LENORA
“There’s no safer place for you than here. Not anywhere in Ivory. Not anywhere else in the fucking world. As long as you’re here, you got nothing to worry about, sweetheart.”
Garnet gave me a wink. It was strangely reassuring.
“Thanks,” I said with a laugh. “It means everything to me.”
“Char’s a Reaper. I got his back like every other patch.”
I didn’t know much about the politics of the Black Reapers. But it was easy to understand why Garnet was the president of the club. Just being around him alone was enough to make me feel comfortable enough that I almost forgot about everything going on tonight.
Everybody else in the bar seemed to feel the same way.
The Grindhouse was the clubhouse of the Black Reapers but there were members from the other clubs out here tonight. They were all laughing, relaxing, and having a good time. Garnet was one of the few people who knew that we couldn’t enjoy ourselves too much tonight. Not until everything was over.
“Have a drink,” he said as he shoved a beer in front of me.
“No thanks…”
“You know, Char’s a tough cat. I wonder where he gets it from.”
“He was an Army Ranger for a few years. Did a few tours on the other side of the world.”
“I guess that explains it. You can’t go out in the field without growing a set of steel balls between your legs. I guess you’d know about his balls better anybody now, wouldn’t you?”
He gave me a smirk and raised his eyebrows at me. I giggled and shook my head, trying and failing to hide my blushing cheeks.
“It’s all right,” he said. “No shame in sleeping with a Reaper. That’s what every woman in Ivory wants.”
“It doesn’t matter to me whether or not Charles is a Reaper. I care about him.”
“I know you do.”
Garnet put a hand on my shoulder and whispered into my ear.
“He can take care of himself. If… And that’s a big if… If something happens to him. I’ll be right here for you. You can count on me. I won’t let Holmes or Lieberman or anybody else fuck with you. I gave Char my word.”
I breathed a deep breath through my nose and nodded to Garnet. I was still nervous. My heart was racing. My blood pressure was going through the roof. But looking into Garnet’s eyes, I knew that everything would work out for the best.
“Have a beer,” he said as he patted me on the back. “You’ll feel better.”
Garnet left me alone at the bar while he tended to whatever business he had to deal with.
I sat by myself while the rowdy bar continued to party into the evening. I ignored them, still waiting for any sign that Charles had made it through.
My hand was clutching my phone so tight that my palm was sweating. I kept glancing down at it over and over, waiting for any message to come from him.
I wasn’t aware of how much time had passed when I looked at the entrance of the bar. The door opened and Lieberman walked in followed by two of her cronies.
“Shit…”
I muttered to myself and put my head down but it was too late. She’d already made eye contact with me and saw me sitting at the bar. I hopped off of my seat and turned my back to her.
“Miss Gibson. There’s no point in trying to run.”
I didn’t move. All I could do was sigh and turn around.
Lieberman slowly sauntered up to me, her thumbs in her pockets. She was so out of place that she started to draw the attention from some of the other people in the club.
“What are you doing here?” she said.
“I’m just enjoying a night out on the town,” I said with a smile. “Can’t a girl enjoy a beer?”
“You’re old enough to drink. But you have to admit… It’s interesting that you would come to the clubhouse of the Black Reapers. That’s Lawrence’s club.”
“Is it? That’s quite a coincidence.”
I kept smirking at her, holding my ground as she took another step toward me. She leaned in close to me with that hard look in her eyes she always had.
“Cut the bullshit,” she whispered. “What are you up to?”
“I’m not up to anything. I’m just out here, trying to enjoy my night and have a beer. I was laid up in that hospital bed for longer than I wanted to be. Can’t a girl have any fun?”
She kept glaring at me. I stared back at her, my jaw clenched as I waited for her to walk away.
“Agent Lieberman.”
Garnet’s voice boomed through the bar. He walked next to me, flanked by the other members of his club.
“It’s a pleasure of you to stop by,” Garnet said.
“It’s a pleasure to be here, Cunningham. And please. Call me Jane.”
“Sure thing, Lieberman. What brings you out here? Fancy a beer? We’ve got all different kinds on tap. I can give you a recommendation if you need one.”
“No thanks. I’m not drinking tonight. And if you knew what was good for you, you wouldn’t be either.”
“Oh, really? And why’s that?”
Most of the bar was looking at Lieberman at this point. The rowdiness of the clubhouse had quieted down. All of the conversations had stopped.
Lieberman started pacing back and forth.
“We’ve got intelligence reports that Holmes has beefed up his security,” she said. “He wouldn’t have done that unless he knew something was happening.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you’re here,” Garnet said.
“Oh, I think it does. Holmes is preparing for something. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that now, would you, Cunningham?”
“If I knew anything about it, what would I be doing here in my own clubhouse?” Garnet replied. “The same goes for all of the other Reapers.”
“All except for one.”
“No, this is all of them. BRIC. Black Reapers Ivory Chapter. All present and accounted for.”
Lieberman took a step toward Garnet and looked him right in the eye.
“If anything happens to Holmes on my watch—”
“You’ve got nothing on us,” Garnet cut her off. “We’re all here in the clubhouse. And we’ve got a bar full of witnesses. You won’t be able to prove shit.”
Garnet was defiant. Even in the face of a federal agent, he didn’t budge.
But he had every reason to be confident. Garnet wasn’t involved in this. None of the other Black Reapers were either. This was all on Charles.
Lieberman moved away from Garnet and turned to me.
“Come with me,” she said. “It’s not safe.”
“What?” I exclaimed. “What are you talking about?”
“Holmes attacked you. There’s no reason he won’t come after you. I’ll put you in protective custody.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m not afraid of Holmes. And I’m not afraid of you either.”
“You heard the lady,” Garnet said. “She just wants to enjoy her beer. Now… Unless the three of you are having a drink, I’d appreciate it if you left and let my customers enjoy themselves.”
Lieberman ignored him.
“He’s not gonna get away with this,” she whispered to me. “Whatever Lawrence is planning on doing, you have to tell him to stop. Before it’s too late. I’ll lock you up myself if I have to.”
There was no doubt in my mind she was serious. I already knew what she was capable of.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said.
“Come with me, Miss Gibson. I can protect you.”
“You didn’t protect me before. What makes you think I’m going to trust you now?”
Lieberman took a step back from me. She had the attention of the entire clubhouse.
“Let me make one thing clear to all of you,” she said. “I don’t care if you’re a Reaper or a Cobra or if you’re even patched into an MC at all. I want you all to understand that you’re being watched. If any of you slip up, I won’t hesitate to lock you up and throw away the key. I know something is up. Don’t test me.”
Lieberman leaned in close to me and whispered.
“If Lawrence is up to something, he’ll fall. And you’ll fall right along with him. You’ll never be able to leave Ivory.”
She spun on her heel and walked away before I could respond. I watched her leave with the two men she came into the bar with. As soon as she disappeared, the bar started to get noisy again. Everybody returned their attention to their conversations like nothing had happened.
“Don’t worry.”
Garnet put a hand on my shoulder to give me the reassurance I needed at the moment.
“Char’s a Reaper,” he continued. “He’ll get through this. You’ll see him again. I can promise you that.”
I felt helpless sitting in The Grindhouse. But I didn’t have a choice. The only thing left for me to do in Ivory was wait for Charles so I could finally leave everything behind for good.