Page 57 of German

“And Pipe?”Try as I might, I couldn’t place this one.

German glided along, his arms making gentle circles in the water to keep us afloat.“Pipe, as in, pipeline.There are no secrets around my Brother Pipe.All information flows to that man sooner or later.”

That made sense.“So, if you were going to give me a road name,” I said, lifting my chin and looking him directly in the eye, “what would it be?”

“Not Lexi,” he said, giving me a wet kiss before pulling me to shore.“Come on, Babe.It’s time to get you back on dry land and into bed at the Motel.It’s getting late.”

Swimming to shore, we got dressed.It was past ten by the time we met back up with the Raiders.By then, the sleepy children were being packed up in cars with their mothers and the Prospects were breaking down the tents.

I was sad to leave my new friends, but I was exhausted from the long day in the sun.As we pulled into the parking lot of the motel, German stroked my hair.“Did you have a good time today, Baby Girl?”

Smiling tiredly, I leaned into his body and looked deep into his soulful brown eyes.“I did.I’m so glad we went.Chrissy and Sarah were so much fun to hang out with.I can’t imagine a better day than being by the water, eating delicious food, surrounded by all your friends and family.It was pure magic.”

Stroking my hair, German nodded.“I had a good time, too.”

As he led me back to the motel room, I felt like the world’s luckiest girl.Until we got to the door and German tensed.

Reaching for his ankle, he lifted his pant leg where a small ivory-handled pistol was holstered.I hadn’t even known he was carrying it.Placing a finger against his mouth to let me know to be quiet, he toed open the cracked door of the motel and flicked on the lights at warp speed.The room was a mess.All of our things were scattered about.Stepping inside, German checked over the bedroom and bathroom for any unwanted “guests”.

Shaking, I closed the door so no one could sneak up behind us or see what German was doing.I had no idea if his gun was legal.The last thing we needed was for someone to spy it, freak out, and call the cops.

When German was done searching the room, he said, “We need to pack up and go somewhere else.We can’t stay here tonight.”

“Are we going home to Coldwell Manor?”I asked as I began to gather my things and stuff them haphazardly into my bag.

“No.We can’t go there.It’s not safe because that’ll be the first place the kidnappers expect us to run to.”

“Where are we going then?”I wondered aloud, moving around the room in a bit of a blind panic.

After a moment of deep thought, German said, “I’m taking you to my Club where you’ll be safe.No one would have the balls to bother you there.”

Chapter17

We got backon the road and drove through the night until we came to another random motel along the highway.As much as I loved riding on the back of German’s bike, it was going to be a long time until I wanted to do it again.My ass hurt and my legs were numb from the constant thrum of the motor.And don’t get me started on how tired my arms were!After holding on to his waist for hours on end, my wrists and fingers were cramped and achy.Who would have thought riding a bike was so much work!

Getting some sleep, we got up early the next morning and headed for the Devil’s Riders Compound.Since the drive to Buse was still over ten hours away, we stopped and borrowed a pickup from a guy along our route who owed Hammer a favor.Loading the bike into the back of the beat-up old Ford, we covered it with a tarp and continued on our way.

Arriving in Buse at around ten the next evening, I was absolutely spent.Wanting nothing more than a shower and bed, I stumbled alongside German through the door of the Compound.Looking like half-warmed over roadkill wasn’t exactly the first impression I would have chosen to make with the Devils.

Thankfully, we didn’t bump into anyone as German ushered me up the stairs and into his room.Showing me around, he told me to go ahead and get cleaned up while he went to speak to his Brothers.

Like a robot, I nodded and walked to the bathroom where I stripped down and showered as quickly as possible.Practically crawling to the bed with exhaustion, I spotted a stack of clean laundry on German’s dresser and grabbed an oversized T-shirt.Not even bothering to root through my bag for a clean pair of underwear, I yanked back the covers, crawled inside, and promptly fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Buse, Nevada

German

“It’s good to see you, German,” Reaper greeted, as I walked into the large conference room.Beside him were my VP Hawk, our tech Brother Pipe, our Club Enforcer Ox, and Hammer, the Club Mechanic.

Tossing the keys to the pickup back to Hammer, I said, “Thank your friend for letting me borrow his truck.Let him know second gear sticks a little and needs to be checked out before it gets worse.”

“I’ll fix it before I get it back to him,” Hammer said, pocketing the keys.

“Any problems on the road?”Hawk asked, his ever-watchful gaze as perceptive as the animal he was named for.

Taking a seat, Ox tossed me a beer and I cracked it open.“Nope, but to play it safe, we only stopped twice for gas and food breaks.”

---