When the police came in to the parking lot, it was Larry who went out to meet them, stepping by Tomas and Elias with a grace his size belied, while announcing his ownership of the bar and his status as a lawyer. He then handed one of the officers a sheet of paper and held council with them for a few minutes. The officers gathered around, glancing over at Elias a few times, but didn't seem to be in any hurry to get Tomas away from him. Then they all nodded in agreement and two of the officers broke from the group and came over to Elias.
"We got it from here," one of them said.
Elias nodded, clicked the safety of his 9mm, and stood up. "Need to see my license?"
"No Elias, we know who you are. Thanks for the offer, though. We have a copy of the restraining order. We'll take him in and book him."
"Right," Elias said. "Here's his weapon."
As the officers pulled Tomas to his feet Tomas gave Chelsea a look of pure hatred, but said nothing. She was shocked that the officers actually took him to a car and put him in the back without taking off his cuffs.
Once the police were gone with Tomas, Larry and Elias came back into the restaurant, which exploded into a round of applause. Larry smiled and waved and clapped Elias on the shoulder. "Take a bow, big man."
Elias smiled and then took a bow, which brought a smile to Chelsea's lips.
"Ham," she said with a teasing accusatory tone when they sat down with her again.
"Take them as I can." Elias grinned and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "How you doing?"
"Shaken, but I'll be alright." Then she asked Larry, "How long will they keep him?"
"Oh, about four hours, I suspect. They'll book him and file the charges, but set his bail so low that pocket change will get him out. The best we can hope for, really, is that he'll be suspended. The impounding of your car will help with that, but it will be a token slap at best. Maybe a week without pay," Larry explained.
"Doesn't seem like much," she sighed.
"Oh, but it is. It was round one and we came out on top. Now, round two. Just go with the process. We'll take care of this."
"You sound so sure."
"Not my first rodeo, Chelsea," Larry told her. "Not Elias' either. Nice shooting by the way."
"What? I was aiming for his head," Elias said seriously, and then gave Chelsea a wink.
"Asshole," she chided, but then returned his cheek kiss.
"Eat up, Chelsea," Larry told her good-humoredly. "The food is still just as good, and the day is still young. And at least, for the rest of this day, you won't have to worry about Tomas."
She nodded, looked at her food, and then forced herself to resume eating.
The event didn't seem to affect either one of the men's appetites. In fact, Elias went back for two more plates. Chelsea finished hers and decided that was enough on the twisted stomach she was still dealing with.
Just as she was finishing she saw John Price, the president of the club she met yesterday on the run, come through the door of the kitchen. The man was absolutely huge, like a leather-armored bear. With him were five other men, all of them very serious in appearance. John walked straight toward their table as the men with him fanned out through the restaurant and bar.
Elias got up and met John before he reached the table and they had a brief conversation. Then John followed him back to the table and sat down with them. "How you doing Chelsea?"
"Better than a few minutes ago. How are you?"
"Well, about the same I guess. Martin gave me the call, and we came as fast as we could, but it looks like your man here took care of everything for us."
"He did do that," she agreed.
"Feeling safer with him now?" John asked.
She glanced over at Elias. "Actually, yes. Much safer."
"Good. Elias won't tell you this, but he's one of the best in the city at what he does. Several other clubs have tried to woo him away from the Wolves, but he's stuck with us."
"Oh?"
"Oh yeah. He's brilliant at security and counter-threat operations. He's even helped some of the other clubs with security gigs they have picked up for visiting VIPs."
"I didn't know that," she said, glancing again at Elias, who now looked bored.
"Like I said, he won't tell you things like that. But he's one hell of a bodyguard," John told her, and then to Elias he asked, "I've got five of your men here. Do you think you'll need them?"
Elias shook his head. "Funs over—for today anyway. I'll do some thinking tonight and we'll prepare for round two."
"Good. I'll send them back home, then."
"We're thinking Sam's for next week, John. What do you think?" Larry asked.
"Sam's is always a good run. I'm in." John nodded, and then said to Chelsea, "You're pretty good on that Sporty. You should think about getting one of your own."
"Think Duffy will trade me for my Shelby?" she asked.
John laughed. It was a deep laugh, out of a mountain of a man. "Not a chance."
"Why not? The Shelby is worth three of those Sportsters," she complained.
"Not to Duffy it’s not. The only thing he drives is his flatbed tow truck, and only when one of the club is down and his helper isn't around. He’s bikes all the way."
"Weirdo." Chelsea grinned.
"Yep, but he's our kind of weird."
She looked over at Elias. "So I've heard. I think I'm going to have to meet this man soon. His reputation has grown to heroic proportions from all the stories I've heard."
John laughed again. "He's quite the guy. Well, I'll be taking off. Glad things are taken care of, though I had little doubt they would be. See you all soon."
Chelsea watched the huge man make his way out through the kitchen and felt something warm inside of her. He really did care what happened to her. Why? She was nothing to him. Not really. She wasn't part of the club, and as far as he knew, she wasn't anyone special to Elias. She hoped she was now, but John didn't know about last night.
"What you thinking?" Larry asked her.
"Honestly? I was wondering why John seemed to care so much."
"Because Elias told him you're worth the effort," Larry said simply. "The club is like that. 'All for one and one for all,' and all that other stuff. Only it's not just stuff to us. It's important, and real."
She thought about that, and then put her hand on Elias' thigh. "Thank you."
He gave her a small smile. "You are worth it, you know."
Was she? Was she really? Two weeks ago she was bedded by Tomas, Mr. Stewart, and two of their friends whose names she never learned, one after the other—passed around like she was a fuck doll. She performed several degrading sexual acts, and then was humiliated further by having to wait on her knees until someone wanted his dick sucked again, or her ass to fuck. Worthless in their eyes, and hers. When did she become someone a man like Elias could care about? Or John? Or Larry? Or the five men who came in ready to kill for her? She bit her lip and tried to hold back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.