even when they have a gun pointed at my head. But right now, it takes everything I have not to roar in rage.
Possession claws at my chest. I shouldn’t let her affect me this way, but right now, I can’t make myself give two shits. When I find that van, I’m going to put a bullet in the driver’s skull for taking what’s mine. And then I’m going to teach that little thief a lesson she’ll never forget for daring to rabbit on me.
“What the fuck is taking so long?” Dragon snaps when I reach the others.
I stalk past him for my bike and swing on. “Just a little complication, Prez,” I growl. “I’ll take care of it.”
Dragon already thinks Emma’s too much trouble, so I’m not giving him more reason to think that unless I have to. I intend to chase down that van and haul her back here, over my shoulder kicking and screaming if that’s what it takes. Better to explain after he sees that I’ve handled the situation, otherwise I’ll never hear the end of it.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Dragon spits.
“She ran off,” Striker says, swinging onto his bike beside me.
I growl at him under my breath.
“What? You are on my shit list, Spider. I...fuck.”
At Dragon’s curse, I glance out at the front entrance to the lot. Shit is right.
Four cop cars are tearing into the lot and quickly boxing us in. One squad car parks in front of the row of bikes, right in front of Dragon, one peels around back behind Pip and the other prospects, and one slides in on either side.
Where the hell had they come from?
Well, if this isn’t a clusterfuck to end all clusterfucks.
Emma’s taken off in that van to who knows where, every second I put off going after her will make it less likely I’ll find her, and we’re surrounded by police who more than likely know what’s in our van.
Uniformed officers spill out of their cars and vehicle doors close all around me. An officer in plain clothes climbs out of the car in front of Dragon.
“Afternoon, boys.” He saunters over to Prez.
My body tenses as soon as I see him. “Son of a bitch.”
“Officer Briggs,” Dragon says, holding out his arms in false welcome. “Always a pleasure.”
Briggs smiles, but it’s a cold, triumphant expression. “Here we go again, eh, Dragon?”
I catch Striker’s eye, and he gives me a warning look, not that I need it. I’ve dealt with this fuck before. Officer Kelly Briggs has had it in for the Outlaws—and especially Dragon—for years. He’s been looking for an excuse to take the whole MC down. Problem is, Briggs is as dirty as they come. He doesn’t play by the rules. If there’s a way he can break them and still make it look like he’s played by the book, he will.
On the back of Snake’s bike, Dee watches Briggs close in on Dragon with a laid-back calm, but I can tell she’s holding onto Snake’s waist a little too tightly. He sets his hand on her knee.
The guys are all looking on, none of them batting an eye.
“What brings you all the way out here, officer?” Dragon’s tone is cool and deceptively nonchalant.
“I think we all know the answer to that, boys.” Briggs looks around, and his eyes settle on the van before he gives a nod. “All right, everyone off the bikes.”
No one moves.
Dragon, one of the few who isn’t sitting on his ride, swaggers over to him, completely relaxed. He gives a look back at us, then focuses on the cop. “None of my boys are going anywhere until you tell us why you’re here, officer.”
“You want to drag this out, that’s fine with me.” Briggs slides his sunglasses up onto the top of his head, flattening his dark hair back. “We have reason to believe you are carrying illegal firearms in that van. You going to let us search it, or are you going to make this harder on yourself?”
“Not gonna happen.”
Damn it all. If Briggs sees those guns, it’ll be a one-way ticket to county lockup. Besides that, in this desert, it’s easy for a van like the one Emma is in to disappear without much effort. I need to get after her now.
“Is that so?” Briggs cocks his head, seemingly unfazed by Dragon’s much larger size.
“You got a warrant?” Dragon asks.
“You think we would come all the way out here without a warrant?” He signals to one