I sensed, more than I saw, Hawk going rigid beside me. I hoped he didn’t do something rash, like take a swing at the man. That would result in immediate action and I still hoped I could get them to leave without that happening.
“You’re pathetic,” Snake hissed.
I kept my muscles locked into place like they were iron ropes that kept me from attacking this man.
“You used to have balls, but now you’re playing the hero.”
“I’m not the one picking on people weaker than myself.” I shrugged. “But I’ll tell you again: you’re not getting in here without going through us. No matter what we are now, we used to be friends. All of us. We considered you our brother. Are you willing to fight with us just to get your pointless revenge?”
For a fleeting moment, I could have sworn I saw hesitation on his face, but it was gone almost as quickly as it appeared.
His eyes hardened, and he smirked. “You’re so damn sentimental. That’s your problem, you know. It’s your weakness, and it’s what’s ruining the club.”
I thought about Harper and the stupid things I’d said to her, the way I rejected her because I was too much of a coward to admit to her or myself how much she meant to me. Snake was wrong. Denying myself that sentimental attachment was a mistake and it was making me miserable. “You’re wrong.” I shook my head adamantly, suddenly feeling sorry for Snake. “It’s not a weakness at all. It’s the reason that I’m here. My attachment to Holbeck and the people inside of this building –” to Harper, specifically “– is what motivates me. Rest assured, Snake, I’m not vulnerable because I give a damn about something. It’s what makes me so determined.”
The sound of a police siren could be heard in the distance, getting closer.
Behind Snake, I saw the cartel members backing away. They got back on their bikes and left without another word.
Snake turned to watch them leave and a muscle twitched in his jaw.
The cartel were gone before the cops arrived, but Snake and his men didn’t react so quickly.
Three black and white cars stopped on the street behind their bikes, essentially boxing them in. Six uniformed police officers stepped out of the cars, each of them with their hands resting on the guns at their hips.
Cold fear slipped into my heart at the sight. This could be very bad. Even the curious tourists across the street looked uneasy at this escalation. The officers were looking at us like we were dangerous animals, to be feared and neutralized, if necessary.
“What’s going on here?” one of the cops asked. He was the closest to us, but he didn’t look nearly as jumpy as his partner, whose eyes were darting around as if he feared an attack from one of us at any moment, even though no one was holding a weapon.
“Just a friendly conversation, officer,” Snake said, and the grin he gave the man was oily. “Is there a law against that?”
“We received several phone calls that some bikers were trying to cause trouble here.”
“We haven’t done anything,” Snake defended.
I wondered how he would have played this if we hadn’t stopped him. Outlaw biker clubs had sometimes gotten away with a lot, but his plan to storm this place for revenge seemed reckless to me. I suspected this whole thing was a knee-jerk reaction to the police raid on his club, probably fueled by his wounded pride.
“Devil Riders?” a different cop read the club name on the back of a club member near him. “From Glenam?”
“They were just raided by Glenam PD a few days ago,” another officer said, and more tension rose in the air.
“You need to go,” I told Snake. “Before someone gets hurt.”
“This isn’t over,” he seethed. “I won’t forget your interference.”
As Snake turned away, approaching the calm officer to talk his way out of here, John stepped out of the hotel. Apparently, he felt safe now that the police had shown up. There were even more people at the door now, many of them looking like they were watching a terribly interesting soap opera.
Harper was still there, and I could see she was thinking about coming outside too as she bit her lip and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. When her big, brown eyes met mine, I shook my head no. I didn’t want to have to worry about her. Even with the police here, I didn’t want her outside while Snake and his club were still here. To my relief, she nodded in understanding.
“Thank goodness you were here,” John said, coming to my side. “How did you know they were coming?”
“We have our ways,” I said cryptically. The truth was, I didn’t know who Gunner’s source was, but I suspected he had a mole in the Devil Riders. He wanted to play it close to the vest, and I respected that decision. It was probably someone he’d served with in Iraq.
“Right, of course,” John said, looking nothing but grateful.
We watched as Snake talked his way out of this, pointing out that he and his club hadn’t done anything wrong, hadn’t even entered the building.
Another officer approached us, this one tall and so young that he looked like a teenager. “And what is your business here, sir?” he asked, his eyes running over the assembled Rebel Saints.