“When I pictured a date with you, I really didn’t think it would be at a cheesy diner eating a burger and fries.” I said to Lee as I dipped a fry into ketchup and then devoured it.

“Are you complaining?” He said raising an eyebrow. He looked so handsome sitting there wearing jeans and a sleeveless shirt that showcased his ripped arms to perfection. Even the tattoos that covered his arms from just above his wrist and then disappeared across his shoulder blades did nothing to take away from the beauty of his body. If anything the tattoos accented the perfection of it.

I shook my head, still staring at his wide muscular shoulders, “I’m not complaining. I just want to point out that I haven’t been on such a cheap date since high school.”

“Are you calling me cheap?”

“Maybe.”

He had abruptly popped up at the shop during lunch and whisked me away to the diner, claiming that we were going to the town’s most famous eating establishment. I had laughed when we pulled up to the diner. We had been discussing Avani and how she needed to make friends at school, before our food arrived. I had been right. It had been truancy. Avani had left school in the middle of the day and the sheriff had found her. She had told the sheriff that she was being bullied in school and definitely didn’t want to go back. He had felt sorry for her and went looking for Lee instead of taking Avani back to school.

Lee smiled slowly, “You’re right. I am cheap.” He shrugged his shoulders in a boyish manner. “But the burgers here are the best in the county and from the way you tore into yours it looks like you liked it enough.”

“Or maybe I was just hungry,” I said defiantly and he laughed.

“So if you had to give this date a grade...?”

“You would be barely passing.”

He placed a hand over his heart and gave me a mocking smile, “Ouch. That hurts.” I couldn’t get enough of his sexy accent. Every time he opened his mouth to speak, I looked forward to the way his accent caressed his words. The man had everything a woman wanted: a sexy body, a sexy accent, a bad boy vibe and an air of mystery. Speaking of which...

“So what do you do for a living?”

“Nothing. I’m retired.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Retired? Aren’t you a little young to be retired?”

He shrugged and I narrowed my eyes at him, “Seriously, what do you do for a living?”

He opened his mouth to speak when his eyes narrowed and he turned in the direction of the exit.

I heard the motorcycles before I saw them pull up. There had to be about five or ten of them and they all pulled up in quick succession outside the burger joint where most of the regulars came to have lunch. Everyone turned and watched as they arrived. Our town was small, not near any landmarks, national parks or anything of interest to most people so the arrival of a biker gang was completely unexpected.

Lee’s facial expression changed instantly. Gone was the light-hearted man I was getting to know. In his place was a man I had seen a hint of before. And that man looked cold and dangerous. His face didn’t reveal anything and his body went still. He didn’t even blink as he watched the bikers get off their bikes and approach the diner. They came in together as a group, but there was clearly a leader. He was tall and thin with a salt and pepper beard. He too had tattoos up and down his arm and they seemed similar in some way to Lee’s. The tall thin man took off his sunglasses and sat at the bar. The other guys followed him.

The waitress, Shannon, who I’d known my whole life, as well, approached the bikers looking a little wary, she played it off nicely though, fastening a tight smile to her face, “What can I get you fellas?”

One of the guys leered at Shannon’s ample bosom. She ignored him and took everyone’s orders. As she was turning around, the man had the gumption to pop Shannon on her behind. She rounded on him, slapping him across his face and the man immediately jumped up, apparently ready to hit Shannon when I stood up and said, “If you touch her again, I’ll break your hand.”

There was silence across the diner and the man’s eyes settled on mine and he took a step forward towards me, his lips curling up into a smile. I moved towards him and then Lee’s hand shot out and stopped me. He stood up slowly and when he came into view of the bikers, mumbling started across the gang.

“Lee? I didn’t see your bike outside,” said the man who had struck Shannon’s behind. His eyes showed fear and he swallowed nervously, mouth hanging open to reveal teeth that looked as if they hadn’t seen a toothbrush in years.

“I got rid of it,” Lee replied simply. I looked at Lee, surprised that he knew them. Lee had been part of a biker gang?

No one said a word, but the tension in the room was thick.

“I think it might be best if you all found another place for lunch.” Lee then said shortly.

The leader finally spoke up, “I don’t think we’ll be doing that.” And he stood up and approached us; Lee pushed me back and moved deliberately in front of me. He was now only inches from the gang leader.

“I suggest you move along, Shepherd.”

“I don’t see you with your crew, Lee. I guess the rumors are true.”

Lee ignored his words, “This is my town now Shepherd. And I’m only going to warn you one more time. Move along.”

Shepherd threw back his head and laughed. “You ain’t nobody without your crew Lee. Nobody. And it’s about high time you realize that.”

Shepherd moved his hand and I saw the glint of metal before I yelled, “Lee! Watch out!” Shepherd was fast, but Lee was faster. As Shepherd sprung forward attempting to stab Lee, Lee sprung to the side and easily knocked Shepherd off balance. Shepherd flew face forward onto the floor. The other men gathered up and before I knew it, Lee was being attacked by all sides. He was holding his own though as I watched him punch in several faces and wrenched a couple of wrists in ways the human body should never bend.

However, he was still vastly outnumbered and so I sprang into action, bringing my plate up to knock one of the thugs in his face. His teeth went rolling across the floor and one of his other buddies attempted to grab me by my hair, but I was prepared for that and punched him squarely in the mouth. He stumbled back and said, “You hit like a girl.”

“Oh really?” I said and then I kicked him in the groin, throwing all my weight behind it. “Was that girly enough for you, ass---.”

“Angelica, watch out!” I heard Shannon yell as another man ran up and caught me around my middle knocking me to the floor. I was trained in all manners of self-defense, but I was a mere one hundred and twenty-five pounds. The man on top of me weighed at least one hundred pounds more than me. And he giggled when he realized I could do nothing, but I struggled against his grip anyway. He mockingly made kissy sounds and the scent of his breath made my stomach turn. And his body smelled like sweat and his pores emanated a scent that made me want to gag. He smelled like he bathed in beer and bile all morning. And with his giant belly pressing against my middle, I struggled to breath.

Suddenly, his weight was off of me. And I watched as Lee held the man by the collar of his shirt and planted his fist in the man’s wide gut, hitting him over and over. The man gasped and choked for air and then Lee punched him in his face and the man’s entire body rocked to one side at the force of Lee’s blow. And as the man fell towards the floor, Lee wasn’t done. He lowered his knee into the man’s back and wrenched his hand behind his back and pulled it snug until it popped. The man screamed in pain and then Lee pulled out a knife and wrenched the man up by his hair so that his neck was exposed. The man didn’t dare breathe and all the other bikers stood there, afraid to move.

The look in Lee’s eyes were murderous as he said, “Call your guys off, Shepherd, or your brother will shortly be choking on his own blood.”

Everyone in the diner was silent and Lee didn’t move a muscle. Beads of sweat dripped down the other guy’s forehead and his breath was coming out in short bursts as if he were scared that if he breathed too heavily, Lee would cut his throat.

Shepherd looked angry enough to kill us all, frankly, but apparently he valued his brother’s life. Shepherd held Lee’s eyes for another long moment and I watched the rest of the gang, waiting for a sign that they weren’t going to cooperate. Finally, Shepherd dropped his eyes away from Lee’s and signaled to his men to move out.

They filed out slowly, glaring at Lee as they did. Finally only Shepherd stood there and Lee moved the knife away from his brother’s throat. Lee took his time to stand up, letting his full bodyweight press against the man’s spine. The man screamed and Shepherd tightened his jaw.

“I’m going to kill you, Lee.”

“You’ve tried before, Shepherd. You really want me to gut you again?” I watched Shepherd’s hand go involuntarily towards the front of his shirt and his voice grew frustrated as he addressed his brother.

“Get off the floor, Vicki.” Shepherd growled and his brother dragged himself up. Vicki gave Lee a glare and said, “Your girl ain’t nothing but a whore, just like your mama.” Lee responded faster than I’d ever seen anyone move and his fist connected with Vicki’s throat with a hollow thud.

Immediately Vicki hit the floor again, gasping for air, clutching his throat. “Get him out of here,” Lee said dismissively and Shepherd grabbed his brother by the arm and helped him stand up. Vicki’s breathing was heavy the whole time. And finally they were gone.

Everyone started talking at the same time. Shannon thanked me and Lee. Everyone had questions about Lee and he didn’t say much. His eyes were still watching the outside, looking in the direction that the biker gang had disappeared.

“How do you know them, Lee?” I said when the rest of the diners either left or went back to eating.

He ignored me and said, “Let’s get out of here.” His eyes were still trained on the windows that looked out to the parking lot.

“Lee---”

“This isn’t the time or place to talk, Angelica.” He said dismissively and I was taken aback by his cold tone. He didn’t even look at me as he walked away. He just motioned for me to follow him. I knew he expected me to do exactly that but his sudden change in attitude bothered me. I wasn’t used to being bossed around, but I told myself to calm down. He was just still in the moment and after all, he had threatened to kill a man over me.

Keeping that in mind, I followed behind him. I climbed next to him in his car and he was silent for a while.

“Alright, Lee. Enough with the attitude. What’s going on? How do those men know you?”

He didn’t answer for a long moment and his hands tensed on the steering wheel before he turned briefly to face me, “Isn’t it obvious? I’m a criminal.”