Page 58 of Loki’s Spellbinder (Hunters Creek Archangel’s Warriors MC #14)

We were at the meet, which ended up in the last place I would’ve thought it would be.

Rather than being in an abandoned building, a rarely used park, or a remote house, we were at a bar on the outskirts of Lebanon.

I’d been here a few times. It wasn’t anything to write home about.

It was a dive bar with a diverse crowd who stopped in for drinks.

They had bands sometimes on the weekend.

You would find some bikers, country boys, and even a few wannabe cowboys, along with regular people who frequented it.

They were the ones who often got lost from Nashville and came wandering in.

We rode our bikes and made sure that we rode on the highway with no more than five guys.

However, we weren’t above stacking things in our favor.

We had no guarantee that the people we were meeting would stick to the rules.

Being in a public place was one thing, but what if most people who hung out there were friends of theirs?

To ensure we had extra help if needed, and not knowing if we’d been under observation, we asked for help from our friends, the Ruthless Marauders.

They had a much longer drive than we did, since they were coming from Knoxville.

We couldn’t ask Pagans to do it. The logic was that if they had us under surveillance, then it was probably a given they had them and our Dublin Falls chapter watched.

They’d recognize any guys from there. What we had was five Ruthless Marauders who would be in the bar.

They would be dressed as regulars and not riding their bikes.

In addition, five more of our brothers were secreted nearby.

They’d left by the back gate and ridden in an enclosed van rather than on bikes.

While we might have to remove our weapons, those inside incognito would have extras if needed.

The last thing we wanted was to have a shootout in the bar, but if it came down to it, I’d do what I had to.

When we pulled in, the parking lot was barely a quarter full.

At this time of night, even though it was a weeknight, it should have had more customers than that.

We parked our bikes so we could make a fast getaway.

I hated leaving my gun and knife behind, but I did.

I locked them away in my saddlebags. My brothers did the same.

“Remember, if it looks like it’s going to shit, get out. We fight as a last resort. There are civilians in there. We don’t get innocents hurt or killed,” Bull reminded us unnecessarily.

“We’ll leave if it seems to be getting out of hand,” Payne promised.

“If they’ll let us,” Demon muttered.

“Let’s get in there and see what they have to say. I doubt they want anything popping off in the middle of a public bar, either. Just watch each other’s sixes and trust no one,” Bull reminded us.

Walking inside, we ensured we looked capable of taking care of ourselves without exuding the “we’re there to fight” vibe.

It was hard to do both at the same time.

We had left Nelson at the compound. At first, he tried to say they wouldn’t meet us if he weren’t there, but we made it clear there was no way he was going with us.

Eventually, he sent a text to Zombie to tell him he was caught up in something and wouldn’t make the meet, but we would still do it. Zombie agreed.

We scanned the bar. While it wasn’t near full, clusters of people were sitting at tables or at the bar.

I caught sight of the Brutal Rebels MC cut on a guy with a group of men at a table in the back.

We had been warned not to act as if we knew who we were there to speak to, and we knew not to react to any of the Marauders.

I kept scanning the room, as did my brothers.

I noted the Marauders were scattered around the decent-sized bar.

Jinx, their president, had come with Sarge, Sinner, Crow, and Mad Dog.

There was a murmur of low voices in various conversations until we were spotted.

Then they faded away. Without waiting, Bull headed to a table that was close but not right on top of the Rebels.

After we sat down, a waitress came to get our orders.

It would look odd if we drank something non-alcoholic, so we each ordered a beer.

She didn’t waste time going to the bar to place our order.

Not wanting to say anything that we didn’t want the Rebels behind us to hear, we leaned close to the table and spoke softly.

We kept the conversation to wondering who we were to meet.

When would they get there? And about going on a ride next weekend.

We knew they’d keep us waiting so they could study us.

Bull would only allow it to stretch out so far.

Our beers were served in record time. We sat there enjoying them while checking out our surroundings. More than us and the Rebels were wearing cuts here, though the Marauders had left theirs off. We got lots of covert glances out of the corner of eyes, but no one approached us.

We’d been there ten minutes. No one came near us, and our beers were gone. Bull nodded. “Let’s go. I’m not wasting time on fuckers who can’t even show up on time. We’ll see what the other group says tomorrow night. I bet they won’t be late.”

He said it loud enough that the Rebels could hear him.

As one, we rose to our feet. The screech of chair legs on the sticky, dusty floor sounded overly loud.

We didn’t make it more than three or four steps before a guy from the Rebels’ table was over to us.

He stopped in front of us, blocking our way.

“If you don’t want to spend a week in the hospital, you’d better move your ass,” Payne growled.

“Whoa, no need to get ugly. I’m here to escort you to the group you’re here to speak to,” the guy said. His cut identified him as Red . His bright hair and freckles told how he got his road name.

“You’re wasting our time. I don’t have time to waste on bullshit and games. You’ve been here the entire time and didn’t once attempt to approach us. You failed my test,” Bull told him.

“Listen, we had to be sure you were alone and that it was safe to speak to you. Come talk to my group. I promise you, this won’t be a waste of time. You’ll wanna hear what we have to say,” Red rushed to say.

He was nervous and bought our ruse that we were about to walk out.

His anxiousness told me whatever they were about to propose was a huge deal, and they had to get us on board to make it happen.

Bull stood there, as if contemplating whether to stay.

I swear, Red was almost sweating before Bull gave him a single bob of his head.

“Alright, you guys have five minutes. We’re gone if you haven’t told us anything that we find interesting.

Try to stop us again, and I’ll let my enforcer carry out his threat.

It’s not an idle one. He’s not called Payne for no reason,” Bull threatened.

Payne gave Red an evil smirk. Red went white, making his freckles stand out even more.

“R-right this way,” Red stuttered as he waved his hand toward the table. As we approached it, the four remaining men stood. There were five empty chairs around the table. We stopped while still a few feet away.

Bull scanned them like the rest of us did, and the Brutal Rebels did the same to us.

It was like two packs of wolves facing off against each other.

We were calculating who the greatest threat was, hence the first to be taken out.

A large man, who had an unhealthy pallor to his skin, met us partway. He held out his hand to Bull.

“I’m Zombie, thanks for coming. I’m sorry for the delay. We were making sure you weren’t followed. Can’t be too careful these days. As you can see, we’re with the Brutal Rebels MC. I expect you’ve heard of us. I’m VP of the Alpharetta, Georgia chapter.”

Bull took his hand and gave it a hard squeeze and shake.

As he did, he introduced himself. “I’m Bull.

I’m the charter president of the Archangel’s Warriors MC and the president of the Hunters Creek chapter.

I admit, I’ve heard of your club. I want to know why I’m talking to a VP instead of your president.

I normally wouldn’t do this. I prefer talking president-to-president. ”

The slight reprimand in Bull’s tone registered with Zombie. His mouth tightened, but he didn’t mouth off.

“I’m sorry, and I assure you, if our president could be here, he would be. Since this deals exclusively with our chapter, we didn’t bring in a president from another Rebels chapter. Please, join us and let’s talk.”

Bull’s chin lift was our signal. As one, we walked toward the table. When we reached it, Zombie made introductions. “You met Red. This is Nutcase, our enforcer, Dago, and Hawg.”

“I’m Bull, and this is my enforcer, Payne, Iceman, Loki, and Demon.”

“Good to meet you. Before we go further, we’d like to ensure none of you are carrying,” Zombie said.

“Sure, and we’ll return the favor,” Bull told him.

No surprise, it was Nutcase who frisked us. He was thorough but found no weapons on us. When he was finished, Payne more thoroughly patted them down. He took longer.

“They’re clean, Pres,” Payne said as he stepped back to stand slightly in front of Bull, but off to the side.

If things went south, it was Payne’s job to protect Bull and get him out of here.

The rest of us would provide cover. The president’s life was always defended no matter what, including sacrificing one’s life to save his.

Bull argued that he was equal to the rest of us, but we refused to deviate from this unwritten biker rule.

“Please, have a seat. Can we get you something to drink? More beer?” Zombie asked as he retook his seat. The empty chairs were situated so that we sat between the Rebels. That was fine by me because by ensuring we weren’t next to each other, they ended up in the same configuration.