Page 7

KNIGHT

“ I ’ve got a bad feeling about this, Knight,” Talon, my second-in-command, interrupts my workout. I’m on my ninth rep of my sixth set, and my arms are burning, almost as badly as my temper.

“There’s no reason to panic.” Not yet anyway.

“There’s a lot to worry about with two factories opening up just outside Boulder.” Talon watches me do my bicep curls, but it’s more like he’s looking through the action than at it. As if staring deep into the void, and unluckily, it’s staring right back.

“Like what?” I have my own theories as to the potential chaos a mega-corporation’s factories might bring, but I want to hear it from Talon’s mouth. He has his head screwed on right with these kinds of things.

“An influx of workers.” He crosses his arms and leans against the doorframe leading into my office. “New faces mean new trouble.”

“The Knight Riders will show them what happens to troublemakers.” I drop the dumbbell at my feet.

University towns aren’t known for their high crime rates.

Boulder was a rare exception to the rule.

An Ivy League university, with the majority of residents too old to parent anything to stop ne’er-do-wells from never doing well, and students with rich folks, made our little town a hotbed for criminals.

It was a different landscape when we moved here.

But I had bigger dreams and aspirations for how I wanted to run my MC back then.

Visions of grandeur, my own factories, producing narcotics to ship and distribute all across the country.

Who’d think to look in a town like this?

Where most come at the end of their lives, and the rest are just starting out.

I guess spending too much time with the old folks gave me a different view on the world. Sure, crime pays, and we have different operations that keep us afloat, but serving the community has given the Knight Riders a clean face. Most people can overlook a few misdeeds.

I suspect that’s where Talon’s real concerns come from.

“And what about our operations?” he asks.

Right on cue, as if I’m a fucking oracle.

“We continue as normal. Anyone who causes trouble learns the hard way that no one fucks with the Knight Riders.” Blunt and to the point.

Fuck with us, and we’ll fuck you up.

I get up from my workout stool and head over to my desk, where I’ve left a towel and water. Starting with the towel, I pat the sweat off my face and shoulders before taking a big swig from the bottle.

“And if we step on the toes of the wrong people?” Talon clears his throat apprehensively. “Could cause trouble in paradise.”

“Can’t have paradise without a little chaos.” I turn to him with my brow raised.

“Sure, but until this new batch of workers arrives, we won’t know what we’re dealing with.

We don’t even know who’s erecting these companies,” he says.

I grab my phone while he continues. “Things run well because we’re the good guys in the public eye.

But if anyone digs, they could sour that reputation. ”

Unlocking the cell, I see Lora’s name on the home screen with the start of her message poking underneath it.

Lora: Busy?

Never when it comes to you. I click into the message, turning my attention back to Talon before reading the rest.

“And what better reason to give someone with enough money to start an industry reason to dig than by kicking in the teeth of his latest hires?” Talon’s cause gives me pause for concern. Maybe there is more to this than just beating on whoever thinks they can cause havoc in Boulder.

“Exactly.” He shrugs.

“You’re right. It might be something, it might be nothing, but let’s not risk it.” I nod slowly. “This development is worth keeping an eye on. You and Hush take charge of it and report back whatever you find.”

I put a smile on my face and return to my phone.

Lora: Feeling scared and could use backup.

Fuck.

Unfiltered rage instantly courses through my veins as I read those words. And here I am, thinking she was sending a message for a repeat of the fun we had last night.

I grab my jacket, strewn over two chairs in front of my desk, and storm toward the door. She sent the message a few minutes ago. Maybe I’m in luck and there’s been a resolution to her fears.

But that’s a risk I refuse to take. Until I’ve seen Lora’s safe with my own two eyes, I can’t risk that she isn’t.

“I’ve gotta head out,” I say while barreling past Talon.

“Everything all right?” He follows me down the hallway.

Members of my crew part like the Red Sea as I make my way through them. All good men, looking at me with the same concern that’s no doubt splashed across Talon’s face.

“Someone needs help, and I’m gonna give it.” I slide my arms through my leather jacket as I step through the front door and into the desolate parking lot.

“Need backup?”

“Not tonight.” I’m not one to decline a helping hand, but this is personal. “But stick close to the phone. I’ll give you a call if I need a hand.”

With a two-finger salute to send me off, Talon heads back inside, while I turn to the roads at ridiculous speeds to get to Lora’s pinned location.