Chloe reached for it.
Too late.
The lead motorcycle had already slowed.
The rider raised one gloved fist.
The entire formation responded.
Engines dropped.
The pack turned into the gravel lot.
Bike after bike.
Kickstands.
Boots.
Leather.
Exhaust.
Within a minute, the Copper Skillet was surrounded.
No one inside spoke.
Chloe could hear Pete breathing.
Her purse was beneath the register.
The ring was inside it.
Five bikers approached the entrance.
The man in front had a graying beard and dark glasses.
A scar cut across one side of his face.
His vest identified him as a club president.
A younger, powerfully built man walked beside him with a sergeant-at-arms patch.
The front door opened.
The bell rang once.
Then nobody in the diner moved.
The president removed his sunglasses.
His eyes settled on Pete.
“Who runs this place?”
Pete wiped his hands.
“I do.”
“Name?”
“Pete Donovan.”
“Pete.”
The biker glanced around.
“We need information.”
“I can make coffee.”
“Not why we're here.”
Chloe felt her pulse in her throat.
The president looked toward her.
She tried not to react.
“Last night,” he said, “one of our brothers stopped here.”
Pete nodded uncertainly.
The sergeant-at-arms stepped forward.
“Bear O'Connor.”
Chloe's knees nearly weakened.
The younger biker saw it.
“You remember him?”
She nodded.
“I served him.”
“What did he have?”
The question confused her.
“Coffee.”
“What else?”
“Cherry pie.”
“How long?”
“Twenty minutes. Maybe.”
“Anybody talk to him?”
“No.”
“Anybody follow him out?”
“I didn't see anyone.”
The president moved closer.
A name patch identified him as Dutch.
He spoke quietly.
“Bear never made it where he was going.”
Chloe stared.
Dutch continued.
“A trucker found his bike off the road south of town.”
Something cold moved through her.
“He's alive,” Dutch said.
“But he got hurt bad enough that he's in a hospital and can't tell us what happened.”
Pete muttered, “Jesus.”
Dutch's eyes remained on Chloe.
“His wallet was still there.”
Chloe's breath slowed.
“His bike wasn't taken.”
The sergeant-at-arms added, “But one piece of club property is missing.”
Chloe knew what came next.
She wished she did not.
Dutch said, “A ring.”
The diner seemed to tilt.
Her purse might as well have been glowing.
Dutch rested both hands on the counter.
“We don't know whether whoever hurt Bear took it.”
He looked around.
“We don't know whether he lost it first.”
That detail surprised Chloe.
He continued.
“What we do know is that Bear was here before he went down that highway.”
His eyes returned to hers.
“So I'm asking you what you saw.”
Chloe thought about telling the truth.