Chapter 5: Working Girl

Harlow

"You wanna work for me?" Bonnie said over her cup of coffee.

"I'd offer to work it off over at the garage, but I get the feeling Blayze doesn't like me much."

"Well, Blayze Rollins is a piece of sh*t, so don't take too much offense," she said. "You must have people. Someone you can call for help?"

I shook my head. "I'm on my own. I find odd jobs here and there to feed myself and keep gas in the car."

Bonnie contemplated my words for a moment, then finally said, "Red's been hounding me to get another bartender. Let's give it a try for a month. You can start tomorrow."

"Thank you so much."

"There's a vacancy a few trailers down, but it needs a lot of work done. I'll let you stay there for free if you can get it fixed up and ready for the next renter."

"You own the trailer park, too?" I asked.

"Everything north of the highway for twenty square miles belongs to the Blood Dogs. What I say goes."

She seemed to see the appreciation in my eyes. I was truly touched by the gesture. The thought of having my own bed felt like a luxury.

"No one's ever been this nice to me before. Why are you? I mean, is there something in your werewolf rules that says that you own my soul?"

Bonnie let out a laugh. "Nothing like that. You just remind me a little of myself. I wouldn't be here now if a few people hadn't helped me out when I was in a pretty lonely place."

My heart warmed. For the first time in my life, it was beginning to feel like I might have a friend.

Cyrus

The first thing the next morning, I disposed of the dead men's cell phones and sent a prospect to tow the BMW to the nearby junkyard. This wasn't the first "disappearance" around Gnaw Bone.

I spent the rest of the morning doing inventory and cooking the books with Tank, the club treasurer. The rest of the guys came in at noon. Around the same time, I saw Harlow walking up from the trailer park.

I heard a low whistle come from Butch, the Tail Gunner. "If my old lady had a body like that—"

"Watch it, man," I warned.

She stopped at her car. "I just need to get some things," she said as she pulled an overstuffed backpack out of the back seat. "Any diagnosis yet?"

"You were right about the alternator," I said. "I was just about to check the rest of her over."

"Great," she said. "Bonnie's letting me work at the bar to pay for it, so you just tell me how much it'll cost, and I'll get it to you eventually."

I couldn't hide a smile from spreading across my face. "So you'll be around for a little while then."

"Yeah," she said, smiling back. "I guess I will."

"What the hell is everyone standing around for?" Blayze's voice boomed as the office door swing open. "We've got work to do, boys." The guys disbanded.

"I need to get over to the bar," Harlow said. "I'll be back later if you think you'll have a bill ready for me."

"Absolutely."

Blayze stepped closer as I watched her cross the road. "Don't get any ideas," he said over my shoulder. "She's a hot piece of a**. I'll give you that. But if she's working for the Blood Dogs, staying on their land, then she's one of them. Just fix the car, take her money, and leave her be. I don't wanna see her on Howler territory, and you'd sure as hell better not cross that road again."

I swallowed my anger. Blayze wasn't just my leader or my best friend. He and his family had been there for me in my darkest time. I owed him everything. "Yes, Alpha."

Harlow

When I walked in, Red was already behind the bar. The blonde I'd seen the night before, Brat, was wiping down tables, and a few people in Blood Dogs cuts sat at the bar.

Red waved at me. "Over here, darlin'," he said. "Harlow's gonna be givin' me a hand for a little while," he informed the room. I walked around the counter and placed my backpack on a hook behind the bar, ready to get started.

"This is Lola and her mate Dax," Red referred to a woman and a man sitting directly in front of him. "They've been Blood Dogs since before I was born."

Lola was a pretty, middle-aged redhead, and her patch said "SGT at Arms." Dax was a big guy with a "Road Captain" patch, and I recognized him as the one who helped Red throw my attackers out of the bar the night before.

"Lola drinks bourbon," Red continued, "and Dax always has a Diet Cola."

"Ten years sober," Dax said proudly.

"Nice to meet you," I said.

"Over here is Grim and his brother Gunner." Red motioned to two men probably about his age, both fit and imposing. Grim wore his hair in a mohawk, and Gunner's was shaved bald.

"Beer on tap, and Irish whiskey," Red denoted their drinks of choice. Then he reached across the bar and took Gunner's hand. "Gunner's also my mate."

"Mate," I said. "That's like a…" I paused, afraid I'd offend someone.

"A werewolf thing," Red replied. "It's okay, you can say the word. Just not around anyone who's not affiliated with us. As a rule, we keep it on the down-low with humans."

"Is everyone in the club a werewolf?" I asked.

"Mostly. Prospects like Brat over there are sometimes human," Red said. "They get turned after they get their member patch. But most of us were born werewolves."

"Think of it this way," Gunner said, "not all bikers are werewolves, and not all werewolves are bikers. The other clubs around these parts are all human, and they don't know anything about this side of us."

"So the Blood Dogs and the Bone Hills Howlers just sort of share the town?" I asked.

"We used to all be one pack," Lola said. "Bonnie's our rightful Alpha like her father was before her. But about ten years ago, we split when Blayze and his followers decided that they didn't like the idea of a woman leading. It's not typical for werewolves, but it's Bonnie's birthright."

"Bonnie's a true leader," Dax said. "And a good one. Doesn't deal in drugs or trafficking or any of that gun-running crap that gets innocent people hurt and killed. She helps people."

"It's our main business," Red added. "We give folks a way out of tough situations. Women fleeing abusive homes, witnesses to crimes, things like that. We provide safe houses and documentation for people who need it."

"Documentation like fake IDs?" I asked.

He nodded. "Driver's licenses, passports, birth certificates. Whatever people need to disappear from one place and show up in another."

It was beginning to feel like more than just a coincidence that I landed in Gnaw Bone with the Blood Dogs. After all, how long could I keep moving? It had been three years, and I was already running out of steam.

I continued with my training the rest of the afternoon, but my mind occasionally wandered to Cyrus. He didn't seem to share Blayze's outlook. Seemed like a standup guy, even, so why side with the Howlers? I'd have been lying if I said I wasn't curious.

After six hours, Red told me to call it a day.

"I'm sure you need the night to get settled into your new place," he said with a smile. "I'll see you back here tomorrow."

Bidding everyone farewell, I left the bar and headed back across the road to the garage.

"Hey!" I said as I approached. Cyrus was caught by surprise and hit his head under the hood of the GTO. "Sorry," I said, suppressing a laugh.

"I was just finishing up," I said, rubbing the back of his head. "But the bill isn't pretty." He wiped his hands off with a rag and handed me the itemized paperwork.

Looking it over, I furrowed my brow when I saw what he'd done.

"You only charged me for parts. Cyrus, I've gotta pay you for your labor."

"Consider it a friendly parting gift," he said.

"Parting gift? I'm here for a month. I thought I'd ask you to show me around town. Take an evening ride?"

"I'd like that," he said as he peered over his shoulder at the closed office door, "but Blayze would be pissed. You're with Bonnie's crew as far as he's concerned."

I was disappointed but didn't give up. Switching tactics, I gave him the big puppy dog eyes that always used to work on my dad. I knew I was victorious when he smiled.

"I guess one ride won't hurt anything," he said.