Stone (Highway Jokers #1)

CHAPTER 2

LOLITA

“How are you feeling?” I asked the man standing in front of me. Yesterday when I bumped into him, he looked so pale and weak but when I saw blood covering his hands and shirt, I knew I had to help him. The patch should have made me turn in the other direction and run but I wasn’t the type of person who did that sort of thing.

I’ve seen the Highway Jokers around town, they were outlaws and most of the people here in town knew to stay away from them. I just never thought that Daniel Moss would be one of them. When I was treating him, waiting for his friends to show up, I couldn’t help but stare at his face. He had changed over the years. He wasn’t this goofy-looking kid anymore, he was a man with tattoos and a beard and now that he was awake and standing in front of me. He towered over me with a purpose.

It sent a shiver down my spine when I heard his voice. “I feel like crap but I’ll be fine.” The corner of his mouth twitched up. “Did you manage to see anything?” Daniel asked me.

I placed my hands in my back pockets. “No, I wasn’t here… but I did have footage.”

“Did?” He raised an eyebrow when another member I saw earlier came to stand beside him.

“I handed the footage of the CCTV over to the police when they were here earlier.” The men in front of me shared a look.

“Do you remember anything from that footage that will give a clue as to who it was?” Daniel asked me, making me raise my eyebrow.

“No. Only saw a few men wearing all black and covering their faces with masks. I’m sure the police will look into it.” I told them.

“The police won’t do shit” Daniel snapped, making me jump a little. Daniel groaned as he ran his hand through his hair, mumbling “Sorry.” A phone started to ring and I watched Daniel pull out his phone from his jean pocket and answer the call before he stepped away. After a few moments, he turns on his heels and stares at me. “Got it.” He snapped before hanging up the phone.

“What’s going on?” The other guy introduced himself as Redback asked Daniel.

“8Ball said someone broke into Lolita’s house.” My eyes went wide.

“What! How?” I started to breathe heavily. I pulled out my phone but before I could dial triple 0, Daniel took the phone from my hands. “What are you doing? If someone broke into my house I need to call the police.”

“The police aren’t going to do shit sweetheart. We are,” he said before pocketing my phone in his jeans. He turned to Redback. “I’m taking her to the clubhouse.”

“Hang on just a minute, don’t I get a say in this?” I asked as they both looked at me.

“No,” Daniel said.

“I’m not going with you, I’m going to the police.” I grabbed my bag from the counter and placed it over my body before I headed out the door. I got about five feet out the door before Daniel was in front of me, he had a look in his eyes. Telling me not to mess around but I wasn’t backing down. “Move.”

“You have a target on your back now sweetheart, the only place you’ll be heading is the clubhouse.”

I stood there with my arms folded across my chest but before I could speak, I saw Daniel shrug his shoulders before taking a step towards me. I screamed when he lifted me up into the air and over his shoulder. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I slapped his back a few times.

He groans out loud. “I’m injured, sweetheart.” He warns me as he walks past my shop and towards the truck. I was placed in the passenger seat of the truck before he slammed the door shut. I was glaring at him when he stopped and spoke with Redback before he climbed into the driver’s side.

All through the drive, it had been dead silent. I didn’t know what to say but I was also too mad to speak. I jumped out of the truck and slammed the door shut before I walked past Daniel. Not evening looking at him. I opened the clubhouse doors and made my way inside.

The clubhouse was covered in random things about motorcycles. A pool table sat in the corner next to a jukebox but what had me raising an eyebrow was the stripper pole in the other corner of the room.

“Lita?” My head snapped towards someone calling out my nickname. I saw my stepbrother walking towards me as well as other men I barely knew. “Are you okay?” John asked me, I nodded my head and hugged him.

“I’m fine… Can one of you tell me what the hell is going on?” I asked as I looked around the club.

“Let’s head into the chapel and have a chat” Daniel was so close behind me it made me jump when I heard him speak. I felt his hand on my lower back grading me towards some doors until he stopped me. “Your bag stays out here.”

I glared up at him. “The quicker you do it the quicker you’ll have your answers.” I sighed and took off my bag, placing it on the table behind me.

“If anything goes missing from there, I’m coming after you,” I said pointing at him before I walked into the room. I took the open seat next to John while Daniel took a seat at the other end of the table.

“Thank you for coming down here” the guy at the head of the table spoke. It was the same guy I had met yesterday when I called to get Daniel. The President of the Highway Jokers. Thrasher. He looked like a mean son of a bitch when I first met him, I guess you have to be if you’re the leader of an outlaw club.

“I didn’t have a choice” I mumbled as my eyes locked onto Daniel’s. “I was actually going to the police station…” I said when I looked back towards Thrasher.

Thrasher hummed before he leaned back in his chair. “The thing is, we know exactly who shot up your store and broke into your house.” He held up his hand when I was about to speak. “I just need some information from you.”

“I don’t know what I can give you.”

“When you helped Stone, did you see anyone hanging around? With another leather kutte on but a different club?”

I thought about it for a moment. “No, I had some errands to do that morning so one of my staff members opened the shop. I had just climbed out of my car when I saw him stumbling.” I said, nodding my head towards Daniel.

“So no one on a Harley or in a black van?” He asked me again.

“No.”

“Do you have any footage of this morning?”

“She gave it to the police” Daniel spoke up, making Thrasher look towards him. Thrasher sighed and ran a hand over his face.

“8ball, hack into the coffee shop's system,” Thrasher said, making me frown slightly. When I was about to speak up John held out a hand stopping me but Thrasher noticed it. “Need to add something else?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, what the hell? This is my business you’re messing around with. I saved one of your guys, who I might add is a big asshole and hasn’t changed one bit but hacking into my store’s security is totally out of order.”

“Lolita,” my stepbrother warned me but I ignored him.

“Because you saved one of my men, you have a target on your back.” Thrasher sat forward. “Our enemies will want you dead now. They will probably think you’re an old lady or one of the sweetbutts in my club and will want to use you as bait.” He looked me up and down before leaning back in his chair, he grabbed a cigarette from his cigarette packet and lit it up before he spoke again. “So because you saved one of my men, your business becomes my business.”

“Don’t I get a say in this?” I asked as I looked around the room at the few men who sat in the chairs.

“If you want to be dead by morning, sure.” He shrugged his shoulders like he didn’t care. “But because of yesterday, you are under our protection.”

“Which means?”

“You will be staying here until we have the situation under control and everywhere you go, one of my men will follow you.”

“I have a business to run, I can’t stay here.” I snapped at the president of the Highway Jokers.

“Then someone will be there watching over you.” There was no point in arguing with this man. He knew how to run things but I was just a stubborn person. “Saw and Mage will take you to your place to grab some clothes for a few days and anything important,” Thrasher said before he stood up and left the room.