“Everyone’s still here?” I asked warily. I hated the idea of being a spectacle.
“They are,” he confirmed. “Riley’s asleep. Emmie texted a little while ago.”
“Is she okay? Was she upset?” I worried.
He squeezed my hand. “She’s okay,” he assured me as we walked through the door.
Emmie rushed over immediately, wrapping me in a hug. “God, Layla, are you okay?” she demanded, pulling back from me to look me over.
“I’m okay,” I replied, wanting to assure her as she looked at me, her eyes shining with concern.
I looked past her shoulder, finding Gunner and two older men in the living room keeping their distance, likely to give me some space.
“Layla, this is our prez, Cole,” Cash introduced quietly, gesturing to the gorgeous blond man with striking blue eyes who I knew was Grace’s father. “And his pop, Cal,” he continued. “Cal was our prez before Cole,” he explained, gesturing to the older man who, despite having to be in his seventies, was still a strikingly handsome man.
“Hi. Thank you for coming,” I replied, determined to maintain my manners despite feeling like I could collapse with the nearest breeze.
“Know you’re tired, darlin’,” Cole said as though reading my mind. “But we want to hear about what happened while it’s still fresh in your mind. That all right?”
I looked up at Cash, and at his nod, agreed. “Yeah, I can do that.”
“Come sit down, baby,” Cash coaxed, guiding me toward to couch.
“I’ll make you some tea,” Emmie said, rushing off to the kitchen.
I sat on the couch with Cash at my side as Cole took a seat on the edge of the coffee table in front of me, Gunner and Cal standing behind him. Despite their best intentions, they made for an intimidating trio.
I shared what had happened at the gas station, including even the smallest details. At the mention of the motorcycles, Cash and Cole shared a look.
“Can you describe these men?” Cole wanted to know.
I nodded. “The one who went into the store I didn’t see as well. He had dark hair and eyes. Tattoos on his hands, I think? It was dark. The man who, um….” I touched my neck reflexively as Cash’s arm wrapped around my shoulders. “He was big. He had long hair tied in a ponytail and a spiderweb tattoo on his temple.”
Cole looked at Gunner before his gaze turned to Cash. “Either of them sound familiar to you?”
At their head shakes, Cal spoke up. “Black Riders used to have tattoos like that back in the day. The new recruits stopped that trend over the years, but it’s a bit too much of a coincidence to ignore.”
“Fuck,” Cole swore. “We haven’t had any issue with them in years.”
“Thought with their new leadership, these days were done,” Cal grunted.
I wondered what the story was there but was too tired to press.
“Why would they want your camera so bad?” Gunner wanted to know.
“That’s the thing.” I threw up my hands in exasperation. “I have no idea. I shoot buildings for a living. Other than for my clients, there’s nothing of interest in them.”
“You might have captured something you don’t even realize,” Cash put in. “And obviously someone thinks so, because that must be who broke in here,” he added, putting the pieces together.
“My camera was with me most of the day of the break-in,” I murmured. “And today, they got my camera, but I’d just uploaded everything to my computer so that’s really what they would have wanted.”
“So, they still don’t have shit,” Cole concluded.
“And we’re still in danger.” I swallowed as Cash pulled me closer.
“We need to look at those pictures,” Gunner said firmly and was met with nods of agreement around the room.
I nodded. “I can pull everything up on my computer.” I was already rising to do just that.