?” Six-Gun called.
“I think he’s in aisle seven restocking oil.”
Six-Gun nodded and led me over to aisle seven.
“Should I stay here?” I asked him when we reached the aisle.
Six-Gun shook his head. “Not letting you out of my sight.”
I rolled my eyes. “I know how you guys are when it comes to club business. Plus, it’s not like anyone is going to hurt me when you’re ten feet away.”
He tightened his grip on my hand. “You stay with me.”
He pulled me down the aisle toward a tall, slender man putting containers of oil on the shelf.
“Mick?” Six-Gun called.
The guy startled and looked toward us. “Uh, yeah.” His eyes went to the patch on Six-Gun’s cut. “You Six-Gun?”
We stop in front of the guy, and Six-Gun held out his other hand to the guy. “That’s me. It’s good to meet you.”
Mick shook Six-Gun’s hand and looked around nervously. “I’ll see about taking my break, and then, we can talk.”
Six-Gun nodded his head. “Sounds good. Some peace and quiet would be good.”
“Meet me out front in two minutes. I need to let Johnny know I’m going out.”
Six-Gun and I stepped to the side and let Mick lead the way back up front.
We walked out the front door, and Six-Gun kept his eye on Mick through the large window.
“You don’t think he’s going to run, do you?” I asked.
Six-Gun shook his head. “No. He knows I’m not looking for anything to do with him. He used to run with the prez of Devil’s Rebels, and I just want some info he might have.”
“Does he still hang out with them?” If Mick still was friends with the guy, maybe Mick was setting us up for something.
Six-Gun shook his head. “No. Not as far as I could find out.”
Mick grabbed his coat from behind the counter and walked out the front door. He motioned to follow him around the building.
“Are you sure this is safe?” I whispered.
Six-Gun chuckled. “We’ll be fine, doll. I can get a good sense of people when I meet them, and I know Mick isn’t going to hurt us.”
I eyed Six-Gun warily. “Is that like the biker sixth sense or something?” I muttered.
He winked. “Or something.”
We stopped by a large dumpster in the back of the building. Mick pulled out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to Six-Gun and me. I shook my head, but Six-Gun took one.
Mick lit his cigarette and then handed the lighter to Six-Gun. “Easy ride out here today?” he asked.
Six-Gun lit his cigarette and blew out a plume of smoke. “Good as can be expected. The weather was good for it.” He handed the lighter back to Mick.
“So, you were wanting to know about Menace and Barracuda, huh?” Mick asked.
Six-Gun nodded. “Was wondering if they had any past issues. Doesn’t matter what is was, we want to know.”
Mick nodded. “They were pretty good friends growing up. Back then, they were Buddy and James. After we graduated high school, they both got into riding motorcycles and living the outlaw life.”
“You, too?” Six-Gun asked.
Mick shrugged. “Sort of. I wasn’t into it as much as they were, but I was around for the occasional party or whatever.”
“So what happened between the two?”
“Her name was Charlene. She started out dating Menace, but things went south between the two of them. She found herself in Barracuda’s bed,” Mick explained.
“And I’m assuming Menace wasn’t exactly happy about that,” Six-Gun guessed.
Mick nodded. “He was fucking pissed about it. Charlene left him because she didn’t like the path he was headed down, but then she ran straight to Barracuda who was doing the same exact things that Menace was doing.”
“So what did Menace do about it?” I asked. I probably should have kept my mouth shut, but I needed to know what happened between Menace and Barracuda. This was like a soap opera and I was waiting for the big dun, dun, dun moment.
“Right off the bat? He did nothing. Just sort of sat back and watched. Observed what was going on with Barracuda and Charlene. About two months after those two hooked up, Barracuda popped the question to Charlene.” Mick laughed. “Menace went through the fucking roof. About lost his damn mind.”
“No shit,” Six-Gun muttered.
I couldn’t tell if Six-Gun knew all of this about Barracuda, or if he was hearing it for the first time like I was.
Something had to have happened because Barracuda wasn’t married to Charlene and neither was Menace from what I knew.
“So, one night when Barracuda and Charlene were out, Menace followed them. Right behind them. Barracuda spotted him and tried to lose him. Hopped on the highway and weaved in and out of traffic. Menace stuck to them like fucking glue.”
I had a feeling this wasn’t going to end well. Not well at all.
“They hit about one-twenty and the highway was wide open. They were ahead of all of the traffic and start climbing a hill.” Mick inhaled and blew out a cloud of smoke. “Right when they get to the peak of the hill, traffic is stopped. Bumper to fucking bumper.”
“Oh, no,” I gasped.
“Barracuda slammed into a Toyota Corolla while Menace managed to miss hitting any cars but went careening into the ditch.” Mick shook his head. “Charlene was killed instantly, and Barracuda was in a coma for three weeks.”
“Fuck,” Six-Gun muttered.
“Menace had two broken legs and a huge gash on his forehead. It took paramedics and fire an hour to get him out of the tree he had been catapulted into.”
“Oh, no.” There were so many other things I could have said, but I was in too much shock to think them.
“So, Charlene was dead and those two idiots were still alive and kicking. Menace started the Devil’s Rebels, and Barracuda was able to start the Sacramento chapter of the Royal Bastards.”
“I heard Barracuda talk to Menace. While he wasn’t overly friendly to him, he wasn’t a dick.”
Mick shrugged. “Maybe they learned to bury the hatchet. That was over fifteen years ago. You can only hold a grudge for so long before it starts eating you alive.”
“It wasn’t completely Barracuda’s fault, right?” I asked.
Mick shook his head. “Nah, Menace took partial blame for it, too. Barracuda wouldn’t have been going so fast if it hadn’t been for being chased.”
“But you said they were fine, right? At least, eventually.” I’m sure I was supposed to be quiet, but this was to juicy to not say anything.
“For about five years after, they were constantly back and forth with each other. Menace would do something to piss off Barracuda, then Barracuda would get back at Menace. It was never ending until Menace almost killed Barracuda. They called a truce and were able to be amicable with each other. They weren’t back to being friends or anything like that, but they at least weren’t trying to kill each other.”
Six-Gun nodded. “Okay. There anything else you could tell us? Anyone who might have something against Barracuda?”
Mick shrugged. “For a long while, Barracuda didn’t give a fuck about anything, and that included pissing people off. Hell, he pissed off half of Woodland by the time he was twenty-five. Pick a name out of a hat and you have someone who he got on the bad side of for a bit.” Mick ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m not sure why you’re asking me all of this, but that’s what I know. Number one person who might try to hurt him that I can think of? Menace. After that, who the fuck knows.”
“What about Charlene? Did she have any family who might be upset?” I asked. Might as well ask all of the questions while we were here.
Mick shook his head. “Nope. At least, not now. Both of her parents died about ten years back, and she didn’t have any brothers or sisters.”
“Why didn’t you want to tell me this on the phone?” Six-Gun asked him.
Mick looked around. “Because I prefer to do things in person. I need to see who I’m talking to. You can never be too safe.”
Six-Gun held up his hands. “I am who I said I was, man. Just looking for information. You just told us what happened fifteen years ago, man. Nothing to worry about.”
“Yeah, well, you don’t need to tell anyone where you got that information from either.” Mick finished his cigarette and then dropped it in the dirt. He ground it out with the heel of his boot and nodded to Six-Gun.
He walked away and disappeared around the building.
I blew out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and looked up at Six-Gun. “Well, that was more information than I thought you would get.”
Six-Gun ran his fingers through his hair. “Me too, doll.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and typed a message. “Monk and the rest of the guys probably aren’t even going to believe this. Fucking crazy shit.”
“Do you think this Menace guy is the one who shot Leona?” I asked.
Six-Gun shrugged. “It seems likely, but then this happened fifteen years ago. I don’t know why Menace would suddenly go after Barracuda now.”
That was true. It seemed a bit farfetched for Menace and Barracuda to call a truce years ago and for Menace to choose now to seek revenge on Barracuda.
“What happens now?”
Six-Gun stuck his phone back in his pocket and held his hand out to me. I put my hand in his and tipped my head back to look him in the eye.
“Grab something to eat, take the long way back to the clubhouse, church, and then we get you to work.”
“Sounds like an awful lot.”
Six-Gun shrugged. “It’s still pretty early, and you gotta know life with the Royal Bastards is never chill and quiet.”
I sighed and tipped my head to the side. “I think chill and quiet would be good right now.”
Six-Gun laughed and pulled me back around the building. “It would, but I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon.”
He threw his leg over the bike, and I climbed on behind him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head on his shoulder.
“You okay?” he asked softly.
I realized what I had just done. I touched him much more than I had before. I did it without even thinking about it.
“Uh, yeah. I’m good.” And I actually meant it. I was good.
Granted things were heating up with the hunt for Leona’s killer, but I was good.
Better than I had been for months.
I slid my hand down and laid it on Six-Gun’s leg. “Thank you.”
He put his hand on top of mine and squeezed. “Whatever you need, doll.”
I still couldn’t put into words what I needed, but Six-Gun simply being there and letting me just be was a good start.