Free Roll Me Away: A Smokey's Roadhouse Novel by Jessa Jacobs

it on her own.
    I thought maybe Rooster would talk to his boy, find out the truth of it. Then if the girl cried foul, we’d have a fighting chance to keep Jake from being charged. Rooster seemed to think I worried too much.
    For my money, this role was getting to be too much trouble. Before Jake got hotheaded, everyone behaved themselves except for the usual teenage shit. We had a couple of scams going on, but we kept a low enough profile that heat never came back on us.
    We didn’t get rich, but we didn’t get hassled, either. We kept to ourselves, didn’t worry too much about The Man, and got along just fine. I don’t know what got into the younger members. Too much television, maybe. They saw our way of life as too tame, not up to the standards of the fantasy world on TV. Decided to shake us up a little.
    Well, they found out soon enough, didn’t they? You don’t go offering protection to an organization that’s already got protection. As for distribution, that was a joke. What kind of business expansion is a drug cartel going to expect in Wyoming? Barely over half a million populating the whole state, less than most major cities.
    Most of Western Wyoming’s residents were Mormons, or it seemed so when we were surrounded by them. Good luck selling drugs to them. In fact, the emptiness was what made us settle there in the first place. That and the mind-your-own-business mindset of the west in general.
    So here they came, Jake and his crew, wanting back in, because they’re dead broke and don’t have the brains of a gnat. Yeah, shooting videos has hit a standstill, because they had the swinging dicks.
    Most of the men left in the club are either old farts like me, aging bikers with bodies that aren’t quite screen-worthy, or in a few cases, men with old ladies that would castrate them if they stuck it in one of the Bunnies for the camera.
    Didn’t matter to me. My old lady was plenty for me. At my age, messing with the Bunnies, let alone an outside girl, didn’t even appeal to me. Maybe I was losing my edge.
    Anyway, we could use the little bastards, and they knew it. They also knew we’d do better at Sturgis this year if they were along, so this was their key. And if Jake and his dick didn’t screw it up for us, we’d go back to the way it was.
    My talk with Rooster concluded, I rejoined the prospect out in the parking lot. I’d told him to wait for me there and keep his eyes open. To his credit, he didn’t ask for what, and he did exactly as he was told. I was beginning to like this kid.
    He hadn’t wanted to rat on Jake, and he’d downplayed it as much as he could. He knew his bikes, too. After he nixed one I showed him as a test, I knew I could count on him to be smart about what he boosted so I could turn him loose and let him do things on his own. He was going to be an asset to the club.
    “Okay, we’re done here. See anything interesting?”
    “Lots of Angels here,” he answered.
    “Always. Anything else?”
    “Yeah. I assume you don’t want us to jack bikes from other clubs, right?”
    “Hell, no. Good way to start a war we can’t finish. Right.”
    “Okay, then I think the best bet’s going to be the campgrounds and motels. I’ve noticed the civilians here with family don’t take their bikes when they leave.”
    “Good. What else?”
    “Dinnertime. That’s the time to do it. If it’s all the same to you, I’ll head straight for the highway. No sense hanging around here, waiting to be spotted on a bike that isn’t mine. Do you need me to show you what I’ve got before I ride?”
    “Nope. You’re on your own. You’re doing fine, son. Just report back to me when you get back.”
    “Got it.”

Ten
    Zach
    S o this was it . I was doing it. My first felony, if I didn’t count working on the bikes in Carl’s shop that I didn’t know were stolen. Right up until this moment, I didn’t know if I could go through with it. I felt a buzz of excitement in my arms and legs.
    Another