Chapter 10 - THE PROMISE ON THE ROAD
Marcus Vance stepped back from the front door, gesturing sharply to the two large men standing behind him on the sidewalk.
"Break the lock," Vance ordered coldly.
Before the men could take a step toward the glass, the loud, deafening roar of four custom V-twin motorcycle engines detonated from the side alley behind the diner. The heavy vibration shook the diner’s floorboards and rattled the coffee mugs on the counter.
Russell and Micah burst through the side service door into the main diner area, wearing their helmets, their heavy leather vests strapped tight.
"Back lot is clear!" Russell barked over the thunderous roar of the engines outside. "Let's go!"
Jonah turned instantly, scooping Emma up into his broad left arm along with her faded canvas backpack. He pulled the small brass key from his pocket and slipped it securely into the inner zippered compartment of his leather vest, right over his heart.
He looked around the Briar Creek Diner one last time—at the red vinyl booth, the spilt dark coffee on the Formica table, and the old glossy photograph of seven young riding brothers standing together in the sun.
"We come back for the diner later," Jonah declared, his voice cutting through the noise of the idling bikes. "Right now, we finish what Daniel started twelve years ago."
Emma wrapped her small arms tightly around Jonah’s neck, her pale face buried against his broad shoulder, right beside the bold black raven tattoo inked into his forearm.
Jonah carried her through the side service door into the misty alleyway, where four heavy motorcycles stood idling in a cloud of warm exhaust. He set Emma securely onto the passenger seat of his custom black cruiser, strapping her backpack down with heavy leather cords and sliding a spare helmet over her soft brown hair.
Russell and Micah mounted their bikes on either side of him, their dark visors down, their engines revving into a continuous, deafening cadence that echoed off the brick walls of the alley.
Outside on Route 119, the fog began to lift slightly as the morning sun broke through the damp Pennsylvania pines.
Jonah mounted his motorcycle, his broad hands gripping the chrome handlebars. He looked back at Emma through his mirror, seeing her nod bravely from the rear seat.
May you like
He kicked his bike into gear, the rear tire biting into the wet asphalt as they launched out of the alleyway onto the open highway, leaving Marcus Vance and his men standing in the rising exhaust of the diner stoop.
The key was safe in Jonah's vest. The truth about Daniel Mercer's twelve-year disappearance was waiting in the woodshed past the ridge. And for the first time in a decade, the raven was riding again.
