CHAPTER ONE
Tina
I counted my tip money from an eight-hour shift of waiting tables while doing some mental math in my head. Once I added this money to the meager pile of savings from the rest of the tips this week, I should have just enough money to buy some groceries, which was good because my cupboards was more or less empty right now.
I left the restaurant where I worked to get into my car. I couldn’t wait to sit down and take a break from my sore feet.
However, someone came up behind me when I reached my car. I felt someone grab my arm just as I grabbed my car door handle.
I turned around with a gasp. “What are you…”
My voice trailed off when I saw a man dressed in a leather jacket. He leered down at me. “Hey, Tina,” he said.
My mouth went dry. “How do you know my name?”
“I’m… old friends with your father.”
“I haven’t spoken to him in years.” He kicked me out when I was 15 and I hadn’t seen him since.
“That’s not my problem, now is it?” He grinned down at me. “But what is my problem is he’s dead now. Did you know?”
I gritted my teeth as I tried to process this information. I should feel sad. But I mostly felt indifferent. I made peace long ago about never seeing my father again. “Like I said. I haven’t spoken to him in years. I would like to leave now.”
His grip on my arm got harder. “I don’t think so, baby,” he said. “Your father owes me a debt. And without him around to pay it, that falls to you.”
“I don’t have the money to pay it,” I said.
He looked me up and down with a sly smile. “That won’t be an issue, baby. With a sweet little body like yours, I can put you to work just fine.”
My skin crawled. “How long do I have to get you the money?”
“I could just take you with me right now. No need to worry about the money.”
The door to the diner opened and a laughing couple walked out. The man in front of me looked over at them and grimaced. “I guess I can be generous,” he said. “I’ll give you two days to get me thirty grand in cash. That’s it. If you don’t have it then I’ll take you instead. And don’t even think about running to the Hell’s Renegades or the cops or some shit like that. I’ll be watching you to make sure you behave.”
My frazzled brain caught onto the phrase “Hell’s Renegades”. I had no idea who they were but I would have to find out. Because clearly this man thought they were a threat to him. So maybe they would be able to help me.
The man backed away, towards a motorcycle on the other side of the parking lot. I watched as he got on and sped away.
I forced myself to take deep breaths. I needed to be careful about this. Obviously I didn’t have thirty grand and I didn’t want to pay my father’s debt anyway. Of course, it was just like him to find one more way to screw me over.
I went to the local library instead of going home. I needed to find out more about the Hell’s Renegades, which required an internet connection. I longed to be snuggled up in my bed with my favorite stuffy, recovering from work to come back tomorrow, but that would have to wait. I managed to get on a library computer and looked up the Hell’s Renegades. A bunch of articles came up at once about them. My throat went dry as I read through it. It looked like the local newspaper printed it every time the police expected the motorcycle club was involved in crimes. And there were a lot of them. Underground gambling, vandalism, and suspected kidnapping were the biggest ones, but nothing was ever pinned on them.
They definitely weren’t people you would want to cross. And, according to the newspaper, they had a base of operations in town. It was a bar called Hawk’s Landing.
I didn’t want to reach out. They seemed like bad news and bars were exactly the places I steered clear from. But I remembered that man’s threats of putting me to work. I needed help. And the Hell’s Renegades were my best chance at it.
I took a deep breath and got into my car and drove to Hawk’s Landing. Here goes nothing.