9-DANGEROUS WOMAN

“Quick, then, get him behind the bar,” said Rose. Luke brought in some crates from out back and dropped them on the floor.

“I’ll go out, see what they want, and try to stall them.”

A wiry, tattooed biker nipped in behind the bar, and she and Viv pointed to an empty, hollow spot underneath.

“Get in there,” motioned Rose.

He looked up at them, “Are there spiders in there?”

“In,” growled Rose.

She and Viv quickly stacked the empty crates in front and then busied themselves behind the bar, acting nonchalant.

Two cops soon made their way up to the bar.

“You deal with them if they come talk to us,” Rose whispered to her.

They made their way to Lyon, flashing their badges.

“We are looking for one of your men. Is he here?”

“Depends which one?” said Lyon.

“Callum Hale goes by the name Hurricane Hale.”

“Last I saw him, he was with a girl in Westwood City. I haven’t seen him since. Happens on the road.”

“How come his bikes parked out front then?”

Rose knelt down, then whispered through the crates. “Keys.”

A pause, then he passed them through quietly.

Which one is it?

“Custom paint job. Has a hurricane and eagle,” he whispered.

Rose deftly put them in her apron and walked away from the bar, closer to Lyon and the cop.

She could hear Lyon stalling, trying to think why the bike was still out front.

“You mean the bike that is in my possession?” asked Rose, acting all innocent.

“And why would a slip of a girl be in charge of a man's bike?” asked the cop suspiciously.

“Well, probably because I ran into him when I was on Wildwood the other night. He was too drunk to drive, out with a girl. I told him that when he sobered up, he could pick up the keys from the bar.”

“Oh yeah,” said the cop. “And how on earth did a girl like you get the bike here?” taunted the cop, laughing at her.

“S’pose you flew it?”

Dave and Brian clinked glasses, chuckling.

“No,” she said, stepping forward. “I rode it.”

The cop hawed again.

“Yeah, right. Where is he? Just tell me, let’s make this easy.”

Rose felt her temper flaring as she walked away, leaving his question unanswered.

Let him question Lyon, she thought stubbornly.

She turned around and winked at Dave and Brian.

Viv caught it and clapped her hands over her mouth, breathing out, “Oh no.”

She walked outside, scanning the rows of bikes.

“Bingo, found it.”

Two cops hovered near it, hands resting too close to their belts like they were waiting for trouble.

Shit, if this goes wrong, she thought, it's going to go very wrong.

She stepped past them, gravel crunching under her feet, and mounted the bike.

One of the men stepped forward.

“Miss, this is an investigation, you can’t just...”

“Too late,” she winked at them as she pulled the throttle back and screeched to the parking lot exit.

Smoke poured from the rear wheel as she skidded it up in defiance.

The cop from inside had come running out.

She roared out of the parking lot like thunder, leaving clouds of smoke in her wake.  She opened it up. Then turned and came flying back in at top speed, breaking just enough to pull it up on one wheel, parking the bike directly in front of the cop from inside.

“Is this the bike you thought I couldn’t ride?”

His face was hard set now.

“Search the place,” he said.

That set the place on alert.

Road wolves were being searched. Rose walked back in and headed behind the bar.

Viv was there, applying her lipstick, making sure her cleavage was showing.

Luke walked past on the way to his office, then dipped down and whispered to Rose.

“Did you really have to piss him off?”

“He deserved it.” She shrugged nonchalantly.

Rose stood watching the chaos unfold, and not just the heat.

Viv was just about to go to work on the officer-in-charge.

“You're new around here,” she flirted. “Haven't seen you before.”

“Yeah,” he said, not paying much attention.

“Figures,” she said. “I knew I would have noticed a handsome guy like you if you'd been around before.”

She smiled cheekily.

Then sauntered off, pretending to do some work.

Rose noticed the cop's chest swell slightly at the compliment.

Viv circled back.

" What's your name?”

“Maxwell Stone,” he answered.

“I will remember that Officer Stone.”

“Detective,” he corrected her.

“Sorry, Detective Stone, I bet a handsome guy like you has kids and a beautiful wife at home.”

He shook his head now.

“No ma'am, it's just me.”

Brian leaned over to Rose and whispered.

“Shit, Vivs sprung the trap now.”

Some of the cops started to move in behind the bar.

“Hey, I'm working here,” Viv complained loudly. “Detective Stone, is this really necessary?” she complained, fluttering her lashes. “You can clearly see there's only little old me and Rose behind here.”

“Come on, guys, overkill,” Max said, shooing them off.

Luke came out from his back office then.

“Stone. I've just been on the phone. You’re out of your jurisdiction here; you're not within your rights to search my bar.”

Then he leaned in, a lower voice.

“Come on, man, you know it's bad for business. I'm just tryna make a living here, you’re gonna scare the honest folk away.”

Stone looked at Luke, then at Rose, then at Viv.

“I don't trust that he's not here, but I'll leave it. For now.”

He turned back as he was leaving.

“I’ll be watching you all.”

His gaze landed on Viv last, and Rose gasped as she saw her give a little wink and a wave.

“I did not just see you do that,” I said to her.

“Whaat.”said Viv. “So sue a girl, I'm a sucker for a man in uniform. It’s an honest living, with the added bonus of him being single and child-free.”

Rose rolled her eyes.

“Not if you get your evil clutches into him.”

She huffed, then looked up at Viv, and they both let out a hearty laugh.

Once the cops had cleared off, they motioned that it was safe, and the lean, wiry biker appeared from underneath the bar.

“Shit, that was close,” he said. “You girls did me a solid. Names Callum, or Hurricane Hale. Whatever you wanna call me.”

Rose nodded.

“We prepare for everything at Howl at the Moon.”

Lyon stepped forward.

“Thanks, I owe you one too.”

" Don't sweat it,” said Rose.

“Hey, those rooms out back. We might leave Callum here for the next week or so. Bet they’ll have the roads blocked off. We'll circle back and get him once the heat dies down. I don't think they'll come back here too soon. Lightning never strikes twice and all that.”

“We got a room free,” offered Viv.

“Think you'll manage, Callum?”

“I'll manage.”

Lyon looked at Rose then.

“I've never seen a woman ride a bike like that, better than most of my boys here. You have my respect. Fights and rides, I’m thinking about patching you in.”

Brian leaned forward then and said.

“You ain't never seen a woman like Rose, she's the mechanic for the shop out back too.”

Those caramel brown eyes landed on her, and she felt it.

“Oh. The boys and I will definitely be back,” he said.

“There's a blues band tomorrow night,” offered Viv.

“I'll remember that,” he said. Then he motioned to his boys, and they made their way out.

Lyon paused at the door, searching for Rose until his gaze settled on her, drinking her in.

“That’s one hulluva dangerous woman,” he said, as if in a trance. Then he shook his head and walked out the door.

“Come on, Callum, I'll show you to your room. We'll keep an eye out, and if the heat shows again, I'll let you know.”

“Never a dull moment round here,” said Luke. “Rose,” He yelled out to her. “What the hell are we gonna do with all these flowers?”

“Beats me,” she said, walking past him, taking Callum out back.

By the time she went back to the bar, it was empty now except for the few regulars.

“Hey, Viv,” she called out. “I might take a break now. I got a late one tonight, might take a nap and be back in the evening.”

“That's fine, honey,” said Viv. “I got it here.”

She went upstairs and set about doing her washing.

Kaelyn's card fell out of the back pocket of her jeans.

She looked at it and smiled. Picking up her phone, she fired off a text.

Thanks for the roses. Looking forward to tonight. R

She felt stupid, giddy, but the vision of Lyon had left her wondering.

“Have I suddenly gone into heat?”

She lost track of time between pacing and overthinking, and before she knew it, it was time to get back to work.

“Sleep is for the weak, I guess,” she talked to herself as she made her way back downstairs.

The bar was starting to fill up with the evening customers.

The jukebox played.

Viv sighed next to her.

“It’s so nice to have some peace and quiet at last. Today was mad.”

“It was.”

“I haven’t even had time to drill you properly about these roses. Tell Aunty Viv. Who is he? I figure he must be rich or own a big flower shop?”

She looked at me with a sly smirk.

“Does he have a big you know what?”

She waggled her eyebrows.

Rose wanted to laugh, but the front door opened, and she felt her hackles rise instantly.

The jukebox stalled, as heads turned.

“Shit,” she turned her back, then said to Viv. “Don’t look now, but his ex-girlfriend just walked in.”

Of course, Viv looked straight at her.

“The pale blonde who looks like she eats men for breakfast?”

“That’s the one.”

“Yup, she’s heading this way.”

Rose turned around and found herself staring right at her.

Still the same look of venom, still the same look of distaste.

Rose clenched her fist and plastered on her biggest fakest smile.

“Bianca, what a displeasure it is to see you here.”