AllFreeNovel
Share Us
4
The door slammed open with a force that sent it bouncing off the wall, accompanied by a burst of sunlight. "The prick's gone dog!"
Taya pulled the knot tight on the garbage bag she'd just filled and moved back into the shadows. She didn't have to look too closely to guess the newcomer was Jesse. Gallen had warned her he was a loose cannon, prone to violence for the sake of it.
The other bikies gathered closer. Zep stepped into the middle of the group, eyeing Jesse with the thinnest veneer of patience.
"That’s a pretty big statement to throw around, Jesse."
Jesse drew himself up to his full five feet and six inches. What he lacked in height, he made up for in width. His head was shaved bald and covered in tattoos, most of which looked like the work of a home tattooist with second-rate equipment. Just looking at him gave her the creeps.
"The other clubs know nuthin’ about Hollywood."
"It's true, Zep." A taller man, skinny with a bad mullet spoke up. "Shoulda seen their eyes light up when they figured out he's in the wind."
"I'll bet," muttered Zep.
"Don’t prove he's gone dog," said an older bikie Taya knew was Connor.
"Shut up, old man," spat Jesse. "You can't defend him this time."
"Nothing to defend," shrugged Connor. "Hollywood is no dog."
"Quiet," said Zep. "We don't know anything yet."
"Face it, the prick went soft after he got mixed up with that chick last year.” Jesse started pacing. “Prob’ly thinks if he dogs to the cops, he can run away and live happily ever after with her."
A mumble of consensus swept through the room. Taya knew they were talking about Sarah Darcy, Riley’s girlfriend of almost a year. He’d kept her out of the club life and after they split, she moved to London. Word was he'd not touched another woman since.
She felt Connor's eyes on her and picked up a glass and started drying it with a dish towel. Couldn’t be seen paying too much attention.
"Fucking cops!" Jesse was still pacing, eyes wide and crazy. "I'd like to gut every one of those pricks."
Taya flinched, and the glass slipped from her hands and splintered as it hit the tiles beneath her. Idiot!
"Who the fuck are you?"
In an instant, Jesse was in front of her. She willed herself not to react. He grabbed her around the neck, forcing her head against the bar. Glass crunched beneath her feet as the steel grip tightened. Every fibre in her body wanted to retaliate. To put this idiot on his ass. It wouldn't be too difficult either; he was all bluster.
But she couldn’t. Not without blowing her cover. Thanks, Gallen! Jesse wanted blood and she was the sacrificial lamb. He pushed her neck harder against the bench top and she was sure it would snap with any more pressure. The tears in her eyes were from frustration - but they would pass as fear.
"Jesse!” Zep bellowed, “Let her up!"
Jesse released her neck, only to pull her upright by her hair. "I said, who the fuck are you?"
Tears ran down her cheeks. Her face hurt where it had been slammed into the bar, her neck felt like it was pushed out of alignment and her scalp was burning. She’d forgotten how hard it was to play an undercover role so far removed from her true self. Instead of elbowing Jesse in the gut and bringing the back of her foot up between his legs, she willed herself to take it.
"And I said, let her go."
Taya opened her eyes to see Zep with a gun pointed straight at them. Jesse released his grip and she gave what she hoped was a believable gasp before letting her legs give out from under her. She landed on the floor and winced as flesh met with broken glass. The damsel in distress act better be worth it.
"She's looking for JD.” Zep tucked his gun back into his waistband. “Needs some help with her ex."
Jesse glowered at her and Taya recoiled against the boxes under the bar. Thankfully, the rumble of motorbikes echoed through the open door. Please, let it be Gallen.
"Let's see what the others have to say," said Zep.
"Clean up the mess you made," snarled Jesse as he turned and walked away.
