Page 57

That did not mean, however, that I couldn’t find some legal, but nonlethal way of striking the fear of God inside the son of a bitch.

Yeah.

I liked this idea a thousand times better.

And I knew just where to start.

With the new resolve in mind, I tucked it away for now and got out of the car, squinting unimpressively up at Daggers, the biker bar owned and operated by Crow Wilson and some of his close friends.

“You sure this is the right place?” I asked, glancing over the top of the car at Phoenix.

“Daggers Bar and Grill,” he repeated with a confident nod. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been here, but yeah, this is where Kendall said to—oh… Shit!”

Phoenix froze, and bit by bit, every ounce of color began draining from his face.

“What?” I asked, following his petrified gaze until it zeroed on a Harley Davidson parked just outside of the bar’s entrance. “What is it?”

“That’s Crow’s bike,” he muttered, growing paler by the second. “Fuck. I… I didn’t think he’d—”

“What the hell did you expect?” I asked, scoffing at him like he was an imbecile. “This is Crow’s daughter we’re talking about. You didn’t really think she’d keep Dear Old Dad in the dark, did you?”

He obviously did, because his only form of response was to curse heavily under his breath and scrub his hands down his face.

“Kendra is over eighteen and doesn’t need a guardian present to speak with us. So, yes. I was hoping she’d have been more open-minded to speaking with us alone. I see now I was wrong.”

He drew in another breath and then blew it out, cursing again.

“Fuck, now I’m nervous. How do I look?”

“Like a spoiled-rich dumbass who wipes their ass with lavender scented toilet paper,” was my incredulous reply. “Get a fucking grip on yourself, man. This isn’t a fucking beauty contest. We have jobs to do.”

I never did ask Phoenix about what happened between him and Crow all those years ago, but it was evident with the way Phoenix was acting that it must’ve been a real ball-buster. Whatever did happen though, I just hoped the aftermath of this reunion didn’t result in one of us leaving in an ambulance or worse, a body bag.

Phoenix looked too scared to move, so I took the lead and approached the entrance first, sighing as I was made to hold the door open while Phoenix took his sweet time moving his fucking ass.

“You’re acting like a pussy,” I whispered when he finally made it to the door. “Keep it up and I’ll make sure Charlotte hears all about it when I see her later.”

I ignored the threat in his dark gaze and trailed past him, ready to get down to business.

Behind the bar and wearing a biker’s jacket with Rolling Rebels stitched on the back was a young girl with dirty-blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

She looked up and offered Phoenix and I a sweet smile when she heard our footsteps heading her way.

“Hey, Phoenix,” she greeted him first, raising her perfect brows and clicking her tongue. “Long time no see.”

“Kendra,” he acknowledged her with a nod. “You sure have grown up.”

“It’s only been, what, four, maybe five years now?” She shrugged and chuckled softly. “Not much has changed. Anyway, I hear you wanted to talk to me.”

“Not another word, Kendra,” came a dark voice that had Phoenix bristling beside me and sucking in a sharp breath.

Behind the bar was a door, and out stepped a taller man in his mid-forties, who was wearing a matching biker jacket, a t-shirt, dark jeans, and boots. He had black hair and dark brown eyes, but it was the marking above and under his right eye that stood out to me the most. It was a scar, and a gnarly one, too. One I could only assume he’d received as a failed result and permanent reminder of a rival MC trying to kill him.

“Be nice,” Kendra said as she turned and fixed him with a stern smirk. “They didn’t do anything wrong. They’re just here to talk.”

“Tell me something, Phoenix,” Crow said, releasing a dark chuckle as he moved closer to his daughter and slightly pressed his body weight against the side of the bar, scrutinizing him intently. “I’ll admit using my sister to avoid contact with me was quite a ballsy move on your behalf. But seriously, Phoenix, my daughter? Did you really expect to come within a fucking inch of her without me finding out?”

“She’s not in any trouble, Crow,” Phoenix reassured him, but Crow just shook his head like he wasn’t having it. “We just need to ask her—”