Gage grabs a hold of Buzz’s vest and shoves him back down into his seat. “You’re going to do what the boss tells you to do and nothing more,” he shouts into his face.
“Dad,” Killian says. “The AR-15’s?”
Troy sighs. “All gone.”
Cat shoots me a worried look. From what I’ve gathered from overhearing snippets of conversations while I worked, the storehouse was full of guns and money, basically everything that keeps the club safe from thugs like The Outlaws.
“They stole the keys from my office,” Troy goes on. “Ten of our guys are in the hospital. Our weapons are gone and our clubhouse is smashed.”
“This is not good,” Killian says as he slumps back into his chair. “With our stash gone, it will be open season on The Heartlands.”
“I got it covered,” Troy says as he takes a sip of his beer. “We need some firepower and the California division is going to deliver.”
“They’re bringing us guns?” Saint asks as he rubs his chin.
“Guns and reinforcements,” Troy says.
The table goes silent.
Me and Cat shoot each other a look.
“Jaxon and Beckham are coming,” Troy finally says.
Eyes widen. Mouths drop. No one says a thing as the shocking news settles in.
I don’t know why it’s shocking. I’ve never heard of these guys before.
I’ve heard of the California chapter of The Heartlands MC, which is affiliated with the brotherhood here in Seneca, Nevada, but I don’t know anything about Jaxon and Beckham.
“Jaxon and Beckham…” Killian says in almost a whisper, “are coming here?”
Troy nods slowly. He looks around the table, surveying the awed looks on everyone’s faces. Curiosity burns inside me. Who are these guys? I’ve never seen these guys react this way… with such reverence for an outsider.
“Isn’t their sister sick?” Ranger asks. “Brianna?”
Troy drops his eyes to the table. “Beannie died of cancer last year. Jones said they’re looking for a fresh start.”
“We don’t need them,” Buzz says with an angry shake of his head. “We can handle this with family.”
“They are family,” Killian snaps. “Extended family, but still family. They have The Heartlands on their back. Just like you.”
“You had your chance to handle it last night,” Troy snaps at him with a fierce glare. Buzz instantly turns from tough guy to sheepish with the boss’ angry eyes on him. “But you were too fucking drunk. Stella is the only one who put up a damn fight from what I heard. Maybe she should take your seat and you go serve the beers.”
My cheeks start burning red as a few of the guys glance at me.
“Don’t forget to put on the tight jean shorts,” Killian says and everyone laughs.
“Enough,” Troy snaps. He’s not in the mood for jokes. “It’s already been arranged. Jaxon and Beckham will be here this afternoon. Once they’re here we’ll decide how to move forward. Meeting over.”
Troy and Gage explode out of their chairs and disappear into the office as the rest of the boys start whispering amongst themselves.
I hear a lot of whispers of Beckham and Jaxon as I go around taking beer orders.
“What’s the big deal?” I ask Cat as I go behind the bar. “Who are these guys?”
Roxanne walks back into the bar now that the meeting is over. “Which guys?” she asks.
Cat seems as perplexed as me. “Troy mentioned something about a Jaxon and Beckham from Calif—”
“Jaxon and Beckham?!” she says as her face drops. “They’re coming here?!”
She darts in front of the broken mirror behind the bottles and starts fixing up her hair.
Me and Cat laugh. “Who are they?” I ask.
She turns to me with dead serious eyes. “You’ll see.”
I step on another broken bottle and let out an angry huff of breath.
Whoever the hell Jaxon and Beckham are, I hope they can help us get revenge on these fuckers.
Or, I just might have to do it my damn self.
Chapter Three
Stella
“You’re sure you don’t want to relax at home?” I ask Bulldog as he leans against the wall with a wince. He keeps touching his broken ribs as he looks out onto the street.
“Nah,” he says as I hop onto the railing of the bar’s porch. “I belong here. The club needs protection more than ever.”
He hasn’t taken his eyes off the street. Every time a bike goes by, he keeps whipping his head around.
“Are you a little jumpy?” I ask him.
He looks at me funny. “Why do you say that?”
“You keep looking at the street like you’re expecting The Outlaws to come rolling up at any minute.”
“Oh, I’m not worried about that,” he says with a dismissive wave. “Those pussies aren’t going to come back anytime soon. Not while we’re all here.”
“Then what do you keep looking at?”
He sighs. “I just… I heard that Jaxon and Beckham are coming over from California. I’ve never seen them.”
Geez, what is it with these guys? Are they like Heartland royalty or something? I have to fight back a laugh watching Bulldog fanboying over these two.
“You’ve never met them?”
“No, but I’ve heard about them,” he goes on with his eyes lighting up. “If ever there’s a Heartlands Hall Of Fame, they’ll be the first two inaugurated.”
“I don’t get it,” I say. “What’s so special about them?”
Bulldog turns to me with a grin. “One time, the cartels started showing up in their town. Selling meth. Harassing women. It wasn’t pretty. When they shot up their local barbershop, the Hader brothers stepped up and took care of it.”
I swallow hard as I listen closely.
“So, these two brothers calmly walked into the cartels’ clubhouse armed to the teeth with guns.”
“And?” I say when he pauses to light his cigarette.
“You ever see Liam Neeson in that movie Taken? No! The end of Matrix when they bust into that building, shooting up the place?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, legend has it that it was like that. They killed thirty-seven cartel members that night and didn’t even get shot once.”
I roll my eyes and laugh. “That can’t be real.”
Bulldog is not laughing. “It’s real,” he says. “And that’s
