Cade Creek 11 - Race Against Time (9 page)

The way his eyes were roaming showed he was definitely looking for something…or someone. Vinnie was pretty sure who he was looking for. When those beady little eyes landed on Race, and the man’s lips took on a sinister twist, Vinnie knew they had problems.

“Stay frosty, Ari,” Vinnie warned as he glanced around for Harvey. The man might have only been a member of the Dirty Dozen Motorcycle Club for a short amount of time before he got out, but he was still built like a brick shit house. At six and a half feet tall, bald, and tattooed, Harvey James was as intimidating as they came.

Vinnie didn’t spot Harvey, but he did catch Joey’s eye and motioned the man over. When Joey reached him, Vinnie gestured for him to move closer. Joey bent down and Vinnie whispered, “Get Harvey. I think trouble just walked in the door.”

Joey gave one barely noticeable nod before walking away. Vinnie hoped Joey was going for help. He was pretty damn sure they were going to need it. Terrence Flannery and his goons were headed right for them.

Race whimpered.

Vinnie moved closer to the man. He noticed Ari do the same on the other side of Race, sandwiching the frightened man between them. He wanted this jackass to know Race was no longer on his own. He had friends in his corner.

“Racine,” the man said when he reached their table. His smile was without humor. “I am very disappointed in you, boy.”

Boy?

Vinnie was two seconds away from smacking the guy. Just the way he looked down his nose at them made his hackles stand up. Vinnie might not be rich and famous, but he was proud of being a fireman in the small town of Cade Creek. He had a nice home, friends, and hopefully soon, someone else to share the life he and Ari had built together.

“Is there something we can help you with?” Vinnie asked, trying not to show his anger.

Terrence’s nostrils flared as his gaze narrowed in on Race. “I am not happy about having to leave the city, Racine.”

The insane urge to stick his tongue out at the overbearing man was almost more than Vinnie could contain. It was clear that Terrence believed he owned Race. Nothing could be further from the truth.

“You know what happens when I’m not happy,” Terrence continued.

“Is that a threat, Mr. Flannery?” Vinnie asked before glancing at Ari. “That sounded like a threat. Did that sound like a threat to you, too, Ari?”

“Yes, it did.” Ari’s voice was firm, but Vinnie could hear the underlying anger.

“Excuse me,” Terrence said, “but I do not believe I was talking to you. It is rude to interrupt a conversation you are not a part of.”

Ari—the darling that he was—snorted rather rudely. “It’s also rude to interrupt a date you are not a part of.”

The man’s beady little eyes swung back to Race. Okay, they weren’t beady exactly, but they could have been. To tell the truth, Terrence Flannery was actually a very nice-looking man. Too bad his soul was as black as Hades.

“A date?” Terrence shouted so loudly, those around them stopped what they were doing and stared. “You don’t have my permission to go out on a date.”

“Who died and made you god?” Vinnie asked. Not that he really cared, because he was pretty damn sure Terrence Flannery had a self-inflated ego, but he was curious why the man thought he had a right to dictate anything Race did.

Those—somewhat—beady eyes turned on Vinnie. “Do you know who I am?”

Vinnie did, but he wasn’t going to admit that. “From the way you sauntered in here like your shit don’t stink, I’d say you were an asshole.”

When Race gasped, Vinnie reached under the table and gave his thigh a reassuring pat. He was not intimidated by Terrence Flannery. He didn’t want Race to be intimidated either, but considering the condition the man was in, he had reason to be.

Terrence gave Vinnie a hard look, his lip curling as if disgusted by what he saw. “I could buy and sell you before I even had my morning coffee.”

“Probably.” Vinnie was a fireman, not Midas. “But Race is out on a date with us, not you.”

Vinnie had to bite his lip, when Ari said in a singsong voice, “We win.” There were times when he loved Ari’s quick wit and sharp tongue, usually when it was aimed at someone besides him.

Vinnie made a shooing motion with his hand. “Now, shoo, go away. You’re interrupting our evening.”

Terrence’s gasp was pure outrage.

Vinnie ignored him and turned to Race, turning on the charm. “Joey’s about to go onstage. Would you like to dance?”

Eyes wide, Race slowly nodded.

“Great.” Vinnie stood and held out his hand.

Race shot Terrence a look before taking Vinnie’s hand and climbing to his feet. Vinnie used the hand held in his to draw Race into his arms. Race’s wide eyes grew rounder when Vinnie tipped Race’s mouth up with one finger under his chin to brush the gorgeous man’s mouth with his.

Race’s barely audible exhale was music to Vinnie’s ears. The wonder in his beautiful green eyes made Vinnie feel like a king. Despite the crowded bar and the man sputtering with outrage just feet from him, Vinnie drew Race in for another kiss, a deeper kiss.

Vinnie recaptured Race’s mouth, more demanding this time. He traced the soft fullness of Race’s lips with his tongue, stroking across them a second time, and then a third. When those luscious lips parted, Vinnie swept inside the warm, wet cavern with his tongue to leisurely entwine with Race’s own slick muscle.

Raising his lips from Race’s, Vinnie’s gazed into his eyes. His entire body tingled with desire. The soft flush on Race’s face said he felt the same. When Vinnie smiled, Race’s lips followed, curving into his own smile.

“My turn,” Ari growled.

Vinnie chuckled when Ari grabbed Race, spun him around, and leaned in to plunder Race’s kiss-swollen lips just as Vinnie had done. Ari seemed to be doing his level best to keep that dreamy-eyed look in Race’s eyes.

The enraged howl from his right made Vinnie tense. He turned just in time to see Terrence reach for the edge of the table and flip it up. Vinnie dove for Race, pushing him and Ari out of the way and the table crashed onto its side.

“You are mine!” Terrence snarled. His eyes flashed with outrage as he glared at Race. “How dare you—”

“What in the hell is going on here?” Harvey James asked as he walked up, the crowd instantly parting for the large man. Harvey was a badass. In his bar, no one stepped out of line unless they wanted to deal with him. Vinnie had heard he once tossed a customer out the front window. Looking at the anger on the man’s face, he believed it.

“They attacked my lover!” Terrence shouted as he pointed at Vinnie and Ari. “I want them arrested.”

Vinnie’s jaw dropped. “Are you fucking serious?”

“I have witnesses,” Terrence said when Harvey just stood there. He gestured to the two men standing behind him. “They saw the whole thing and will swear out a statement to the police if you would be so kind as to call them.”

The two goons nodded.

Harvey crossed his muscled and tattooed arms over his massive chest. His eyebrow cocked up as he turned to look at Vinnie and Ari. “Starting fires now, are we, boys?”

Vinnie rolled his eyes. “Mr. Flannery has taken issue with Ari and I taking Race out for a date.”

“Ari and you?”

Vinnie felt his face flush at the shock on Harvey’s face. “Yes.”

“I see.” Harvey’s lips twisted with his obvious attempt not to smile. “I’m sorry, Mr. Flannery. It is not against the law for three guys to go out on a date together.”

“The hell it’s not!” Terrence pulled out his cell phone and began dialing. “If you won’t call the authorities, I will.”

Vinnie couldn’t wait to hear what Sheriff Riley had to say about this.

Terrence’s eyes flared as he pinned them on Vinnie. “I want to report an assault and possible kidnapping. Yes,” Terrence said, answering whatever question the dispatcher asked him. “Yes, yes.” He frowned as he looked around. ‘What is the name of this rat trap?”

Harvey’s eyes narrowed. “The Rusty Nail Bar and Grill.”

“The Rusty Nail Bar and Grill,” Terrence repeated. “Yes, I’ll be waiting, but you might want to send backup. These guys don’t look like they know the meaning of law-abiding citizen.”

When Terrence hung up and slid his phone back into his pocket, Vinnie thought his jaw was going to hit his chest. Was this man serious?

“The authorities are on their way,” Terrence said with an air of self-importance. “They will take care of these…these…these men.”

Vinnie sputtered as he tried to contain his laughter. “Dude, you’re delusional.”

“There is no need for name calling, Vinnie,” Harvey said, but Vinnie saw the heavy eye roll the man gave. “Let’s try not to inflame the situation any further. Sheriff Riley will deal with this when he gets here.”

Vinnie gave a nod, but only because he respected Harvey and this was his establishment. Dismissing Terrence, Vinnie stepped over to check on Race, who was wrapped up in Ari’s arms, which was a good thing. The man looked like he was about to shake apart.

“How are you doing,
passerotto
?”

“I want to go home,” Race whispered without lifting his head from Ari’s chest.

“We’ll go home soon. We just have to wait for the sheriff.”

Race’s face was ashen as he raised it. “I don’t want you or Ari to get into trouble.”

“Honey,” Ari said, “we didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But…” Race’s eyes shot to Terrence.

“We said we would protect you, Race,” Vinnie reminded the frightened man. “And we will.”

“I’ve had just about enough of this,” Terrence snarled. “I don’t know what you’re saying to him, but I want it to stop. Racine, get away from those men. Come over here.”

Vinnie didn’t even look at the guy. He just held up his hand and flicked up his middle finger. “
Baci mi culo.
”

Ari burst out laughing, quickly covering his mouth, but his eyes danced with amusement.

Race’s lips twitched as he glanced up at Vinnie, “What did you just say?”

Vinnie chuckled. “I told him to kiss my ass.”

Race’s eyes began to twinkle. “Can you teach me how to say that?”

Vinnie winked. “
Sì.
”

“Enough!”

Vinnie didn’t know what Terrence threw, but it shattered against the wall right by Vinnie’s head. He turned to give the man a piece of his mind but found Harvey had beat him to it. The big man had a hold of Terrence’s wrist and was all up in his face.

“I don’t know how things are done where you come from,” Harvey said in a deceptively calm voice, “but in Cade Creek, behavior like yours is extremely frowned upon. If you insist on acting like a two-year-old denied your toy, I will put your ass in time-out.”

Terrence gasped, his eyes shooting to the two men with him. When Vinnie saw them reaching into their jackets, he tensed. “They have guns, Harvey!”

People all around them hit the floor. Others took off for the exits. In mere moments, the bar was emptied except for a few stragglers who stayed to watch the show.

Without missing a beat, Harvey reached out with his other hand and grabbed one of the armed men around the throat, yanking him close. “Are we going to have a problem?”

The man gulped as his face started to turn purple. “No, sir.”

Harvey’s eyes narrowed. “I didn’t think so.” He gave the man a push. After watching the man stumble back, Harvey returned his attention to Terrence. “Have you ever heard of the Dirty Dozen Motorcycle Club?”

“No,” Terrence argued as he tugged on the arm Harvey had ahold of. “I would never run with some motorcycle club.” The tone of his voice showed his disgust at the mere thought of riding in a motorcycle club.

Harvey just laughed.

“The next time you’re near a computer, look them up.”

Terrence’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Why would I do that? I told you, I don’t—”

“I’m a founding member of the Dirty Dozen.”

“So?”

Harvey tightened his grip until Terrence’s knees buckled. Vinnie hoped he didn’t break Terrence’s arm. While it might be satisfying to hear the man scream in pain, Vinnie didn’t want the local law to come down on Harvey.

“You’re not listening to me,” Harvey said.

“You can’t do this to me!” Terrence yelled as he struggled to get away. “I’ll have you arrested for assault. They’ll put you away for so many years you’ll be old and gray when you get out.”

“Problems, Harvey?”

Vinnie blew out a relieved breath when he spotted Sheriff Riley and his husband, Deputy Yancy Butler, standing right inside the door.

“Sheriff,” Terrence called out. “I’m so glad you are here. This man is assaulting me. I want him arrested.”

Sheriff Riley frowned as he looked at Terrence. “What’d you do to piss him off?”

Race watched the interaction between Harvey, Terrence, and the sheriff with baited breath. He had never seen anyone stand up to Terrence before, and these men—all of them—didn’t seem to care who Terrence was or how much money he had.