7. Women are like tea bags.

You never know how strong they

are until they’re in hot water.

- Eleanor Roosevelt

The week flew by in no time it seemed with Mercenary here to keep me company, and not that I would admit it to him, but having him around made me feel a little safer after the run-in last weekend. It’s Saturday once again and normally the night I’m most excited for, but part of me is wondering if more Iron Fists will show up again. I shouldn’t be concentrating on the bikers but on racing. I can’t help the nag at the back of my mind though.

The Oath Keepers sent Torch and Odin again to watch from the stands while Mercenary races. I don’t think any of the other drivers realize who Mercenary is which is exactly what Viking wants from what I understand. I doubt Mercenary will find out anything from the other drivers, but if he’s racing, then no one will think twice about him being around and down in the race area. They seem to have random ears placed everywhere.

“There’s still time for you to change to my race.” I goad him on, looking to get a rise out of the big beautiful man as I head for my car.

“I’d hate to beat you and take your spot.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” I argue, and he grins. That small smile has had my core soaked for him all week—aching to feel his touch. I tell him to get a life and attempt to play it cool, but in reality, he has my head spinning for him. Sexually charged atmosphere would be an understatement how my apartment feels having him in my space and so close.

“You can have the first race, I’ll take the second. It can be our thing each week.” He winks, and I roll my eyes. “Kind of like peanut butter on our fingers.”

I wave him off. Folding into my seat, I close the door, encompassing me in brief silence. The car drowns out the music blaring through The Pit’s speakers. Everyone knows that, and the flashing lights mean it’s nearly race time.

Running my hand lovingly across the old Nova’s dash, I turn the ignition, and she flares to life with a sexy rumble. I line up, getting ready to race and wait for the other three to follow suit. I’m minding my business, taking deep breaths when another engine roars to life. A winding, high-pitched squeal briefly takes its place. The distraction has everyone’s attention, and then right before my eyes, the car in question blows up. There’s a massive boom and then screaming as people in the stands rush toward the exits. It’s chaotic, and instantly my heart is thrumming so quickly, it feels as if it’s going to leap out of my chest. My stomach twists with worry, my throat constricting as people rush everywhere.

I scan the entire arena and watch as Mercenary sprints for me. I’m the only one who’s made it to the line so far, and I turn my car off quickly to hop out.

“You okay?” he thunders, gaze filled with uneasiness. He stops in front of me, his hands falling on my shoulders as he looks me over—concerned.

I nod, my heart still beating a million miles per hour. “I’m fine; so is the Nova.” I gesture to the shiny vehicle, and his brow furrows more, glancing behind at the vehicle.

“I didn’t ask about the car, Chevelle. I want to know if you’re okay—you.”

“I know, I meant when I started it, it sounded fine too. There was that squeal then the bomb and, well, mine was fine.” I’m rambling, my brain scrambled on what I should be doing—pulling me in a hundred directions all at once.

“Good.”

“What do we do? Call the fire department? How did this happen?”

“We just stay here and wait for my brothers to make it to us. They’ve already texted the club, so they know what’s going down if we need some backup.”

“I have to check on the other driver. The hood blew off with the explosion. I can’t believe it blew up like that...that could’ve been me.”

“I know, I saw it all happen. The other driver got out. I watched him run to the side and then I was coming to make sure you were safe.”

“Thank God.” I pant, my hand still on my chest, feeling as if I’m going to have a heart attack. “You could’ve been hurt, what if it was me?”

“I’m fine; I had to get to you in case your car went off next. You’re okay, you got out, he got out, everyone is fine.”

My fist flies into his chest. “You idiot! You could’ve been killed if my car had blown!” His gaze grows tense, and he yanks me into his chest, wrapping his arms around me. I should fight him. I don’t need him to comfort me. I don’t need a man for anything. Ignoring those thoughts, I stay rooted, leaning into him until Torch and Odin find us. I don’t know what I’m more freaked out about, that I could’ve just exploded in my car or the fact that he could’ve been killed coming after me like that.

“You two all right?” Odin asks, and I feel Mercenary move as he nods and replies.

“Yeah, brother.” His voice is gruffer than usual, his muscles tense. “The fuck was that?”

“We don’t know. Scared the shit out of us too. Viking is calling the sheriff to give him a heads-up that we’re here.”

“Should I be worried about getting arrested? Will The Pit get shut down?”

He shakes his head. “Nah, Vike is cool with him. The sheriff will bring a few deputies with him that he has under his thumb. Not that any of this is our fault, but it’s always a plus to have the cops with you instead of against you.”

I step out of Mercenary’s hold, my body stiff as the guys stare me down as if I’m going to break. I may be caught off guard and worried, but I can still take care of myself. “I need to check on all the employees, make sure no one was injured.”

Mercenary huffs and his hands fold over his chest causing his biceps to bulge massively. “Have Ace do it. I want you close in case this was only the first bomb of many.”

“You think because you’re big and hot and bossy that you can just come in here and take control of things?”

He nods. He freaking admits it! “You think I’m hot?” he asks, and I snort.

“Cocky ass,” I grumble and shake my head, then pull my cell free, sending a text to Ace.

Me: Check on the employees and lock the business doors. Once everyone is out, leave only one front entry open.

Ace: Okay, boss.

Me: And Ace?

Ace: Yeah?

Me: Be careful.

Ace: Will do. You too, Chevy.

“He’s checking it out and locking the business doors. I told him to leave one business entry open for the police.”

“Good, also let the cops check over the other cars before you let the drivers go.”

I nod. It’s sound advice even if I’m not the one calling all the shots at the moment. I’m glad Mercenary’s here to do it though. I’m feeling scatterbrained, and he’s a calm force if not bossy like myself.

“Uh, Chevelle?” Another racer treks toward us carrying a paper in one hand.

“Are you guys okay?” I ask, peering behind him at the others waiting off to the side, away from the cars. I can’t believe this happened and that any of them could’ve been seriously injured. We have rules in place to keep them safe on the track, and then something like this happens.

“We’re fine, but I found this tucked into the passenger window of the car that blew up. I don’t know if it was for the driver or you or...” He trails off, and I take the paper, flipping it open so Mercenary can read it over my shoulder.

Pay up, get out or die, bitch.

“Are you fucking kidding me with this shit?” The massive man behind me thunders as he reads the note. “O, Torch, check this shit out.”

I hand the note to Odin. He gives it to Torch nearly immediately and pulls his phone out. I overhear him talk to Viking, telling him in detail what happened and what the note says.

“Thank you, Jake.” I acknowledge him by name, grateful. “Once the cops come and clear the cars, everyone can leave. I’m sorry about this. Everyone will have a credit for whenever they’re ready to race again.”

“I’m just glad no one got hurt. This isn’t your fault. We know you’d never let someone do this intentionally.” He waves me off and heads for his girlfriend standing with the other drivers.

Mercenary draws me back into his arms, his finger going under my chin and lifting it until I meet his intense stare. “I’ll figure this out, I promise. I won’t let you get hurt.”

I swallow a bit roughly at his intensity. “It’s not your responsibility,” I argue. “The Pit is mine; it’s my fault we didn’t inspect prior to lining up.”

“Bullshit. You shouldn’t have to worry about this shit. I should’ve stayed last night, so I was here this morning. I would’ve known if someone got to the cars had I been here to watch.”

“You think that’s when whoever was here?”

“I think it was when the drivers pulled their cars in and went to lunch most likely. It was the only time the vehicles were in here unmonitored by someone.”

He has a good point. The drivers have an option to come in early. They can park their vehicles to do prerace maintenance and use The Pit tools for free. It’s become more popular these last few months as the tools have gotten better and better thanks to the increase in sales over the past six months.

“I’ll figure this out,” he promises, and I lick my lips, unsure how to respond. Men have made me false promises before, but I want to believe this one coming from him.

“It’s okay, really.” My life is easier when men aren’t involved.

“I don’t want you to feel unsafe,” he growls.

I swear he’s more stubborn than I am.

“I’m fine.”

“You will be, I’m not going anywhere from now on. Those Fists think they can threaten you, they’ll have to get through me first.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m staying from now on.”

“The night?”

“Yep.”

“No.” I shake my head, and the cops finally show up with a group of firemen in tow.

“You relax; we’ll speak to the police.” He plants a kiss on my forehead, and I’m so shocked with his bossiness and the arrival of the police that I let him without any complaint.

He leads me to a metal folding chair next to the other racers. “Jake, bring her a bottled water,” he orders, and I swallow, crossing my arms over my chest. “Sit, sweetie, and catch your breath, let me handle this for you. Let me take care of you.”

And then he walks away. I sit in the hard metal chair watching his ass, damn near smitten at how he’s trying to handle everything without ruffling my feathers. A piece of me wants to jump up and argue with him until I’m blue in the face, but I have no idea what to even say to the cops. They’ll run my name and social security number and come back with my record. Hell, I could even have a warrant I’d forgotten about from when I was on the streets, so having Mercenary here as a buffer is kind of nice if I’m honest with myself Not sure how I feel about him planning to stick around and stay the night though. I might have to fight with him on that.

To say I’m stunned is an understatement. I was expecting her to knock my ass out and tell me to fuck off when I had her sit down so I could speak to the cops with my brothers. She doesn’t need to worry her pretty little head with shit, especially when it comes to the Iron Fists. That’s our problem to deal with. I’ll probably get some lip from her later, not that I’ll mind any. Arguing with her is like foreplay between us. I can’t seem to get enough of her sassy mouth and strong will.

“Have you found anything else?” the cop in front of me asks Odin. He must be familiar with the way the club works as he didn’t even attempt to speak to me or ask Torch questions but went straight to Odin. He’s the VP so naturally, he’d be the one to handle whatever information the club wants to share with the local law enforcement.

“No, we’d appreciate it if your guys or the firefighters would check out the other vehicles, so the drivers can head on home.”

“Yeah, I’d like to do a search of the premises as well.”

“The Pit owner has the employees checking out the building. The owner would prefer to pass on a formal search. Unless you have a warrant with you, that is.”

“Fine, fine, Odin. I know your older brother will have his own ideas on how to handle this. I’ll step back for now, but if any other buildings begin to blow up or bodies surface, I’ll be jumping in with both feet.”

“We appreciate that, sir.” Odin complies, and the two men shake hands. The cop nods to Torch and then rakes his gaze over every inch of me. It feels damn near like a caress, and I have to wonder if the cop has a thing for men or bikers in general.

“New member?” His stare meets Odin’s.

“Yeah, transfer. He’s a quiet one.”

“Good, we like the quiet bikers.” He gazes back at me. “They know how to please us.”

Torch clears his throat and the cop strides toward the waiting group of firefighters.

Odin grins. “Looks like you have an admirer. Maybe you should give up on Chevelle.”

“Fuck you,” I grumble and sigh. “That cop would shit his pants if he ran my license and caught wind of the trouble I’ve stirred up.”

“I’m sure he’d find a way to punish you.” He snickers, and I glower at his and Torch’s grinning faces.

“That’s not my idea of a good time. Now, what are we going to do about that note? You didn’t want the cop to see it?” Odin had stuffed it in his back pocket and never mentioned anything about it.

“No, Vike said to keep details to us, so we have time to use it to our advantage. We don’t want the law hot on our heels if we’re hunting.”

“Understandable.”

Torch speaks up. “You need to bring some shit here, so you can stay with her.”

“I figured that. I already told her I wasn’t going to leave.”

His brow hikes. “Oh yeah? I didn’t see her throw any blows.”

“I know, I think she’s still in shock, so it didn’t even register all the way. I was expecting her to fight me tooth and nail. I’m sure she’ll let me have it when this place clears out.”

“One of us can come switch with you tomorrow for a few hours so you can get some of your shit.”

“Appreciate it. You think this has to do with the biker that was hanging around here yesterday that she called us about?”

Odin agrees. “Hell yes. I’d bet money on it too. They clearly have Chevelle in their sights. It sucks for her. If we weren’t here, she’d most likely end up dead or kidnapped. Luckily, we caught it before things escalated to that.”

I draw in a quick breath, picturing those stupid fucks taking her and knowing just a few of the things they’d do to her. “I can’t let her get hurt.”

“We agree with you. Trust me, this is Viking and Ares’ prayers getting answered. They’ve been sitting on the sidelines waiting to find these guys and have a reason to take them out. They’ve fucked with our club enough. Now it’s just about finding their locations. Each one of these fucks that comes around, we snatch them and question as much as possible.”

“Good. I’ll keep my eyes peeled.”

“You’ll need to, they tend to be sneaky,” Odin supplies.

“Then we should set up a trap.” A menacing grin overtakes my lips as I begin to think of what I need to make sure we have our chance to extract information out of every Fist that comes snooping around. “I need horse tranquilizer,” I say seriously, and Odin smiles.

“This is going to be fun.”

“I’m going to use them as target practice from four floors up. Make sure you have a truck at the ready.”

“You got it,” he agrees, and I fist bump them both.