Outlaw (17 page)

Cole glanced around, looking for Angel and Cajun. He
spotted them down at the other end of the bar, and headed over to them.

“Everything okay?” Cole asked Cajun.

“Yeah. Just don’ like da look dat crazy son givin’
her. Smilin’ at her like da croc dat seen his next meal,” Cajun explained,
nodding toward the guy at the end of the bar.

Cole followed his eyes.

Angel could see their eyes connect. There was no
love lost between the two.

Cole looked back at Angel. “Well, we’re leaving
anyway.”

“Where are we going?” she asked.

Crash waggled his eyebrows at her. “Downtown, baby,
where the big boys rock.”

Cole grabbed her hand, and pulled her along.

Crash followed them.

Angel couldn’t help but glance over at the man at
the end of the bar. When she did, she found his eyes on her, tracking her
movements all the way to the exit.

Cole and Crash got on their bikes, and Angel got on
behind Cole. They fired the engines, and pulled out, the bikes roaring down the
highway. They drove across town, and finally turned into the parking lot of
what looked like a nightclub.

Angel glanced up at the neon sign that read, Sonny’s
Gentleman’s Club.

Cole pulled up to the front door, and parked.

Crash pulled in next to him.

They dismounted.

“What are we doing here?” Angel asked.

Cole turned to her as he was pulling his helmet off.
“Mack sent us over to make a pickup.”

“Pickup?”

“The less you know, the better, baby doll. Come on.”
Cole reached for her hand.

“Can I wait out here?” Angel asked, pulling back.

Cole turned back to her. “Not in this neighborhood.”

Angel looked nervously at the door.

Cole smiled, “Never been in a strip club?”

She shook her head.

He hooked a hand around the back of her neck, and
pulled her to him for a kiss. “Come on, you’ll be fine, darlin’.”

She looked up into his eyes.

He smiled down at her, and gave her a wink. Then he
caught her hand, turned, and headed toward the door.

There was a guy at the door collecting money. He
turned when he saw them walking up. “Hey, Cole. How are you?”

“Not bad, Bobby. Is Ronnie here?”

“Yeah. I’ll tell him you’re here.”

“Thanks, man.”

Bobby held the door for them, and they walked in
like they owned the place, Angel noticed. She followed Cole over to the bar.
There was one guy sitting at the other end. Most of the customers were at
tables.

Cole slid between two barstools, and leaned on the
bar.

Angel stood behind one of the barstools, and looked
around. There was a girl up on stage dancing.

Crash moved to Angel’s other side, and slid in
between two stools.

She watched as a cute, blonde girl, who was
apparently tending bar, came toward them.

“Hey, Cole. What can I get you?” she asked.

“Just need to see Ronnie. You don’t usually tend
bar, Heather,” Cole observed.

“Ronnie just caught one of the bartenders stealing.
He’s out back dealing with him, if you know what I mean.”

“He need any help with that?” Cole offered, ducking
his head to light a cigarette. Angel noticed Cole didn’t seem to care about any
no smoking ordinances.

“I think he’s got it covered. He should be with you
in just a minute.”

“No problem, darlin’.”

Heather slid three bottles of beer on the bar.
“Compliments of the house.”

“Thanks, darlin’.” Cole smiled, and turned, and
handed one to Angel.

They waited about fifteen minutes, and were on their
second beer when Crash tapped Cole on the arm, and nodded toward the door.
“Trouble just walked in the door.”

Cole jerked his head around to look over his
shoulder. “Fuck.”

Angel turned to look, and saw the eight Devil Kings,
that they’d left at the party, walking through the door. She noticed the older
man, the one Cole had said was their leader, and behind him was the one that
Cajun had warned her to stay clear of.

“Here comes Ronnie.” Crash nodded towards the end of
the bar.

Cole swiveled his head around, and saw Ronnie
walking towards them behind the bar. “Good. Maybe we can get the hell out of
here.”

Angel watched the man walk up.

“Hey, Cole. Sorry. I had some shit to take care of.”
He slid an envelope across the bar.

Cole picked it up, and slid it into the inside
pocket of his vest. “You get that worked out?” Cole asked.

“Yeah.”

Cole nodded. “Good.” He suddenly felt a big hand
slide up his back, and tighten around the back of his neck for a moment, before
falling away. He turned sharply to look. It was the leader of the Devil Kings.
Cole turned to face him. “Big Ed.”

“Cole.”

Angel looked nervously over her shoulder. They were
surrounded. The one called Big Ed was a huge man with a beard and big, meaty
hands. Angel thought Bear would have been a more suitable name.

“Party over already?” Cole asked, his voice
carefully controlled.

“Naw. Just thought we’d check out Mack’s
investment.”

Cole nodded. He rested an elbow on the bar, and
leaned back on it, taking a drag on his cigarette.

Big Ed’s gaze drifted over to Angel. His eyes
traveled slowly over her body. He could definitely see why she had Cole
twisting in the wind. “This some new talent? Bet she could really wrap around
that stripper pole.”

“She’s with Cole,” Crash informed him.

Big Ed’s eyes cut to Crash, and then back to Angel.
“Is she now?”

Before she knew what was happening, Big Ed reached,
and flipped the back of her shirt up, looking at her lower back.

Cole instantly straightened from the bar.

“I don’t see no stamp on her.” Big Ed stared at
Cole.

Cole stared him down.

“Which is it? She’s either yours or she’s up for
grabs,” Bid Ed challenged, wondering why he was even giving Cole a way out.

Cole knew what that meant, even if Angel didn’t
fully understand what was happening here. Bid Ed was making a point, and he was
using Angel to do it. Either Cole claimed her as his, or Big Ed was going to
take her, and do God knows what with her. Cole stepped in between Angel and Big
Ed. “Just haven’t gotten that taken care of yet.”

Big Ed smiled an evil smile, and called his bluff.
“Well, hell, boy. No time like the present. It’ll be my treat.” He pulled a
couple of large bills from his pocket, and held them up between two fingers.
“Escort them down to Stumpy’s, Taz. Make sure it gets done right.”

The one he’d called Taz reached up, and took the
money, looking at Angel with a wide, evil grin. “You got it, boss.”

Angel swallowed. It was the guy that had been
checking her out at the party. What was happening? What were they talking
about? Getting what done?

“That’s kind of old school these days, Big Ed. The
lady’s with me.”

“Well, I’m an old school kind of guy. You wouldn’t
want any of my guys to think she was available, would you?”

Cole’s gaze moved to Taz.

Big Ed smiled. “Didn’t think so.” He turned, and
walked over to a table along with three of his guys. The other four stood
waiting.

The muscles in Cole’s jaw worked as he grabbed
Angel’s hand, and headed toward the door. Crash and the four Devil Kings
followed them out. Cole and Crash had parked right in front of the door. The
Devil Kings headed toward their bikes, which were parked in the row beyond.

Cole turned to Angel, and said in a whisper, “Look,
I’m gonna get you out of here.”

Crash looked at him, and said in a low voice so the
others wouldn’t hear him. “Are you insane? You do that and Big Ed will slit
both our throats. Besides, there’s no way you’re gonna get her out of here. I’m
with you, brother, but there are eight of them. And you piss on the Devil Kings,
and Mack will have your ass. What’s left of it, anyway. You’re lucky Big Ed’s
even giving you this out.”

Cole grimaced. “Goddamn it.”

“Cole?” Angel whispered, questioningly. “What’s
happening?”

He turned to her. “I’m sorry I got you into this. I
shouldn’t have brought you here.”

“A little late for that,” Crash added.

Cole glared at him.

The Devil Kings sat on their bikes, waiting. The one
called Taz hollered over to them, “Let’s go!”

Cole looked back at him. Crash was right. He didn’t
see anyway out of this. It was a fight they couldn’t win, and once the fight
was over there would be no one standing between these animals and Angel.

They mounted up, and pulled out of the parking lot.
They rode down the street, followed by four Devil Kings.

In a few minutes, they were turning down a side
street and slowing up in front of a line of run down businesses. They passed a
Vietnamese grocery, a pawnshop, and a couple of boarded up businesses. They
rolled to a stop, and Cole backed up to the curb, and cut off the engine. They
dismounted.

Angel looked up at the neon sign in the store front
window. Stumpy’s Tattoo Parlor.

Cole slid his hand to the nape of Angel’s neck, and
pulled her close. Leaning down, he whispered in her ear. “Just do what I tell
you, and everything’s gonna be okay. Don’t put up a fight. You understand me?”

Put up a fight? What was going to happen? She looked
in Cole’s eyes. She didn’t have any choice but to trust him. She nodded.

Cole took her by the wrist, and pulled her along.

Crash bent, and pulled a bottle of whiskey from his
saddlebag.

They entered the shop, followed by the Devil Kings.
A bell tinkled over the door, announcing their entrance.

Angel looked around. There was no one in the place,
and then a voice from a back room yelled out. “Be with ya in a minute.”

“Hey, Stumpy! Get out here. Cole needs to get his
ol’ lady stamped,” Taz yelled. The four guys leaned against the counter.

Taz looked over at Angel, and grabbed her right
wrist. “Come on, darlin’.”

Cole yanked on her left wrist. “I got it.” He glared
at Taz.

Angel stood between the two, wondering what was
going to happen.

Taz stared Cole down, and then smiled. “Okay. Go
on,” he nodded toward one of the tattoo stations.

Cole led Angel over to a long padded table. He
pulled her sideways, over the table on her stomach. She tried to pull back, but
he wouldn’t let go of her. He sat down on a stool, near her face. Holding her
by both wrists, he looked into her eyes, and could see she was scared.

“What are you doing?” she whispered.

Cole shook his head, silently telling her to be
quiet.

“Stumpy! Let’s go,” Taz yelled.

“What’s he going to do?” Angel whispered softly to
Cole.

He looked at her a long moment. “He’s going to put a
tat on you that says you belong to me.”

“A…a tattoo? But that’s permanent.” She tried to
pull away.

Cole tightened his grip on her wrists, holding her
where she was. “Quit.”

“If she’s too much for you to handle, I’ll take her
off your hands,” Taz offered with a grin, watching her struggle. “There’s
nothing I enjoy more than breakin’ a woman’s spirit.”

Angel turned to look at him. He smiled back at her,
and she could see the evil in his eyes. She turned back to Cole, and whispered,
“Why are you doing this?”

Cole leaned forward, and said in a low voice, “It’s
the only way to protect you from all of them. Do you understand? So they won’t
touch you.”

She started to tear up.

Cole saw her eyes pool. “Hey, look at me. You are
not going to cry in front of them. Understand? Don’t give that asshole the
satisfaction.”

She studied the look in his eyes, and nodded,
blinking away the tears, and taking a deep breath.

Stumpy came out from the backroom. He was in his
sixties, and covered with tattoos. “Hey, Cole. Taz. Boys. What can I do for
ya?”

“We need to get her stamped,” Taz said, nodding
toward Angel. He tossed the bills down on the station counter.

Stumpy looked over at the woman being forcibly held
down across his table. “She don’t look too willin’, Taz. We got rules about-”

“Just fuckin’ do it, old man,” Taz snapped,
threateningly.

“Yeah. Okay.”

Angel could hear the snap of surgical gloves being
put on. She tried to turn to look behind her, but Cole turned her face back to
him.

“Just look at me, baby.” He turned to Crash, and
held out his hand.