Page 52 of His Road Dog

Chapter 20

Priest

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NICOLE WALKED INTOthe bedroom long after Priest had taken a shower, got dressed, and checked in with Curley to make sure Tarkio finished the job of burying Hamilton and Jones. He took the metal box out of the closet and proceeded to refill the clip in his pistol.

She stayed behind him. "What are you doing?"

"Getting ready to take you to the clubhouse." He looked over his shoulder, took in the clothes she'd put on. "Ready?"

"You can take me to my motel room."

"I will after we get you a car lined up." He put the box back, slipped the weapon into his vest pocket, and straightened. "I'll give you cash at the clubhouse. That will keep you going for a couple months."

"Please, stop for a second and talk to me." She put her hand on his arm. "What's going on?"

"It's not safe here." He twined his finger around a strand of her hair and caressed the curl with his thumb. "You're tangled up in Guthrie's murder. Until I can make it safe for you to return to Missoula, we need to find a place for you to go."

"I didn't have anything to do with Roy—"

"I know. The police know. In fact, you're not even a suspect anymore. I got word that you're free to leave Missoula."

"How did you hear that? Nobody from the police station called me."

"They called me."

"Priest." She crossed her arms. "You're taking over my life."

"No, I'm saving your life. Trust me. There's a difference." He kissed her, and she refused to kiss him back. "Let's get a move on."

He walked past her and waited at the door of the bedroom for her.

"I don't like guns." She pivoted. "Carrying one only gives you an excuse to take someone's life. No one's life is less than your own."

"In your world. Not in mine," he said.

He'd rather she left, unburdened with the trouble surrounding her than change because someone else stole her freedom and security.

He could take care of the problem surrounding her, but it would take time. As of now, he had no clue what kind of power Coveck had backing him. He couldn't storm into the casino or raid his private residency if he had a bigger stronghold around him than Tarkio was prepared for. He also needed to inform his members of the new findings.

But first, he wanted to make sure Nicole was safe.

"I don't want to leave. I have a job."

"This can't be helped, Nicole."

"I don't understand. You're just going to...kick me out of your life and send me away as if you own all of Missoula?" She rubbed her forehead. "No. You can't do that. You don't have any say-so about what I do, Priest. That's just crazy talk. It's like me telling you how to run your motorcycle club."

"It's not the same."

He motioned for her to follow and walked out to the entryway. She obviously was going to headbutt him each step because he waited exactly ninety seconds before she rounded the corner.

"Take me to the motel, please." She raised her brows. "We're done here."

"We're not done."

"Yeah, we are." Her eyes lost their shine. "Sex is one thing, but what I get from you when we aren't naked isn't worth it to me."

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