Page 19 of Grim

She was just wearing jeans with a simple sweater, but she looked like she’d stepped out of one of those beauty magazines. Her hair was dirty blonde and curly in a sexy, windblown sort of way, and she barely had on any makeup.

She didn’t need it.

She was a natural beauty—just the kind of girl Skid would be interested in, so I leaned in closer as I asked, “You gonna be able to handle this, or should I get someone else?”

“Yeah, I got it.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that.”

“Who worked her over?”

“The assholes she was staying with.”

Before he had a chance to respond, they walked up. Jenna held her daughter close as she nervously looked around the house. Her eyes darted over to me when I said, “You two make yourself at home. I’ll be back when I’m back.”

“Wait. You’re just going to leave us here?”

“Skid’s gonna be here.” I held her gaze for a moment, then added, “If you need something, let him know and he’ll take care of it.”

“But my car... I have work and...”

“It’ll be taken care of.”

“But why?” she pushed. “Why would you do that? Why would you help me? Do you want something from me? Are you going to do something to us?”

“I’ve been in a tight spot before.” I looked over at the kid in her arms, remembering how scared I was when my mother and I had to live on the streets. It was rough, and there were times I didn’t think we were going to make it. “Someone helped me and my mother out, and I’m just doing the same for you.”

“But I can’t pay you or anything like that.”

Her vulnerable tone got to me in a way I didn’t expect, and I had to collect myself before answering. I inhaled a deep breath, then said, “Didn’t ask you to. Just go get settled, and let Skid know if you need anything.”

Without saying anything more, I turned and walked back to the SUV. As soon as I was behind the wheel, I threw it into reverse and whipped out of the driveway. When we got back to the clubhouse, everyone was gathered in the conference room. Shep was on his laptop, searching for any news on the Assassins, while Prez and Memphis hovered over his shoulder.

There was no missing the concern in Prez’s voice when he asked, “Are we good?”

“It’s looking that way.” Shep continued to type away at his keyboard. “I just want to check a few more things.”

“Let me know if you find anything.” Prez stood, and the second he spotted me and Ghost, he walked over and asked, “Are you just now gettin’ back?”

“Yeah, we just rolled in.” I could tell by his expression that he was going to ask what held us up, so I added, “We ran into a complication over at Clayborn’s place.”

“What kind of complication?”

“There was a woman and kid there.”

“You get rid of them?”

“We took ‘em over to my place.”

I clenched my jaw, bracing myself for his response, and just as I expected, he was pissed. “You did what?”

“I had my reasons, Prez.”

“So, you know this chick?”

“Never laid eyes on her.”

His brows furrowed. “So, you know nothing about this girl.”

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