Raging Barons MC – Book Two – Axel
Axel: Chapter 21

The days are becoming more and more annoying. Time with Mia is at a minimum. This is not what I want for our relationship. Who had the nerve to shoot at Hammer and Mia? Who would even dare to go up against us in our own town? Grab is doing some undercover shit to see what he can replace out about any new gangs or clubs.

Looking around the common room, I see TwoCents and give him a nod while I walk over. ‘I’m going to take Mia out for a ride on the bike. I need to spend time with her, but with the threats I think I’ll take Buzz along too. Keep your eyes on things here. You know who and what I’m talking about.’

Rushing upstairs, I knock on Mia’s door and when she opens up; I don’t give her time to argue or otherwise.

‘Get ready babe, we’re going out for the day on the bike.’ Bending down, I snatch a kiss and head back down to replace Buzz.

Turns out Buzz is already out of the clubhouse and gone into town to talk to one of his homeless informants. He has quite a few who tell him what they’ve seen or heard and in return, Buzz throws them enough green to have a good meal.

Looking around again, I notice Hammer is still here. I call him over, slap him on the back and grin, ‘You’re coming with us, grab Shar and tell her we’re going out on the bikes for the day. Don’t give a shit if you like it or not, she is going on the back of your bike today.’

Climbing on the bike with Mia behind me, we set off, and I’m hoping we’ll have a good day. We need this to bring us together, move our relationship forward, and I just like being around her.

Hammer and Shar ride beside us, as we’re taking the scenic route. I head for a local preservation park where we can walk around even have lunch.

Glancing over, I see Shar grinning broadly. She’s obviously having a good ride. Hammer actually looks okay about having her on the back.

Mia is plastered to my back and I have to admit I love the feel of her against me.

Tapping my helmet, I speak to Hammer through our helmet speaker, ‘Keep your eyes open, Hammer. We don’t want a repeat of what happened last time you were out, but on our bikes this time.’

Arriving at the park, we park the bikes and pay the entrance fee at the small office at the gate. I take hold of Mia’s hand and we walk along the pathway.

‘It could be nice, Axel, but it’s rundown. Do you think it’s being mismanaged?’ Mia has a disgusted look on her face and, seeing the way everything looks neglected, I can see where she’s coming from.

‘I don’t know. It’s been a long time since I was here last,’ I respond, turning to look at Hammer with a raised eyebrow.

‘Years since I was here, but I get what you’re saying Mia, the borders where plants used to be are gone and I don’t see any animals anywhere either.’ Hammer has stopped walking and is looking around.

Shar steps toward Mia and states loudly, ‘Okay, let’s see what the cafe is like and if it’s as neglected as the rest of this place, I’m going to get our money back.’

Mia giggles and looks up at me with her eyes sparkling, ‘Oh, you would enjoy that guys.’ she says and shakes with laughter.

Hammer looks down at Shar, ‘Come on firecracker, let’s have a drink.’ He places his arm around her shoulders. It looks like a brotherly thing rather than a partner move. I don’t know if these two are going to be the best of friends or a couple, but time will tell.

Seated in the cafe, it’s pretty obvious the place needs someone to care, so after only having a latte, we make our way back to the bikes.

As we pass the office where we paid our entrance fee, Shar darts inside much to Mia’s amusement. We stand and wait a couple of minutes, then we hear the shouting and Mia dashes inside.

‘We want a full refund. This place is a joke.’ Shar is leaning on the counter, pointing at the woman.

‘I’m sorry we don’t give refunds.’ the woman whines, in a voice that sounds like nails on a blackboard.

‘Why? So you can put it in your thieving pocket?’ Shar shouts and we can see she’s really getting into it now.

‘Don’t call me a thief, you skank.’

Oh, now she’s gone and done it. Shar starts to climb onto the counter and Hammer grabs her to stop what could have been a real brawl.

‘Don’t call me a skank, give me a refund or I’ll make sure every social media I can post on will get the pictures I’ve taken of this rundown place. It begs the question, where is all the money donated going?’ Shar snidely says.

We must look like we’re at a tennis match, with our heads going from Shar to the woman and back again.

‘How dare you!’ Oh, this woman is getting worked up. That has me wondering if Shar is right and some thievery is going on here.

‘Oh, I dare. Money now or watch the place lose any credibility and reputation it ever had.’ Shar screeches, and I have to look at her twice as I can see she’s enjoying this shit.

The woman opens the register, takes out the cash we paid and slams it on the counter, ‘Now get out.’ she screams.

I pick it up, then smile, ‘Thanks lady.’ and we all leave the office feeling pretty good that we at least didn’t pay to walk around this shithole.

As we are getting ready to put our helmets on, Mia turns to me. ‘Is there a shooting range around here?’

‘Yeah, sure. It’s about half an hour. Do you want to go?’

‘I’d like to do some practicing if it’s okay? I have a permit because they wiped my record clean.’

With how things have been going and the threat, I actually think it’s a good idea, so that’s where we end up next.

Mia and Shar are excited when we enter the range and the owner knows us as we frequent the place a lot. At the counter, the owner is thorough; he talks about what is a suitable weapon for a woman and which would suit Mia’s hand, with all the information Mia selects the Sig P365 XL which is a concealed carry handgun, slim 9mm, carries ten rounds and has the option of manual safety. The Sig fits her hand snugly, and she looks comfortable with it.

‘We could purchase a gun for each of them, Specs already sponged Shars record after I sent my text before we arrived.’ I murmur to Hammer.

At the lanes, I set up the target and press for it to go to the twenty-five yards line. I want to see how accurate she is at that distance. In fact, I want to check all the distances.

Making sure Mia’s stance is good, feet right and shoulders relaxed, she looks pretty damn good; I have to admit, sexy as shit with the Sig in her hand.

Hammer and Shar are in the next lane and I can hear them bickering, but it’s playfully, shaking my head at them I place my eye and ear protectors on and make sure Mia’s are on right, then give her a nod to start when she’s ready.

Mia takes her shots and we wait for the target to come back before we can see how accurate her shots were. She was aiming for the heart, no head shots at this point.

The target shows she isn’t bad, not all are around the heart area where she was aiming, but not too far off. More practice will quickly help that out, I’m sure.

‘Let’s see how you do at seventy-five yards.’ I set the target and press for it to go down the lane.

Protectors back on. I’m watching Mia set herself up and she has me smirking as she sticks her tongue out of the corner of her mouth. It shows her concentration, but she looks cute as shit.

Again, firing the ten rounds, we wait for the target to get back. ‘You okay, babe? Enjoying yourself?’

‘Yeah, it’s great Axel. I love shooting, more than my blades actually, but I need a target set up at home for me to practice with my blades. I don’t want to lose my accuracy with them.’ She replies, but looks a little sheepish.

‘We can do that babe, no problem.’ I tell her and give her a quick kiss while she’s looking up at me.

Looking at the target, then at Mia, then back to the target, she has seven of the ten shots in the heart. Now how the heck is she more accurate at this distance?

‘Take it to hundred-yards Axel, let me try at that distance.’ Mia asks, full of excitement, how can I deny her.

Again, her distance shots are exceptionally good, so I have to wonder why the twenty-five yards were so off. ‘Mia, why do you think your twenty-five shots were worse than your other distances?’

‘Well, I think it’s because that close is more personal, you know, I could see the whites of their eyes, where over those distances,’ she points down the lane, ‘they are just shapes, not like they are looking me in the face.’

So, in other words, she would be more frightened to kill someone up close. That is not good. I’m going to have to get her over that.

‘You want a competition Hammer?’ I shout over.

‘Yeah, why not, we’re up for it.’ Hammer responds quickly. I knew he would. He’s a competitive fucker.

Shar and Mia are full of the competitive spirit and challenge the twenty nearest the heart wins and have to pay for a meal, because by this point we’re all fucking starving.

After Mia and Shar have taken their shots, Shar is the nearest, so Mia and I are behind.

Hammer has his ten and I have four to go, which means we can draw but not win. Placing my last four, I get all of them center of the heart area and a draw is called.

Mia is glowing, and it’s so clear she needed this time out. She leans in and wraps her arms around my waist and I l place mine around her and pull her into my body. As she lifts her head smiling, I swoop down and capture her mouth, quickly tasting her and catch her sigh of surrender. Sweet, so damn sweet.

‘Come on guys, pack in with that shit.’ Shar states, which has us all laughing.

We head back to the owner, and thank him, but before we leave; I purchase the Sig for Mia, also getting an IWB Kydex Holster. Now I know she’s all set and can protect herself if needed.

Smiling as we reach our bikes, I know Specs will make sure Mia and Shar have their permits by the time I get back.

‘When I get a job, I’m coming back here and buying myself a weapon, a big one, a bazooka or some shit.’ Shar is mumbling, which has all of us laughing at her antics.

‘Where are you looking to work, Shar?’ I ask as I know we’re short of staff at the club.

‘I wanted to work with Mia at the club if you have a vacancy. But anywhere, I’m happy to just have a job Axel.’ she replies, it tells me this woman is like mine, needs to be independent, earning and having choices.

‘Okay, you start work tomorrow night with Mia.’ I tell her and for once I’m taken by surprise when she launches herself at me and hugs the shit outta me.

‘Thanks, Axel, you won’t regret it. I’ll work hard, I promise.’

‘Get on the fucking bike babe.’ Hammer says, but has a smirk on his face. ‘Pres wouldn’t have given you the job if he didn’t know you’d be good.’ Shar gives a big smile and climbs on the bike behind Hammer.

We have a meal at the local Chinese place, it’s relaxing. Hammer and Shar are wonderful company, I have to admit; they bounce off each other well, laughing, joking and if I’m honest, they would make a great couple.

I feed Mia bits and she feeds me, the spark between us is undeniable and we have gotten to know each other well of late, but it’s time to move our relationship on, not sure I can hang on not touching her for much longer.

As we’re leaving the Chinese restaurant and I’m thinking, what a great day we’ve had when a volley of shots has me throwing Mia to the ground with me on top of her.

‘Get off Axel.’ Mia is shouting, and as I roll off her, I have my weapon out trying to see where the shots came from, but nothing. I can see no-one at all.

Looking to the right, I note Hammer has Shar under him and she’s cursing and fighting to get out, but Hammer is not having it.

People are running around shouting, but no one, thankfully, seems to have been hurt. Mr. Wang has rushed out and has a fucking cleaver in his hand. He is spouting his Chinese shit and no-one understands a word he’s saying.

Helping Mia up, we check each other for injuries, but apart from skinned hands, we are both okay. I wrap her in my arms and pull her to my body, placing my nose in her neck and take a deep breath, trying to calm myself.

Hammer slaps me on the shoulder, ‘Come on Pres, let’s get back, get the girls to safety.’

Taking out my cell, I contact Buzz and update him on this latest shit, and he is on his way to escort us back to the compound.

Cops are taking statements and we quickly give ours and get on the bikes, as we pull away six bikes pull up around us, Buzz and Drag take the lead and the four others are behind us, we take off fairly fast and get back to the compound in record time.