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“I can’t believe I actually got an appointment with you guys,” smiled the man.

He looked down at the motorcycle with lust and desire, like a man would look at a naked woman. He’d asked specifically for a 110 cubic inch bagger with header, custom paint, and custom seat and handlebars. They’d do the custom paint later, but the bike was ready to roll other than that.

Skull and Whiskey, nodded, smiling at him.

“We can be difficult to get a hold of but that has to do with the demand for the bikes,” said Whiskey. “We had fifty bikes yesterday morning and now we’re down to just these eleven. Guys were coming in with cash.”

“Brother, you should have auctioned them off. You would have gotten twice their value,” said the man.

“Naw, that’s not how we work,” said Skull. “We charge a fair price for the bikes and we get a fair price. Usually they’re all custom ordered but on occasion we’re able to offer them like this. It’s not very often, so consider yourself lucky.”

“When can you guys start on the custom tank?” he asked.

“We should be able to start on that next week. With any luck, we’ll have it done in three to four weeks,” said Skull. “I’ll handle it personally. Do you have an idea of what you want?”

“It will be pretty simple,” he smirked. “I feel certain you’ve done it before. I’d like the Navy logo on one side and the Coast Guard on the other.” Skull and Whiskey stared at the man grinning.

“You served?” asked Skull.

“Yes, sir. Navy for fifteen years and then transferred to the Coast Guard. I just wanted to be closer to home for my folks as they were getting older.”

“How are they?” asked Whiskey with genuine interest.

“They both passed. Thank you for asking. But the last few years were wonderful. I was there for doctor’s appointments, memories, all the things we wish we could have,” he said smiling. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I was there at the end for both of them and if I had been deployed with the Navy, I would have missed that.”

“I’m glad you got that, brother. Listen, you should have told us you served up front. You get a fifteen percent discount on the bike as a veteran.”

“Really? I can’t believe that,” he said shaking his head. “The only reason I can even buy it is thanks to the money my folks left me. It wasn’t much but it was enough to make me okay for a few years.”

“Now that’s a treasure for sure,” said Whiskey. “I’m Whiskey, by the way. This is Skull. What’s your name?”

“Leo. Leo Tilbury.” He shook their hands again, nodding.

“Leo, what are you doing now?” asked Skull.

“I’m actually working at the marina on boat motors,” he smiled.

“You’re a mechanic?” asked Whiskey.

“I am. Certified boat, car, and motorcycle mechanic. I have a bachelor’s degree in business but I like working with my hands,” he smiled.

“We understand that. We all have college degrees but prefer working with our hands,” said Skull looking over his head. He could see a few men that looked familiar and knew exactly who they were. He nudged Whiskey who nodded and turned to speak with the other guys in the booth.

Leo casually strolled around the motorcycle, looking up in the direction the men had looked.

“Ah,” he said. “Yeah, I saw those guys outside. They were speaking to local security and police, handing out cash if I’m not mistaken.”

“That’s good information,” said Skull. “They’ve become a bit of a problem. They demanded our bikes and we refused to sell to them. Some things and people, we don’t want our name attached to.”

“I can understand. I heard from one of the guys at the marina that one of their boys was in jail, accused of raping a nun for shit’s sake.” Skull nodded again.

“Hey, man. We’ll hold the bike for you but you might want to step back. It’s not a surprise that they’ve shown up at the end of the day. The floor is getting empty and people are starting to leave. I’m guessing our friends are about to cause some trouble.”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll stick around,” smiled Leo. “I haven’t had a lot of fun these past few months. I think I could use an energy release.”

“If you’re sure,” nodded Skull. “We never turn away a brother looking for fun.” Leo stood off to the side, still admiring the motorcycles, when Killer walked toward the booth.

“Well, well, well,” smirked Whiskey. “We heard you were feeling under the weather. Looks like you lost a few pounds.”

“Fuck you,” he growled. “I know you’re behind what happened to us.” Whiskey looked at the small group with him and grinned.

“Looks like you’ve lost a few men as well as weight. What’s up with that?”

“Again, fuck you!”

“Your vocabulary is seriously limited,” smirked Skull. “Even a big oaf like me knows more than just ‘fuck you’. Maybe try something new, something fresh.”

They could see the man rolling things through his mind, like he was trying to find new words or phrases, but it wasn’t working for him.

“You owe me some motorcycles,” he growled.

“How do you figure?” asked Blade, standing beside Razor, Bryce, Blade, Noa, and Noah. He stared at the big line-up of men and for just a moment wondered if he’d made a mistake but his ego wouldn’t allow him to think that way.

“You destroyed my bikes. You owe me the motorcycles. All that you have here.”

“That’s not the way this works,” said Whiskey. “See, you have to prove that we destroyed your bikes, file a suit in court, oh wait. You wouldn’t do that because you don’t like law enforcement unless you can pay them to do your dirty work. Like you paid the security team to ignore the fact that you’re on the floor after the show has officially closed.”

“I will kill you,” he said with spittle flying from his lips. He was so angry, foam formed in the corners of his mouth.

“You will try,” said Skull. “You won’t succeed.”

“H-hey, boss,” said one of his men.

“In a minute!”

“B-boss,” said the man again. Killer turned to find his men all being held at gunpoint. Even Leo had a man in a chokehold with crowbar crushing his windpipe.

Killer shook his head, hearing the words of the men who’d told him, if you see a dozen, count on there being a hundred in hiding. They were at least right about that.

“Did you kill my son?” he asked.

“Never met your son,” said Skull. “Poor kid having a father like you must have been disappointing.”

“You think you’ve won but you haven’t. I will get the bikes. I will get the girls back. And I damn sure will make certain that nun doesn’t fucking testify.”

“Oh, see that’s where you’re wrong,” said Blade. “You won’t ever see that woman again. But you’ll damn sure know that she put your ass in prison. Do you know what they do to men like you in prison? Harry.”

He wanted to scream. He wanted to lash out. He wanted to kill. But they had bested them, at least for now. He nodded at them, then backed up.

“You’ve won this round. But you won’t win again.” He walked toward the escalators leading to the main floor of the convention center. One-by-one, the men released his men and they practically ran toward their boss.

All eyes turned to Leo who had a big smile on his face.

“That’s was fucking awesome!”