Page 33 of Wolf.e

Minutes later, after I’ve gagged and dragged Gator’s heavy ass almost all the way across the property, a bike speeds down the old drive of the house and its young rider hops off it in seconds, firing at us. I turn to face him and hold Gator like a human shield. Like I said, I don’t want him to die yet but if it’s him or me.

New guy runs toward us trying to dart behind junk throughout the yard. I’m pretty sure he’s a prospect. He’s nervous, it’s obvious by the way he shoots, everything is going wide or high and the closer he gets we can see he’s shaking.

Someone just sent this kid out here at the wrong time. Should have just kept on driving by, kid.

Robby takes a shot and hits the kid in the right shoulder. He drops to the ground, and we make it to the treeline with his garbled sounds echoing in the distance just as Kai and Mason bust through the trees for back up.

“Going soft?” I chuckle to Robby as I stuff the feet of a whining and roughed up Gator in the back of the van. It’s still covered in the prospect's blood from last night and he’s out cold in the back. Gator’s eyes grow wide when he sees another member of his club and that adrenaline I always chase courses through my veins.

“He’s a kid, man. Fuck, can’t be more than seventeen. Jesus, what the fuck is going on with this club?” Robby asks rhetorically, smacking Gator’s head into the van wall.

“I hear ya,” I say. “The kid will tell the club we took you,” I say to Gator. “Maybe they’ll try to come and save you.” I chuckle knowing they sure as hell won’t.

Gator mumbles something against his gag. He’s scared shitless, he knows he’s fucked.

“Try not to bleed too much on my shit,” I add before slamming the door shut.

“That was easy. I was hoping you would've had to blow out one of his kneecaps to get him here,” Mason says, looking around as we move up to the passenger’s side door to tell him he and Kai are good to go.

I shrug. “Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s not.” I pat him on the arm. “Patience. We’ve got him and he’s all yours.”

I look around, no one in sight, still fifteen minutes before his number three is back.

Ax, Robby, and I get into my truck behind the van.

“Time to gut some squids, boys,” I say over the walkie to Kai’s van. The men in my truck and Kai all shout out their own forms of “Fuck yes.” And I grin.

Today’s major problem is down.

Now to school my defiant little hummingbird in the art of doing what she’s told.

By exactly 2:15 p.m. I’m ready to head out the door in my standard skinny jeans and Chucks toward my car when I hear the rumble of bikes. I grab my bag, shut everything off and rush, determined to get out of my driveway, just in case. But by the time I get to the porch it’s apparent something is already blocking it. A Harley. A rather fancy one I didn’t see the first day I saw Wolfe downtown. This one is a soft matte black and looks like a beautiful custom job.

But the bike isn’t what has my attention now. It’s the man leaning against the seat. The very man I’ve done my best to avoid all day, looking like heartbreak and the most dangerous kind of sin.

For the first time since I laid eyes on him, I admit it openly to myself with no hesitation.

Wolfe is so gorgeous it’s almost suffocating, and for some insane reason he’s sitting in my driveway waiting for me.

“I guess owning the best body shop in town has its perks?” I ask, nodding to the bike.

He’s wearing another pair of black jeans that fit him perfectly and a black t-shirt under his cut. Wolfe doesn’t answer me; he just settles in, so I try to coax him again.

“You lost?” I ask, trying my best to appear cool and collected. I'm clearly not cool or collected any more than he is lost. In fact, Wolfe looks completely at home in my driveway. I stand frozen as he unfolds his arms, and I wonder why he’s insisting on being here right now.

“I told you to answer me,” he says, sounding irritated. His eyes bore into mine. “Good thing I’m early. You clearly were just about to leave alone.”

I shrug. “You didn’t call, you texted, and you’re not my president.”

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret them. I don’t know what it is about him that makes me have no filter and put my foot in my mouth like this.

I shrink right into my chucks when he lifts off the bike to his full imposing height and strides closer to me. His jaw is set so hard it looks like he’s about to pop a tendon.

“Do you remember what I told you about that smart mouth?” he asks,

Visions of us together begin to fill my mind. I nod.

“Next time, you will answer me. Now. Let’s go.” His jaw sets again.

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