to deliver drinks to the bikers in the rear.
He and Tank stopped at a whiskey each, and he peeled himself off the stool to head home to his apartment above the shop. It always smelled of gasoline. Hell, coming from a family of mechanics on both sides, he’d practically been baptized in it.
Outside the bar, he and Tank embraced once more. Dixon thumped him on the spine. “Come by the shop.”
Tank grinned as he swaggered across the lot to his bike. “I’ll be there tomorrow after my shift. We’ve gotta build you a bike, man. Can’t have you driving around in this piece of shit.”
Chuckling, Dixon jumped behind the wheel again. For the first time, he was damn glad to be home.
Fiona scribbled her name on the final check in the pile. Sorting the payments into the correct envelopes—beer vendor, electric company, air conditioner repairman—she couldn’t help but dwell on how little money was coming in. For all the business her bar drummed up, she saw the same few faces over and over and none of her regulars’.
Pure and simple, that biker gang that called themselves Mayhem did a lot of damage to her livelihood. Hell, her whole life. As the owner, she already worked six out of seven days a week. Now that she couldn’t keep waitresses on the floor or bartenders pouring drinks, she was here twenty-four/seven.
She set aside the last checks for her two former waitresses to pick up. As she pushed to her feet, her phone buzzed. A glance at the screen brought a sigh to her lips. Last thing she wanted to deal with—another check-in from her older brother.
She allowed the phone to ring twice, trying to decide whether or not to answer. But declining the call meant one of her other four brothers would call. Or all of them. She spent many a night getting lectured on how she needed help in the bar, a bouncer at the entrance and possibly a guard. Better security like cameras and double locks on all the doors.
Lately, she began to think they might be right. So far, she hadn’t been hit by the string of break-ins in Mersey, but she wouldn’t put it past the criminals in that gang to be scoping her out on the nightly.
The phone continued to ring. With a growl, she finally tapped the screen. “What do you want, Lake?”
“Is that any way to talk to your favorite brother?”
“Nobody said you’re my favorite. What do you want? I need to open in a few.”
“That’s what I’m calling about. Checking in on my baby sister.”
She closed her office door and examined herself in the mirror on the backside. Fluffing her hair, she leaned in to check her lipstick. Not smudged, even after biting her lip while writing all those checks.
She straightened and walked out of the office. She snapped on the lights at the breaker box and then revolved through the bar, checking every corner. Since losing all her help, the Painted Pig wasn’t looking the cleanest, with a layer of dust on the windowsills and light fixtures. But it would have to do for tonight.
“You know all you need to do is ask and one of us will come help you run the bar, Fiona.”
“I don’t need help. I need…” Jesus.
“We heard rumors that more bikers are headed your way to join up with Mayhem. That has all four of us ready to jump in our trucks and ride over to Mersey to make sure our little sister is safe.”
“I’m safe.” She already heard the rumble of motorcycle engines as they flooded the parking lot in time for her to open her doors. After they settled in with their drinks and quarters lined up on the edge of the pool table, she could expect practically no other customers for the rest of the night.
“You know Noah wants to come in there and bust some balls.”
“Noah needs to stay out of trouble,” she said in her sternest tone about their second to youngest brother in the Browning clan. “He’s already been in enough over the years.” Though nothing compared to what he’d get himself into if he came to Mersey and heard the gang commenting on the sway of her ass when she served them drinks.
Dragging in a deep breath, she stood in the center of her empty bar and focused on the call for a moment. “You’re only calling to check on me?”
“Yes,” said Lake. “That and to tell you we’re considering a