I sighed as I watched a group of men in leather walk through the door. As if on cue, they took a seat at the far corner booth and the majority of my customers stood from their seats and walked toward the bar, each digging out money to make a quick escape. Those sitting at the bar had already laid down their cash and were slipping out the door. My business always took a dip when the damn MC decided they needed to negotiate with whoever they'd been 'warring' with. I hadn't the foggiest idea why my uncle had seen fit to give them the okay to use the bar as a place to negotiate.
Who was I kidding? It was the money they had waved under his nose. The bar had been struggling when the MC had initially approached him years ago and they'd offered a thousand dollars for every time they used the bar. If I was being honest it was the only reason I hadn't reneged on their deal when the bar had been transferred to me. Thankfully, the bar hasn't struggled in a long time, but that didn't mean I would turn my nose up at the extra money that I didn't have to tell good ole Uncle Sam about.
Only a hand full of customers were brave enough to stick around while the MC conducted business in the corner, though they all sat as far away as possible and were already more than buzzed. If they had been sober I'm sure they would have run like the others, but the alcohol was doing its job and the MC didn't care about a witness that was too drunk to remember what day it was. You couldn't hear what they were discussing, the jukebox that was sitting next to their table made sure of that. One of their guys stood next to it and whenever a song was getting over they made sure to put another couple quarters in to keep it going, never allowing it to silence while the bosses held their meeting.
The motorcycles sitting outside were like a neon stop sign, meaning there wouldn't be any more customers walking in. During my lull I got to work clearing glasses from the nearby tables and bar, stacking them into a bin to leave by the sink for washing. I would be shutting down early tonight, like every night that the MC decided to stop by to conduct business. Most of Tacoma had a good idea of what went on behind the MC's closed doors and were jumpy at best during the day when members were on their best behavior in public, having them around while they were conducting business scared people and very few were dumb enough to stick around for fear of getting caught in the crossfire. Even if I stayed open I would be lucky if a couple stragglers came in after the bikes leave, but other than that the bar would be dead and that wasn't worth staying open for. Looking at the clock it was only eleven, I would be able to shut down between twelve and one. I sighed again as I collected the last glass and looked over at my cook as he was finishing up washing the pans.
"Eddy," I said, catching his attention.
"Yeah?" He asked looking up.
"When you finish there you can head home." Eddy looked a little confused.
"But my shift doesn't end till two." I nodded.
"I know and I'll pay you till two, but there's not going to be any more business tonight," I said and Eddy looked out the pass-through window. Eddy was young and hadn't been in town long but he knew what the leather vests meant almost as well as the locals.
"Because of them?" He asked nodding his head to the bikers and I nodded.
"You sure you want me to go home, boss? I'd hate to leave you alone with them." Eddy said and I smiled appreciatively at his concern. He wasn't nearly as scared of the bikers as the locals, but he knew enough to be wary and to watch what he said.
"Don't worry, they won't do anything to me. Trust me, old Greta will have something to say about it if they try." I gave Eddy a knowing look and he nodded.
"Alright. Thanks, boss." I nodded and headed back out to the bar and took a seat on the stool by the register, picking up the crossword puzzle I'd put down when the bar had gotten busy earlier.
Only two of my regulars were still hanging around when the MC finished their business. The bikers from the opposing MC left first, while the Sons stayed in the corner booth. I saw one of them make a phone call while I cashed out my last customer and then a couple more Sons came strolling through the door moments later. The group hung around a while longer before the majority headed out. The leader of the group, an older guy with thinning gray hair, came up to the bar and dropped a wad of cash on the counter.
"Thanks for the use of your booth, sweetheart." I give him a nod and he heads out with the rest of his men. The roar of the bikes could be heard over the jukebox still playing in the back of the bar. I got up to lock the doors and turn off the signs but stopped when two of the men took a seat at the bar instead of following the others out.
"Need something?" I asked raising an eyebrow. Usually no one stuck around after these meetings. They normally all left as a group and I was left to close down for the night.
"Two whiskeys." The guy with mild dark curls says with a grin and I nodded as I pulled down the whiskey and got out two shot glasses, pouring the drinks and sliding one to each before walking around the bar to shut down, locking the doors and shutting off the signs before pulling the plug to the jukebox. I knew better than to listen in on whatever the two were talking about, but the biker with the dark curls seemed to do all the talking while the other guy mostly answered with grunts, almost giving the impression that he was here against his will, but I had a feeling that if he didn't want to be here then he wouldn't be.
After their fourth shot, I put the whiskey away and printed their bills, laying them on the counter in front of them. They looked at the bills for a second before curls looked back up. Neither looked happy about being cut off, but I couldn't bring myself to care.
"We're not done yet." Curls said, his east demeanor from before replaced with barely contained hostility as his bright blue eye met mine challengingly. I leaned against the bar and discretely grabbed Greta, aiming her at the man underneath the bar as I stared back at the biker unfazed.
"That may be so, but I don't deal with drunk bikers in my bar. You want more, you can go somewhere else." I stated, not willing to budge when it came to this. Drunk bikers were never easy to handle and I didn't feel like dealing with the cops if I didn't have to. Both bikers stared at me and I stared right back, refusing to cave. Eventually, Curls cracked a grin and the tension seemed to melt away like it'd never been there in the first place.
"I like you, you got fire. What's your name, doll?" He asked and I leaned back from the bar.
"Jade," I said and set Greta back on her shelf under the bar. It was unlikely that she would be needed now, but I wasn't going to set her out of reach just in case they changed their minds.
"Jade, that's a pretty name. I'm Tig and this is Happy." Tig says as he jabs his thumb at his drinking companion. I eyed Happy and mentally snorted at the name. For a guy called Happy, he seemed rather grim. Tig laughed at the reaction. I probably wasn't the first to think the name odd and knew I wouldn't be the last either.
"It's his real name, trust me, I checked his license myself," Tig promised and I nodded, deciding to take his word for it.
"Tig your real name?" I asked as he threw back his last shot.
"Nope, my real name's Alex." I raised an eyebrow, not seeing how you could get Tig out of Alex.
"Yeah, I know, got the nickname while I was in the Marines. Guy told me I reminded him of Tigger and the guys just started calling me Tig." I smiled at that, it was kinda cute.
"Alright, then." The irony of this man being a marine and part of a dangerous motorcycle club, but being nicknamed after the lovable Winnie the Pooh character warmed my heart a little.
There was a bark outside and I moved quickly from behind the bar to get to the back door. I kicked the door open and blocked the door from shutting with my foot so it wouldn't latch and lock me out. I unhooked the chain from a rambunctious bloodhound's collar and brought him inside with a tight grip on his collar so he couldn't breakaway. Once he was through the door I let go of his collar and shut the door. He immediately started sniffing and walked through the room to sniff our remaining guests. Happy seemed unfazed as the dog sniffed him, not appearing to give two shits that the dog was giving him the once over while Tig lit up like a Christmas tree.
"What a pretty boy," Tig said in a baby voice and began loving up on him, making my dog melt into him.
"What's his name?" Tig asked as he looked back up at me with a childlike enthusiasm, it was strange to see such unadulterated excitement in the eyes of a grown man.
"Ace," I said with a smirk. Tig went right back to loving up on my dog and Ace was eating it up.
"Gonna be hard to get rid of him now." Happy muttered as he eyed Tig and Ace. His voice was gravelly and quiet from what I could only guess was lack of use. I just shrugged with a smile, it didn't make a difference to me as long as he wasn't drunk and raring for a fight.
"Dog lovers are always welcome. Poor thing was abandoned. I found him eating out of the trash out back a couple of years ago, he was still just a pup. No collar, no chip. I put out posters, but no one ever came to claim him. So he's just the bar dog now." I looked over to see Tig had moved off the stool to sit on the floor with Ace. I shook my head with a chuckle at the sight. The man was practically goo on the floor while Ace melted into his lap, soaking up all the affection.
Happy dug into his wallet and pulled out the cash for his drinks and laid it on the counter before turning to separate Tig from Ace. Happy grabbed Tig by the collar and pulled him to his feet roughly. Tig started to protest, but Happy shot him a look and Tig quickly shut his mouth looking disappointed.
"Pay the woman." Happy said shortly as he pushed Tig toward the bar. Tig grumbled but pulled out some bills and laid them on the bar.
"Guess we should get back to the clubhouse." Tig said in resignation but looked longingly toward Ace who was laying belly up on the floor with puppy eyes waiting for someone to rub his belly.
"Nothing's keeping you from coming back. You can visit Ace anytime." I offered, surprising myself with the offer. I was never one to want bikers in the bar, but if they were just coming around to love on my dog I would be okay with it.
"Really?" Tig asked looking overjoyed.
"Really," I said with a smirk. Tig kneeled and gave Ace one more belly rub before heading out with Happy. Ace whined as the door shut behind them.
"Oh don't worry, boy. I'm sure he'll be back." I said picking up the glasses and placing them in the container to be washed tomorrow.
"Come on, time for bed." I said as I walked toward the light switch. I heard his tags clinking behind me as I walked down the hall and up the stairs to my apartment. I had no doubt that the bikers would be back, but I didn't know just how much that was going to change things.