The location dotkeeps moving on the map. This new cell phone is a lot fancier than any of the ones I had before meeting Wyatt Shaw. Owen Shaw left a bike parked outside my trailer last time he visited — a gift from the family. I asked for my own cut but Ruger told me that there were “no Jews” allowed in the club.
That boy is about as smart as a pork roast.
Wyatt deniedmy cut request because I was a woman, which isn’t much better. He told me if I was lucky, a club member would tattoo his name on my ass, but that was about it. Hm. I don’t think so. Once I touch the bike for the first time, I become fully convinced that I can do well enough affiliating with this club without getting my ass tattooed by some asshole biker.
It’s bad enough being related to a pack of them. I put my helmet on and try to get my bearings on a Harley-Davidson bike that’s a lot bigger and newer than any I’ve ever ridden. I send my location to the group chat and hope they all follow suit. From the second I saw that dot, I knew where they were headed.
Don’t knowwhat the hell Ryder Sinclair is doing out there with some woman but… We’ll catch them.
At least we’dbetter catch them. Otherwise, Wyatt Shaw will skewer me and roast me like a Thanksgiving turkey. This time, he won’t forgive me. I can feel it.
And I needthis man’s good graces, as much as I hate to admit it.
We need each other…
Chapter Thirty-Six
JOSLIN
Ihear seven loud gunshots. I freeze. My immediate thought is that no one could survive that many gunshots in a row. Within seconds, that thought turns into a realization that Ryder isdead.I don’t hear any noises. I can’t even hear my own breathing. The gunshots were too loud and all I can do is notice how empty I feel at the thought that he’s dead.He can’t be dead.
I don’t think. Well, I do. I think I’ll die. My hand shakes as I hold the gun, step out from behind the tree and without looking, without thinking, I shoot.
The second I fire,I know I’ve done the wrong thing. The woman I shot screams.Loudly.
What the hellis going on and when did these four black women and an Indian woman get here? When the woman I shot screams, I scream too and I drop the gun. My confusion grows louder when I hear Ryder scream, “CAREFUL!”
The pistol spins in a circle on the ground and comes to a dead stop. I’m lucky there aren’t any more bullets in there. Nothing happens. The group’s collective release of tension is audibly heard .Us…I don’t know these people. But they’re not shooting at me and Ryder is alive. I look at him, still bewildered. My confusion grows when I see Ryder’s twin brother step out from behind the woman I shot at, as red as an apple.
“SHE SHOT AT MY WIFE!”
“She just grazed me,” the woman groans, but she’s still clutching her arm and I’m still standing in shock because she’s bleeding. I just shot a pregnant woman. I’m going to hell.
“HEY! Don’t fight,” Oske says as Ryder and his twin brother circle each other like angry hyenas. I try to say something, but everything happening at once just stuns me into silence. My throat constricts, and everything around me turns black. I’m not the fainting type, but as soon as it happens, I know that’s what it must be.
“No…”
But I losecontrol of my body and the last thing I hear is my body hitting the ground.
My head aches,but what wakes me up a few seconds later isn’t the pain in my head. It’s Ryder roaring like a grouchy buffalo.
“WAKE UP. YOU KILLED HER!”
“Nobody touched her, dumbass,” a voice that sounds like Ryder’s says. “She fainted.”
“Itisyour fault,” a woman says.
“Juliette, I told your ass not to do any more crazy shit, so one more word out of you and I swear–
“What? You’re going to hit a pregnant woman? Are you Ruger?”
“BE QUIET!” Ryder yells, defeating the purpose of demanding silence. “JOSLIN! JOSLIN! OPEN YOUR EYES IF YOU CAN HEAR ME!”
“No offense but,who the fuck is that?” Tamiya blurts out. Everyone around her nods with agreement and appears to be similarly confused.
“MY WIFE!” Ryder yells overdramatically. I open my eyes so he tones it down a little bit. My head aches, but listening to Ryder lose his mind is a little worse.
“I’m fine…”