Viper.
Leaning casually in the shadows of the alley no more than ten feet away, a cigarette hanging from his thin, cruel lips, Viper nodded a greeting. His gaze swept over her body, lingering on her face, and then he lifted his weapon, and gestured her forward with a crooked finger.
“Mom? Who is that biker?” Ty turned fully in her arms drawing Viper’s gaze. “Why is he pointing his gun at us?”
“Run, Ty.” She turned, shoved him behind her. The last thing she wanted was for Viper to know Zane had a son. “Go into the crowd. Then find a policeman. Ask them to take you to Connie.”
“No. I’m not leaving you.” He wrapped his arms around her, held on tight.
“Go. Run.” She tried to pry his hands away, but his fingers dug in hard. Stubborn. Just like his father.
Annoyance flickered across Viper’s features and he lowered the gun.
“Fucking kids,” he muttered. “Always in the fucking way. Bring him.”
He beckoned her forward again, but Evie planted her feet in the pavement and shook her head, calling his bluff. They were safe out on the street. Viper wasn’t going to shoot her with a crowd at her back and the police coming around the corner.
“You’re not going to kill me,” she said with a bravado she didn’t feel in the least. “And I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Even if your man is dead? Who’s going to protect you, Evangeline? Not the Sinners. You’re not one of them.”
Shadows moved behind him. His bodyguards. Of course, he wouldn’t come here alone. “I’m not a Black Jack either. And he’s not dead. He made it out.”
“Such faith.” Viper laughed. “But here’s the thing, kitten. Even if he did make it out, it’s over between you. There’s a warrant for his arrest. And since the Sinners have been fucking with my business, I’m in need of some quick cash. I think the police in Stanton would be interested to know where to find him.” He inhaled, then blew out a puff of smoke. “Or would that be ATF jurisdiction? I’m not sure who would tear apart the Sinner clubhouse looking for a fugitive from justice.”
“Leave him out of this.” Evie shuddered under a wave of anger. She wanted to ask how he had found out about Zane, but the question would just confirm what he said was true, and she couldn’t take the risk he was fishing for information. “This is between you and me.”
“It was between you and me.” He took another drag of his cigarette, leaned against the wall, all casual as if he hadn’t just blown up a building and was now trying to blackmail her into his bed. “But then the Sinners got involved. Now the game has changed, kitten. I have to address the disrespect done to me and my club, and then I gotta get back what’s mine. We were already at war with the Sinners. This just made it personal.”
“So you’re going to blackmail Zane?”
“If you come nicely, I’ll let him off for your good behavior.”
Ty shivered behind her and she prayed he didn’t understand what was going on. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to finally meet the father he had dreamed about all his life, only to find out the world thought he was a murderer.
“What’s to stop you from making that call even if I come with you?”
A smile tugged at the corners of his cruel lips. “Nothing. It’s a risk you have to take. You have to trust me.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“But you trust him?” Viper took a step forward, into the light. He looked older, tired, but no less formidable in his worn, leather cut, tight black T-shirt and jeans, his muscular arms colorful with tats. “The man who killed your father? The man who shot one of my junior patch in the back in cold blood? Ask him about Wheels. Or the three men he shot in a gunfight up in Whitefish. He kidnapped my old lady, threw her in the Sinner dungeon, probably tortured her for information. She’s there now if you don’t believe me. We aren’t so different, kitten. We’re both one percenters. Think about what that means.”
“I know at heart he’s a good man.” She took a step back, pushing Ty along the sidewalk, putting some distance between them. His offer was no offer at all. He was going to make that call regardless of what she did. Her best option was to find Zane and warn him before the police came to call.
“Are you sure about that? Do you know the truth about what happened to your father?”
Taking a deep breath, Evie spun around, grabbed Ty’s hand and ran into the crowd.
“Wrong choice,” Viper shouted after her. “Wrong fucking choice.”
*
Zane shoved people out of his way as he searched the crowd. He’d managed to chase away all the staff and customers before the Jacks started shooting, and had barely made it out himself when one of the bullets triggered the explosion. Evie and Ty should have gotten out before him.