Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“I don’t think I can help. I barely know them. They wouldn’t trust me with anything.”
“Oh, I don’t know. Men will do a lot for a beautiful woman.”
“I really think you should go.”
“Let me at least find you a safe place to stay tonight until the locks can be repaired.”
“I’ll call a friend. She lives nearby.” I start closing the door.
“I think—”
“Thank you for your help. I’ll make sure to get the locks replaced as soon as possible.” I close the door in his face and throw both locks immediately. I stand quietly with my back against the door until I hear Officer Dillard’s boots clomping down the stairs.
Shit.
18
DAKOTA
The gate into the Outlaw Sons’ compound slowly opens after a big guy wearing a cowboy hat nearly blinds me with a flashlight in the face. They wave me through, and unlike the first time, relief floods me as the gate shuts and I find a place to park. Jackal jogs out from between the church and the house, heading my way. I glance over my shoulder to check on Logan, who’s out like a light. No wonder. A car ride at two AM would have me asleep too if I wasn’t wired from the break-in.
Jackal opens the car door, his brows creased with concern. “I got your call, but you weren’t making a lot of sense.” He quickly takes stock of me and Logan in the back. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”
I tell him quickly about the break-in attempt and Officer Dillard’s questions. His expression hardens as I get to the part where Dillard was asking me to betray the bikers. Or at least, feeling out my willingness to go along with it.
“I couldn’t stay in my apartment.” I quickly glance around. Even at night, there are bikers working in the big garage next to us, and the church is lit up with music drifting out. “I grabbed some things and just started driving, but I didn’t know where to go. If I can just stay here tonight that’s enough. I’ll sleep in the car if we have to.”
“Don’t be stupid. You can crash in my quarters.” He helps me out, then grabs our bags out of the backseat. I go to the other side and work Logan out of the car. He mumbles in his sleep, and his head drops onto my shoulder, snoring softly. “Stiff and Lash are on a late patrol, but they’ll be back later. We’ll find you something better tomorrow.”
I cradle the back of Logan’s head. “So long as it’s safe, I don’t care.”
He leads me to the old school building. Inside it still looks very much like what it was, but instead of backpacks and schoolbooks, there are bike parts on the floors, posters on the walls, and the faint scent of motor oil and cigarette smoke clinging to everything. I could absolutely picture kids in uniforms running through the halls here once upon a time. I follow him down the hall, past classrooms marked with different names. We stop in front of a door that says “Jackal.”
“Home sweet home. It’s not much, but nobody will bother you or Logan in here.” He opens the door, revealing a one room apartment that looks lived in, but neat. It doesn’t surprise me for Jackal, but I bet Lash’s room is a disaster. Stiff I’m not sure. It could go either way.
That gets a smile out of me. “It’s perfect.”
The room is shaped like an L with the windows on the far end. The bed is tucked away into the short end of the L, and there’s a heavy curtain hanging from the ceiling that divides it from the main part of the room where he has a couch, a TV with a couple game controllers, and a short kitchenette counter with a microwave, an air fryer and a sink.
He drops our bags on the couch. Out the windows, I can see the back of the compound, where a narrow parking area has been turned into a shooting range, and there’s a high fence and some trees between us and a street of houses down the hill towards the river. “Bathroom is over there. You and Logan can take the bed. I’ll take the couch.”
The couch is long and looks halfway comfortable, but he’s a big guy. “Thank you. If it was just me I’d offer to take the couch, but with Logan it gets a little tricky.”
“If it was just you, you’d still get the bed.” He smirks. “But maybe we could share.”
The bed looks like someone just got out of it. “Oh no, did I wake you up?”
“Doesn’t fucking matter. I hadn’t been down for long. We keep late hours, most days. Sheets are pretty clean, but if you want—”
“No, it’s fine.” I pull back the blanket a little more and settle Logan down on the bed. He rolls over and curls up into a ball like a little armadillo, clutching his helmet tight. I take Mr. Larson out of his backpack and tuck the poor puppy under the covers. After a couple years of being top dog, he might have to make room. I brush my hand gently through Logan’s hair before getting off the bed. Jackal pulls the curtain closed.